“At first she just listened to my story. Then we talked about what can be done. I told her you’d be finished with your assignment as of next week, Deidre, and I suggested you be hired by the BCA. It’d be on an as-needed basis, specifically to continue investigating what we have found. I explained your role in the seven-graves case and gave you my highest recommendation.”
Deidre was shocked. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe I should ask what her reaction was.”
“She remembered you from when you, Judy, and I worked together.” Melissa sort of laughed. “She remembered that you were the one who gave most of the interviews from the burial sites in the woods. In fact, she asked if you were the one who looked so ‘earthy’?”
In spite of the gravity of the situation, Deidre had to smile at that comment. “I know I said I could leave the case,” she told her friends, “but after seeing what we saw today, there is no way I can walk away from this horrendous murder. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, wondering what was happening. Okay, I’m in.”
“I think this is for the best. You know this area better than anyone from the Cities. You know the people, and you’re very good at what you do. Thanks for being willing to continue. The BCA will notify the county sheriff what your role will be. Do you think he’ll be all right with us taking most of the responsibility on this one? Do you know him?”
“We’re very close friends. You know him, too. Remember Jeff, Jeff DeAngelo, my deputy who was on the dig with us when we unearthed those seven graves. He was talked into running for sheriff after I resigned and won hands down. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have by my side than Jeff. He’ll be fine with the idea of my working the case, I know he will.”
Judy spoke up. “I have a little more work to do: collecting samples, taking a few more photos, and giving the body one more examination for anything I may have missed. I’ve arranged for transport to my lab at the Bureau where I can do a more thorough job. Deidre, I’ll have the report to you first thing next week, although the tox screen will take a little longer. For now, why don’t you and Melissa spend some time together while I finish up. It’s a long ride back to Minneapolis, but if we can get out of Two Harbors by five o’clock, we can make it home by eight-thirty or nine tonight.”
With that, Deidre and Melissa decided to go to a local restaurant, Blackwood’s Bar and Grill. The place had spacious booths that afforded privacy. They could drink coffee and talk while Judy went about her grizzly business.
Chapter 6
Deidre lay on the floor, her back propped against three large cushions. The cabin was cozy, and a fire in the wood-burning stove shone through its glass windows. Her dog, Pete, was curled up, just near enough so she could scratch his ears. Whenever she stopped, he would raise his head and thrust his nose under her hand, forcing her to resume stroking him.
Deidre was so absorbed in her thoughts she was nearly oblivious to her pet’s presence. She had bitten off a huge chunk of responsibility this afternoon. She knew that, but she also knew she would never have been able to walk away from the murder she had discovered the day before.
“Well, old boy, here we go again,” she mused to Pete. His reaction was to roll his eyes upward and look lovingly at her. “What’s it like living in a world where you get fed every day, get to sleep anytime you want, and don’t have a care in the world, or if you do, you don’t seem to remember?” Pete reacted by rolling on his back so she could scratch under his front legs.
Deidre looked at the clock on the mantle behind the stove. Seven o’clock. Ben would be home. She punched in his number on her cell phone. She was relieved to hear his voice.
“Hi, Deidre. When I didn’t hear from you today, I thought you must really be slammed at work. How’s it going?”
“Too long of a story to talk about on the phone, but I’ve got an awful lot to tell you. Any chance we can get together tomorrow? I miss the girls, and I’d like to bounce some thoughts off you, if you don’t mind being my sounding board.”
She could hear Ben reprimand one of his daughters, and she smiled at the image in her mind. “Sorry about that. What do you have in mind? My place or yours?”
“How about yours. I’d like to get out of the woods for a day or two. Maybe it’ll give me some perspective, give my mind a chance to clear itself. Tomorrow’s Friday. I have a few things to clear up in the morning, but I can be in Duluth by about five. That okay?”
“That’s great. Can’t wait to see you, and neither can the twins. They’ve been standing here the whole time, and you can probably hear their ruckus right now.”
Deidre hung up the phone and let pleasant thoughts of Ben and his twin daughters wash over her tired mind. Tomorrow would be a better day.
*****
She woke at six the next morning, not well rested after having gone through a series of nightmares. After eating a hurried breakfast of yogurt sprinkled with granola and a steaming cup of coffee, she kenneled Pete in the back of her SUV and drove to work.
In five days, Dan Butler, would be back on duty, and Deidre would be working for the BCA. By that time Dr. Coster would have her report ready, and she would have a better idea where to begin. Until then, Deidre was going to catch up on some minor paperwork and prepare the office for Dan’s return. He probably would be relieved to learn that the BCA wanted to handle the case and that Deidre would be the one working the investigation. She made arrangements for the part-time officer to spell her later in the day. By noon, Deidre was ready to make the trip to Duluth, and she eagerly anticipated spending time with Ben and the twins.
On the way through Two Harbors, she drove toward the courthouse, a majestic old building with a towering silvered dome that stood like a beacon in the center of town. Next to it was the law enforcement center, and Deidre parked in front of it, walked up the stairs as she had done so many times when she was sheriff, and stopped at the security window. Jaredine, the dispatcher on duty, buzzed her into the outer office of the sheriff’s department.
