by Ed Robinson
“I’ve got Google Maps fired up,” said Johnson. “None of us knows all the little side streets, especially the more remote ones.”
“How many houses are we looking at?” I asked.
“Thirty in the last year,” the Chief said. “If we go back five years there’s over a hundred.”
“Thirty break-ins in a year and no suspect?” I asked.
“No one has ever seen the guy,” he responded. “Remember, these places are all vacant a good part of the year. They might not discover the breach for many months. There are likely more entries that have never been reported, like those that leave a key hidden somewhere they think is clever.”
“So we have a homeless perp wandering around looking for opportunities for shelter,” I said. “Maybe a meal or a new pair of socks. But other than that he’s harmless.”
“That’s why there’s been no urgency to catch him,” Johnson said. “We’re aware, but it’s become sort of a legend around here. The Beech Mountain Hermit. He’s done no real harm.”
“So why would he suddenly decide to kill?” I asked. “A murder of a pretty young girl is sure to bring the heat down on him.”
“I have a theory,” Angelina said.
“Shoot,” said Johnson.
“She caught him in the act,” she said. “Got a clear look at him and would be able to identify him.”
“Let’s explore that idea,” Johnson said. “Pin the house the girl was staying in first.”
The Chief gave him the address, and he put a pin on the map just off Pinnacle Ridge Road. The location was halfway between the ski resort and the Buckeye Lake.
“Breeze, can you guess the locations that you found in the woods near the park?” Johnson asked.
I put three pins in the approximate locations in the woods. They were on the opposite side of the lake from the girl’s cabin, but a large community center was on the closest side. The lake was small, and the walk around to the other side was a short one. There were no houses in the immediate area.
“I’m not sure what this tells us,” said the Chief. “Let’s start pinning the rest of the addresses.”
In less than an hour, we had thirty more pins on the map. The pattern had developed well before we were finished. Pinnacle Ridge Road was the backbone of the target area. The pins were isolated between Buckeye Creek, which ran into the lake, and Grassy Gap Creek, which ran out of the lake, and up into the more developed area on either side of Pinnacle Ridge. There were no reports near the Golf Course or the ski resort. There were no reports in the town proper. He’d stayed away from the more populated areas, hitting only the more remote houses where there were no street lights or close neighbors.
The farthest pins to the west, the ones I’d found in the woods, were quite close to the Tennessee border. The lands beyond that were undeveloped. There was a lot of mountain territory, providing a hermit with an unlimited number of places to hide.
“His real home is somewhere to the west,” I speculated. “He comes down to the lake and uses one of his temporary shelters, then finds an empty house. Hangs out a few days, finds some food, maybe he takes a shower. Then he retreats to his permanent shelter.”
“Somewhere along the Tennessee border,” said Johnson. “No way we can locate him out there.”
“After his encounter with the girl he’s going to hang low for a while,” said Angelina. “He can’t risk another break-in so soon afterward. He will know that we’re looking for him.”
“The weather is getting warmer too,” I said. “As long as he has a way to get food he’ll stay away.”
“So we don’t have shit,” said the Chief. “What are we supposed to do now?”
No one had an answer. We could make a reasonable assumption about what had happened in this case, but we had no idea how to catch the culprit. We all grabbed another cup of coffee and a donut. I stared at the map, willing a clue to present itself. The man was anonymous, and a ghost in the woods. I wasn’t willing to sit and wait for him to strike again, but that seemed like our only option.
“The girl’s family is going to return to France soon,” said the Chief. “I dread telling them that we’ve got nothing.”
“It sucks,” Johnson said. “But these mountains aren’t like the streets of Paris. We may never catch this guy.”
“I can’t justify using the man hours to fumble around hoping for a miracle,” the Chief responded. “I think we’re looking at an open case for a long time. An unsolved murder on Beech Mountain won’t sit well with the Chamber of Commerce.”
“I’m the only one from the State Police left on the case,” Johnson said. “Without something to go on, I doubt I’ll be back up here.”
“I might be able to talk the Sheriff into a few more days,” said Angelina. “But I don’t see where it will do much good.”
We were defeated, which stuck in my craw. I wasn’t ready to give up, but I couldn’t articulate a reason to continue. The only saving grace I could see was Angelina leaving my life. The temptation had become hard for me to ignore. If we called it quits on this case, I could cross that problem off my list.
“We are all making an informed decision based on the resources available and the lack of information we need to catch this guy,” I said. “Let me continue on my own. No one has to pay me. I’ll scour those woods on the other side of the lake and try to track the man back to his permanent shelter, on my own time.”
“What happens if you find him?” Johnson asked. “We’ve been down this road before.”
“He’s not a shooter as far as we know,” I said. “I’ll make a citizen’s arrest if there is such a thing these days. I’ll hold him for you.”
“How will you communicate with us?” he asked.
“You could lend me one of those radios,” I suggested. “Knowing that it won’t be turned on unless I need to call you. This would be my operation solely. You can sweep up when I’m done.”
