“The calls stopped after you moved?”
“They did. Until you phoned me, I hadn’t heard from anyone about Lucy’s case since 2011.”
“Why don’t you tell me about that day.”
“I suppose one more time won’t hurt.” Simone took a long drag on her Salem Light before deciding to talk. “There were a lot of new people milling around the Reservation that weekend. They’d come from all over Idaho for the powwow. Lucy was so excited to participate in the dances and to watch everything about the celebration that she wouldn’t shut up about it. She got up early that morning, fixed toaster waffles, kept bugging her dad and me to hurry up and get ready.” The memory brought a smile to Simone’s lips. “She was driving us all nuts, but especially her older brother. Todd promised that if she stopped pestering him, he’d take her to the movies that weekend to see Zookeeper, some stupid thing about talking animals, which Lucy would’ve loved.”
“How old was Todd at the time?”
“Fifteen. He couldn’t even drive yet. But he and Lucy sometimes did things together. They’d go to the swimming pool or to the mall or to check out the animal shelter looking for a dog. Lucy wanted one real bad. And Todd kept an eye out for one. It needed to be on the smallish side because we didn’t have a lot of space for a big one. The shelter kept getting overrun with these huge dog breeds that people abandoned. I’d promised she could get a terrier type dog.” Simone stopped, put her hands up to her face. “I’m sorry. I’m getting off track.”
“It’s okay. You take your time.”
“Where was I? Oh. That day, Todd had a girl he was trying to impress. So that took top priority over anything Lucy wanted to do. His focus was on wearing the right clothes. You know teenagers. They have a mind of their own, but when they start dating, it’s like craziness comes into the picture. That was girl-crazy Todd back then.”
“Where’s Todd now?”
Simone beamed. “He’s down in Meridian where he’s been participating in Idaho’s first medical school. It’s the Osteopathic place that just opened. He got derailed for a while after Lucy went missing. His grades dropped something awful in high school. But he was always so smart. So was Lucy for that matter. Can’t say they got their brains from me or my husband Craig, but there you go. Both of our kids did great in school.”
“Todd must be something special to go from bad grades to medical school.”
“Well, we were able to pull him back from the brink of disaster, I think. Todd was able to get back on track because he’s always wanted to be a doctor. He had this thing about fixing people up. If all goes well, he graduates in a couple of years. A little late maybe, but he’s doing well now. He wanted to help people after Lucy…left. That’s why Craig and me worked two jobs to get him a tutor…”
Simone’s voice trailed off, but Skye let her gather her thoughts without interrupting the flow of conversation. She stuffed out the butt of a cigarette, taking her time before picking up the thread. This time her voice had turned cold and irritated. “You know, you’re the first person in almost a decade who’s even interested in my little Lucy. The emphasis has always been on Sara Grayhawk instead of the three other girls who disappeared right after her. The stories in the paper were all about the missing cop’s sister. Lucy barely ever got mentioned. And when she did it was like an afterthought. ‘Oh, and by the way, Lucy Silver disappeared into a crowd at the powwow and was never seen again.’”
“Is that what happened? Did she disappear into the crowd?”
“Pretty much. One minute she was right there, standing in line to buy ice cream, and the next, I couldn’t get a bead on her. After it happened, Craig and I, we just started having horrible arguments. As the years dragged on with no news about Lucy, our marriage just fell apart. Whatever we had, died. We disagreed about everything. Craig wanted to get past it. But I couldn’t. The fights took a toll on Todd, which is probably why his grades suffered. Ultimately, Craig and I decided to go our separate ways. Our divorce became final back in 2016 after several years of bickering over stuff. Not a bit too soon if you ask me. That’s when I got out of there. I had to get off the Reservation and do something else, live somewhere else. I couldn’t keep driving down the same streets every day without wondering what happened to her. Todd felt the same way. Since he goes to school down in Meridian, he lives there with Craig and his new wife. These days, none of them talk much about Lucy. It’s as if she never existed. If I’m honest, that drives me crazy. It’s one reason I prefer to be left alone. I’m bitter, Ms. Cree. I’m a bitter woman who lost her daughter and never found out why.”
