by James Nelson
Jeanette shook her head. “Stephen, the more I think about it, I think it has to be one of those picketers.”
Stephen continued, “Don’t forget, Britt’s house was locked when she was killed and now we find my knife in a secret passageway that only one or two people probably know about. This all adds up to me looking very guilty!”
Stephen buried his head into his hands. After a minute he looked up and said, “I have to go to the police with this, because if I don’t, it will look even worse for me.”
Jeanette held him close. “I know it looks bad, but we both know there has to be another answer. We have to work together and see what we can figure out. I’m going to get more wine, this could be a long night.”
On the way back from the kitchen, Jeanette ducked into her office and grabbed a pad of paper and a pen so she and Stephen could write down some ideas.
Jeanette noticed her answering machine light was blinking. She bent down and hit the play button. She heard a vaguely familiar voice say, “I have information you may want to know.”
Jeanette listened to the complete message, hit the play again button and listened to it a second time.
She ran back to her room.
“Stephen, we can’t go to the police yet. I just got a message on my answering machine from someone who is claiming to know who killed Britt. He tried to disguise his voice, but I think I know who it is.”
Stephen jumped up. “Who is it?
“It sounded like a guy named Moon, Moon Murchie!”
Chapter 37
As Moon was making coffee he kept thinking about what had happened the night before. This was really turning out to be a pretty good deal. Last night’s party, with its side benefits, hadn’t cost him a dime and after the call to Jeanette, he should be getting the big payoff he had always dreamed of. Not bad, he thought. Not so bad at all.
Moon poured a cup of coffee, walked over to Paulie and gently shook him. “Hey, get up.”
Paulie groaned and tried to roll over. He was in the middle of an erotic dream, both girls from the night before were rolling around in his bed. Moon was not in the picture.
The aroma of hot coffee helped Paulie come out of it. He struggled to sit up. His legs were tangled up in an old bed sheet.
“Damn it, Moon. You’d screw up a wet dream.”
“We got some planning to do. You want this to be over with, don’t you? We need to make sure this comes off smooth.”
Paulie took a sip of coffee and stretched. “Okay, genius, tell me what we have to do.”
Moon pulled out a map. It was a detailed forest service map showing all the trails, logging roads and elevations located in the area of Devil’s Kitchen Cave.
“I got it all figured out. We leave here at seven. Old lady Fitzpatrick lives on the third floor and she never locks her car. We grab her car and head over to Forest Highway 13. See, it’s here on the map. It’s an old logging road that runs almost to the cave.”
Moon smoothed out the map and pointed. “We drive to this point and walk from here.
We leave early enough so we can climb up to the cave. We’ll be high enough to see anything going on around us. If anything looks funny, we take this trail here back to the car and get the hell out of there. If it’s only Jeanette and the kid, like I think it will be, we grab the kid and head back to the car. You drop me off on Highway 77 where I have my bicycle stashed and head back to New York with the kid. I peddle home with a grand in my pocket.”
Paulie looked up from the map. “A grand? I told you six hundred.”
“That was then, my friend. When you think about it, I’m the guy that did all the planning. It took a lot of work to figure this thing out. Who do you think called Jeanette and set up the meeting and everything? Without me, you’d still be hiding in the bushes somewhere with your thumb up your ass.”
Paulie jumped to his feet. “Nobody talks to me like that.”
Moon didn’t like the look on Paulie’s face. “Take it easy. Now’s not the time to get all agitated.” he said, with a little less conviction in his voice.
Paulie grabbed Moon by the throat. “Well, guess what? Now I got the map and I got the plan and I don’t need to give you shit.”
Moon cocked his fist back and punched Paulie in the face as hard as he could. Paulie didn’t move. He didn’t make a sound or even react like anything had happened. The only thing that changed were his eyes. Paulie’s eyes narrowed and looked cold. Paulie took his free arm, reached over and grabbed Moon by the head. He gave a quick twist and Moon felt a snap. Moon tried to scream but all he could manage was a few soft gurgling sounds as Paulie gently lowered him to the floor.
