by Bettie Jane
“The main door to the warehouse was open. The car is parked about twenty feet out in front of it. The engine was running and the headlights were shining on the building when we got here on the horses. I since shut off the car.” He tilted his head toward an open door. “He’s in there.”
She took a deep breath, pulled her coat tight around her, and took a step toward the building William pointed out.
He lowered his voice from his original volume. “I expected to find Jemmie in there so it was a strange thing to feel relief when we found Carl.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that. Joel didn’t—?”
“No, he didn’t see. Gus stayed here with Joel I rode back to Ostervold’s and called Brix House right away. Oscar is understandably upset that Jemmie isn’t here.”
“I can only imagine.” She paused just outside the darkened entrance of the dilapidated wooden structure that housed the body. “William, I had a chance to speak to Daniel on the phone, only briefly, but I’ve called the Medical Examiner to meet us out here. I expect Dr. Walker soon. I don’t know much about preserving a crime scene or much about police procedure in general, but I know enough to know that we should keep people out. Has Oscar seen the body?”
“No, he got here only moments before you. He went straight to comfort Joel. Gus and I were the only ones who saw the body. Raven immediately started searching for tracks. Has there been any other updates? A ransom note?”
She shook her head and frowned. “No, just the original one the Brix stable boy Matthew found.”
She took a deep breath. She’d seen a dead body before so she was slightly prepared for it, but she didn’t know what to expect with Carl Collins. Was it a violent death?
“How did he—uh, what was the cause of death?” She hoped she didn’t sound as foolish as she felt.
William shrugged. “I can’t be sure. It could have been a knock on the head. I suppose he could have slipped and hit his head. Follow me, I’ll show you what I mean.”
She stepped inside behind him, grateful for the light on his lantern.
A skinny man in winter clothes and boots lay face down. She could see the gash in the back of his head and her first thought was that William was right. Either he slipped and banged his head on the greasy piece of machinery that towered over his lifeless form or someone hit him from behind and left him where he fell.
“No obvious signs of a struggle that I can see. Other than the dead Carl Collins.”
She smirked at herself knowing it was hardly the right time to be flippant but also feeling comfortable enough with William to just be herself.
“I suppose I should check him, er, his body. See if I can find anything that might help us find Jemmie.”
She said it as though it was a question even as she bent down over the body.
She checked the pockets of his coat and his pants but didn’t find anything besides the keys to what she presumed was the shiny automobile out front.
“Is it a Rolls Royce?”
William looked at her with a side-eye. “What?”
“The car. Is it a Rolls Royce?”
“Oh, yes, I think so.”
“Those are rather expensive, aren’t they?”
“I expect so.”
“And not so common?”
“Probably not.”
She looked at William.
“I saw another one like it today.”
“Really? Was it the same one?”
“I’d be surprised if it weren’t. It was parked outside the fishing cabins. Stood out to me as a bit out of place. That’s why I noticed it all. Have you seen this car before?”
“I haven’t.”
Strange, Sadie thought.
There was nothing about Jemmie on Carl’s person.
“William, will you wait with Carl until Dr. Walker gets here. I need to search the car.”
“Good idea. I did peer inside when I first arrived but there was no sign of Jemmie. I didn’t do a very thorough look for any other evidence though. Here, take my lantern.”
“Thanks, William. What would I do without you? You sure you don’t mind standing around with a dead body in this pitch black night?”
“Carl certainly can’t hurt me and from the looks of this place, I doubt there’s anyone else around.”
He raised the light to show her the perimeter of the area just around Carl’s body. There was dust everywhere, the expansive room smelled damp and musty, and it didn’t look like anyone had been here in months.
“Didn’t this place shut down a bit ago during the worst of the flu?”
William nodded. “Yes. I thought they had a skeleton crew at least keeping the machinery running and maintained, but it doesn’t appear that way, does it?”
“No, it doesn’t. Who owns the logging camp? I imagine I need to call them and let them know what’s happened.”
William shrugged. “I thought Frederick Birnie owned it last I heard mention, but I don’t keep up on the town politics if I can avoid it.”
“Jemmie’s grandfather. Interesting.”
“I couldn’t imagine why not. I’ll be right back. Don’t want to leave you in the dark for too long.” She gave him her effort at cheerful smile and left him in the shadows.
She approached the shiny car with more caution than was probably necessary. There was a pack of cigarettes on the front passenger seat and a half-empty bottle of bourbon. There was no sign anywhere in the vehicle that there’d been a child in here or a bloody corpse.
Where was Jemmie? Had he ever been here?
She was certain that this was the same car she’d seen outside Olga’s earlier this afternoon. Had Carl been there when she and Enoch were speaking with Olga?
“Dammit, Olga. What are you hiding?” Sadie mumbled to herself.
When she stood and closed the car back up, she saw Oscar Brix approaching her. Gus and Enoch were sitting with Joel by the fire.
“Did you find anything of use in the car?”
“No sign of Jemmie in the car or inside the building but I intend to do a thorough search of the entire premises. Mr. Brix, do you happen to know who owns the logging camp? Does your father in law?”
