by Paul Regnier
“Don’t you have to have a criminal studies degree or something?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Qualifications vary from state to state and if you want federal certification you have to jump through a few more hoops, but for us, here in little Crystal Falls, Idaho, we’re good to go.”
I was quiet for a few moments. “I suppose it’s not that far removed from investigative journalism.”
Mom nodded. “That’s what I told Kenny. And back when your father was chief of police, I used to talk cases over with him all the time. Not to toot my own horn but I made quite a few breaks in tough cases.”
“You know…” My mind started churning through possibilities. “Maybe this isn’t so crazy. It might open some avenues for questioning people.”
“Exactly,” Kenny said.
“Wait. Are you guys sure you want this? I mean, some of this detective work could get dangerous.”
He waved a dismissive hand. “Eh, we’ll be careful. Besides, my skill set will usually put me behind the computer doing research and what not. You’ll handle most of the on-site sketchy work.”
“Oh, thanks a lot.”
“And.” Mom put her index finger up as if ready to scold. “Kenny promised our work would mainly consist of research. I don’t want you two following dangerous criminals or running around with guns like some wannabe cops.”
“Of course. We’ll definitely stay away from all that stuff.” Kenny flashed a thumbs up at Mom, but as soon as she turned away he looked at me and shook his head.
“So,” I said, “you actually want to do this?”
They both nodded.
“Any chance of changing the agency name?”
Mom let out a small gasp. “I love that name.”
“Yeah,” Kenny said. “What’s wrong with it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s kind of lame.”
“What?” He frowned. “Crystal Clear Detective Agency is perfect. Your photographic memory and my computer skills. Your mom’s insider network of town information. Not to mention Bandit’s keen sense of smell. We’re a quadruple threat of detective clarity. Crystal clear. And we work in Crystal Falls. How can you beat that?”
“Let’s just say it’s a working title,” I said.
“Ooo,” Kenny turned to Mom. “I can make a logo. We can all get matching shirts.”
She pointed at him. “Just what I was thinking.”
“Don’t you dare,” I said.
The phone rang.
“Oh, that’s got to be Janice.” Mom headed for the phone. “I’ve been waiting for her call. She might have some interesting information about the robbery. Good luck with your drone spying. Just be careful. Remember, we mainly do research. Nothing dangerous.”
Mom answered the phone and started chatting it up.
Kenny pointed at me. “You’re fired up again. I can see it in your eyes. I knew this detective agency was a good idea.”
I grinned. “I gotta admit. As tired as I was, I feel energized.”
“Then let’s go do some drone surveillance, Luke Cooper, P.I.”
Chapter 7
“Right.” I went to the coffee maker to start a new pot. “I’ll make some coffee for the road, grab a snack, and we’ll head out.”
“You’re making coffee?” Kenny said.
“Yeah, you want some?”
He paused for a moment. “I can’t. It’s not part of the diet.”
“Alright, well, you grab your kale, I’ll grab my coffee and we’ll head out.”
Mom covered the phone receiver and pointed to the fridge. “Kenny, your lunch smoothie is in the fridge. It’s all ready to go.” She smiled and got back on the phone.
Kenny frowned. “Thanks.”
A few minutes later, I rounded up Bandit, and we all piled into my Mustang and headed into the hills toward Needle Pass. I was sipping my way to a second wind, with a steaming cup of hot coffee with cream and sugar. A BLT I’d thrown together from the remaining bacon in my pocket was nestled between the front seats.
I took a long sip through the lid of my travel mug. “Ahh.”
“You know,” Kenny said, “it’s dangerous to drive with one hand. You’re endangering us all.”
“You’re just jealous I have coffee while you’re drinking that kale juice.”
Kenny looked down at his smoothie, which he’d barely made a dent in, and frowned. “I can’t believe you brought a BLT too. That’s just mean.”
“Hey, I didn’t tell you to go on this crazy diet. Why should I suffer?”
“The whole car smells like coffee and bacon. First glazed donuts, now this. It’s like heaven’s kitchen in here. I’m dying.”
Me too. Bandit whined. Where’s mine?
“I saved you a piece, Bandit. Here hold this.” I handed my travel mug to Kenny.
“Why should I?” Kenny turned away.
I sighed. “For Bandit.”
He frowned and took the mug. “Fine.”
I grabbed the last piece of bacon from my pocket and tossed it to Bandit. “There you go, buddy.”
Bandit crunched away. Yummy!
I took my mug back from Kenny. “Listen, you can have half the BLT. I won’t say anything.”
Kenny glanced toward the sandwich, then looked out the window. “Get thee behind me, BLT.”
I shook my head. “Suit yourself.”
A few minutes later, I’d finished off the last of my sandwich each bite eliciting a mournful look from Kenny. I washed the last bite down with a gulp of coffee just as we arrived at the turnout for several hiking trails. I turned into a small gravel parking lot.
“You sure we can see the Turner cabin from here?” I asked.
“Oh, easy,” Kenny said. “We take the trail up to Krieger point and we’re in a prime spot. There’s great aerial views up there. Great spot for a picnic too. I should take Ellie up here sometime.”