“Do you think you have any chance to find this guy?”
“Not a good one,” I admitted. “Might be impossible, but maybe I’ll get lucky. Won’t cost you anything. Nothing lost.”
“I’m inclined to allow it,” Johnson said. “Chief?”
“What can it hurt?” he answered.
“I’d like to be a part of it,” Angelina said. “But I doubt I can get approval. I’m probably out of this going forward.”
“No offense, Miss Will,” I said. “But this is the type of work I do alone.”
“I know,” she said. “Mountain Zen. I get it. I was starting to feel it up there with you the other day. Maybe we can arrange further training sometime.”
“Brody wouldn’t approve,” I said. “But it’s been a real treat getting to know you.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” she said, handing me her business card. “Keep me in mind.”
She leaned in to kiss my cheek, taking my hand in the process. She looked deep into my eyes without speaking a word.
“I’ll see you around, Breeze,” she said. “Nice to meet you too.”
She grabbed the last donut and walked out of the Chief’s office. I couldn’t help but watch her walk. Her tight ass almost hypnotized me before she got into her car. I was equal parts happy and sad to see her go, but I now had one less complication in my life.
“Have you tapped that?” asked Johnson.
“No, I have not,” I said. “And don’t let any rumors get started. Not that I wasn’t tempted.”
“You’ve got more willpower than me,” he said. “Sweet ass.”
“For the record,” I said. “She offered, but I declined.”
“I don’t know that I could have done the same,” he said. “I mean I love my wife and all, but damn.”
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’m glad I didn’t,” I said. “I’m quite happy with what I have.”
“As you should be,” said the Chief. “Enough of the locker room talk. I’ve got to tell some important folks that we’ve gotten nowhere
with this case. It won’t be a pleasant chore.”
“Tell them that you’ve arranged for a consultant to continue the investigation, pro bono,” I said. “Make it sound more important than it really is.”
“I’ll see if I can work that in,” he said. “You’ll keep me apprised of your progress?”
“Absolutely,” I said. “If there’s anything to report.”
Johnson and I went outside and stood in the parking lot. I thought that he wanted to push me on my relationship with Angelina Will, but he was more concerned with our failed investigation.
“Do you think you can get something done out there in the wilderness?” he asked. “I don’t think I get the mountain Zen thing.”
“I don’t have high hopes, to be honest with you,” I said. “But I’m in love with these mountains. I thrive in these woods. If there’s anyone alive around here that can find this guy, it’s me.”
“And you’re willing to do this for us free of charge?” he asked. “Just to give you a reason to wander around the hills.”
“Something like that,” I said. “Not much to do at my place. Making love to Brody only takes a few minutes out of my day. The rest is just eating and sleeping.”
“You’ve got the life,” he said. “The rest of us envy you. How do you afford it?”
“Long story,” I said. “Not all of it good. Let’s just say I’m making amends now by helping you guys. Balancing the scales and whatnot.”
“I’ll take it,” he said. “Rominger needs me back in Boone. I don’t see us getting anywhere on this case. We’d close it all together if you weren’t involved.”
“No promises,” I said. “It’s a real longshot.”
I tried to formulate a plan as I drove back to the cabin. Brody would be happy to hear that my working relationship with the pretty female cop had ended. She might not be so thrilled with my offer to work for free, even though we didn’t need the money. On the other hand, she knew that I needed something to occupy myself. It would be no different than hiking on our own stretch of land. I didn’t foresee any danger in it.
I figured that I’d take Red back to where we’d lost the man’s scent. I’d let him ramble around some more, and if he couldn’t find anything, we’d look elsewhere. If we somehow managed to get close, I’d leave Red at home and go full stealth mode to get close to my target. He would never expect that someone could find him. He’d be off guard, and I could close in on him undetected. That was the best case scenario. The worst case would be me wandering around blind in unfamiliar territory and finding nothing.
I needed more to go on, but additional clues weren’t available. Maybe something would come to me after a good night’s sleep. Angelina had fogged my mind somewhat. Putting some distance between us might kick start the old noggin. I’d talked it over with Brody after I got home.
“Some unknown person who lives in the wilderness comes into Beech Mountain and breaks into unoccupied homes,” she said. “He’s been doing it for years. There’s no uproar because he doesn’t steal anything of much value and hasn’t hurt anyone. Am I with you so far?”
“That’s our theory,” I said.
“Then suddenly he decides to kill a teenage girl because she busted him?” she asked. “Why would he do that?”
“Maybe he didn’t mean to kill her,” I suggested. “He wanted to bonk her on the head and escape.”
“If that were the case, he wouldn’t have dumped her in the lake,” she countered. “He would have left her where she fell.”
“Maybe she wandered around in a daze and fell into the water,” I offered. “The blow to the head didn’t kill her. Drowning did.”
“That’s a few too many maybes,” she said. “What if the Beech Mountain hermit whacked her? What if she fell into the lake on her own? What if he dumped her body? Your working theory is full of holes. It’s barely a guess.”
