“Lindsay, are you in there? Lindsay!”
Smoke was drifting in through the bedroom’s open door. She took out her flashlight and swung the beam around the room. The dresser drawers were open and clothing was piled up on the bed. She brushed away the broken glass and leaned in farther.
“Lindsay!”
The hallway was in flames. There was a strong smell of gasoline. It looked like someone had doused the clothes on the bed. Macy wanted to be sure. She stretched out as far as she could, but they were out of reach. She lifted a leg up and fell into the room. It was too dark to see what she’d tripped over. She hit her shoulder hard against the bedframe and lay gasping for breath. In a matter of seconds the room had filled with smoke. She grabbed some of the clothing off the bed and left the way she came.
Her hands stank of gasoline. She slipped the shirt into an evidence bag and tried to call Ray, but her fingers were shaking too much to work the keypad on her cell phone. She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel and screamed instead. Part of the house’s roof collapsed, sending millions of sparks into the sky. Toward Wilmington Creek, she could see flashing lights. Sirens soon filled the night.
* * *
Macy sat on the tailgate of the paramedic’s rig with her shirt pulled halfway up her back. The paramedic focused in on the task at hand and ignored all attempts at small talk.
“When was your last tetanus shot?”
Macy almost shrugged, but then thought better of it. “I’m not sure. Do I need stitches?”
“No, it’s not deep enough, but you’ve got a three-inch cut. Do you have any idea what you fell on?”
“A bedframe.”
“You’ll be sore for a couple of days, but should be fine. You may want to take some ibuprofen.”
Aiden made his way toward her. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, it’s nothing.” She glanced over at the house. Despite the amount of water being dumped on it, it was still burning out of control. “This was arson.”
“How do you know?”
Macy handed him the evidence bag. “I found this on the bed in the back bedroom. An accelerant was used. I’m pretty sure it’s gasoline.”
“You were inside?”
“I managed to open a bedroom window. No one answered when I called, but the smell was unmistakable.”
“What were you doing out here in the first place?”
“I was looking for Lindsay Moore. She works for the state as a special investigator.”
“But this is Patricia Dune’s house.”
“Lindsay Moore is her real name.”
“Is this some kind of joke?”
“I wish that were the case. Lindsay has been up here posing as a Ph.D. student. She was looking for Ethan Green.”
“How come you’re only telling me about this now?”
“Until a couple of hours ago I had no idea she was up here. Ray Davidson called me. He’s worried because she didn’t check in when she was supposed to. He sent me over to investigate.”
“So he called you in the middle of the night?”
“Like I said, he was worried.”
“When did she disappear?”
“As near as he can tell, sometime on Tuesday.”
“That’s three days. We need to put an APB out on her right away.”
She held up a hand. “Didn’t I hear you say you found a burnt-up SUV two days ago?”
“Yes, it was up near the site of the Waldo Canyon fire.”
“Lindsay drives an SUV.”
“Damn, I’ll call it in now. We’ll get some search teams out there right away.” He paused. “Did Ray say why they were suddenly interested in finding Green?”
“An informant has pegged him for the shooting of that highway patrol officer last summer, and the FBI believe he’s re-forming his militia.” She slid off the tailgate and very gingerly rotated her shoulder. “What about the neighbors? There’s not much traffic out here. Maybe someone saw something.”
“Tyler Locke owns the next house along.”
“Should I read anything into that?”
He frowned. “Keep an open mind. Remember.”
“I’m surprised he keeps a house here, given he’s gone all the time. Doesn’t he live in Georgia when he’s not deployed?”
“He inherited the place from his grandmother. As far as I know he plans on coming back to live here once he’s discharged from the army.”
“Have Tyler or Dylan ever had any involvement with any militia groups?”
“We checked. Neither of them have any known affiliation, but these guys don’t exactly publicize their members’ names.”
“Is it too early to wake Tyler up?”
“All this noise. I’m sure he’s up already.”
* * *
Aiden knocked on the door and stepped well back while he waited for Tyler to answer. The lights were on in the kitchen and they could hear the television through the window screens.
“Who is it?”
“Tyler, it’s Aiden. I have Detective Macy Greeley with me. We need to have a quick word.”
Tyler appeared in a T-shirt and jeans. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips. “I just saw you guys on the news.” He held open the door to let them in. “Can I offer you a cup of coffee? Sounds like it’s been a long night.”
“That would be very much appreciated. We’re talking to all the neighbors.”
Tyler cleared some space on the cluttered kitchen counter and poured coffee into two cups. “That shouldn’t take too long. Hardly anybody lives out this way anymore.”
Macy cast her eyes over the mess in the living room before surveying the book titles on the shelf next to the television. For the most part they were well-thumbed classics. Given the layer of dust, Macy guessed they’d not recently been touched. The porn DVDs told another story. Half of the boxes were open with discs spilling out.
Tyler handed her a cup of coffee. “I’m not much of a reader. The books belonged to my grandmother.”
