Full Tilt

by Rick Mofina

  What the hell have we got here?

  CHAPTER 15

  Buffalo, New York

  Yellowing tape held meal schedules to the walls of the dining hall of the mission in downtown Buffalo.

  The rules were up there, too: “No weapons, no drugs, no booze and no fighting. We offer: Love, respect, understanding and healing.” After reading them Dickson shook his head.

  “It sickens me that any veteran, after sacrificing everything for our country, comes home to this.”

  Ed flipped through his notes. The two Rampart detectives were at a table waiting for the mission crew to finish up with breakfast so they could interview people about former Sergeant John Charles Pollard.

  That Pollard, not Carl Nelson, had been identified as the male victim took this thing to a whole new level. They needed to determine his connection to Nelson, to Bethany Ann Wynn, to any aspect of the case.

  After the pathologist had alerted them yesterday to Pollard’s ID, Brennan and Dickson pored over his military records, made calls and tracked his last known location to Buffalo.

  Pollard, aged thirty-nine, was from Toledo, Ohio, and had enlisted as an artillery man in the US Army in 1998. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment and had several deployments to Iraq and then Afghanistan. By 2009, he was with the US Special Forces in Kandahar’s Zhari District. Later, at a Forward Operating Base in Paktia province, his unit was pinned down in a firefight that lasted a week. Pollard witnessed the deaths of most of his squad members.

  He came home to Toledo, suffering post-traumatic stress and became addicted to alcohol and other drugs. He lost his job as a truck driver, his wife left him. He fell into debt, then drifted across the country, ending up on the streets and finally in this homeless shelter.

  Brennan was grateful to Buffalo PD, which had made initial inquiries with local shelters. It cleared the way for him to get up at four this morning and make the four-hour drive to Buffalo with Dickson to continue their investigation. They hadn’t released Pollard’s name yet. They were working with the military to locate his family.

  “Doesn’t it make you sick that vets end up homeless when they should be treated like heroes?”

  “It’s a disgrace.” Brennan sipped his coffee and over the rim saw Tim Scott, the shelter’s director, wiping his hands with a towel as he approached them.

  “Thanks for waiting.” Scott joined them at the table, then waved to staff members behind the counter. “Sure we can’t get you fellas something to eat after your long drive?”

  “We’re good with the coffee. Thanks,” Brennan said. “What can you tell us about John Charles Pollard?”

  “I can’t believe he’s dead. In a fire…maybe he took shelter in the barn?”

  “Maybe.”

  “It always hurts when we lose a client.” Scott shook his head. “People come to us broken. We give them a meal, a bed and hope in the way of counseling and services. J.C. had been with us for five months and was showing promise. He’d gotten clean and sober. He’d gotten his license again and was ready to apply for driving jobs.”

  “So things were looking up?”

  “Yes, despite all he’d faced, he was slowly getting back on his feet. But some guys have their setbacks and they disappear. That’s what I thought might’ve happened.”

  “That he’d had a setback?”

  “That’s what I was thinking. The other guys who knew him best had been asking about him because he hadn’t been around for a week or so. Reggie and Delmar. They bunked with him for a time and were probably the closest he had to friends. They’re right here.”

  The first man was in his thirties. His clothes hung loose on his skinny frame. His face bore fresh scrapes, as if he’d collided with the sidewalk.

  “Is it true? J.C.’s dead?” The man called Reggie sniffed and sat down.

  “I’m afraid so. My condolences.”

  Reggie nodded sadly.

  “May I ask what happened?” Brennan indicated the man’s cuts.

  “Was drunk, fell on the street.”

  “Reggie, may I get your last name, date of birth and could you show me your Social Security card? It’s routine.”

  Brennan cleared a page in his notebook, took down Reggie’s information then did the same for Delmar, the taller of the two. Delmar had a full, scraggly Moses beard dotted with crumbs.

  Brennan thanked them and said, “We ask that you keep our inquiries confidential. It’s critical to our investigation.”

