Silent Ridge: A gripping crime thriller and mystery (Detective Megan Carpenter Book 3)

by Gregg Olsen

  Watching Rylee work over the last couple of years has changed what started out as pure revenge and turned it into something else. She doesn’t want to believe someone got the better of Alex. She believes Rylee just got lucky. She hates Rylee but she is coming to respect her. When Alex died, it was all she could do to not go after Rylee and kill her. Something, call it instinct, made her wait and watch. That instinct has kept her from making the same mistake Alex did with Rylee. Rylee is a force to be reckoned with. But then, so is she. It will be interesting to see Rylee realize she’s been outmatched and to watch her die slowly and painfully.

  She wonders what Rylee thought of the pictures she sent to the lumberjack.

  “What do you think, Michael?” she asks the body lying in the shallow grave. “What? Nothing to say? You were so chatty when I caught you sleeping. You were offering to help me kill the bitch and then begging for your miserable life.” She kicks Rader’s severed head into the grave. “You were nothing like your brother. Always losing your head.”

  She kicks the scalp in with the body. “You might need this.”

  She isn’t worried about Rader being found. Rylee has focused on Michael just like she knew she would. And while Rylee was running all over the state in search of the families of Alex’s victims, it gave her time to tweak her plan to take Rylee down. Monique Delmont was only a nudge to push Rylee along her current path. But it wasn’t needed in the end.

  In fact, the snipe hunt she manufactured for Rylee is almost over. She will have to leave more clues for Rylee to find her prey. Michael was the perfect bait, the perfect scapegoat. A self-serving, greedy, murderous asshole. He only killed Kim Mock and Steve Jones in prison because, if Alex had been caught, the trail would have also led to Michael. Michael had partaken in some of the rapes and tortures. The brothers had shared everything. Even Alex’s wife, Marie. Of course, Alex wasn’t aware that Michael and Marie were having sex while Alex was at work. She found out because she and Marie became close friends. Marie knew about her arrangement with Alex. Knew he was sleeping with her. Marie didn’t really mind.

  When Rylee killed Alex and Marie, it panicked Michael. He collected the evidence, the pictures from Delmont, but not to keep Alex’s name clean. In fact, he was going to plant the evidence in such a way that he himself wouldn’t be under any suspicion. But it was already too late for Michael. He was already under a magnifying glass by the prison internal affairs office for illegal use of force and one death. He’d gotten away with two others. He had a sadistic mean streak and took it out on a captive audience.

  She kept track of him. She knew she would kill him, but she needed him until now. He unknowingly played his part and now Rylee will be blamed for his death.

  She picks up the two severed fingers from the ground and puts them in her pocket. These will be her last message to Rylee and a nail in Rylee’s coffin.

  But there is one last thing she has to take from Rylee. If she does this right, Rylee will be blamed for more than one killing.

  Fifty

  I pull into the office parking lot and my eyes are drawn to the woods. I can’t help it. Marley said the DNA I collected from the items out there had no bearing on the case. The DNA wasn’t in the database and there were no fingerprints. The Sheriff’s Office is a non-smoking area. So everyone goes outside to smoke. I saw Nan out there. I couldn’t imagine a reason for the women’s panties to be there, but in this day and age, anything goes.

  Sheriff Gray’s car is still here and I know he’s waiting to see me. I don’t want to go in. I’m not ready for The Talk.

  “I’m going to drop you here and head home,” I say to Ronnie. “I need to get a shower and change clothes.”

  “You don’t have to dress up for dinner,” she says.

  I’m not planning to. It’s hard to hide a shoulder holster under a dress. I know this is the point where I ask what she’s going to wear and make girl talk, but I don’t know how to pull that off with someone who really knows me. Someone who knows I have only one nice pair of jeans and a couple of nice blouses.

  “Can I bring a gun?” I ask, and she giggles.

  “Of course you can. I know you never leave home without it. I’ll have one too. That case last month taught me a lesson, believe me.”

  “You just passed your first lesson, Red. By the way, what do you think of that for a nickname?”

  “Honestly?” She cocks her head.

  I nod.