Skye reached out to take Simone’s hand and give it a squeeze. “I’m here to tell you, your daughter has not been forgotten.”
“Please don’t try to give me hope at this late stage.” She sat there another minute and lit up another cigarette. “Do you really think you’ll ever catch the bastard who took her?”
“I have an entire team of people here right now trying to do that very thing. It’s not like I can make promises. You probably already know that. But I’m here and I’m willing to do the legwork that’s necessary to find you and the other families some answers.”
“Will you keep me updated on your progress? You’ve got my phone number.”
“I will. Something I need to know before I go. Was Lucy the type of person who would talk to strangers and get in the car with one if she needed a ride?”
“You mean like hitchhike?” Simone shook her head. “Hell no. And why would she want to leave the powwow anyway after bugging us all to get there? She wanted to stay until dark. We were all together right there on the fairgrounds that day. It was like a carnival full of people. So much to do, so much to see. She was having a blast. She’d worn her formal regalia, decked out in her headdress, buckskin and beads. She’d already danced in several ceremonies. She wouldn’t have left all that on her own. She wouldn’t have.”
“How long had you guys been there when you noticed Lucy was no longer in sight?”
“Maybe four hours. I remember because Craig and I were ready to call it a day and head home.”
“What if someone told her you or a family member was in trouble and needed her? What if that someone wore a uniform?”
Newfound fear mixed with revulsion settled in Simone’s eyes. “You mean like a cop, don’t you? You’re talking about a member of the police force. That would change things. If someone told her that, she’d have gone with a cop in uniform in a heartbeat.”
“Most kids would. They trust cops. Look, I’m not saying a cop was involved. It’s too early to speculate. But the other relatives keep telling me their girls wouldn’t just get into the car with anybody. The cop angle is an avenue that needs exploring. You understand that, right?”
“I get it. But the idea makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Because most of law enforcement wanted to blame Lucy’s abduction on a stranger who’d attended the powwow. Stranger abduction they called it. Sounded reasonable enough that Craig and I accepted that theory. But with it comes hopelessness. What’s a stranger going to do with your child the second he takes off with her? I’ll tell you what. He’s going to get her out of the area as fast as possible, take her far away, so he won’t get caught. Craig and I had to face the fact that our baby wasn’t coming back. I mean, you either do that or go crazy. It was damned depressing that it broke us, broke our hearts, broke our marriage and everything that went with it. We literally broke up because at some point I think Craig blamed me and I blamed him. Which is ridiculous.”
“Blame is pretty common in families who go through a trauma like this. Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their kids. We think we can protect them and when some sleazy son…” Skye stopped herself from calling the guy a son of a bitch in front of Sierra. Instead, she tempered her language and went on, “When a sleazebag comes along with other ideas, guilt overcomes reason. We tend to overlook the fact that bad people are out there and sometimes there’s nothing we can do about
it.”
“I’m glad I agreed to meet with you. I almost told you to get lost.”
Skye grinned. “That’s okay. I don’t take it personally. I often tell people to get lost. I’m just glad you sat down with me. Us. We’re grateful.”
“No, I’m the one grateful. I’m glad somebody finally took an interest in Lucy. If you have any other questions about her, call me. Day or night. Or if you want to meet again, I’ll make myself available even if I have to take off work to do it.”
Skye left the apartment feeling better about the situation, not as down as before. Heading back toward Coeur d’Alene, mother and daughter cruised along the same country road that had brought them north to the tunes of Eva Cassidy. They were making good time when Sierra let out a woeful shriek.
“Mama! Mama stop the car. Stop! There’s a doggie back there. He’s hurt. He needs us to stop and help him.”
Skye braked and pulled to the shoulder of the two-lane highway. She waited for traffic to clear before shooting a U-turn, heading back north. She slowed to a crawl until she spotted an animal hunkered down between two boulders in obvious pain.
Sierra hollered out, “Stop. There he is.”
