by Nancy CoCo
“What if they don’t show up?” Jenn asked.
“I’ll give them fifteen minutes and then I say we go see Paige at the cottage. Does that work for you?”
“Sounds good to me.”
We didn’t have to wait long before Paige and her mother showed up. It was clear they had both changed clothes. They were wearing matching black slacks and black shirts. This time they both wore black flats and had their hair pulled back. They reminded me of an old Audrey Hepburn film.
“Wow, you two even have breaking and entering clothes,” Jenn teased.
“We brought pepper spray,” Mrs. Jessop said, and pulled a small can out of her pocket. “In the off chance we run into the killer.”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen,” I said. “Where are we going exactly?”
“They have an old storage barn about a block from here,” Mrs. Jessop said. “I thought we would need to look there first.”
“I have flashlights,” Paige said. She held out two flashlights.
“Can I have one?” I asked.
“Sure,” Paige said, handing me a flashlight.
“I’ll use my phone,” Jenn said.
We walked the two blocks through the wooded area. The old storage barn was run-down and the windows appeared to be covered in dust. There were tall weeds growing up around the building.
“It looks abandoned. There aren’t any bikes near the building,” I said.
“Good,” Jenn said. “That’s what we want, right? A building where the killer might be holding the men.”
There was an abandoned wagon with weeds growing in the back of it in the area that might have once acted as a parking lot. We walked up to the front of the building and looked in the windows. The front doors were locked with a heavy chain and a padlock. Mal padded around the building with her nose to the ground.
I peered in the window next to the door, but it was coated in dirt and hard to see anything but my own reflection. “I’ll go around to the left if you ladies want to take the right. If the killer is using the building, then there has to be some proof that they have been coming and going in and out of here.”
“I’ll go with Allie,” Jenn said.
“We’ll meet you around the back,” Mrs. Jessop said.
We walked with Mal through the overgrown shrubs and around the side of the building. It was a wood structure and clearly had once been a busy place where wagons had been stored. The windows on the sides were up pretty high. There wasn’t any evidence of recent use.
We walked as quietly as possible to the back where we saw the Jessops. The back door looked as locked and undisturbed as the front.
“Did you see anything?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Paige said. Mal jumped on her and she patted the dog.
“If they are using this building, then they are great at covering their tracks,” Mrs. Jessop said.
“You said they had a couple of buildings,” I said. “Where are the other buildings?”
“There’s a small one right behind here through those trees,” Mrs. Jessop said. “I didn’t think of it first because it doesn’t have a nice drive area. It’s been abandoned longer.”
We walked back through the strip of woods that separated the two buildings. The second building came into view. It was low slung and weathered. The roof looked as if it had seen better days. The drive was just a two-track trail.
“What was the building used for?” I asked.
“This was a small mill at one time,” Mrs. Jessop said. “They would cut local pine and maple for wood to build furniture and such.”
“It looks like it hasn’t been used in decades,” Jenn said.
We approached the building and I noticed a pair of wagon wheel tracks in the dry earth. “Look,” I said, and pointed to the tracks. “Someone has been here in the last couple of days.”
“We need to be especially careful,” Jenn said. “They might still be around.”
I clung to my phone. Mal pulled on her leash as we walked up to the building. This one had a wraparound porch. The doors were locked but not chained. I made a motion for us to split up and look at the back of the building. The sides were overgrown with weeds and shrubs. A mulberry tree was growing crooked from the side.
We got to the back of the building and a light was on over the door. Wide-eyed, I put my finger to my lips and we all crept toward one another and the back of the building. There were definitely signs of someone having been there. I didn’t see a bicycle or even a wagon nearby, but that didn’t mean no one was home.
I tried the door. It was locked. We peered in the window. It looked like a large room. There was a chair in the middle of the building and what looked like a rope. I tried the window and it creaked open. My heart rushed in my chest. Did anyone hear the sound of the window?
“What are you doing?” Paige whispered.
“We need to get inside,” I said, and handed her Mal’s leash.
“That’s breaking and entering,” Paige went on.
“I would argue that it’s entering as the window is unlocked and hardly broken.” I tugged the window all the way open and pushed my body through. I landed with a thud inside the building. I held my breath. I didn’t hear anyone. That was probably good, except it would have been better to find Trent inside.
I went around to the back door, dodging a table full of old rusting tools. Opening the door, I let the others in. “It seems like no one’s here,” I said. “Be careful as you look around.”
“Someone was definitely here,” Jenn said, and pointed toward the chair in the center of the room with rope dangling from the bottom. There was also rope hanging down from the ceiling. The room, with its poor light and strange marks on the floor, had an eerie, sad quality.
“Is it blood?” Jenn asked.
I examined the small pool of red near the chair. “Could be,” I said. I took a few pictures and put my foot near the spot to show size.
“It looks fresh,” Paige said. She reached down as if to run her fingers over it.
“Don’t touch it!” I warned. “It could be evidence and we don’t want to contaminate it.”
“Up close it doesn’t look dry. That means it’s not too old.”
“I’m calling the police,” Mrs. Jessop said. “This place looks like a crime scene.”