  “I hate it. But it makes Marley happy. I just hope it doesn’t catch on. I don’t want to get stuck with it. You know how cops can be.”

  I know. “Do you want me to tell him it’s not appropriate to call you that?” I offer.

  “Would you?”

  “I’ll tell him nicely.”

  I’ll say, Quit calling her Red, you dumb shit or the sheriff will have your ass. That’s sexual harassment. Marley is a by-the-book kind of guy. If he hears “sexual harassment,” his butt will pucker.

  Ronnie gets out of the car and I roll down the window. “You still need to let me know where the party is and when.”

  She comes back and leans in the window. “I’m going to make him take me to The Tides. How about seven?”

  “Perfect.”

  She walks toward her car, turns and waves. I wave back and smile like I mean it. I hang around to make sure Sheriff Gray doesn’t come out and stop her before she leaves. When she’s safely away, I take off. I’m halfway to Port Townsend when I call the sheriff’s cell phone.

  “Megan. Where are you?”

  “I’m at home,” I lie.

  “Oh. Okay. We need to talk sometime. How are you feeling?”

  I wonder why he’s asking this. Maybe he thinks I’m grieving over Monique. I am, but it’s not debilitating.

  “I’m fine,” I say. “We’ll talk soon. I promise. I’ll tell you everything,” I lie again. I wonder if he’s just checking to make sure I haven’t fled the state. I wonder how much he really knows. He’s a very smart man. He was an excellent detective. Better than I am. Maybe.

  I change the subject. “Are you coming to Ronnie’s party tonight?”

  “Party?”

  “Yeah. Marley is buying her dinner and they’ve invited me to attend. I’m inviting you. Please say yes.”

  I don’t want to interfere with their date. Yeah, right.

  “When and where? I’ll call the wife. I’d ask Nan but she left early. Has a date.”

  “Oh, darn,” I say, and smile. “Ronnie is making him take her to one of our favorite places.”

  “The Tides.”

  “Yep. Seven o’clock.”

  “If I don’t show, tell her I’ll see her at work. I always have a little gathering and cake for new employees.”

  “You did that for me and it was a nice gesture,” I say, meaning every word.

  I hang up and pull up in front of my place. I do my usual routine: check the lighting, the neighborhood, listen, watch for a minute or two, draw my weapon and get out of the car.

  I’m weary from driving today. I worry over what I’m going to have to reveal to Sheriff Gray. What he will think of me. What he might do. I like him more than almost anyone, and I trust him the same. But I don’t really trust life not to dunk me in a shit bath. After all, when it comes down to it, a murderer is a murderer. I’m as steeped in causing death as my bio-dad. True, I didn’t make the people I killed suffer. They were all predators. Their victims were innocent. They are dead just the same.

  The shower is barely lukewarm when I get out. I look at the time; I didn’t realize I’d just about run the hot water tank dry. Plus I don’t have much time to dry off and dress before I head to The Tides.

  I resist listening to a tape of the sessions with Dr. Albright. I hated them at first. Each one dug a knife in my heart and made my head hurt. Now they are becoming addictive. I realize how far I’ve come since my Rylee days. I’m not as angry all the time or disappointed in the world. I’m starting to open up a bit.

  But
when I do, something always happens that drags me back down into the muck. A good example: the serial killings I dealt with last month. They forced me to become Rylee again. It was that or allow these monsters to take more victims.

  I don’t want to carry this weight anymore. I want the life I see Sheriff Gray or Ronnie or Dan living. To live in a bubble. That’s not who I am. I will never be able to let my guard down that much. I’m a sheepdog. I keep the wolves at bay. I feel my eyes water with the realization that my place in life is to be a killer. I fight back the tears. I don’t have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself. I know that if I had my life to live over I would still be where I am. It’s in my genes. Literally. I’m a monster. But the good kind.

  Fifty-One

  I log in to my personal email account. There’s the general junk mail, advertisements. There is also an email from Dan. It’s from early this morning. There is nothing in the subject line. It is short and makes me feel worse. The email says:

  Megan, I don’t think we should see each other for a while. I can’t be with someone that doesn’t trust me. Be well.

  Dan.