Chapter 38
Jeanette woke up on the couch with a blanket over her. The room was dim as the first light of day illuminated the manicured grounds outside her window. She tried to move her legs. She looked down to see Stephen sleeping next to her, his legs draped over hers. An empty wine bottle was on the coffee table next to two empty glasses.
Jeanette quietly got up, hoping not to wake Stephen. She went to the kitchen, made a pot of coffee and rummaged in the pantry.
Jeanette thought about the meeting with Moon set for tonight. She wondered how he could possibly know anything. Was this his idea of a big joke? Was it worth the trouble going to meet him? She walked back to her room carrying a tray with two cups of coffee and two English muffins.
Stephen was sitting on the couch, looking very tired.
“Good Morning, Stephen.”
Stephen ran his fingers through his hair. “Morning, what happened last night?”
“I think we were both exhausted. I remember having a few glasses of wine, and talking. Then I remember snuggling next to you after I got a blanket because we were cold. We must have fallen asleep after that.”
Stephen pulled Jeanette close. “It was nice having you next to me last night.”
Jeanette leaned up and kissed him. He knew she felt the same way. They held each other for a few minutes. Jeanette looked at Stephen.
“I think we need to be very careful tonight. I don’t think Moon is dangerous, but I doubt he’s in this alone. He has a history of following the wrong crowd, getting in trouble and paying for it. I don’t want to get caught up in one of his schemes. Then again, I would want to see if he can tell us something useful.”
“It does seem strange that he would have all of this information just by himself.”
Jeanette nodded, “I think we should leave with enough time to get us to the cave at least an hour before the meeting. I know of a high spot above the cave where we can watch to make sure Moon is coming by himself. I’ve got a map of the area I can give you just in case we get separated. I’ve hiked all the trails back there for years, I don’t need it.”
“What about the money?”
“What money?” Jeanette asked.
“Didn’t you say the person on phone wanted you to bring five hundred dollars?”
“If the person turns out to be Moon, like I think it will, I’ll tell him Mr. Kahle would be happy to pay him a reward for Britt’s killer.”
“What if it’s someone else?” Stephen asked.
“I’ll tell them the same thing,” Jeanette stood up. “I need to get ready for work now. I’ll probably work till around four thirty, but I’ll see you at dinner. Don’t mention our plans to anyone.”
Stephen went to his room, showered and changed into some clean clothes. He walked around his room to see if he could find any trace of whoever may have gone in and stolen his knife. Everything seemed fine. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Stephen took his sketchpad to the library and sketched for a few hours. Around lunch time, he walked down to Jeanette’s office.
“Do you want to have some lunch, Jeanette?”
“Yes, let me get Phillip and he can join us.”
Phillip looked pale and hardly said a word. When lunch was over, Phillip walked to the door and said that he would be in his quarters for the rest of the
day and to go ahead and have dinner without him. It was apparent that he was taking Britt’s death very hard.
Jeanette returned to her office and Stephen spent the afternoon walking the grounds, trying to see if he could discover any evidence of an intruder.
After dinner, Stephen met Jeanette in her room to review the final preparations for the hike to Devil’s Kitchen Cave.
“We both have a flashlight and you have a map. Even though I don’t think Moon is dangerous, we need to be careful. We need to make sure Moon is alone, because we are talking about kidnapping and murder. We need to leave now if we want to get to the cave while it’s still light. It won’t be totally dark till around nine o’clock. We have a quarter moon, so we should be able to walk the trail back easily, if it’s not too cloudy.”
“Okay,” Stephen replied, “let’s get going.”
Chapter 39
Paulie needed more beer and thought it was about time to check in with Al. He walked three blocks and found a payphone outside the IGA store. Paulie had replaced the stolen boots, which had been killing his feet, with the snake skin shoes he had brought with him from New York. The shoes didn’t match his new jeans and plaid shirt look, but his feet felt much better. He dumped some coins into the pay phone and dialed.