“Deidre, great to see you,” Sheriff DeAngelo exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair. “Man, it’s been way too long. How you doin’?”
“Things were going great until day before yesterday. That’s what I want to talk to you about, Jeff. Any chance we can visit in your office? This is kind of a touchy subject right now.”
“Hey, sure, no problem. Grab a cup of coffee, and come in.” He led the way, holding the door for his former boss. “I think I know why you’re here, Deidre. We heard something real bad’s happened in Silver Bay. Have a seat, and tell me what’s going on.”
Deidre sat down and took a sip of hot coffee before she began.
“We had an ugly murder three days ago. I suppose all murders are ugly, but this one is way past ugly. A teenage girl is involved, and all I can say is you’re lucky you didn’t have to see it. That’s why I’m here. You remember Judy, Dr. Coster, who helped us with the seven-graves case. I called her and Melissa in on this one. Judy’s finished her exam, and the body’s been shipped to the BCA building in Minneapolis. We couldn’t ID the body from the evidence we had.”
Jeff interrupted. “Of course I remember them. Now there are two competent persons. You three made quite a team.”
Deidre smiled. “Yeah, we’re just regular Three Musketeers. Anyway, I wanted to give you the heads up about the investigation. The BCA’s assuming jurisdiction in this case. The body was found within the city limits of Silver Bay, but their force has such limited resources, there’s no way they can lead the charge. Because of my knowledge of the area, I’ve been hired by the BCA to handle the investigation of this murder. Jeff, I told them I didn’t think that’d be a problem between us. I hope I was right.”
Jeff leaned back in his chair and steepled his finger tips. “A problem? The only problem is that you aren’t sitting in this chair, and I’m not your deputy. You were the best sh
eriff this county ever had, and I still regret you didn’t fight that bugger of an attorney, Gerald Colter. He’s still pushing his way around the courthouse, causing trouble. It seems he’s always just a step from crossing the line with his tactics. Just the other day, we thought we had him for witness tampering. Then, on the stand, the witness reversed her testimony, saying she had misunderstood what Mr. Colter had said to her. She recanted the statement she had made to us.
“But enough of that garbage. Deidre, it’s good to have you back on our team. Just tell me what I can do to help.”
Deidre felt one burden she had been carrying lift. “I thought you’d feel that way, but I couldn’t be sure. Thanks, Jeff, for your vote of confidence. I promise I’ll keep you in the loop, but right now I’ve got to get to Duluth. Ben’s little girls are waiting for me.”
“And how about Ben?” Jeff asked, a knowing smile on his face.
Deidre felt her face blush, and she so wished she could control that reaction which had plagued her since childhood. “Come on Jeff, you know better than that. We’re just good friends.”
All Jeff did was smile and nod.
*****
Deidre knocked on the door, but didn’t wait for Ben to answer. She hardly had time to step through the doorway when two four-year-olds jumped into her arms.
“Are you going to stay here tonight, Deidre?” they questioned in unison.
Before she could answer, Megan asked, “Did you bring Pete with you?”
“Yes, and yes.” She scooped up the girls, one in each arm, and started for the living room while Ben stood back, a broad grin on his face.
“It’s good to see you so chipper,” he said. “The girls were awfully disappointed when you couldn’t make it the other night. It’s great you’re here for them.” He left the room for the kitchen where he had mac and cheese on the stove for supper.
“You know I’m not much of a cook, but we try,” he hollered from the other room. Deidre could hear him placing silverware and plates on the table. The sound of milk being poured into glasses followed, and then the familiar call, “Come and get it.”
The twins jumped off Deidre’s lap and pulled her by her hands into the dining room.
“I get to sit by Deidre,” Maren called dibs.
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll bet Dad set the table so one of you can sit on each side of me during dinner,” she reassured them.
The meal was accompanied by laughter and funny faces, and Megan and Maren clung to Deidre the entire time. Dessert was gingerbread men that Ben had bought at a local bakery. The girls played with them, pretending that they could run as they recited, “Run, run as fast as you can; you can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man.” Then they would pretend they were the fox in the nursery rhyme and bite a part of him off. The game continued until there was nothing left of their gingerbread men.
Deidre looked at them with so much love and caring that her eyes became teary. “What’s the matter, Deidre,” Megan asked, looking confused. “Are you sad?”
She hugged them close. “No, I’m so happy, I can’t keep it all inside me,” she said. Ben coughed and began clearing the table.
The four of them played games until eight o’clock. “Okay you little imps, time for bed.”
“I’m not an imp,” Maren declared, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, yes, you are,” Ben exclaimed as he swept her up and started up the stairs. Deidre followed with Megan.
“Will you tuck us in, Deidre?” They asked in unison. Deidre drew the covers up to their chins, brushed the hair back from their faces with her hand, and kissed each girl on her forehead.
“Sleep tight, my little ones,” she said.
Megan spoke up, “Daddy always says, ‘And don’t let the bedbugs bite’,” and she giggled, as she wriggled deeper under the down quilt.
Ben flicked off the light switch, and the room took on a warm glow from their Cinderella nightlight that shown dimly from the wall outlet in the corner of the room.