“I take it the video collection is yours though?”
“It’s a hobby.”
“Were you acquainted with Patricia Dune?”
“Should I be?”
Aiden stirred milk into his coffee with a spoon he found in the dish drainer.
“She was renting the Anderson property. Tall blond woman in her midthirties. She drove a dark blue SUV.”
“I’ve seen her coming and going, but we never talked.” He picked up the coffeepot and swirled the remaining contents before pouring out another cup. “Was she in the house?”
“It’s too early to tell.”
Macy took a sip of coffee. “Are you here on your own?”
“May I ask why you want to know?”
Aiden shook his head. “We want to know if you were around to hear or see anything. If anyone is with you we’d want to talk to them as well.”
“I was up video conferencing with my platoon half the night so I’ve been awake for hours. I can’t say that I noticed anything suspicious.”
Macy didn’t skip a beat. “When you say half the night, what does that mean exactly?”
Tyler went over to his desk that was set up in the living room and started punching some keys. “It means I was online from one thirty until nearly four.”
“Your computer is next to the front window. Did you see any vehicles pass by your house in that time?”
He rubbed his chin. “Aside from all the recent action, the last vehicle I remember drove by at around nine forty-five, heading back toward town.”
“Are you sure about the time?”
“I was just setting my alarm so I’d wake up in time to catch my platoon online. They’ve just returned to Bagram Air Base so it’s the first time I’ve been able to talk to them. John was like a brother. As you can imagine, they’re pretty low.”
Aiden placed his empty cup in the sink. “There’s nothing else in that direction aside from the river, so the car must have come from the Ande
rson house.”
Macy walked to the sliding glass doors overlooking the backyard. Other than a dim light showing in the garage windows, the view was flat and gray. There was a backhoe in the corner of the lot, along with several pallets of cinder blocks. There was a deep pit in the center of the yard. She couldn’t be sure, but it looked like Tyler was putting in a swimming pool. Beyond a chain-link fence the woods stretched out for miles. She couldn’t see a single light.
Tyler stood next to her. “I’m building a nuclear fallout shelter. I tried to do the same in Georgia, but the water table is too high. Ended up putting in a pond instead.”
“You live in northern Montana. Is a shelter really necessary?”
“I believe it is.”
“Have you ever been involved in any of the militia groups around here?”
“Years ago when I was in high school. Why?”
“Preparing for the end of the world seems to be a preoccupation in many of the groups.”
He shrugged. “With all due respect, I’ve done six tours of duty in some the worst hellholes on the planet. If digging a hole in my backyard makes me feel more secure, that’s what I’m going to do.”
“You’re right,” she said, turning away from the window. “I apologize. You should do whatever makes you feel safe.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
A female’s voice called out from the darkened hallway leading to the back of the house.
“Tyler? What’s going on? Come back to bed.”
Macy looked at Tyler. “You’ve got company?”
He crossed his thick arms. “Sarah Reed. She’s been here since eight yesterday evening. I take it you want to speak to her?”
“I’ll let you do the honors.”
Tyler yelled over the top of Macy’s head. “Sarah, what time did you come over last night?”
“Eight.”
“Did you see or hear anything suspicious since you’ve been here?”
“No. Who’s asking?”
“Nothing to worry about. Go back to bed.” A door slammed and Tyler shrugged. “She’s not at her best first thing in the morning.”
Aiden put down his coffee cup. “We should get going. It looks like you have your hands full here.”
Macy looked Tyler full in the face for the first time. “I hope you were able to give the guys in your platoon some comfort.”
“I did what I could. God’s hands now.”
16
Aiden stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. It was coming up to nine in the morning and neither he nor Macy had slept at all. He disappeared behind the closet door and came out wearing a clean shirt. He buttoned it up while standing in front of her. He wouldn’t look her in the eye.
“I have to head over to Waldo Canyon. One of the fire crews we’ve had helping us with the search for Lindsay Moore found a body.”
Macy kept her own eyes on her laptop. “Is this the same place you found the burnt-out SUV a couple days ago?”
“Not exactly, but pretty close.”
She checked the time. “I’ve got a call coming in from a few guys in John Dalton’s platoon. When I’m finished I’ll head over.”
“I take it you’re assuming it’s Lindsay.”
“Is anyone else missing who drives an SUV?”
“You never know. It could be a hiker or maybe someone from a fire crew.”
“We both know that’s not going to be the case.”
“I’ll call you later and let you know the best place to meet.”
* * *
Liquefied air shimmered above Route 93 and in the distance the black river of road melted into the horizon. To the west, ridgelines burned under the midday sun and wisps of gray smoke bled into the sky. The fire had come right up onto the hard shoulder, leaving finger-shaped scorch marks along the edge of the pavement. Barren trees and blackened undergrowth went on for miles. Macy spotted a mailbox, a driveway, and the remains of a swing set. A home that once stood a quarter mile off the road was burned down to the foundations. Through the charred tree trunks, Macy could make out the dark hearth of a chimney stack.