  My emotions are mixed. Relief beyond words that Dan’s all right collides with the stinging hurt of his rejection. I want to cry, but I push the feeling down deep inside my already overcrowded prison cell of emotions.

  I dress the way I feel. Typical work outfit and shoulder holster. It reminds me that I’m always on duty. No time for an outside life. Maybe I deserve it. I truly, deeply long for a conversation with Dr. Albright. Even if she can’t fix what’s wrong, even if I don’t feel much better after talking with her, she still has a way of putting it all together in an understandable way and not the helter-skelter jumble of mixed emotions I feel now. I promise myself I’ll call her tomorrow.

  I stick a toothpick in the crack of the closet door. It’s a precaution my mother taught me. If anyone opens the closet the toothpick will fall. I leave my bedroom and entry light on. I go through my place one more time to check the window locks. If you’re not careful, someone can get in.

  I should know.

  I check the street. It looks normal enough. I use the flashlight on my phone to look inside the car before I get in.

  I drive to The Tides. The parking is full, as usual. I can put a paper placard on the dash declaring the vehicle as “SHERIFF’S OFFICE.” I don’t want the attention, so I find an empty parking spot two blocks away and walk.

  Ronnie’s Smart car and Sheriff Gray’s truck are parked almost in front of the bar. They both display the “SHERIFF’S OFFICE” placard on their dashboards. He must have given Ronnie one. I look around for Dan’s truck but don’t see it. If he knows I’m going to be here, he won’t come. I wonder if Ronnie has invited him.

  Probably not.

  I go inside and see a group from the office have pushed tables together. Mindy Newsom, Marley Yang, Sheriff Gray, Deputy Copsey, Deputy Davis, Nan, even Jerry Larsen, the coroner. Ronnie looks up and beams a smile at me. Mindy has saved a seat between herself and Ronnie and pats it.

  “Get over here, girl,” she says.

  I take a seat, see the slightly inebriated faces around me, and decide I’m having only one drink. Maybe a big one, but just one. My resolve lasts almost as long as it takes to down a Scotch.

  Sheriff Gray orders another round, and when they come, he stands. “I know we have a celebration planned for Ronnie’s official swearing in, but I think now is a good time to make an announcement.” He raises his glass and everyone around the table raises theirs. “Ronnie, will you please stand.”

  Ronnie doesn’t look uncomfortable at all. I would be looking for a door about now. She looks around at the faces and then settles on Sheriff Gray’s.

  “Reserve Deputy Veronica Marsh came to us last month during her rotation to various units of the department. I assigned her to shadow one of the finest detectives this department has ever seen, Megan Carpenter.” He puts his hand alongside his mouth like he’s revealing something he doesn’t want anyone else to hear, but I know he’s going to blast me. That’s a tradition as well.

  “Ronnie has survived the fire. If Megan didn’t break her—or get her killed—then she deserves to be one of us.”

  There’s a round of clinking of glasses and Tony continues. “It’s highly unusual for anyone to be hired before completing the rotation process, but soon-to-be Deputy Marsh has been kidnapped and beaten and suffered a broken wrist, all in the line of duty when she and Megan brought down a serial killer.”

  He holds his glass out to Ronnie.

  “Tomorrow you will be sworn in as Deputy Marsh. I’m proud to have you on the team.”

  Glasses are clinked in salutes all around and Tony orders another round.

  Marley is drinking more than his share. I imagine he’s disappointed that it wasn’t the romantic dinner he planned, but to his credit he acts like the night belongs to Ronnie. And it does. He’s being a gentleman and that might make points with the object of his desire. I feel a little chastened by hoping he doesn’t get lucky. If he and Ronnie consummate the relationship, it won’t be long before one or the other grows tired or complacent and my connection with the crime lab might dry up. I know that’s selfish. I don’t care.

  Where I’m sitting I can see out of the big picture windows of the bar toward the bay. It’s dark out and the yellow sodium streetlights only create shadows. I think I see something move across the street and my hand automatically feels for my gun. I watch for several heartbeats but there is no more movement, if there ever was. Maybe a food wrapper was caught by the wind and sailed just out of reach of the streetlights. Maybe someone is going to their car. I feel silly for being so hyperalert.