“That’s why I’m running it by you,” I said. “The smartest investigator I know.”
“Think they’ll put me on the payroll?”
“I’m not even getting paid at this point,” I said. “They know I’m tilting at windmills.”
“But they’ve got nothing to work with,” she said. “What happened with the interviews at the ski resort? Did they find anyone who knew the girl, or remembered seeing her?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I never heard.”
“Can we get our hands on the map you were working on?” she asked.
“Didn’t think of it,” I said. “Good idea.”
“We need to lay the groundwork before you go off chasing ghosts,” she said. “I’ll go with you to see the Beech Mountain Chief tomorrow. Let’s get as much information out of him as we can.”
“It’s a start,” I said. “Thanks, by the way.”
“Just trying to contribute.”
That night I snuggled with Brody in bed longer than usual. We didn’t make love, I just held her close and told her that I loved her. I stroked her hair and hugged her tightly. She was the greatest gift I’d ever received in life, and I wanted her to know it. I didn’t think of Angelina Will, only the beautiful angel lying next to me.
The next morning after breakfast, we went to the Beech Mountain Police Department. The Chief was studying the map and scratching his chin.
“Good morning,” I said. “This is my gal, Brody. She used to be with the FBI.”
“I’ve been brought up to speed on you two,” he said. “I think I’m glad to have your help on this.”
“You are welcome to sever our relationship at any time,” I told him. “If we make you nervous.”
“The state cops vouch for you,” he said. “I’ll have to take their word for it. This department isn’t exactly full of detectives. We wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for the ski resort. Glorified security guards is what we are.”
“We’d like to hear about those interviews your men did,” I said. “What did they find?”
“She was at the lodge that night earlier,” he said. “She was the fifth wheel with two young couples from out of town.”
“Are those kids still here on the mountain?”
“Nope,” he said. “But we have their parent’s contact information.”
“What’s their story?” I asked. “Did she leave with someone? Was she drinking or doing drugs?”
“The kids swear they didn’t have any booze,” he said. “But I’m not sure I believe them. None of them are of age.”
“Smoking a little weed maybe?”
“All four denied it,” he said. “There was a band playing that night. They hung out by the fire listening to music. Eventually, the girl disappeared. They don’t remember what time that was. They don’t know how she was supposed to get home.”
“So all we know is that she was there, at the resort,” I said. “She left and got herself killed.”
“And her body ended up in the lake a few miles away,” he said. “Dead girls don’t walk that far.”
“We don’t know where the attack occurred, so we’ve got no crime scene,” Brody said.
“Have any of these houses reported a break-in more than once?” I asked.
“No, they have not,” he said. “So if the girl saw the man, it would be at a house that’s not pinned on this map, but what was she doing there?”
“Maybe she didn’t go straight home,” Brody said. “She met a boy, and he was taking her back to his place.”
“His parents would be there,” I said. “Maybe it wasn’t a teenager. Maybe it was a young man with access to a house up here.”
“Now we’re creating scenarios,” Brody said. “Plus how would we ever figure out the house where it took place?”
“Any ideas, Chief?” I asked.
“The incident area is fairly well-defined,” he said. “No condos, no high-density areas. We could narrow it down to a hundred homes or less. Rule out the full-timers and knock it down some more.”
“So we need to search the grounds of seve
nty or eighty places,” I said. “Look for blood or blunt instruments.”
“Too much for my meager resources,” he said. “But knock yourselves out.”
“At ten addresses per day, we’ll be done in a week,” Brody said. “We just need to know where to look.”
“Let me get Officer Sally in here,” he said. “He knows what’s what as far as the locals go. Born and raised up here.”
Brody and I looked over the map while we waited. We’d only driven down Pinnacle Ridge Road twice before the girl was found. It was hard to take in the scenery while driving because the road was so winding. The homes were scattered about the wooded areas. Some couldn’t be seen from the road. I thought we should prioritize those. Brody agreed.
When Officer Sally arrived, we told him what we were looking for. We wanted a list of homes that were mostly unoccupied but had not reported a break-in, within the target area.
“I understand,” he said. “I’ll cross reference with Google Maps and try to narrow it down some. Give me a few hours, at least.”
“Don’t bust your balls,” I said. “We’ll come back tomorrow and start working on the list that you create.”
“That would be great,” he said. “Feels like real police work for a change. Give me a day, and I’ll have a good list for you.”
“Thanks, man,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”
The Chief got on the phone to find someone to fill in for Sally. He seemed relieved to turn over the investigation to two total strangers that weren’t affiliated with law enforcement, which I found odd. There were originally three county Sheriff’s departments, the town department, and the State Police involved. Now it was down to Brody and me. Real cops had deemed the investigation hopeless. They had better things to do than waste their time on a lost cause. The only clue was the dead girl. A murder was a black mark on the community, but it could be kept quiet as not to discourage tourism. If we wanted to volunteer our services for free, they were all happy to accept. It probably made them feel better about wiping their hands of it.