A Death in Lionel's Woods

by Christine Husom

  I sat down and leaned in close to the desk. “That is the truth. Someone in her life should know she’s gone missing by now. It’s been a week. Actually, what I wanted to ask you is about a different case. Do you know a foster, or adoptive, family by the name of Hueber? Curtis and Anita.”

  Kathy placed her hand under her chin and tapped her finger against her bottom lip while she thought. “Hueber. How do you spell that?”

  “H-U-E-B-E-R.”

  “I’m not familiar with that name, but let me check.” She turned left in her swivel chair to face her computer and typed for some seconds on the keyboard. A list of people appeared on the screen. She scrolled down to the Hs, and moved slowly through them. She stopped at the Is. “No, they’re not in our system.”

  “How far do your records go back?”

  “They’ve been importing old files, and we have at least twenty years of available records.”

  “Okay. Well, it was worth a try. Thanks for your help, Kathy.”

  “Anytime. You never ask for help unless it’s important, so I’ll always do what I can for you.”

  I reached across the desk and squeezed her hand. “Likewise.”

  I settled down at a desk in the squad room to type up the day’s reports, and check my phone, and email messages. The second message on my voicemail that morning confirmed I was being watched. “You and Detective Dawes looked pretty cozy last night.” It was the same person with the seemingly disguised monotone voice that one week before had accused me of killing his, or her, friend. Did the caller also see Smoke and me installing the security camera?

  If someone was keeping a watch on me, it was not for legitimate reasons. And it had a malevolent edge to it besides. What bothered me most was that my sixth sense seemed to have gone on vacation. That instinct when you know someone is looking at you. Or was it only when the spies were in close proximity, like in the same room, and not if they were some distance away?

  I had planned to hike down to Bebee Lake before work that morning to look for signs of someone accessing my property. But I hadn’t woken up early enough to do both that, and watch for the Hueber boy, and that seemed more important. A trip to the lake would be my first order of business when I got home.

  Queenie was again spending my workday at Gramps’ house, and I was relieved she was there. Worrying that an unknown someone would let her out of her kennel, or possibly hurt her, added another layer of stress. I thought back to my trip to Gramps’ house that morning and was quite sure no one had seen me, but couldn’t be positive. I opened my cell phone and dialed his number. It took a few rings, but he finally answered. Thankfully. “Hi Gramps. Just checking in. How are you and Queenie doing?”

  “Fine, just fine. Your Mother brought me a sandwich from the deli on her lunch hour, and let Queenie out while she was here.”

  “That’s nice. Hey, Gramps, will you do me a favor? Will you check to be sure she locked the door again when she left?”

  “Corky, I sometimes think your work makes you too cautious.”

  “You’re probably right, Gramps, but it would make me feel better.”

  “All right, all right.”

  “Thank you, and I’ll see you in an hour, or two.”

  I called my mother’s shop next.

  “Kristen’s Corner, may I help you?” Her greeting alerted me she had a customer in the store and couldn’t talk freely.

  “You’re busy,” I said.

  “That’s correct.”

  “I won’t keep you, but I’m wondering if you remembered to lock your door this morning?”

  “Yes, I did. And thank you for calling and checking. ’Bye-bye.” Knowing my mother, she’d be calling at her first opportunity to ask why I’d called her at the store with that question.

  Smoke was scheduled to testify in a court case that afternoon, so the latest on the person whose words and actions had moved him into the classification of “stalker” could wait. I headed to Sheriff Twardy’s office to talk to him about it. He started pacing when I relayed the last couple of incidents, and that day’s phone message.

  “For godsakes, Sergeant, do we have to put you in protective custody?”

  “Sir, with all due respect, I am armed and semi-dangerous.”

  I thought that might bring a smile to his face, but no. He was scowling when he said, “We’ll get that second camera installed today. And use extra caution until we figure out who in the Sam Hill is pulling these stunts, and leaving those messages. I’d feel better if you stayed with your mother, or grandfather, for a while.”

  “I’m mostly mad that someone is trespassing. Something about what he’s doing makes it seem like he’s trying to get my attention, more than he’s trying to hurt me,” I said.

  “So far anyhow.”

  “I’m going to check out Bebee Lake, see if he’s been coming to my house from that way.”

  The sheriff nodded. “Less likely to be seen back there. And take another deputy with you. Or I can go.”

  “Thanks, Denny.”

  I headed back to my waiting reports smiling at the thought of Sheriff Dennis Twardy tromping around Bebee Lake with me, looking for clues. He had been the sheriff through my entire tenure with the department. He often showed up at the scenes of unusual crimes, to observe the evidence collection, and initial investigation. But it had been some time since he’d done those tasks himself.

  I was nearly done with my reports when Smoke walked into the squad room. “Sheriff tells me you got another message.” He sat with his left-side buttocks and thigh on the center table. He drew up his right leg and rested his ankle on the opposite thigh.

  I pushed my chair back, and to the right, so I could see him. “Yeah. Have a listen.” I picked up an office phone, punched in my code, skipped through three saved messages, and hit the speaker button when the last one started.

