by Bettie Jane
“No. Oscar has been sitting by the phone so as not to miss any calls.”
Sadie nodded. “Are you aware of any financial problems that your husband may have?”
Henrietta looked puzzled even as she shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t think that should be very likely. Money has never been a struggle for our family and were that to change for some reason, my parents would certainly assist us. But, no, that doesn’t seem likely to me.”
So Mrs. Brix was in the dark if there was something to her suspicions of Oscar. Good to know.
“Can you tell me about the relationship between your husband and Pete Phillips?”
“I believe Mr. Phillips works for Oscar out at the logging camp. They’ve known each other since they were boys. They get on well enough, as far as I know. Why do you ask?”
“Did Mr. Brix tell you what we discovered at the logging camp?”
Henrietta’s face fell again. “Carl’s body,” she whispered.
“Yes. And Pete Phillip’s car was abandoned there as well. I believe Pete is connected to Jemmie’s disappearance in some way, but I haven’t pieced together just exactly how yet. I was hoping you could shed some light on the matter for me.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t much about my husband’s business affairs.”
“No need to be sorry. Perhaps you may know from the social circles you run in if Pete Phillips’ wife has any association with Carl Collin’s apparent girlfriend, Olga Svenson?”
Henrietta’s blank look turned thoughtful. “Olga Svenson? Her family has lived in Skamokawa for a couple of generations. Fisherman. I believe they came originally from Sweden. She lives in Swedetown now, if I recall correctly. She’s never married and I believe she does odd jobs, like housekeeping and laundry services for some of the wealthier families in Skamokawa. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen or heard of her interacting with Muriel Phillips, though. They would run in very different circles.”
“I see.” Sadie thought for a moment. Henrietta had essentially mentioned all of this earlier but didn’t seem to have any recollection. The shock was getting to her.
Sadie was missing some vital piece of information that would connect all these separate clues. How were these people all connected?
“Would you be surprised to know that your husband fired Pete Phillips a couple of weeks ago?”
Henrietta did look surprised. “It’s not unusual for me to be unaware of the inner workings of Oscar’s business decisions, but it does surprise me that he didn’t at least tell me that.”
“Given that there has been a ransom demand, it seems likely to me that whoever took Jemmie was motivated by money. While we were searching the logging camp, I discovered a large stack of very overdue invoices from several vendors who work with your husband’s company.”
She let that bit of information hang in the air for a minute before asking the next question.
“Mrs. Brix, do you have the ability to access the ransom demand of $100,000?”
A bit more silence stretched between the two women.
“Not directly. We have assets that we could sell, but we don’t have that much cash. Oscar assured me that my father would have it, though.”
The light came on for Henrietta as she seemed to guess what Sadie was very discreetly hinting at in her silence. Her face paled and then her eyes blazed with fury.
“Are you saying that you think my husband had something to do with Jemmie’s kidnapping?”
“It’s a consideration that I must at least weigh, though it brings me no pleasure. Evidence of financial problems together with the existence of the ransom demand requires that I at least ask the question.”
Henrietta stood and was pacing now. “That’s quite impossible. I assure you. My husband is devastated at Jemmie’s kidnapping. If you’d have seen him when he returned from the logging camp with Jemmie—he looked liked he’d walked through his own grave.”
She shook her head emphatically and continued, sounding more and more sure with each step. “No, that’s impossible. He couldn’t fabricate that level of despair. I’d bet my life that Oscar is just as terrified for Jemmie as I am.”
Sadie found it interesting that Henrietta didn’t declare her husband incapable of that level of scheming, but rather relied on his devastation to prove that Oscar Brix was not involved in the kidnapping.
She supposed that Oscar Brix was telling the truth about Pete being the reason the bills weren’t paid. For now, she’d leave it at that and focus her attention on Pete.
“Thank you for your attention, Henrietta. Do forgive the intrusion, I just needed to be sure he wasn’t involved somehow.”
Henrietta’s stony face softened a bit. “Ask whatever questions you must. I have nothing to hide and I’m sure my husband doesn’t either. Don’t worry about offending my sensibilities. Finding Jemmie is the most important thing, not my feelings.”
“Thank you, Henrietta.”
Sadie heard Enoch in the foyer so he must have gotten in touch with Dr. Walker. There wasn’t time to waste. Pete Phillips is where all the clues pointed to. If he wasn’t directly responsible for Jemmie’s kidnapping, he was certainly in the thick of it and would hopefully have some answers for her.
She glanced at the grandfather clock as it chimed half past nine. It had been full dark for about five hours. Little Jemmie would be in serious trouble if he’d been out in the elements this entire time.
With a sense of urgency in her voice, she smiled at Henrietta.
“I’ll be in touch. I hope to know more soon. Thank you for your time.”
Henrietta’s face had already turned to bleak despair before Sadie turned to leave the sitting room.
14
Back in the truck, Sadie gathered her thoughts. Oscar’s apparent financial problems, combined with the fact that he’d been keeping them from his wife, made it certain in her mind that the boy’s father and his money issues were at least tangentially related to Jemmie’s kidnapping.