“You mean if she’s not an accomplice to robbery, trying to cash in on her insurance.”
“I see what you’re doing.” He pointed at me. “This is revenge for a couple months back, right? When I accused Brooke of framing you for murder?”
“No. Although, that would be reason enough.”
“Trust me. Ellie’s innocent. I’ve got a good sense about her.”
“Sure. You know what they say, lust is blind.”
“Okay, let’s make this interesting. If it turns out she’s innocent, you make me BLT’s for a week straight.”
“Breakfast, lunch and dinner?”
“Just lunch.”
“Okay. And if she’s guilty?”
“My heart cracks in two.”
“And you’ll make me BLT’s.”
He sighed. “And I’ll make you BLT’s.”
“Deal.”
I parked the car and we all piled out. We were in a small clearing surrounded by forest. A few paths branched off, with wooden signs at the trail head indicating the names and details of each hike.
Bandit strained at his leash while he sniffed the air excitedly. So many squirrels. Let’s go. Hurry, they’re getting away.
I gave him a reassuring pat on the side. “Easy, boy. We’re just taking a mellow hike with Kenny. No squirrel hunting.”
Please?
You can bark at his drone.
I don’t like that thing. It sounds like a swarm of bees.
“Okay, all set.” Kenny joined us, a small backpack slung around his shoulder. “Got my drone, and I just chugged the last of my smoothie.”
As if in response, his stomach let out a loud gurgle. He bent slightly, his face tensing.
“You okay?” I said.
“Oh boy.” He grimaced and held his stomach. “You should probably lead the way. You don’t want to be downwind of me right now.”
“Thanks for the warning.” I hurried to the path marked Krieger Point. “Come on, Bandit.”
The ten minute hike was straight out of a postcard. The trail, strewn with pine needles, wound
through lush firs, and the late morning sun lanced through the branches as if announcing a choir of angels. The forest was cool and invigorating, and the deep scent of evergreens filled the air. Other than Kenny’s unfortunate reaction to kale smoothies that left a trail of toxic fumes behind us, it was a serene, back to nature experience.
Bandit barked at any bird or squirrel that dared enter his visual range. His tail wagged constantly, and his tongue hung out of his open mouth, drawn back in what could only be described as a dog smile. Other than parks, hiking was at the top of his list of favorite excursions.
The trail ascended to a hilltop clearing known as Krieger Point. The surrounding trees obscured a view of the valley below, but the mountaintops on the horizon and the clear blue skies were well worth the trip.
“Wow. You forget how nice it is up here, right?” I took a deep breath of mountain air.
“Breathtaking.” Kenny sat down, gasping. “Just gimme a second.”
Bandit barked. If he’s just gonna sit there, can I go explore?
You promise not to go too far?
Of course.
Alright, I don’t want you chasing down a chipmunk and ending up lost or something.
I have an incredible sense of smell. I’ll find my way back.
Okay. But come back soon. I unlatched his leash, and he bolted into the forest.
Kenny watched him go. “You sure he won’t get lost?”
“He’ll be fine.”
Kenny unzipped his small backpack and retrieved his drone. It looked like a gray insect with rigor mortis. It powered up with yellow and red flashing lights, and Kenny slipped his phone into a remote control.
“Your phone connects to that thing?” I asked.
“Yep. I see what the drone camera sees. Watch.” Kenny hit a button, and the small propellers at the end of each arm spun until they were a grey blur. The drone popped twenty feet in the air with a buzz like an electric shaver, and hovered in place.
Kenny motioned me over. “Check it out.”
I took a seat next to Kenny and saw a video feed on his phone. The visual was a top down view of us and the green clearing around us.
“Smile for the camera.” Kenny looked up and waved.
His phone clicked as it took our photo.
“Can that thing take video too?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. 4K quality. I’m not recording right now, but I’ll show you what the video feed looks like.” Kenny said.
He used his thumbs to nudge the controls, and the drone ascended high into the sky. I watched the visual on his phone as the forest hills spread out before us. It was like watching from a rising helicopter.
“Wow, that really is amazing,” I said. “How high are you?”
“One hundred feet and climbing. Regulations keep me below four hundred, but videos look better at lower altitudes anyway. The trick is to fly just above the trees without smashing into one. Watch this.”
Kenny sent the drone on a forward trajectory, soaring over the treetops. The drone camera was angled down toward the forest, the horizon line just visible at the top of the screen.
“That’s awesome,” I said. “It’s like you’re flying.”
“Pretty sweet, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, check this out. Watch how close I sweep up Turner Cliff.”
The aerial view on Kenny’s phone ascended sharply up a steep drop-off, showcasing the clearing at the top, and framed by a thick forest in the background.
“That was amazing. You better be careful though. What if you crash that thing? Isn’t it expensive?”
“Please, I know what I’m doing. Look, there’s the creepy old Turner cabin.”
Nestled among the thick green trees was a remote cabin. The wood was rotted and the windows were brown with years of grunge. It was one of the early fixtures of historic Crystal Falls that had long since been abandoned and left to the elements.
My phone read 12:26. We still had four minutes before the scheduled meeting. “Can you get audio with that thing?”
“Nah, just video.”