“I agree,” I said. I let Mrs. Jessop call Rex. Let him get mad at her, not me. Meanwhile I continued my investigation of the building. There were tools inside and a couple of old freight wagons. It could be the spot where the murders happened, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of Trent.
Rex and Brent came up to the porch and inside. “Ladies, what are you doing here and how did you get inside?”
“The door was unlocked,” I lied.
Rex gave me a slant-eyed look. I crossed my arms over my chest. “After I opened it,” I specified. “I came in the window, which was also unlocked.”
“Allie . . .”
“Look, it’s clearly a crime scene,” I pointed out. “It’s why we called you.”
“Then you ladies have been tramping on possible evidence,” Brent said. “Respectfully, you should all step outside and let us take a look at things.”
“I’ll step outside,” Mrs. Jessop said. “But I won’t be lectured. My son is missing and I’m going to do everything in my power to find him. If you don’t like it, you can lump it.” She humphed, turned on her heel, and stalked out.
I followed behind. Paige paced outside the front door with Mal on her leash. “This is ridiculous. Trent is not here. What are we missing?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a frown. I left Jenn to comfort Paige and checked the outside of the building again. It was then that I noticed the door to the cellar. It was odd for an old building to have a cellar. Especially since it was a place of business and not a home. I jiggled the lock on the door. It was a heavy-duty padlock. I thought I heard a sound coming from the basement so I called for Rex. “Rex!”
J
enn came running. “What is it?”
“There’s a basement,” I said. “This lock looks new and I thought I heard something.”
Jenn banged on the door and we both held our breath. There was a faint banging in response. She knocked five times with the old “Shave and a haircut” call. We both pressed our ears to the door and held our breaths. Finally, we heard the two-knock reply.
We jumped back and looked at each other. “Someone’s down there,” Jenn said.
“Rex!” I called again, and went hurrying to the front of the building. Rex came out with Brent and the Jessops in tow.
“What? Are you okay?”
“We found a cellar door,” I said, and hurried toward the door. “There’s a new lock on it and we think someone’s down there.” I stopped in front of the door and pointed.
Rex studied it and tried to open the door. “What makes you think someone’s down there?”
“We did five knocks and there was a return of two knocks,” Jenn said.
“Try it,” I said.
Rex knocked in sequence. We all held our breath waiting for a reply. It came weakly. Two knocks.
“See!” Jenn and I said at the same time.
Rex glanced at Brent. “Do we have any bolt cutters?”
“In the ambulance,” Brent said.
“Dispatch,” Rex said into the walkie on his shoulder.
“This is Charlene,” came the reply and I felt my heartbeat pick up.
“We need an ambulance sent to Forest Drive,” Rex said. “Make sure they have bolt cutters.”
“The ambulance is on its way,” Charlene said. “Is everyone okay?”
“We may have a person in distress,” Rex replied. “We’ll know more once the bolt cutters are here.”
I looked at Rex. “Please tell me we don’t need a warrant.”
“There’s probable cause,” Rex said. He went and found a large rock and hammered away at the padlock, his muscles bulging and flexing while he worked. We could hear the sirens blaring in the distance as one of the few motorized vehicles on the island navigated the narrow streets. One more bang and the lock popped open. Rex and Brent opened the door and peered into the darkness. “Hello? Is anyone down here?”
A weak male voice called, “Help.”
Chapter 26
Rex and Brent went down with flashlights leading and guns drawn. I picked up Mal and hugged her tight. Paige and her mom moved to the mouth of the basement. We all held our breath as it seemed to take forever for Rex and Brent to come up. The ambulance arrived as we saw Brent emerge from the darkness.
“Is it Trent?” I asked.
“Is he okay?” Paige asked. Mrs. Jessop covered her mouth.
Rex emerged out of the darkness with a grim expression. A man was leaning heavily against him, his face dirty. He looked up and I felt immediate disappointment. It was Dirk Benjamin.
“Dirk?” I asked.
“We got the call to bring bolt cutters,” George Marron said as he strode up to us, cutters in hand.
“No need,” Brent said. “Rex got the lock open.”
“This man needs water and care,” Rex said as he practically dragged Dirk up the steps. George helped Rex take Dirk to the back of the ambulance.
“What was he doing down there?” I asked.
“Was anyone else down there?” Paige asked.
“He was tied to a chair,” Brent said. “It looked as if it was the place where the killer might have tortured the last two men.”
“What about Trent?” Mrs. Jessop asked.
“There wasn’t anyone else down there,” Brent said. “I’m sorry.”
Mrs. Jessop collapsed against Paige. I rushed over and helped her to the ground.
“Was it the killer?” I asked Brent. “Did Dirk say?”
“Rex is getting his statement now,” Brent said. “I’m going to call Shane. We need a crime scene kit out here.” He stepped away from us to make the call.
“Don’t panic,” I said. “Just because we didn’t find him doesn’t mean bad things have happened.”
“But the killer has moved on to this Dirk fellow,” Mrs. Jessop said with a tiny sob. “It can only mean one thing.”
“Don’t say it out loud,” I said, and put my hands up in a stop motion. “I’m not going to even go there unless I see it with my own eyes.”
