by Bettie Jane
At that, Pete stood up, pounding on the table as he rose. “That no good, cheating liar. Had to smear my reputation on the way down, did he?”
He paced the kitchen floor, back and forth a couple of times before finally collecting himself and sitting back down.
Sadie noted that he certainly had heated feelings toward Oscar Brix. Enough to kidnap Jemmie and hold him for ransom? That was the question of the hour.
Pete kept going.
“No matter. His own reputation will be destroyed when his financial troubles come to life. I doubt this time Daddy Birnie will come to his aid.”
He took a sip of his coffee, and Sadie followed suit. It gave her a moment to think.
If Pete was telling the truth, then her suspicion about his involvement in Jemmie’s kidnapping was unfounded. If he was lying, he was good at it.
“This is excellent coffee, Pete,” Enoch said, buying her some time to collect her thoughts.
She still had the decision to make whether to inform him of Muriel’s demise. Her next steps would be important.
Another sip of coffee.
“May I use the ladies’ room?”
“Oh, sure thing. It’s just down that hall , second door on the right.”
“Thank you.”
She slowly made her way down the hall, trying to formulate her next steps as she walked.
What was the connection with Muriel and Carl? The connection she’d thought was Pete, might have nothing to do with Pete but rather with Pete’s wife.
Was Pete an innocent bystander? Why would Muriel have been out at the logging camp with Carl Collins and a kidnapped boy. Pete really did seem genuinely surprised that his car was found there.
What was the connection between Olga and Muriel?
A thought stopped her mid hand wash. We don’t know what time Muriel was killed. Was it before or after Carl? Dr. Walker would be able to narrow it down a little for them, but not until he’d had a chance to finish Carl’s autopsy.
She was more confused than ever. Trying to decide if she should tell Pete about Muriel plagued her mind.
Strange that he hadn’t seemed concerned about Muriel’s whereabouts once her car was placed at the scene of Carl’s death. It seemed to Sadie like he should be pretty sick with worry that her car was found at a murder scene, across the county county from where she was supposed to be. She tucked that bit of information away, too.
For now, it seemed like she should leave Pete in the dark about his wife’s fate. If he wasn’t asking, why should she volunteer it?Her thoughts raced forward as she made her way back to the kitchen wheere Enoch and Pete had slipped into small talk about the storm.
Was his not asking indicative that he already knew she was dead on Olga’s floor?
“One last thing, and then we should be going,” she said, not sitting down and addressing Pete.
Before she could speak, a dog somewhere outside starting barking and howling fiercely.
“Is that your dog?” She peered out the front window at the gigantic barn. She could see the dog, a german shepherd maybe, pacing back and forth and barking.
Pete laughed. “Some guard dog, huh? You’ve been here, what, a quarter of an hour and he’s just now been alerted to your presence. He’s not the most useful pup, but Muriel fell in love with him at first site. You had another question?”
By then the dog had quieted down and walked back up onto the porch.
“Do you know of any connection between Carl Collins and Oscar Brix? Was their bad blood between the two of them?”
“Not as far as I know, certainly not before Carl took Jemmie as you are saying is what happened. I imagine Oscar would have been fighting mad to learn that Carl had kidnapped his boys. Maybe Oscar killed Carl? Is that possible?”
“Just the one,” Sadie said.
“Hmm?”
“Jemmie was the only one kidnapped, Joel managed to escape.”
Pete’s face was hard to read. “Well, that’s something then, isn’t it?”
“Yes, very good news.”
“Thank you so much for your time, Pete. If you think of anything that might help us find Jemmie, you can leave word at Brix House and I’ll be in touch.”
“I hope you find the boy,” Pete said, escorting them off the porch.
“Thank you. So do I.”
As Enoch drove away from Pete’s house, Sadie slammed her hand down on the dash of the truck.