“Good night, my little ones,” he said as he partially closed their bedroom door.
Deidre was glad the girls had been put to bed so early. She needed time to talk out yesterday’s events with Ben, and as they sat on opposite ends of the couch, she told him about the BCA’s offer to have her join their force, if only for this one case. He agreed that she was the right person for the job, and he wished her well.
The rest of the time they talked about Megan and Maren. It was evident they were two loved little girls, and Ben let Deidre know how much they loved her.
For an instant, Deidre wished Ben would move closer to her, but she forced that thought from her mind. She was here because of two little girls who had no mother, plain and simple. Anything else would complicate the matter and possibly destroy a good thing.
The two adults talked until midnight. Finally, Ben announced, “I think we’d better get some sleep. The twins’ll be awake and raring to go by seven o’clock. Be ready for them to come wake you. I told them they could.”
Deidre made her way to the spare bedroom upstairs and readied herself for bed. She could hear Ben rummaging in the room down the hall, and then the house was quiet. She slept well that night, knowing tomorrow would be filled with the antics of two needy little girls.
She was still sleeping when Megan and Maren barged into her room and jumped onto her bed.
“Deidre, you’re still here!” they cried out in delight. “Daddy said we could wake you up, and so we did. Is that okay, Deidre? Is it?”
Deidre rolled onto her back and forced her eyes open. Then she grabbed the two tykes and pulled them close to her.
“Of course, it’s okay. I have waited all week to do this,” and she kissed each of them on the cheek. “Just give me a chance to get the sleepies out of my eyes.” She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.
“Come on, let’s get some breakfast made so we can go sliding. I think we’re going to the hill by Chester Creek. But first, I have to get dressed. You scoot to your rooms and have Daddy get you ready. I’ll see you downstairs in a few minutes.”
Deidre hurriedly brushed her teeth and combed her hair. No need to be too fastidious to go sliding with two little girls. For the rest of the day, she left her troubles behind and lost herself in the fun they were having. Time passed too quickly.
At six in the evening, she left Ben’s for her wilderness cabin but not before squeezing Megan and Maren tightly. Before she drove away, she and Ben hugged briefly, the way friends do. By eight o’clock, she was home, had the fire kindled, and was ready for bed.
Tomorrow she would try to relax. The next day was work. As she was falling asleep and in a dream state, she felt Ben in bed beside her. She woke with a start to find she had her arms wrapped around her spare pillow. She fluffed it into shape and placed it under her head.
She dreamed of Megan and Maren, not a good dream, but a frustrating dream in which she was trying to shield them from an unknown danger. What was so frustrating was that she couldn’t identify what it was.
Chapter 7
On Monday, Deidre followed her familiar routine getting ready for work and traveled into Silver Bay. She drove across the bridge under which the body had been found. It had snowed three inches while she was in Duluth on Friday night, and a snowplow had come through with its blade down and had rolled back a windrow of snow, scraping the bridge deck clean.
That takes care of any evidence we may have missed, she thought.
She stopped her car, got out, and looked over the railing. The river was frozen more than it had been. Only a narrow channel was still open in the middle. The fresh snow covered everything, erasing all signs of the tragedy that had occurred. Deidre wished that the ills of humankind could be so easily obliterated. She stood staring from the bridge for several minutes before getting back in her
car and driving to her office in the police station.
After checking messages, Deidre took a ride around town. It was a sleepy day. Gray clouds blanketed the sky, and a few tardy townspeople were clearing snow from their driveways. There was no wind, and smoke rose straight up from chimneys in the crisp November air.
It took her an hour and a half to make her rounds. Ascertaining that all was well, she returned to the station. A fax was waiting for her in the machine on a stand in the corner of the room. She picked it up and thumbed through the pages, four of them.
To: Deidre Johnson, BCA Investigator
From: Dr. Judith Coster, Forensic Anthropologist/Examiner
Re: Jane Doe, recovered in Silver Bay, November 20, (The year was smudged, so it was illegible.)
The following report concerns an examination of a young girl’s corpse found frozen under a bridge in Silver Bay, Minnesota. The body was discovered by Officer Deidre Johnson of the Silver Bay Police Force on Wednesday, November 13, at approximately 7:30 a.m. She notified the BCA at 8:45 a.m., requesting the help of an investigator and a medical examiner. Both arrived at 1:00 p.m., and the body was removed from the scene at 1:51 p.m.
It was found to be frozen from exposure to the elements for a minimum of nine hours. The core temperature at the time of removal from the scene was 47 F. The outer layers of skin and deeper flesh of the extremities were deeply frozen. The extremities could not be manipulated.
The body was not allowed to thaw during transport to Two Harbors, and the examiner accompanied the body the entire trip. The Lake County Search and Rescue Team arrived in Two Harbors at 2:34 p.m, at which time the deceased was transferred to a gurney and moved to the confines of the morgue, where it was allowed to slowly thaw over the next eighteen hours. The examiner made observations during that time. Below are her findings listed chronologically as the body was able to be manipulated as it thawed.
A River Through Two Harbors Page 5