“I see him,” Skye announced as she unsnapped her seatbelt. “You stay put. You hear me? Do not get out of this car.”
“No! I want to see if he’s okay.”
“You will not argue with me about this. If you take one step out of this van onto the shoulder, we’ll just keep going. Do you understand me? You stay put. You are not to follow me over there. Is that clear? That’s an order, by the way. I’ll handle it, okay?” With that directive as clear as she could make it, Skye jumped from the driver’s seat onto the pavement and skirted the hood, darting toward the crumpled form of what looked like a half-starved, silver Labrador puppy with huge gray eyes.
Skye crouched beside the animal to get a better look. “What’s wrong, boy? Did you get hit? Did a mean old car nip you when you tried to cross the road?”
The poor thing looked up at her, barely able to lift his head, with soulful eyes that were pleading for help. The dog whined, a mournful wail that tugged at her heartstrings.
“Be right back. I’ll get you some water.”
When Skye dashed back to the van to fetch the water bottle, Sierra began to pepper her with questions.
“What’s wrong with him? Is he okay? He’s not gonna die, is he?”
“No. But I think a car probably hit him. It looks like he might have a broken back leg. It’s hard for him to walk so it seems he just gave up and plopped down there. He’s probably been out here for a day at least.”
“I wanna see,” Sierra said, beginning to try to unbuckle the belt that held her in the toddler seat.”
“Okay, but you have to take my hand and don’t let go. We have to approach him carefully. He’s in pain and may not realize we’re trying to help him. He could snap or bite.”
Sierra hopped out tugging on her mother’s hand. She dragged Skye back to where the dog was sprawled out between the rocks and squatted down. “Kiya says he’s a boy dog.”
Skye frowned and looked down at Sierra. “How do you know that?”
“Kiya says.”
In no mood to go into a sex talk, Skye unscrewed the water bottle and inched closer to the pup, so he’d be able to drink with relative ease. While the thirsty pooch lapped up the liquid, Skye began to get a bad feeling. And the next words out of Sierra’s mouth proved why.
“Yep. He’s our dog now, Mama. I’m gonna name him Cody.”
“Oh, Sierra, no. We already have a full pack. Our doghouse is full up, honey. Atka and Bella won’t have room for another. And this isn’t even our home. We’re in Idaho.”
“Atka and Bella don’t mind. They’ll make room. Cody will be their brother.”
The size of the small cramped bungalow back at the lodge popped into Skye’s head. She tried again to dissuade the notion of the dog coming home with them. “He might belong to someone. He might be out here because he’s lost. Maybe his owners are trying to find him right now.”
Sierra wasn’t having that. The girl shook her head. “No, he’s not lost. Kiya says. We don’t have a boy dog. And this one doesn’t got no home.”
“There’s no arguing about it anyway,” Skye muttered, almost to herself. “We have to get him to the vet. That leg needs looking at. Maybe he’s chipped.” She could only hope.
“The doctor will make him all better. You’ll see.” Sierra placed her hand ever so gently on the dog’s head and the pup allowed it. “You’ll be running around the yard in no time. You’ll be a Saddle dog.”
“A what? What’s a Saddle dog?”
“We live back in Saddle, so he’ll be a Saddle dog, not a Ni-da-ho dog.”
Skye grinned and ruffled her daughter’s hair. “Ah. Seattle. Sure. Not Idaho. Got it. Why do you have to be so smart anyway? I’ll need to pick him up and take him to the car. He looks malnourished to me.”
As she hefted the pup in her arms, the dog didn’t try to bite or snap while she cradled him up against her chest and carried him the few feet back to the van. “He definitely feels underweight.”
“It’s okay Cody,” Sierra cooed as she scrambled back into the car. “We’ll get you something to eat at the hospital while the doctor fixes your leg.”
“Cody? You’re naming him that? Why?”
“It was always gonna be Atka, Bella, and Cody,” Sierra stated in a wise voice that sounded like it came from an old soul, far older than her young years.
“A, B, C,” the toddler sang out in song as the van swung back out on the roadway into traffic.