“Ow. Dammit. Where is Jemmie? Enoch, I’m worried we aren’t going to find him. I was certain we’d get more answers from Pete. Instead, I feel more lost than ever. I don’t think he knows anything. He thought both boys had been taken and he seemed genuinely shocked to learn of his car being abandoned at the logging camp.”
Enoch drove down the driveway, slowing when he reached the main road.
They sat there, at the edge of Pete’s driveway, contemplating their next move. It seemed as though she’d never unravel this puzzle.
15
They idled for a few minutes, neither saying a word.
“Now where to, Deputy Anderson?”
“I think I liked it better when you called me ma’am. I have no idea. I’m completely at a loss. I must be missing something. But what. Muriel and Carl took whatever they knew with them when they left this life. Pete is of no help. I’m suspicious of him. I saw his phone right there on the kitchen wall, but he didn’t make any move to call Muriel’s sister to seem to worry about her whereabouts given that her car turned up at the scene of a murder. That’s strange, right?”
Enoch nodded. “It is. I thought the same thing.”
“Did he say anything else while I was using the facilities?”
“No. As soon as you left the room, he started making small talk about the weather.”
“So he’s definitely suspicious, but appears innocent. At this moment, I’m even more suspicious of Oscar. Either he or Pete is lying about the reason for the unpaid bills. If it wasn’t nearly midnight on a Sunday, we could call the vendor Pete mentioned and see if they have indeed stopped working with the Willamette Paper Company and the logging camp. I’m not sure how else to verify whether Oscar Brix is, in fact, broke. His wife seems to be in the dark. His ex-manager—well, can his claims be trusted given that he’s behaving with such a lack of interest about his now-missing wife?”
She tapped her fingers on her leg, thinking.
“What would Daniel do right about now? I wish I knew what happened at Olga’s house. And I really wish I could get my hands on Olga. She must know something that would help us. Unless she’s dead too?”
“Do you want to go back to your house and see if he’s awake and alert enough to brainstorm with you? Maybe some fresh eyes on the situation would help?”
She just realized that she’d not told him that Daniel was in Astoria, or at least on the way, with Olivia. The fear she’d been avoiding all evening came flooding back.
“He’s not home. Olivia left a note that she’d taken him to Astoria because his condition was worsening.”
“In this weather? The river must be rough tonight. I’m surprised she was able to secure a ferry captain. You must be worried sick, on top of all of this with Jemmie and Carl and now Muriel. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I couldn’t think about it and still focus on Jemmie. Since he’s in good hands, my worrying out loud wouldn’t help him.”
“You truly are an amazing woman.”
“I can’t agree with you there. I’d like to call the hospital, though, and see if I can get an update on his condition. We also need to check to see if Gus and the others have come across anything in their search. Perhaps they’ve checked in with Brix House. Also, we may have more contact from the kidnapper, whoever that might be. But first, my house.”
Enoch opted to wait in the truck for Sadie, so she raced up the porch stairs and into the dimly lit sitting room. She went straight to the phone and asked the operator to connect her to St. Mary’s Hospital. The nurse she s
poke with confirmed he was there but couldn’t release any additional information over the phone.
At least she could relax knowing they’d made it safely to the hospital despite the snowy weather and rough river conditions. That was something to hold on to.
She refilled her flask and bounded down the stairs.
Not surprisingly, Enoch was still there, truck rumbling, like a very reliable friend when she came outside. She made a note to tell Daniel how invaluable Enoch Redmond had been throughout this entire ordeal. Maybe he should be deputized.
“Thanks for waiting. Forgive me, Enoch, for not asking sooner, but kind of work do you do?”
“Logging,” he said, simply.
“So you know these woods well.” It was a statement, not a question.
“I do, but fat lot of good it’s doing us in our search for Jemmie.”
They both let out a frustrated sigh at the same time.
“Let’s get to Brix House and see if we have any other updates.”
He drove the short blocks to Jemmie’s house and once again, Anna opened the door before she could knock.
“Mrs. Anderson. Mrs. Brix has asked to see you the moment you returned. Follow me, please?”