  I really need to talk to Dr. Albright.

  As the evening winds down, Copsey and Davis are the first to leave. They have duty early in the morning. Like I don’t. Mindy stays but I wish she doesn’t. She wants to discuss my love life or lack thereof. It’s not a good subject right now. Sheriff Gray stands.

  “Come on, Mindy,” he says. She got a ride with him. “Megan.” He looks at me. “My office. First thing in the morning.”

  I nod but he doesn’t settle for that. “Okay. Your office. First thing, Sheriff.”

  I would call in sick except for the case.

  He seems satisfied and leaves with Mindy. That leaves me, Marley and Ronnie. Marley clears his throat a couple of times.

  “You’re not getting sick, are you?” I ask him, and get a dirty look.

  “It’s about time I got home too,” Ronnie says. “Marley, thanks for the dinner and sharing my celebration. You’re a good friend.”

  His lips form a tight line at the word “friend.” “My pleasure, Deputy Marsh.”

  Nice recovery, Marley. Now finish your drink, make like a fly and buzz off.

  “I guess I’ll head home too,” I say. “We have an early day tomorrow.”

  “I’d like to talk to Ronnie alone for a minute if that’s okay,” Marley says.

  I want to argue but just then I see Dan’s truck going past the window. At least, it looks like his truck. “See you in the morning,” I say to Ronnie. “Thanks for all the help today, Marley.”

  He nods without taking his eyes from Ronnie. She hasn’t had as much alcohol as I’ve had so she should be safe from Mr. Yang. I leave a large tip and then leave The Tides. Outside I check the parking lot and look up and down the street. Moths flutter around the lights. I hear a car door slam somewhere and a dog barks. The bark sounds happy. A loved one has come home. It would normally make me smile. A happy thought. This time it doesn’t lift my spirits.

  Dan’s truck is gone and all I think about is the email. I want to be mad at him. He thinks we need time apart but he doesn’t know what I know. Time apart won’t help anything unless it’s forever. I can’t think about that. I’ve lost so much already.

  I walk the two blocks to my Taurus. I’ve had plenty of opportunity to buy a personal vehicle but for some reason I stay with the Taurus.
It’s like me: messed up but serviceable.

  I sit in my car with the engine running but don’t go home. I’m thinking of waiting for everyone to clear out and then going back to The Tides. I’m a little hungry and there’s nothing at home to heat. Not even cereal. The milk expired a few days ago and is almost cottage cheese.

  Everyone at the party had somewhere to go afterward. Somebody to go home to. Even Ronnie had Marley, who is crazy about her. I have my gun and my tapes. I’ve had two boyfriends now. Both have abandoned me. My own brother hates me. I like to think I’m a superhero. Like Superman hiding behind Clark Kent’s fumbling persona. Unable to form attachments because the bad guys would use it as a weakness. Come after my friends if I had any. That’s what happened to Monique. She was caught in my black cloud where monsters are real.

  “Stop.” I look startled. I don’t realize I said that out loud. I’ve had more to drink than I should have. That’s why I’m so morose. My life doesn’t suck. Not really.

  I put the Taurus in gear and the transmission hesitates, then clunks as the gears mesh. That makes me smile. Maybe I’ve got some miles left on me too.

  I drive by Dan’s shop. No lights are on inside. No truck. I step on the gas and head home.

  Fifty-Two

  I wake up with a bad taste in my mouth and my throat is burning. I didn’t sleep well. I don’t remember the dreams but they were unsettling. I blame the burn in my throat on the jalapeño poppers and the bad dreams on the Scotch.

  My gun is on the nightstand. I’ve kicked the sheet off the end of the bed. I have to pee.

  I finish my morning business and as I’m getting dressed I remember part of a dream. In it, Dan was with Hayden. They both looked serious and I had a feeling they were going to do an intervention with me. In the dream, they said I was a liar and they were going to make me tell the truth. I was angry at being called a liar even though I knew it was true. That memory brings back the anger and anxiety of being trapped between a guy I really like and a brother I love and telling the truth to either of them.