  Smoke held a poker face while he listened to the message then said, “I guess watching the action trumps Murphy’s Law.”

  I hung up the phone. “Watching the action?”

  “You said that if we installed a camera, according to Murphy’s Law, the pranks would cease.”

  I brought the conversation we’d had to mind. I’d said the pranks might stop if we installed a camera. But we had not talked about the possibility of someone keeping an eye on me and my activities. “You’re right. I did say something like that about Murphy. And unfortunately, if a person is spying on me, that takes it to a whole new level. Definitely trumps Murphy and his laws.”

  Smoke uncrossed his ankle and put his foot on the floor. “I don’t recall anyone driving by. Of course, I was mighty distracted by your death-grip-hold on me.”

  I scratched the top of my nose with four fingers and a thumb in an attempt to cover my growing blush. Smoke smiled at my obvious discomfort. I pushed back my chair an inch. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I didn’t notice anyone either. And the wind was howling, so that would have made it harder to hear if a car drove by.”

  “True. It seems like a slim-to-none chance someone would be out for a walk on a country road on a cold, dark night.”

  “Not likely at all.”

  “Let’s go get another surveillance camera.”

  “I’ve got about five more minutes left on my last report.”

  “I’m about ready to wrap it up for the day, so I’ll go get one, and meet you back here.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I typed the last few sentences of the domestic argument report then ran all the necessary copies of the three reports, and put them in the required boxes: sheriff, chief deputy, captain, and the sheriff’s administrative assistant. And a copy of the burglary report also went into the detectives’ box to be assigned for further investigation.

  Sara phoned me the same time Smoke returned carrying a camera in its box. “Hi, Sara, what’s up?”

  “Corky. Well, I talked to the agents who handle the juvie cases, and no one has the Hueber boy, or a boy whose guardians are named Hueber.”


  I’d forgotten to call her after my visit with Kathy. “That’s too bad, Sara. I had the same luck in child protection. No foster child, or adoption, cases of anyone with that name in the last twelve years. Actually, twenty, but the kids aren’t that old. And as far as we know, they’ve only been here four years, anyway. I also did another bus stop check this morning. No Hueber boy.”

  “How frustrating. What is going on over there?” she said.

  “I may have to bring in someone who has more clout to check with the area schools.”

  “Like who?”

  “Detective Elton Dawes.”

  “Yeah, he’d be good.”

  “Well, the aforementioned detective and I are on our way to install a camera on the back of my house.”

  “Surveillance?”

  “Yep.” I summarized what had happened the night before, and the message left for me that morning.

  “Corky, come and stay with me. I’d feel better. And Queenie is welcome too, of course.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t want to leave my house with a nut running around doing weird stuff to it.”

  “Then I’ll come and stay with you.”

  “It’s okay, really. I have lots of friends who are deputies and will drive with lights on and sirens blaring if I need help.”

  Sara chuckled. “I can’t argue with you there. I’ll let you go, and thanks for checking with child protection.”

  “Sure thing.”

  When I hung up, Smoke said, “So now you’re volunteering me to check with area schools regarding the Hueber boy?”

  “Not if you don’t want to. I can. But it’s not an official investigation, and you have a way of getting most people to answer your questions, official or not.”

  Smoke let out a snort. “Let’s get to your place before sundown.”

  We pulled into my driveway at 4:45. The sun was low in the sky and we had about a ten-minute window before it completely disappeared for the night. I parked in my garage. When we’d gotten out of our cars, I said, “I’m going to grab my binoculars to scope out the area behind my house, see if I can spot anyone out there. If the scheister is out there watching us, I want to know about it.”

  “It’s worth a shot, anyhow. We don’t want him watching us hang another camera. Especially since it’s to catch him committing dastardly deeds.”

  Smoke followed me into the house. As he reached for the switch, I put my hand on his to stop him. “Leave it off for now.”

  “It’s getting dark in here.”

  “I know my way around.”

  He stayed in the kitchen while I retrieved a set of binoculars from my den office closet then headed to the living room, and told him I was headed to the outside deck. I slid the glass door open, just far enough to slip out, then bent over, crept to the edge, and crouched down with the binoculars positioned between the rails.

  Smoke stayed out of sight, but in a stage whisper said, “You’re letting a lot of cold air in.”

  “Bend over so you aren’t seen, and close the door then.” But he didn’t. He wanted to be able to watch and listen. I searched as best I could, visually scanning the field and tree area, but there wasn’t enough light from the moon to see much. I considered investing in a pair of night vision binoculars, as expensive as they were. There was no one moving around as far as I could see, of that I was certain. “I guess we should have gotten here earlier.”

  “I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow, in case he returns tonight,” he said.

  I crept back into the living room. “No, we need to get it installed.”

  Smoke backed away to let me in the house. “Got a spot picked out?”

  “Yeah, right out here on the deck, next to the light.” There were outside house lamps on either side of the sliding glass door. I kept them off, and instead pulled out my flashlight.

  “That’ll work.”

  The blowing wind had calmed somewhat, but with the evening temperatures dipping into the low forties, it was as chilly as it had been two nights before when we’d installed the first camera. Smoke was able to attach it without standing on a ladder, and I positioned the flashlight so he could see what he was doing. With a few turns of his screwdriver, he finished the task in less than two minutes.