Sadie nodded and she and Enoch followed Anna into the now very familiar sitting room.
This time, the room was filled with people. Henrietta stood looking out the window into the snowy darkness, Mr. and Mrs. Birnie sat in two arm chairs by the fire, and Joel sat on the floor in front of the fireplace petting an orange tabby that sat on his lap.
Sadie was a bit surprised to see him up at this late hour, but supposed it made sense that nobody in Brix House was getting much sleep while Jemmie was missing.
“Mrs. Brix. You wished to see me? Has there been an update from the other search party?”
Henrietta turned, her pale, drawn face looking like death.
“They called to say they’d found nothing, but are coming back here for instructions. But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you.”
Henrietta turned to look at Anna.
“Anna, would you please take Joel into the kitchen and warm some milk for him. I’m afraid this conversation is not for his ears.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Anna said, curtsying politely. Every eye in the room was on Anna and Joel as she shuffled him out of the room.
Once he was gone, Henrietta turned to Sadie.
“My husband, it seems, has been keeping quite a few things a secret. Details that you should know.”
“Where is he now?” Sadie asked?
“He’s out in the stables.”
Mr. Birnie, Henrietta’s father, grunted and shifted in his seat but said nothing. Mrs. Birnie’s stared at the carpet and wrung her hands in her lap.
Interesting, Sadie thought. Had he been banished there or was he just taking space? Everyone in the room seemed to be seething with an unseen anger.
She didn’t bother asking and Henrietta kept on with her monologue.
“It seems as though, as you suspected, their are some financial troubles. We will be unable to obtain the ransom demand due to Oscar’s ‘mismanagement’ of his various business ventures.”
“I told you,” Mr. Birnie chimed in, sounding more angry than comforting, “money is not an issue. I’ll ferry to Astoria and be at the bank when they open. You’ll have the one hundred thousand dollars in your hands by ten.”
“I know, Papa,” Henrietta said. “And I thank you.”
She turned her attention back to Sadie. “Given that I’m only now learning the magnitude of Oscar’s deception, I’m not entirely confident that he didn’t have something to do with Jemmie’s kidnapping and subsequent ransom.”
“Did you ask him about that?” Sadie asked, not disagreeing with her.
Henrietta shook her head. “Not yet. My parents and I have been discussing the likelihood and while I cannot fathom the possibility that he would risk our children in such a way for money, I must come to terms with the reality that he has been deceitful. Papa, why don’t you tell her what you told me?”
“That miserable husband of hers came to me for a loan, just last week. Said he was in a temporary tight spot due to unethical behavior by a vendor and needed a short term loan. That he could get it back to me within a few weeks.”
Sadie recalled Pete’s accusations about Oscar’s obsession with the Birnie family money.
“Is it abnormal for him to borrow money from you, Mr. Birnie?”
“No, not exactly. He’s borrowed relatively small sums from time to time, but this time was different.”
“How so?”
“He seemed more desperate. And when I tried to pin him down as to what exactly he needed it for, he became dodgy.”
“I see.”
“The sum he asked to borrow, which I declined to give him—it was one hundred thousand dollars.”
Sadie thought she could have heard a pin drop on the carpet in the painful silence that filled the room.
“And you think,” Sadie risked a guess, “that Oscar arranged for the boys to be kidnapped and ransomed, knowing you would never say no to aiding your grandchildren?”
“That is precisely what I think has happened. I would have killed Oscar myself by now, if I didn’t think he was the only one who knew where Jemmie was.”
“And he doesn’t know that you suspect this?”
“Not yet,” Henrietta said. “We were considering how to approach the topic with him when you arrived.”
“Well, Mr. Birnie, would you be so kind as to accompany myself and Mr. Redmond out to the stables? It’s high time we confront him. I don’t mean to alarm any of you, but I have reason to believe, based on other evidence we found today, that Jemmie may be injured. If he’s holding something back, maybe that information will encourage him to tell the truth about what happened today.”