“Yeah.” Al answered.
“Al, its Paulie. I’m picking up the kid in about an hour and we’ll be heading back to the city tonight. The plan I told you about is going good.”
“No, it ain’t. Plans have changed. There’s been no sign of the dough. You-know-who told me you need to go to plan B. Just bring back a souvenir that shows everything’s been taken care of.”
“Plan B. You mean I should whack the ki..”
“Shut up, you ass-hole. You’re talking on a phone, here. Just go to plan B like we went over before you left. By the way, Paulie, nobody’s real impressed with you so far, if you get what I mean. This better go off without a hitch or you might just wanna relocate up there in the woods and lay low for a few years. Get my drift?”
Al slammed down the phone. Paulie understood completely.
Back at Moon’s room, Paulie took another look at the map Moon had provided. The route had looked a lot clearer when Moon was pointing things out. But now, Paulie thought the map had way too many lines. Some were dotted, some were in circles. The more he stared at the map, the more he was confused.
He tossed the map down and looked around Moon’s room for a flashlight. He searched all the drawers in the kitchen cabinets and didn’t find one. The next logical place was the closet, but it was difficult rummaging around in there because Moon, rolled up in a blanket, took up most of the space.
Finally, on top of a shelf, Paulie found one. He pushed the door to the closet closed. Paulie grabbed the rug that was on the floor in front of the kitchen sink and rolled the rifle up inside. He then put the map in his pocket, took the flashlight and headed out the door. He got to the bottom of the steps without anyone seeing him. Walking quickly through the hallway to the back of the building where the tenants parked their cars, Paulie came to a sudden stop.
“Damnit!”
Which car was Mrs. Fitzpatrick’s? He peered into each car in the dirt parking area, finally spotting a car with a set of keys hanging in the ignition. Paulie put the wrapped up rifle behind the front seat. He threw the flashlight and map onto the passenger seat, got in and drove away.
About five miles out of town, he spotted what seemed to be the logging road entrance. He turned into the opening and slowly drove as the car bounced over ruts and fallen limbs. The last few miles were down an overgrown path that appeared not to have been used in the last ten years.
Finally the car reached a dead end. Paulie opened the door and hesitated. Once again, he was alone in the middle of the woods. He glanced at the map. Just as the map indicated, a narrow trail branched off to the left. Paulie took the rifle out from the rug and stood there. He looked around. There was nothing but trees. He listened as the wind blew through the leaves.
A feeling of terror was starting to grow. He flashed back to the fright he experienced the last time he found himself alone in the woods. Now, here he was, again. Maybe he should have used Moon for this part of the job and then taken care of him later.
Paulie shrugged, looked down the narrow path and started walking. His senses were on full alert. He stopped and listened to every sound coming from the surrounding woods. The trail began to climb. He hefted the rife from his right shoulder to his left. Paulie stopped. He heard voices coming from the trail above him. He dove into the woods and huddled down behind a large fallen tree.
Two women hikers strolled down the trail.
As Paulie waited for them to pass, he spotted a deep purple butterfly flitting just inches from his face. He had never seen a butterfly like this one before. He concentrated on memorizing the color patterns so he could look it up in his butterfly guidebook when he was done.
The women passed. Paulie waited a few minutes until he didn’t hear any more activity. He slowly returned to the trail. Paulie started walking. He felt something crawling on his hand. He looked down to see a wood tick walking on his wrist. Paulie shook it off. He stopped and inspected his clothes. Three more ticks were on his pant leg. Paulie stopped and brushed them off. His whole body felt like bugs were crawling on him.