“I do.”
“Oh, well, then may I have your permission to thoroughly search the entire area. As you know, time is of the essence.”
“Certainly.”
“Have you thought of any reason at all that Carl Collins would have taken Jemmie or why he’d have brought him here? Did he work here for you?”
“He worked for me doing odd jobs, but never at this location. I can’t see an immediate reason for him to be involved in any of this. Mrs. Andersen, please find my son.” His eyes were watery and he wore an expression of raw desperation. “Please.”
“I promise to search until we find him. You have my word, Mr. Brix. How can I get the lights on in here? It will help speed our search.”
“Thank you,” he said, emotion filling his voice. “Yes, of course. I’ll be right back.”
She approached the campfire where the other men sat. “Would you gentleman be willing to help me out. I intend to search this property from top to bottom. Mr. Brix is the owner of this building and land and he’s given permission to search everywhere. Just leave the area around Mr. Collins clear. Dr. Walker will be arriving any minute, I hope, to do—whatever it is that does.”
As if on cue, the lights turned on and lit up the whole facility. That would make a great deal of difference.
The men nodded and split up and Sadie turned her attention back to Oscar Brix after she noticed little Joel shivering in his uncle’s arms. “Mr. Brix, why don’t you take Joel home. He needs to warm up. I’ll notify you if anything comes up in the search.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I need to stay here and find Jemmie.”
Gus, who was still close, spoke to Oscar. “I’ll keep looking. Why don’t you get Joel home and warm up. You can always come back. But Joel shouldn’t be out in this.”
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Oscar shook his head. “They are my boys, Augustus, not yours. You need to quit behaving as if they are yours. Quit flaunting your Birnie lineage and family money and go home. I’ll not have your family’s money held over my head for another minute.”
Sadie was taken by surprise at Mr. Brix’s sudden hostility toward Gus but tried not to show it. Instead, she made mental note to ask William about it later, see if he could shed some light on it.
Oscar’s outburst seemed completely out of the blue and didn’t seem to have much basis in the current predicament. There was obviously history between these two. Gus kept talking, seemingly undeterred by Oscar’s flash of anger. “I know you are their father. I don’t have to be their father to love them and I want to find Jemmie, as much as you do. Think of Henrietta. She’ll be worried sick about Joel. That might be more than she can take right now. I’ll stay and keep looking until we find him, Oscar. I swear it.”
Whatever fight was left in Oscar deflated at the mention of Henrietta.
“Besides,” Sadie hoped she was helping and not making things worse, “if there is a ransom call that comes in with more information, it will be very helpful if you are there to receive the ransom demand. I promise, I’ll come by your house as soon as we are done here and give you an update. Regardless of how late it is. Or early.”
He took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. “Yes, of course. You’re both right. Joel, let’s go home and check on your mother.”
“Deputy Brix, thank you for your service today, young man,” Sadie said to the young boy. “Will you go home and check on your mother as your next duty? I’m sure she needs to see that your safe. Perhaps you could make her a cup of tea and tell her what we’ve discovered so far.”
The little boy’s cheeks were bright red and his eyes were big as saucers. This was a lot for a young boy to handle in one day. He nodded, adjusting his temporary badge. She saw a slight tremble in his chin.
Sadie nodded, “Job well done, sir.”
Without any additional niceties, Joel stood and walked with his father to Oscar’s work truck. Sadie didn’t wait for him to drive away before she pointed the lantern in the direction of the outbuilding where William waited with Carl’s body. There was a little boy to find and now a murder solve.
For the briefest moment, she longed to be back in that Daughters meeting where her biggest problem was the judgement of Margaret Butler.
The day had gone from bad to worse. Much, much worse.
Oscar Brix pulled out of the lot and only a few moments later, before Sadie was even back inside with William, another car pulled in.
The tires crunched over gravel and snow, its headlights blinding her while she waited. When the lights went off and the door opened, she saw that Dr. Walker had arrived.
Good, she thought to herself. Someone who actually knew what to do with a body. She was reminded and not for the first time just exactly how much she didn’t know.
A flash of memory about the circumstances that put her here—Daniel being ill and Jemmie missing—and she swallowed back the nervous anxiety that was clawing at her belly. She had to get this right. Jemmie’s life probably depended on it.
“Dr. Walker. Thank you for coming. Right this way.”
“My wife updated me on your situation. Where’s the Sheriff? Have you found the boy yet?”
He peppered her with questions, but not with any hostility, only curiosity.
“Sheriff is a bit under the weather. Deputy Fisher is out of town and given the urgency of the situation, especially given the weather, he deputized me so I could work in his stead.”
She kept eye contact with him, waiting tensely to see if he would challenger her as Mr. Birnie had.
He nodded slowly. “I’ll stop by the house and my way through this evening and see if there is anything I can do for him.”
“No sign of the boy? Who is it?”
Sadie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. His reaction to the situation was a pleasant surprise. It seemed the doctor was as reasonable as Daniel had said.