Henrietta gasped and looked even paler, Mrs. Birnie closed her eyes, but otherwise remained frozen in her seat.
“Mrs. Brix, would you like to come with us to speak to your husband?”
She nodded. “Yes.” It was barely a whisper but the fury that burned in her eyes betrayed her quiet voice.
16
Mr. Birnie led the way to the stables, carrying a lantern to light their path. When the small group entered, they found Oscar brushing a black horse.
He turned when he heard them enter and looked to Sadie first.
“Have you found him?”
Henrietta rushed him, surprising everyone with her swiftness. Once she was inches from his face, she spoke in a calm but furious voice.
“Enough, Oscar. That is quite enough of your deceit. I know about the loan you tried to get from Papa, for exactly the same amount as the ransom. I knew you were a calculated businessmen, but I never would have guessed you would put our children up for ransom to make a dollar.”
She paused for a moment and he opened his mouth to speak, but she held a hand up and he closed his mouth. Her hand tightly gripped a small dagger. It looked as though her knuckles would break from the pressure she applied to the dagger as she held it up in mid-air, the point aimed directly at Oscar’s heart.
“No more lies. Starting right now. Where is Jemmie? Sadie thinks he may be hurt, and I swear on all that is holy that if you don’t tell me the truth right this minute, I’ll slit your throat right here in this stable and I doubt anyone here would try and stop me.”
Mr. Birnie had eased up next to Henrietta, but made no move to take the knife.
This time Oscar help up both of his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I’m so sorry, Henrietta. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I swear, though, I don’t know where Jemmie is now.”
“Don’t you lie to me again, Oscar Brix,” Henrietta breathed. “I honestly cannot take it.”
“I’ll tell you everything. Give your father the knife. I’ll tell you everything.”
She stared at him for a moment, with such a ferocity that Sadie thought he might catch on fir
e with only her eyes for kindling but she made no move to relinquish the knife. Sadie couldn’t blame her and actually found it quite impressive that she had enough restraint to not have murdered him where he stood.
“I did arrange for Carl to take the boys while they were out on their adventure. We made arrangements for him to call demanding ransom. He was going to take them to the logging camp since it would be somewhat familiar to them and keep them there until we got the ransom money. They were supposed to think they were on an adventure while Carl was helping me with a job. He wasn’t supposed to grab them like Joel described.”
Mr. Birnie interrupted, a cold anger flattening his voice. “And you were planning on getting that from me, I assume?”
Oscar nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. I can see now that it was the wrong thing. I was blinded by panic. We were about to lose everything.”
“WHERE. IS. JEMMIE? OSCAR!”
Henrietta was losing it. The fist that held the knife was trembling and a single tear rolled down her cheek.
“I don’t know. I don’t know who killed Carl. None of that was supposed to happen.”
Mr. Birnie pulled Henrietta close in a side hug. “Darling, give me the knife. If you still want to murder this piece of trash after we’ve found Jemmie, I’ll help you dig his grave.”
Henrietta collapsed into her father and let the knife fall. A single sob escaped her throat.
Oscar dared to speak. “I swear, I have no idea where he is.”
Henrietta was shivering and so was Sadie, although she was managing to ignore the cold for the most part.
Her suspicions had been correct. The kidnapping and ransom was motivated by money and Oscar was behind it. Or had been. It had gotten away from him though, and now Jemmie was missing for real. The despair in his eyes that she’d seen at the logging camp after Carl turned up dead was real then. That was when he’d known terror for real, that his boy really was in danger, even though the rest of us thought as much all along.
“Enoch and I went to Olga Svenson’s fish cabin this evening. We found the scene of Carl’s murder. Either he was pushed or fell and hit his head on the toilet in Olga’s bathroom. In the bathroom, we found a small bloody handprint on the wall. It was too small to belong to an adult. It may have been Jemmie’s.”