Pete getting fired may have been the motive behind it. Vengeance, perhaps.
She couldn’t decide who seemed more guilty to her at this point, Oscar or Pete.
She looked at Enoch’s profile as he navigated the gravel road between Cathlamet and Skamokawa. His brows were furrowed and his lips drawn tight. They’d traveled this road so many times already today, Sadie was beginning to memorize the landmarks, even in the dark.
“You spoke with Dr. Walker?”
He nodded, but didn’t speak.
“What did he say?”
“Not much really. Just sighed loudly through the phone. He said he hasn’t completed the autopsy on Carl, but that he was almost done and that he’d head out to Olga’s place as soon as possible. Hopefully within the next hour.”
Sadie nodded. “When was the last time this town had two murders and a kidnapping in one day? That seems a lot even for a city like Portland, but I imagine it’s unheard of for your small community.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know that we’ve ever had a day like this in our history. We lost four in a single day from the flu back in November. That was devastating for the town folk, but it was random. An act of god or fate or whatever you want to call it. This—violence—it’s different. There’s a darkness to it that is difficult to shake. It’s as through it’s creeping through the town like a fog.”
“I understand. It’s all tragic, but when a member of your community…or multiple members…engage in something like this…especially when children are involved…it’s hard to get your head around that.”
“It is. I don’t think the reality of it has settled in yet. Right now I’m just keeping my focus on finding Jemmie. Following whatever breadcrumbs we can find to hopefully locate him.”
“Do you think Pete is a good guy? Do you think it’s possible he had something to do with Jemmie’s disappearance, or Carl’s death? Or his wife’s?”
“He is a little odd, but I’ve never seen a violent streak in him. If he’s involv
ed in this, it would shock me to no end. Her death will be a shockwave through the community. She was very involved in the local congregation of Methodists, I think.”
“I know I’m the “official” deputy here, but I would appreciate your opinion. Do you think I should tell him that we found his wife’s body at Olga’s?”
Enoch was silent for a minute while he drove. Pete’s house was coming up on the right. The moment of truth was upon her and Sadie felt more unqualified than ever. Notifying a man that his wife had been murdered was not a thing she’d ever imagined having to do. Especially when that same man might also be responsible for the kidnapping of a young child.
“It’s just my opinion, but maybe you start by asking him about his car at the scene of Carl’s murder and then see where that leads you. Whatever you decide, I’ll back you up. This must feel like an awful lot of responsibility for you, being new in town and all.”
She swallowed as the bumped down the driveway, the truck lights illuminating the yellow house and the barn.
“I just want to find Jemmie. Safe and hopefully now worse for the wear.”
Enoch nodded and shoved the truck into park and turned the engine off. They sat there for a moment in the darkness, with only the still illuminated headlights lighting the night. Snow was softly falling again. It would have been a rather peaceful moment under other circumstances, but today with a kidnapping and two murders, the snow falling through the beam of the truck lights just felt ominous.
“I suppose we better get on with this.”
She got out of the truck and slammed the door behind her. Time seemed to slow down and her senses were heightened. She noticed the cold steel of the truck handle beneath her warmed fingers. She felt each snowflake as it landed on her face. With every step toward the front door, the knot in her stomach tightened. Breathing was difficult.
She was either about to confront the person responsible for Jemmie or to potentially break the news to an innocent man that his wife had been murdered. There was not much hope of a good outcome here.
Enoch was right. She’d start back at the logging camp and based on Pete’s answers, she’d steer the conversation from there.
They climbed the steps onto the porch and she noticed that the porch light was dark. Enoch knocked on the door and Sadie tried to calm her stomach and her racing thoughts.
Time to still her nerves and get this over with.
Enoch knocked again.
Sadie took a deep breath.
“Mr. Phillips, it’s Mrs. Anderson, the Sheriff’s wife and Enoch Redmond. May we speak to you.”
Sadie guessed it was close to ten pm if not a little bit after. His wife obviously wasn’t home so she doubted Pete was having a typical quiet winter’s evening in front of the fireplace.
A third knock and then Sadie could hear distant footsteps inside the house, getting closer to the front door.
The door opened, squeaky on his hinges, and a disheveled Pete Phillips stood before them.
He very much looked like he’d been asleep.
“Mrs. Anderson. Enoch,” Pete said. “Can I help you with something? Have you found the boy?”
“I’m sorry to bother you so late on a Sunday night, Mr. Phillips. No, unfortunately we haven’t found the boy. That’s why we wanted to talk to you. May we come in?”
“Oh, certainly.” He blinked like he was just realizing that they were standing out in the cold. “Where are my manners. Come on in. Can I put on some coffee?”
Sadie didn’t really want to make time for coffee but she wanted to keep this visit friendly for as long as possible to see what information she could gather from Pete.
“That would be most welcome. Thank you.”
They followed him into his clean, but basic kitchen and she watched him gather the water and the coffee grounds. While he prepared their coffee, she started in on what she very much hoped would not feel like an interrogation.
“Mr. Phillips—”
“Call me Pete.”
“I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. Carl Collins was found dead this afternoon, while we were searching for Jemmie.”