“Thank you, I’d appreciate it. Jemmie Brix was taken in the woods not too far from here around 2pm this afternoon and no, I’m afraid not. The men are searching the facility. I’m hoping you might be able to give me some insight as to how Carl Collins died? We think he took the boy, but that’s all we know for now.”
The doctor followed her into the warehouse and bent down next to Carl’s still body.
After a few moments, he stood again. “Blunt force trauma to the brain, fractured skull. He probably died on impact. I’d doubt he felt much. From the looks of the injury, it was something fairly broad and flat. I’d suggest looking around the immediate area for something that has markings matching that description. Based on levels of rigor I see, I would say he’s been dead somewhere between two and four hours—hard to say precisely given this weather, but no more than four hours.”
Sadie did the calculations in her head. It was nearly seven pm now and Jemmie first went missing around two pm. Five hours. Somebody killed Carl between three and five pm. Had someone just used him as muscle and then disposed of him once the kidnapping was complete? Was that the plan all along or was Carl’s murder spontaneous?
“Doctor, is there any possibility this was just a nasty fall? That he slipped and hit his head?”
He shook his head right away. “No, injuries are consistent with a bang to the head and then he was moved.”
That surprised her. “What do you mean he was moved?”
“Do you see the darker areas of skin?”
Sadie nodded, pretty sure she was looking where the doctor was pointing, but not entirely confident. She decided to listen rather than asking for clarification. For now.
“The blood, after one dies, tends to pool in the body at the lowest point of gravity. In the first one to four hours after death, there will light splotches on the skin, like this.”
He pointed to the area he was discussing and Sadie saw what he meant.
If he’d been here longer, or it were warmer, there would be more discoloration of the skin and it would be much darker. I can tell Carl has been moved because of the lack of blood here. Do you follow?”
Sort of.
“Yes, I think so, Doctor. So he died sometime between three and five pm, somewhere else because there is not enough blood here. Is there anything else you could tell me?”
He shook his head. “No. I definitely don’t see enough blood here so I can say with a certainty he did not die here and not more than 4 hours ago. As I mentioned, a fatal head wound of this extreme would leave a lot of blood. When you find the spot where he died, you’ll know it.”
His repetition was not at all condescending and most welcome.
“I see,” Sadie said, and gulped. She wasn’t looking forward to that discovery.
9
There didn’t appear to be anything of interest that turned up during the search of the logging camp, other than a stack of overdue invoices. This information tugged at Sadie’s mind. Given that Jemmie was being ransomed, any family members with money issues looked guilty practically by default.
It was entirely too soon for Sadie to accuse Oscar of his involvement in the kidnapping, but her interest was certainly there. Besides, Oscar seemed truly broken up about Jemmie’s disappearance. If he did have something to do with it, he was an excellent actor. She’d put that theory on the shelf for now, though, and hoped to find more information to remove any guilty thoughts about Jemmie’s parents. Imagining a parent voluntarily putting their children through such a traumatic event gave Sadie the chills.
The medical examiner was long gone by now and with him the body of Carl Collins. If what Doctor Walker said about the volume of blood were true, Mr. Collins wasn’t killed here. Wherever he was killed, in Sadie’s estimation, that’s possibly where Jemmie was being held. She knew that solving Carl’s murder was important, but she wasn’t sure that focusing on that was the best place
for her to start. Finding Jemmie, that was the priority. When Daniel was better or Fisher returned, they could do the actual crime solving. She was just trying to find a lost boy.
Now the men who’d searched the warehouses and nearby outbuildings were standing in front of her, patient as ever, waiting for her instruction.
“Doctor Walker said he thought Carl was killed somewhere else and then his body was moved here from somewhere, given the lack of blood here. He said the location of the murder would be obvious due to the amount of blood from a head wound of the magnitude that killed Carl. Given that it’s not here, it seems logical to me that we need to find where he was killed in the hopes that we might find Jemmie at that location.”
Gus nodded, his expression pained at the mention of Jemmie.
Sadie went on, nervously thinking out loud. “If Carl’s body was moved, we need to acknowledge that he was working with someone on this kidnapping. We also need to ask why whoever his partner in crime was felt the need to kill him and then move him. Why did they move him here? Is this location significant or was it just a convenient spot to dump him?”
“I agree. I suppose we focus our search on the areas where someone might have holed up for the night. Some place between here and Old Man Ostervold’s cabin?”
“Still no ransom as far as we know?” Enoch Redmond asked. He stood next to Enoch Redmond.
Sadie shook her head. “Not so far as we know. Which reminds me. I’m wondering if it would be helpful to talk to Olga again? I want to know why that car was in front of her house and then only a couple hours later at this logging camp with the corpse of a kidnapper.”
“What did she have to say the first time you spoke to her?” Gus asked. He’d been with Joel all afternoon and didn’t have al the information so she took a few moments to catch he and William up on what she an Enoch had discovered so far.
“She said that Carl was supposed to be working at Pete’s farm all day but when I mentioned the Brix family, she acted strangely. Her demeanor became tense and little nervous, I’d say. Enoch, do you agree with that?”
