by Bettie Jane
“Why—I’ll—I’m going to kill whoever is behind this. Whoever took my son and thought they could get away with it, they’ll live to regret it. And then I’ll kill them.”
“Mr. Brix, I’d like to ask you to wait here with your wife in case the kidnapper should deliver any more notes or make any calls. Mr. Redmond and I are going to Swedetown to look for Carl Collins.”
He swallowed hard and closed his fist, crumpling the ransom note in his hand.
She reached out and took it from him, speaking gently. “I can see that you are very upset, Sir. I’ll just take this and deliver it to the Sheriff. I’m sure he’ll want to take a look at it.”
Oscar let it go without a fight. “Certainly. But my wife can wait here for another note. I’m going with you. If Carl Collins is behind this, so help me God, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”
6
“Mr. Brix, I appreciate that you’d want to come along, but if Carl is the one who did this, it is unlikely he’d have returned to his home. This is just to rule him out one way or another or find out any detail that might help us know where he’s taken Jemmie. William and Gus will be reporting back here and I think it would be helpful if you were here to help Mrs. Brix coordinate. I promise to update you the moment we return from Swedetown. Besides, whoever is responsible for this is going to be contacting you to arrange for the ransom money to be delivered and I think it would be best if you were here.”
He opened his mouth to object, given his expression, but Mrs. Brix interrupted him. “Oscar, please stay with me. I might go mad sitting here by myself waiting. Just waiting.”
Her eyes welled with tears that didn’t quite slip onto her cheeks and he nodded with a sigh.
“Be sure you update me with your progress. I’m going out to the stable to look around for anything that might be out of the ordinary.”
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Sadie agreed, chastising herself for not having thought of it herself. “I’ll be in touch. I promise.”
With that, she jogged down the steps of the Brix house and over to Mr. Redmond’s truck.
“Thank you for waiting for me, Enoch. Before Swedetown, I need to stop by my house and update Daniel. Do you mind?”
“No, ma’am.”
His truck roared to life and rumbled along the short distance to the Andersen home.
“Have you had the Flu yet, Enoch?”
He shook his head. “No, can’t say as I have.”
“Well, just to be extra cautious, I’ll have you wait out here in case that is what afflicts Daniel.”
“I hope not,” he said, pulling up to a stop in front of their house.
“Me too.”
She jumped out of the truck and raced up the walkway. The meeting at the Brix House took too long and she was in a hurry to find Jemmie. She silently prayed to any God in any world who might be listening for Jemmie’s safe recovery.
The warning sign about Flu in the house was still on the door where she’d tacked it.
“Hello,” she called out. “Daniel, Olivia?”
“We’re up here,” Olivia’s voice rang out from upstairs.
Sadie climbed the steps slowly, worried that Olivia would want to pick another fight and even more worried that Daniel’s health had deteriorated more in the hour she’d been gone.
When she topped the stairs and rounded the corner into the bedroom she shared with Daniel, she saw that he appeared to be resting comfortably, undisturbed by her arrival. Olivia was in the rocking chair situated near the foot of the bed.
“How is he?”
“I convinced him to eat a bit of soup even though he’s stubborn as all get out. The fever hasn’t broken but he doesn’t have the blue tint to his skin that mama had.”
Olivia’s mother, Daniel’s first wife, Amelia died during the first outbreak of the flu last spring and Olivia, from what Sadie understood, had never left her side. She seemed to be a caring daughter and generally good human, but she definitely did not care for Sadie.
Sadie understood why, of course. It must have felt like her father moved on so quickly. Only months earlier in the fall of last year, Daniel Andersen met Sadie by chance at her father’s saloon. Her father had just succumbed to the Flu himself and Sadie had no idea how she was going to support herself with both of her parents now gone. It was those personal experiences, losing her mother and father to the same Flu that took Olivia’s mother that gave Sadie room to be more empathetic and compassionate to Olivia’s cold shoulder. In time, Sadie hoped she’d warm up to her.