She picked up the phone and called her mother for the second time in an hour.
“Mom, I’m sorry about having to cut you off earlier. Thanks again for coming up to see me yesterday.”
“It was no trouble.”
“Anyway, it was a nice surprise. I really appreciated it. And thank you for listening.”
“Macy, I’ve been up half the night thinking about it. This thing with Ray isn’t good for you. You have to end it.”
Macy popped a couple of aspirin in her mouth and swallowed them down with the last of her Diet Coke.
“He showed up at my motel last night unannounced.”
“Please say that you told him to go to hell.”
“I tried.”
“You need to try harder.”
“I know.”
“Will you be able to come home this weekend?”
“It doesn’t look like it. We’ve found another body.”
“I thought you said Wilmington Creek was a safe place.”
“They’re having a bad week.”
“You’re being careful?”
“Always. How’s Luke?”
Even though she couldn’t see her mother, Macy pictured Ellen moving about the nursery they’d set up in the little room that adjoined Macy’s. More than likely, Luke was being carried around. He was a child whose feet rarely touched the ground.
“He’s perfect.”
“You’re not getting overtired?”
“Heavens, no. Anyway, the girls are coming over this weekend. I’ll have plenty of help.”
“Poker night?”
“Isn’t that why God invented Saturday evenings?”
“Watch out for Abby. She cleaned me out last week.”
“That’s because Abby cheats.”
Macy leaned forward and squinted. In the distance a crucifix hovered above the blackened landscape. It wasn’t until she was closer that she understood what she was seeing. The lower half of a utility pole had burned away, leaving the top half dangling from the electrical cables lacing the insulators mounted on the cross arms.
Macy pulled into the picnic area and parked in front of a burnt-out block that had once been a visitors’ center. “Mom, something’s come up. I’ll call you back later.”
Outside it was one hundred degrees and dead quiet save for the ticking of the motor. The traffic that normally crowded Route 93 had been redirected and the usual high-pitched chorus of cicadas was silent. Unable to take her eyes off the crucifix, she almost stumbled making her way down to what was left of a picnic area. The last time she’d visited the visitors’ center, flies had swarmed with every footfall and the smell of decaying bodies had filled the air. After suffocating in the back of an eighteen-wheeler, the bodies of four Eastern European girls had been dumped behind the toilet block. She would never forget the smell. It was her first big case and Ray had been the lead investigator. He had taken Macy under his wing, and her life was never the same again.
Her thin cotton shirt offered no protection from the sun. It felt like she’d light up like touch paper if she stood outside a minute longer. By the time she got back to her car she was dizzy. She sat behind the steering wheel, nursing another Diet Coke she fished out of her ice chest. She rolled the sweating can back and forth across her forehead while the air conditioner hummed on high.
The turnoff for Waldo Canyon was only a few miles farther on. Aiden’s patrol car sat off to the side. He tipped his hat back and signaled Macy to follow him. Macy was relieved she was on her own. Sharing a ride would have forced them to talk, and Macy wasn’t in the mood. She stared off into the scarred landscape and tried to focus. Ray had called to say he was bringing the medical examiner’s report from John Dalton’s shooting up to Wilmington Creek so they could discuss the findings in person. He wouldn’t tell her over the phone what was going on. It’s gott
en very complicated. I think you have to hear this in person.
Progress was slow. They had to pull over onto the soft shoulder several times to let trucks carrying fire crews trundle past. She watched their weary heads bob up and down with the movement of the open-backed truck. Their faces were too covered with soot to make out their features. When she was in college, Macy had spent a couple summers working on fire crews. Some of the men who worked alongside her had scared her more than the fires they were fighting. She always made sure she was never alone with them. She’d been studying criminal psychology. Back then everyone she met was a potential case study.
The view opened up as they rounded a wide bend. On the higher slopes, blackened tree stumps pierced the landscape like railroad spikes. They turned off the paved road and rattled along a gravel track for a mile before pulling up next to a burnt-out SUV.
Macy didn’t waste time with small talk. “Is this Lindsay’s SUV?”
“We got a vehicle identification number off it. It’s a match. She was last spotted at the diner in Walleye on Tuesday at lunchtime. According to her server, she ate alone.”
“Was the wildfire active in this area Tuesday afternoon?”
He wiped his forehead with his sleeve and replaced his hat. “It was moving fast. She really had no business coming up here.”
“She could have been meeting someone.”
“Possible, but I’m not sure how we would find that out.”
All that was left of the SUV was a rib cage of singed metal and shattered glass. Dark puddles of rubber lay beneath the wheel rims. Inside the cab, fragments of charred seat covers stuck to the metal frames. The foam padding had liquefied and pooled on the floor.
“Any sign of a cell phone or laptop?”
“They searched the area and came up with nothing. Had she been in touch recently?”
“Apparently, not since last week.”
“You’d have thought your boss would have kept a closer eye on her.”
“I have to admit it’s not his usual style.”
Burnt River Page 15