“Don’t get too close.”
“Relax. It’s far enough away. I use premium propellers. Whisper level rating.”
Kenny took the drone in a few sweeping arcs around the cabin. Other than a few squirrels, there were no signs of life.
My phone read 12:32. I started to doubt what I’d overheard on Jimmy’s phone call. “He did say Turner cabin, right?”
“Yep,” Kenny said.
“Maybe Jimmy was talking about a different place.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
I sighed.
“Hey,” Kenny said. “Remember we dared Ben Gillcrest to spend the night in that cabin for fifty bucks?”
I grinned. “He never made it to the front door. Said he saw a ghost through the window and came running back, screaming.”
Kenny chuckled. “Classic.”
“Whatever happened to him?”
“I heard he works with puppets.”
“Puppets?”
“Yeah, go figure. I remember this one time...” Kenny stiffened. “Do you see that?”
“What?” I leaned closer to his phone.
A man walked from the shadows of the forest toward the old Turner cabin. Just before he entered the front door, the sun revealed the face of Jimmy Bosko.
“It’s Jimmy the Mysterious,” Kenny said.
“Oh, man. We got him. Now we’ll see who he’s meeting.”
Jimmy walked straight to the front door, opened it and walked inside.
“Can you zoom in with that camera?” I asked.
“It is zoomed in. And this is an aftermarket camera. Most drones will only give you the wide shot.”
“How close can you get without him hearing that thing?”
“Not much closer. There’s no other noise around here to mask the buzz of the propellers.”
Kenny nudged the controller stick forward, and the visual converged on the old cabin. We watched in silence for several moments.
“I guess he’s not coming back out,” Kenny said.
“Hm. Weird. Is it possible the person he’s meeting is already in there?”
“Could be. Those windows are pretty grungy. I can’t see anything inside.”
“Yeah. I wonder if–”
My words were cut short as movement on the screen caught my attention. Jimmy the Mysterious fell through the doorway, landing outside on his back.
He lay motionless, a knife stuck deep in his chest.
Chapter 8
Kenny gasped. Jimmy the Mysterious lay on the ground with a hunting knife in his chest. My skin prickled with anxiety. I had the sudden urge to run, even though we weren’t close to the horrible scene.
Hands gripped the stabbed magician’s legs and dragged him back inside the cabin.
Kenny pulled back on the remote control throttle and flew the drone away from the cabin at top speed. Neither of us said a word as he steered it back to our clearing and landed it a few feet away.
My heart pounded in my chest. “Let’s get out of here.”
Kenny nodded, wide eyed, and hurried to pack up his drone.
I whistled several times for Bandit. A nervous minute went by before he bounded back into the clearing.
Already? Bandit trotted up to me. I barely got to sniff around.
“Sorry buddy, we gotta go now,” I said.
Why?
We just saw Jimmy Bosko get killed.
Bandit swiveled his head all around. Where? What happened?
I fastened his leash. I’ll explain later. Come on.
We hurried back down the forest path, which seemed far less serene and more like a horror film setting after what had just happened. It felt like an eternity until we finally reached the trailhead. We scrambled back into the car, and I fumbled for the keys, my hands shaking. I felt a wave of relief as I cranked the ignition and the engine fired up.
I backed out of the space, put it in g
ear, and gunned the engine. The tires spun on the dirt and gravel before launching us back onto the road, leaving a cloud of dust behind us.
“Straight to the police, right?” Kenny said.
I nodded vigorously. “You know it. I can’t believe what we just saw.”
Bandit barked. Why don’t we just go get the killer? We know right where to find him.
Too dangerous, Bandit. We need the police.
He whined. But what if he gets away?
Sorry. I’m not ready to take the risk.
Just drop me off. I’ll take him out.
Forget it.
“That was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen,” Kenny said.
“No doubt,” I said. “Good thing we have the video to prove it.”
“Oh ... Oh no.” Kenny looked down.
“What?”
He kept his head down. “I didn’t record it.”
“But I saw the video.”
“That was just the feed. I didn’t actually start recording.”
I sighed. “Well, we both saw it, right?”
He nodded.
“Okay. Two eyewitnesses. That should be proof enough.”
“Yeah.” He straightened. “What else do they need?”
Thanks to my anxiety-driven speeding, we reached the police station in less than ten minutes. Shortly before we arrived, I had Kenny put in a call to Brooke to bring her up to speed on the horrific scene we’d just witnessed. If my thinking had been a little clearer, I would’ve called right away, but panic does weird things to the brain.
By the time Kenny had finished his nervous recounting of the crime, we were rolling up to the station. We all piled out and hurried inside. Bandit trotted right up to Officer Wilson, the receptionist.
She smiled and directed her attention to him as we entered the station. “Why, is that Officer Bandit?”
Bandit barked. Yes. When do I get that cool K-9 vest?
Officer Wilson looked up. “Brooke will be right out. She’s talking to Chief Branson.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Hm.” She dug around in her purse and spoke in an exaggerated tone. “I wonder if I have any doggie treats left in my purse?”
Bandit put his front paws up on her desk, his tongue hanging to the side. I sure hope so. I’ll howl if they’re all gone.