Sadie touched Daniel’s forehead to see for herself. The fever was definitely still burning but his breathing seemed normal so far. That was good news. She wasn’t sure if she’d have been worth much in the search for Jemmie if she knew Daniel was at home getting worse.
Daniel stirred at her touch, but didn’t wake.
“Father said one of the Brix twins was missing and that you were helping with the search.”
Sadie nodded. “Yes, I’m so very thankful you could be here with your father or I don’t think I’d be much good for the Brix family.”
“Mhmm.”
It was an acknowledgement of Sadie’s words, but stopped short of acceptance of Sadie or her actions. Under the circumstances, it might be the best that Sadie could hope for.
“Would you mind passing on some information to your father when he wakes? Assuming he is well enough, of course.”
“I can do that,” Olivia said without emotion.
“Joel, the other brother, said Jemmie was taken by someone who looked like Carl Collins. I’m going to Swedetown with Enoch Redmond, who William recruited to help with the search, to see if Carl is home. In the meantime, William and Gus went with Joel out to the Elochoman to see if they could find any tracks.”
Olivia glanced out the window at the snow and raised her eyebrows when she faced Sadie again. “In this weather? Tracking would be difficult. Raven could probably do it, though.”
Sadie nodded. “William mentioned that he was going to enlist a friend with excellent tracking abilities. Perhaps it’s her? Is Raven the infamous Chinook woman whose grandmother knew Lewis and Clark?”
Olivia nodded.
“I’ve been wanting to meet her. I’d have preferred better circumstances for it, though.”
Olivia stared at her, saying nothing. Sadie stood for an awkward moment, unable to tell what Olivia was thinking. “I should get going. Mr. Redmond is waiting outside for me. I’m worried about this weather. His mother said Jemmie wasn’t dressed for this weather.”
“You should go then. I’ll let Father know you were here and update him about Jemmie.”
“Thank you, Olivia.”
On the drive out to Swedetown, Sadie and Enoch Redmond barely spoke. Sadie’s thoughts moved between Daniel’s health and the Jemmie situation. So many variables, so many unknowns. She had a pit in her stomach that she couldn’t quite get rid of.
Swedetown, she knew from her original tour of the area that Daniel gave her when she moved to Wahkiakum County, was a small settlement of house boats and fishing cabins on Steamboat Slough, a swampy bit of water that branched off the mile-wide Columbia River that separated Oregon and Washington. This area was first settled by the Chinook tribe, and then by Scandinavian emigrants sometime in the mid-1800s. Scandinavians still made up most of the area’s population, according to Daniel. Swedetown was part of a slightly bigger town—if it could be called a town at all, it was very small—Skamokawa, a Chinook word meaning smoke on the water. The name was perfect for the dense fog that lay over the slough and the Columbia River in this area. She wondered idly why this area had more fog than Cathlamet did and wondered if it had something to do with all the hills that Cathlamet had as part of its natural geography. It naturally sat a bit higher above the river than Skamokawa.
“Mr. Redmond,” she asked, “why does this area have more fog?”
“I reckon its got something to do with the geography, but I don’t know muc
h about that sort of thing.”
“And how do you pronounce this town’s name again. I always forget. It means smoke on the water, right?”
He chuckled and it was nice to see the way his face relaxed. “It’s a mouthful, for certain. It sounds like Skaw-mock-away.”
She practiced it. “Skaw-mock-away. Is that right?”
“Very good. Maybe you got some Chinook in ya.”
It was Sadie’s turn to laugh. “I don’t believe so, but I’m very interested in their culture. The conditions here are so harsh. It’s fascinating to me that the native population thrived here. I mean, I understand how rich it is in fish and wildlife, but the winters are brutal.”
She shivered at the thought and forced herself to push the image of a freezing Jemmie out of her mind.