  We stepped back inside and I closed the blinds on the door, something I rarely did since I had no close neighbors on the sides, and none in the back. Was someone wandering around uninvited in the back pasture, and entering my yard? That sent shots of shivers through me.

  “You cold?” Smoke reached over and rubbed my right bicep in a warming effort.

  “Maybe a little.” The thought of being watched was chilling. “Oh, shoot.”

  “What?”

  “I was going to walk around Bebee after work, see if someone has been accessing my place from there.”

  “Yeah, the sheriff sort of strongly suggested I go with you.”

  “I keep telling you my mother has made him almost as overprotective as she is.” And as you are.

  He shrugged. “Besides being your boss, he’ll be your stepfather at some point. I can see where he’s coming from.”

  Of course you can. “I’ll hike down there in the morning.”

  “Ah, I’m scheduled to testify on that Madden case at nine, and need to review my reports at the office before that.”

  “Sure, not a problem. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll get Mason, or Carlson, or Weber to go with me to Bebee.”

  An impish grin broke his serious expression. “That’d satisfy the sheriff.”

  And you, too. “Thanks for helping me with the cameras, Smoke. I have to admit I’m kind of relieved with the cameras set to record whoever it is who is—I like the word you used— ‘taunting’ me.”

  “Well, hopefully they’ll help us catch the creep sooner rather than later.” He clapped his hands together. “You going to be all right?”

  I replaced my flashlight in its holder. “I am. I gotta go pick up Queenie before Gramps starts to wonder what’s become of me.”

  “See you tomorrow then.”

  Queenie was safely back at home, but I was on edge. Even with the new spying cameras watching for criminal activity from both the front side and back side of my house. The cameras were selected for their capability of capturing images in all lighting conditions. Each one had infrared LED lighting around the outside edge of the lens, enabling it to take pictures in complete dark, and other poor conditions, like fog or smoke. The beauty of using infrared is it can’t be seen by the human eye. If it is light out, or if there is another source of artificial light, the infrared camera will capture pictures in color. In the dark, the pictures will appear in black and white. Either way, it was a step toward finding our vandal.

  I phoned Mason first then Carlson, but neither one answered. So Weber was my next choice. “Sergeant, did something happen?” he asked after the first ring.

  “What happened to hello?”

  “Sorry. Well, did it?”

  “Yes, actually, a bunch of things. Suffice it to say, someone has been targeting my house, or me, or both. I’m trying to figure out how he’s getting here without me, or anybody else, seeing him, so I’m going to do a Bebee Lakeshore tour tomorrow. Are you available in the morning to go with me?”

  “Huh. Bebee. That’s a ways down from your place.”

  “Not that far. A football field, or so.”

  “Ahhh, all righty then. What time are your thinkin’?”

  “How about first thing? Oh seven hundred. You can come to my house and we’ll take your squad car.”

  “Oh seven hundred it is then. The sun will just about be up, so we won’t have to tromp around in the dark.”

  “Thanks, Vince.”

  “Mañana.” Tomorrow.

  After we’d hung up, I wandered around, closing the few blinds that were still open. I was tense, and upset that whoever was taunting me was keeping me from more important things. I felt compelled to discover what was going on with young Hu
eber, and uncover what had happened to the woman we called Maisa.

  Grandma Aleckson called me just before eight o’clock. “Hi Grandma.”

  “My Heart.”

  “It’s good to hear your voice. How are you and Grandpa doing?”

  “Just fine. Your grandfather is still trying to perfect his golf game, or so he says. I think he just likes to get out with his old cronies. It seems that there are more snowbirds here this year than the last few.”

  “I can understand why, after the winter we had last year. They were afraid they’d have to shovel every other day and freeze their butts off in the process.”

  Grandma chuckled. “That’s why we’re here. Too many harsh winters over the years. And at our age, it’s easier to go for walks when we don’t have to trudge through the snow.”

  “True, but I still like the seasons. All of them. Even winter.”

  “So tell me what’s happening with your Jane Doe case.” I hadn’t talked to her in several days and brought her up to speed with the latest details. “You think her name is Maisa? Then that’s what I’ll call her when I say my prayers.”

  “Thanks, Grandma.”

  “And your mother, and her intended, how are they?”

  I smiled at her choice of that word to describe the sheriff. “Doing well, both of them.”

  “You said that with a bit of hesitancy.”

  Grandma was alert to any nuance in my speech. “It’s just that, you know how Mother has been a hovering hen all of John Carl’s, and my, life. And now she’s got Denny trained to be just about as bad.” I often tattled on my mother to my grandma.

  “My Heart, my Heart. Don’t be too hard on her. On either of them. Your mother can’t help herself. And with over thirty years of practice protecting your brother and you, she’s a natural tutor for her fiancé.”

  She made me laugh. “I guess.” We chatted for a few more minutes about work, family, and life. When we said our goodnights I knew the smile on my face would be a mirror image of her own. Keeping her happy was one of the main reasons I decided not to tell her about my taunter until after he was caught.