Pete’s eyes grew a size in apparent surprise but Sadie wasn’t convinced it was authentic. Maybe, but maybe not.
“Carl was involved in all this business with the Brix kid?”
Pete poured coffee for the three of them and they all sat at the kitchen table.
Sadie nodded. “Yes, unfortunately. A witness saw Carl grab Jemmie out near Sam Ostervold’s cabin. With some help from the locals, we were able to follow his tracks to the logging camp out the Elochoman. That’s where we found his body. He was hit over the head at an unknown location and died.”
Sadie wasn’t sure if she should be revealing as much information as she was, but she wasn’t much of game player. She needed to find Jemmie. The urgency of the cold night pressed in on her thoughts and made it difficult to concentrate. She took a deep breath and gathered her focus.
“That’s awful news.”
“It is. Carl was our only clue to finding Jemmie. As you know, it’s been snowing for hours. We’re all very concerned for his welfare.”
Silence sat between them for a few moments. Sadie waited to say anything to see what Pete would say or do next.
“Well, how can I be of help? Do you need another volunteer for the search party? I’m willing to help in anyway I can. I’m sure his mother must be worried sick to death.”
“Mrs. Brix is quite distraught, yes.” She found it strange that he offered to help now, but didn’t offer to help earlier when Jemmie first went missing. She filed that information away for now and proceeded cautiously. “It’s kind of you to offer, but we’ve got a search party out in the Elochoman Valley searching all the farms out there. The reason we are here, well, this is a bit awkward, I’m afraid.”
Pete looked at her, waiting to see what she would say next. Sadie had a flash of an idea.
“Pete, is your wife home?”
She felt a bit deceitful asking him this, knowing as she did that Muriel was lying dead on the other end of the county in Olga’s fish cabin, but it seemed important to gather some information about her before she revealed the location of Pete’s car at the logging camp.
He shook his head. “She’s not home. Did you need to speak with her?”
“Do you know where she is?”
“She mentioned something earlier about visiting her sister in Longview. She often stays the night on those visits. Especially in this kind of weather. When she wasn’t home by dark, I assumed she’d decided to stay in town. She took the new car.”
“A Rolls Royce?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Barely had it a month. It’s a little extravagant, but Muriel loves it and I just can’t say no to her. Been married nigh on twenty years, I suppose it’s been now. Secret to a happy marriage, I say. Spare no expense.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Sadie and Enoch remained quiet as well.
“Wait a minute. How’d you know we had a Rolls Royce?”
Another moment and then alarm registered on his face.
“Why are you asking about my wife? What aren’t you telling me?”
None of them had touched their coffee and the still full cups of steaming liquid seemed to mock Sadie.
Here goes, she thought.
“When we discovered Carl’s body, we also found your Rolls Royce.”
“What? Where?”
Outside the logging camp. The engine was running, headlights on, and the doors were wide open.
Pete’s face was now a paler shade of white than it had been moments ago. Genuine surprise, if Sadie guessed correctly.
“What? I—I don’t know how to make sense of that. Was Muriel there?”
Sadie exchanged a look with Enoch who offered her a grim, but obviously supportive half smile. If she was going to tell him about Muriel, Enoch was ready to help with it.
“No, there was no sign of a driver. That’s why we’
re here. We are wondering if you knew how your vehicle came to be at the sight where a dead body was found?”
“I don’t why Muriel would have had any business at the logging camp. Or with Carl Collins.”
Pete’s voice became a little icy when it landed on Carl’s name. Some previously unmentioned bad blood between he and Pete?
This town was filled with secret or not so secret grudges. Did anyone here even like anyone else?
She took another deep breath, hoping her thought process was the right one to take.
“While we were searching the logging camp, hoping to find Jemmie, we came across a stack of past due bills. Can you say if Oscar Brix or the paper company were having financial difficulty? I understand you worked for Oscar until very recently.”
Pete’s eyes narrowed and his face flushed.
“That man—thinks he’s better than the rest of us when the whole town knows his wife’s parents foot the bill for everyone of his business ventures. I had a lot of respect for Oscar Brix until I worked for him managing his books. Oscar Brix made it a regular occurrence to rob Peter to pay Paul, if you get my meaning. He seemed to make plenty of money, so that wasn’t his problem. No, his problem was the spending. Spent it faster than he could bring it in. I finally quit when one of his biggest vendors fired him. I knew then that the writing was on the wall. By then he had a stack of unpaid bills and without that vendor providing the source of revenue, there was no way he was going to be able to pay the invoices and still pay his employees. That’s when I decided to go to work for my brother-in-law. He runs a logging operation on the Oregon side of the river, over in Westport. It was only going to be a matter of time until Oscar stopped paying his employees or even shut down the camp. In fact, he did finally close it, blaming it on the flu outbreak, but it was all money motivated. Unless something drastic happened, I was on borrowed time. I know when a ship is sinking and that one was going down like the Titanic.”
Interesting, Sadie thought.
“Oscar says he fired you for negligence. That he didn’t actually have a money problem, but that you were derelict in your duties paying the bills.”