“Do you know much about Carl Collins, Enoch? Is it all right with you if I call you Enoch?”
“Sure thing, Deputy Andersen.”
She held up a hand and shook her head. “No, thanks. Call me Sadie. I’ll call you Enoch. I’m only deputized in case I need to use this Colt revolver on my hip.” She tilted her head in the direction of the gun around her waist. “I’m hardly deputy material.”
“You seem to be doing just fine so far.”
They were both silent for a few moments and then he said, “Carl is a bit of an odd duck, I suppose. I never seen him hurting anyone, but he doesn’t make friends real easy. He’s a hard enough worker, from what I’ve seen.”
“He does odd jobs?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Sadie. Call me Sadie. My mother was ma’am. I’m just Sadie.”
“Okay, just Sadie. Whatever you say.”
He grinned again and Sadie laughed.
“That’s the general store, right?” Sadie asked as they drove past the new two-story building.
“Yes, Ma—Sadie. It’s only been open about five years. Most folk in Skamokawa don’t have phones yet. The general store is the only phone I know of between Deep River and Cathlamet.”
“I’m still shocked that this tiny community even has a post office. It’s so remote here.”
He shrugged. “The folks that live out here like it that way. I thought some of them were gonna fall over dead when we got this gravel road. Too much progress, they said. Too many newcomers if there are roads here. Seems like some of these old coots were satisfied with traveling by horseback or boat. Me, I’m happy about the road. My wife’s family lives out here and it’s much easier to make our monthly family dinners that my wife insists on attending now that we got a road.”
The gravel road that he spoke of wasn’t much of a road, really, not compared to what she was used to in Portland, but she could see it would be much better than just an old horse trail.
He slowed and turned onto a smaller gravel road. Up ahead were the fishing cabins, nestled peacefully next to the water. With the snow falling, it was a beautiful sight. Evergreen trees grew on either side of the slough and with the fresh snowfall, it looked like something she’d see on a post card. It felt surreal that she was coming out here to investigate something as awful as a child kidnapping.
“I think he is staying in that white one, second from the end. It’s Olga Svenson’s place. Are you ready for this, Sadie?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d rather have him be home or not? I sincerely doubt that if Carl did take Jemmie that he’d be so foolish as to bring him back here.
There were a couple of Model T’s parked in front of the cabins and one shiny car that looked newer than the others. Not a Model T, but Sadie couldn’t name it. Maybe a Rolls Royce. Automobiles weren’t something she knew a lot about, although Astoria certainly had it’s fair share of them. She always did prefer a horse.
They got out of the parked truck and walked together toward the door. She had a grip on the holstered gun so tight that her knuckles hurt.
Please let Jemmie be here and well, she thought to herself.
She knocked on the door and held her breath.
Moments passed without a response and she knocked again. She heard some shuffling feet and ran her hand over the revolver in her holster, just to make sure it was still there.
Enoch Redmond’s nerves seemed to be wound as tight as hers were. His shoulders were raised and there was a tightness around is eyes. His hands were clenched in fists.
The door opened just a crack and a woman a little older than Sadie stood in the threshold. They both relaxed when it was clear a woman had answered their knocks.
“Yes? What is it?” Her Scandinavian accent—Sadie couldn’t tell the difference between Swedes and the other nordic languages and accents—was thick. “Well, what are you wanting? It’s cold out there.”
Sadie cleared her throat and found her courage. “I’m Deputy Andersen, are you Olga Svenson? I’m looking for Carl Collins and I understand he is staying with you.”
“He’s not here.”
Was Sadie relieved at that news? She couldn’t tell. Maybe.
“I see. When did you see him last?”
“This morning. He was headed out to do some work on someone’s barn roof. Further out between Skamokawa and Gray’s River, I think.”
“When do you expect him back?”
She shrugged. “He’ll be back when the work is done, I suppose.”
That was less than helpful.
“What do you want with him anyway?”