I left Mal with the ladies and stormed toward Rex. He was talking to Dirk, who looked bewildered and in shock. “What about Trent?” I asked. “Dirk, did you see Trent at all?”
“Hold on,” Rex said, and put a flat palm out against my shoulder. “I’m taking his statement and George is going to give him care.”
“But Trent is still out there,” I said, and waved my hand toward the trees.
“We need to deal with one thing at a time,” Rex said. “Allie, go sit with Jenn.”
George had Dirk on a stretcher and was administering IV fluids. “Dirk, did you see Trent?” I asked.
Rex put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face the building. “You’ve done a good thing here,” he said. “Don’t mess it up. Go sit with Jenn. See to Mrs. Jessop. I will debrief you when I can.” He walked me toward Brent, who nodded and took my arm and guided me back toward the other women.
“It’s not personal, Allie,” Brent reassured me. “We have procedures for a reason. We need to see to Dirk’s safety and the safety of you and the others.”
Shane pulled up on a bicycle and parked it. He pulled his CSI kit off the back of the bike and walked toward Rex. I watched as they talked and then Shane put on gloves and headed down the basement staircase.
I turned to Jenn. “Shane must have been on the island to get here so fast.”
“I don’t know,” Jenn said with a shrug. “He’s been ignoring me this week.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I leave Saturday.”
“Oh,” I said, and hugged Jenn. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” she said, and hugged me back. “I didn’t want to say anything because of what’s going on with Trent and this killer and everything. I mean, it just seemed so trivial.”
“Shane not talking to you is not trivial,” I said. “Is he going to let you say good-bye?”
“I hope so,” Jenn said. “I’ve tried to get him to come see me Friday night. One last time before I go. I want to plan when I will see him next. I need to prove to him that out of sight does not mean out of mind.”
“That’s really smart,” I said. “It will show him you are serious about your relationship.”
“I am serious,” Jenn said.
“I’m done with waiting around,” Mrs. Jessop said, and stood. “All of this is not helping us find Trent.”
I stood with her. “I agree. Let’s go see Rex.” Everyone got up and we walked to Rex, who stopped us before we got to the ambulance.
“Ladies, what is going on?”
“We want to know if Dirk saw Trent,” Mrs. Jessop said.
“He’s not in any condition to tell us,” Rex said.
“Is there any proof that Trent was in that basement?” Paige asked.
“We only have twenty-four more hours to find him,” I pointed out.
“I will go through every empty building on Mackinac if that’s what it takes,” Mrs. Jessop said.
“Ladies, please,” Rex said. “Calm down. We need to process this scene for clues. Right now we don’t have any real information.”
“Dirk knows something,” I said. “I think we can presume he was a victim. Who did this to him? Let’s find out and see if we can find Trent.”
“This is a Jenas property,” Mrs. Jessop said. “Go and arrest that writer, Jeffery Jenas. He has to know something.”
“Hang on now,” Rex said. “As much as I’d like to, I’m not arresting anyone just yet. To begin with we have no proof that Jeffery Jenas has anything to do with this. Next, it’s not safe for you to go running around the island breaking and entering.”
“T
rent doesn’t have much time,” I said desperately. “We have to find him.”
“You need to go home,” he said.
“What about the other properties here?” I asked, waving my hands toward the other buildings. “They’re locked, too. He could be in there.”
“I will check the outsides of the buildings,” he said. “But I don’t have a warrant to go busting into every locked warehouse on the island.” He stared straight at me. “Neither do you.”
“Fine,” I said.
“Good,” he said.
“What?” Mrs. Jessop said in a strangled voice.
“We’re going to go now,” I said, and put my arms through hers and Paige’s. “Come on, Mal.” I pulled at her leash. “We’ll be at the McMurphy.”
“We will?” Paige asked.
“We will,” Jenn said, and joined us.
“I’ll be by later this evening,” Rex said. “I need to take your statements.”
“Will you tell us about your findings?” I asked.
“If I can,” he said. “This is an ongoing investigation.”
“Right,” I said. “Come on, ladies, let’s go home.”
“But—” Paige started.
“We’re going,” Jenn said, and steered Paige down the drive. We walked to the street and turned out of sight of the police. “Okay, Allie, what’s the plan?”
“We need to go see Jeffery Jenas,” I said.
“Oh,” Mrs. Jessop said, her eyes growing wide. “Of course.”
I nodded. “Sometimes the best thing to do is to let Rex go about his investigations.”
“But that doesn’t mean we quit with ours,” Jenn said.
“Where is Jeffery Jenas?” Paige asked. “Do we know?”
“Well, I don’t think they are shooting today,” I said. “It’s pretty clear since Dirk was taken.” I frowned. “Why didn’t Troy say anything about losing his star for the day?”
“Maybe it was a break in the schedule,” Paige suggested. “Sometimes it takes a while to move the sets. Especially with live backgrounds. I think they planned on filming on the docks tomorrow.”
“So the film crew should be working setting up and tearing down,” I said. “Maybe Jeffery Jenas is working with the crew or the director on the next shots.”