Using Google and GPS, Skye had located a veterinary clinic off US 95. She phoned Josh to meet them there.
After explaining the situation to Harry, he offered to give Josh a lift up there. “We should’ve brought more cars.”
“Yeah, and the last thing we need right now is another dog. I can only hope the real owners are there, waiting, overjoyed that we brought their dog in for care.”
Harry busted out laughing. “Oh, you really are an optimistic fool, aren’t you? If I know your girl, and I do, Sierra has already picked out a name.”
“Yes, but if we can find the owners, she’ll have to understand that the dog won’t be able to leave his home.”
“Yeah. Right. You keep telling yourself that. In the meantime, I’ll stop and pick up an extra fifty-pound bag of dog chow. You’re gonna need it.”
“You do that. Drop me off and since you have nothing else better to do but go shopping, you might as well go interview the Smith girls. Skye planned to do it, but something tells me that’s been put on hold. In fact, I’m beginning to think Skye was right. This time in the field, we are not running like a well-oiled machine. Too many distractions.”
“There are always distractions. I’m happy to interview the girls if you want.”
“The focus should be on Laurel’s movements during the last twenty-four hours of her life.” Josh shifted in his seat to stare over at Harry. “Something else on your mind?”
“Are we absolutely certain this guy is killing these girls? Maybe he’s holding them somewhere.”
When Josh remained silent, Harry let out a sigh. “Okay, I know the odds. It’s just that this life is getting to me. The prospect of death…you stare at their photographs and there’s so much potential, gone, wasted, wiped out. Is there any way at all…?”
Josh shook his head. “Don’t do that. This bastard is not gonna leave a witness around to ID him later. They’re gone, Harry. Sad to think about, but there’s no way in hell he keeps them around.”
“I guess. Yeah, I knew that. I just needed to hear the words. Is that what Kiya is telling you about all of them?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Damn. Remind me again why we do this.”
“Because this one-man show wiped out the bright light that was a daughter, a sister, a cousin. He ruined entire families. No one gets to do that.”
>
With a solemn nod, Harry allowed a brief glance at Josh while still trying to keep his eyes on the road. “I needed that. Sometimes it gets to me, you know. The deaths of so many.”
“Yeah. You wouldn’t be human if it didn’t.”
Harry pulled into the parking lot of the veterinary clinic. When Josh started to open the door and jump out, Harry latched onto his arm. “You should probably keep things in perspective.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means one more dog couldn’t be that bad.”
Josh grinned. “I guess not. Thanks. Be safe driving back.”
****
Late afternoon at the Smith household was a chaotic rush to figure out a meal, in this case the kids begged for pizza but settled for homemade spaghetti. There was bickering over who’s turn it was to clean up the dishes.
Harry waited until all that had calmed down before ringing the doorbell. When Levi let him in, the family had gathered around the TV in the living room to watch Aquaman on DVD.
“It wasn’t my idea,” teenage Levi went out of his way to point out. “It’s for the girls.” He rolled his eyes. “They’re in love with Jason Momoa.”
“Who isn’t?” Harry returned, having been around Zoe and Emmadine the last few days. “Your mom’s here, right?”
“Yeah. She’s in the bedroom talking on the phone, trying to find out all she can about Rosa Andreas’s murder. I’m not supposed to know that. But she doesn’t like to talk about that stuff around the girls. Hang on, I’ll go get her.”
“I thought Skye was coming,” Barb said to Harry when she entered the living room. “I heard the doorbell.”
Harry took her through the dog emergency and how Skye had been coming back from talking to Simone Silver.
Barb smiled. “You were right. They are just regular people with regular problems.” She twisted in her seat on the couch to yell at the girls. “Turn that TV off.”
“Oh, Mom,” Lara groaned. “It’s just getting to the good part.”
“I don’t care. You’ve got the whole summer to watch it. And besides, you’ve seen it ten times already. Now leave it. This is about your sister. Turn it off. And come over here, sit down like normal people, and talk to Detective Drummond. Surely you can do that for your sister.”
Forgotten Bones Page 15