Sadie had spent enough time around police when she worked at her father’s inn and tavern in Astoria to know that they rarely ever answered questions. She had a particular memory of an Astoria Police officer who she’d respected and tried to emulate him.
“Did Carl ever mention the Brix family to you?”
The woman’s demeanor changed at the mention of the Brix’s. Interesting.
“No, never. I’ve never heard him mention it?”
“I see. Are you Carl’s wife?”
“No. Never in a million years would I marry that tramp.”
“But he does live here with you?”
“Yeah, he does, for now,” there was a definite edge in her voice now. “What’s it to you? You the moral police?”
“No, ma’am,” Sadie answered quickly. “I am not interested in your personal life. What I am interested in is finding a little boy whose gone missing. I’d very much like to find him before he freezes to death in the elements. We have a witness that saw someone who looked like Carl Collins was the last person the boy was with.”
“I see.” The woman put her hands across her chest. “One of the Brix boys, is it?”
Sadie felt herself digging in. This woman wasn’t helpful and Sadie was feeling increasingly frustrated.
“If you see Carl, will you tell him that we need to speak with him? He can call the Sheriff’s office.”
The woman nodded curtly and started to close the door.
Enoch put his boot in the way and leaned into her. Olga was noticeably bothered by his imposition.
“Ma’am. Can you remember anything about the job he was going to do today? Anything that might help us find him?”
“No.”
Enoch didn’t move his foot and continued to stare her down.
She let out a frustrated sigh. “I might remember him saying something about the Phillips barn.”
“Pete Phillips?”
“Yes, I guess that’s his first name. I keep to myself and I like it that way. If there’s nothing else? I’ve got to tend to the wash.”
Sadie nodded at Enoch who then removed his foot from blocking the door.
“If you think of anything else, please do call us.”
“Yes, yes,” she grunted. She shut the door with a slam and Sadie very much doubted that she’d ever hear from this woman, whatever it was she might know.
They walked back to Enoch’s truck and once he’d started it up.
Sadie thought out loud. “I suppose we should drive out to the Phillips farm and have a word with Pete. If Carl wasn’t working there
today like he said he was, Mr. Collins looks that much more guilty than he already does.”
”I think Olga knows more than she’s telling. Do you?”
“I do,” Sadie said. “Isn’t there a saying about fish not smelling right in Denmark? Something in Swedetown is definitely fishy.”
7
Sadie considered stopping by Brix House to update Jemmie’s parents with what they’d discovered in Swedetown, but ultimately decided she hadn’t learned anything new and stopping to update them that there was no information just slowed her down. Besides, driving all the way back to Cathlamet only to turn around go back to Skamokawa seemed like a waste of time. It was full dark now and just after five o’clock. If Carl had been working on Pete’s roof earlier, he’d certainly be done by now.
“Could he have been working on a roof in this snow, Enoch?”
Enoch shook his head. “No, I’ve been thinking about that myself. Even in the freezing rain we had earlier this afternoon, roof work would have been difficult. The weather this morning would have been decent enough, I suppose. But that cold front moved in about what time? One or two this afternoon, if I had to guess.”
Sadie nodded.
“This is the Phillip’s farm,” Enoch said, turning down a long gravel drive lined on each side with alder trees.
“Less than five minutes from Swedetown. I thought it would be much further.”
There was just enough light from the front porch and Enoch’s truck to take note of her surroundings. His house was a two-story yellow house and rising behind it was a big white barn with one of those roofs that looked like the bottom of a boat. When Sadie moved here, she’d asked Daniel about the interesting shape of the barn roofs and he’d told her they were built by Scandinavian shipbuilders who, in fact, knew quite well how to build a waterproof structure.
Sadie noticed one vehicle parked out front. A Model T if she wasn’t mistaken. By the time they parked and got out of the truck, Pete Phillips had opened the front door and met them on the porch.
“Enoch, Mrs. Andersen. What brings you out in this weather?”