The trail leveled off and the woods opened up to a large, open meadow. From out of nowhere, a swarm of black flies started buzzing around his head. Paulie felt a sharp bite on his ankle. He bent down and grabbed his foot. A black fly had bitten his ankle all the way through his sock. A fly landed on his neck. He swatted it. Another landed on his other ankle and he felt a sting. Paulie shouted out as more flies descended on him. Flies were buzzing around his hands, looking for any part of him that was uncovered. Paulie stood up and started running down the path. A swarm was following him a short distance away. Paulie reached down and grabbed a handful of ferns and slapped wildly at the flies.
He ran down the trail. The meadow area merged back into the forest. Thankfully, the flies stayed back in the open area. Paulie continued walking, scratching at his bites. With the area crawling with bears, blood sucking wood ticks and biting black flies, he wondered how these people did it. The two hikers he observed seemed to actually enjoy being in the woods.
He thought of Central Park, his girlfriend Annette, the brownstones on his street, the welcoming sound of traffic, car horns and police sirens. Maybe he should just go back to the car right now. It would probably be better to take a chance of getting whacked by the boys back home, than to die by a bear or be sucked dry by something on this damned trail.
Again, the path started to climb. Paulie strained to push up the steep incline. His feet felt around for small steps in the trail that were steady enough to support him. His shoes kept slipping on the rocky, clay soil. He grabbed a tree limb and pulled on it to help him get up a steep section of the trail. Finally he reached the summit.
At the top of the hill there was a post with three wooden signs. One sign said “Lakeshore Trail” and pointed straight ahead. Another sign pointed down a path to the right said “Devils Kitchen Meadow 1/2 mile.” The third sign on the post said “Devils Kitchen Cave 1/4 mile”. The trail leading to the cave looked like it was headed straight up a cliff. Paulie’s legs ached and his feet were killing him. He decided to head down the fairly level path to the right, the one that pointed to the meadow.
After several twists, the trail exited the woods and opened up to a beautiful field dotted with blue and white flowers. The meadow was covered with butterflies. Paulie had never seen anything like it in his life. He gazed over the field in awe. Then he saw Devil’s Kitchen Cave looming up a hill right in front of him. Paulie stepped back into the cover of the woods and decided to wait and see what was going to happen next.
Chapter 40
Jeanette and Stephen walked along the Lakeshore Trail for half an hour in total silence. Jeanette had apprehensions about what was about to happen,
but she didn’t want to share her fears with Stephen. Jeanette was struggling with the probability that Moon could actually have any valid information to share about Britt’s murder. If he did, why wouldn’t he just come to Cliffside Manor and talk to them?
The only reason Jeanette could think of was Moon always had a thing for being dramatic. Maybe this was just another variation of his next big score. He was always going to do something new and different, but it never seemed to ever happen.
As Stephen walked down the trail, he was still trying to imagine how his knife could possibly have ended up in the hidden corridor behind the library. Walking through the narrow forest path made him feel uneasy. He marveled at Jeanette’s fearless grace, as she moved along the trail just ahead of him. Jeanette slowed down, pointing at a faint break in the woods.
“Stephen, this is an unmarked trail that will take us to the back of Devil’s Kitchen Cave.”
Stephen followed Jeanette, wondering how she knew where she was going. Abruptly the trail opened up to a beautiful vista overlooking Lake Superior. The path narrowed and ran along the cliff side. Jeanette led Stephen along the trail.
“Walk slowly, Stephen. It’s a long way down.”
Stephen didn’t need to be reminded. The trail dropped down hundreds of feet to the shoreline. He pressed himself close to the side of the cliff and tried not to look down. They came to a wide spot on the trail, about fifty feet from the cave opening and stopped to catch their breath. Stephen looked out at the lake. The view was spectacular.
“Jeanette, too bad we can’t stop and enjoy this view without worrying about all our problems.”
As Jeanette turned to respond, a shot rang out from the meadow below. Pieces of rock exploded just above Stephen’s head. Jeanette screamed, “Moon’s shooting at us! Get Down.”
Stephen yelled, “I thought you said he wasn’t dangerous?”