  “So he got killed in a fire in Rampart?” Delmar looked around the table.

  “Something like that. Guys, can you recall if John—”

  “Oh, we call him J.C., nobody called him John,” Reggie said.

  “Sorry. Can you recall if J.C. had any connection to Rampart?”

  The three men shook their heads.

  “Ohio, mostly, that’s where he came from,” Reggie said.

  “Do the names Carl Nelson or Bethany Ann Wynn mean anything to you in relation to J.C.?”

  “Don’t think so.” Delmar looked to the others, who agreed.

  “What about Canada? Did he ever talk about it?”

  More shaking of heads.

  Dickson cued up photos on his tablet.

  “Do you recognize anything in these pictures, any connection at all?”

  The first were several photos of Bethany Ann Wynn.

  None of the photos registered with the men.

  Next were photos of Tara Dawn Mae, from her missing persons file from Alberta.

  Again, nothing.

  Then they showed them enlarged photos of the necklace with the guardian angel charm.

  Nothing.

  “What’s this really about?” Scott was clearly troubled. “I get the feeling there’s something more serious going on. Do you think J.C. had something to do with these people?”

  “At this point, we’re not sure what to think,” Brennan admitted.

  Then came photos of Carl Nelson.

  “That guy.” Delmar tapped his finger on Nelson’s face.

  “He used to come around, talk to J.C.,” Reggie said, nodding.

  “When did he start coming around?” Brennan stared hard at the men.

  “It started a month or so back, maybe two months,” Reggie said. “We were in the park, passing a bottle of Thunderbird. J.C. wouldn’t take none, he was on the program doin’ fine without preachin’ to us. That’s when this guy—” Reggie pointed at Nelson “—came up and just gave us money. Fifty bucks each. Said he remembered when his family had hard times. We get that sometimes.”

  “Did he give you his name?”

  “Jones, Adam Jones, I think,” Reggie said.

  “Then the guy came around more,” Delmar said. “Bought us lunches and took an interest in J.C., his military time, telling J.C. how thankful and honored he was.” Delmar jabbed his forefinger into the table. “I tell you, sir, that meant the goddamn world to J.C. because he was still carrying the ghosts of the men he lost.”

  Reggie nodded.

  “J.C. was a true-blue soldier. You know, he still had his dog tags. Put them in his boot so no one would yank them from his neck if he got jumped. I think we were the only ones he told.”

  “Can you recall any other details about the man’s interest in J.C.?”

  “He started bringing him clothes, pants, boots, jackets, stuff he said he no longer needed, or never wore,” Delmar said.

  “Yeah,” Reggie said. “Good stuff, because they were practically the same height, build, age, the same everything. The guy told J.C. the clothes were his and he didn’t need them anymore.”

  Brennan and Dickson exchanged a glance.

  “Do you recall anything else?”

/>   “They were getting chummy,” Delmar said. “I remember, about two weeks before we last saw J.C., he was saying that he might have a lead on a good job but it was across the state.”

  “In Rampart?” Brennan asked.

  Delmar shook his head. “Didn’t say, but he sure was feeling good about things, you just saw it on his face and stuff.”

  “Then that was it,” Reggie said. “We never saw J.C. after that.”

  * * *

  Brennan and Dickson shared their theories on the case on the long drive back to Rampart.

  “What do you think, Ed? Nelson was making bondage, porn movies at the barn, maybe invited Pollard to take part?”

  “Maybe, but look again at what his note said.”

  Dickson read it aloud. “‘I only wanted someone to love in my life. It’s better to end everyone’s pain. God forgive me for what I’ve done. Carl Nelson.’ Okay, so something else was going on. Where does Pollard fit?”

  “We need to get warrants on Nelson’s house, his bank records, credit card and his computer.”

  “Wait, how did Nelson use Pollard?”

  “Look at their physical particulars, both are white males, both are six feet tall. Nelson’s in his forties and Pollard’s thirty-nine, almost the same age and both have the same body type.”

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I think Nelson selected Pollard to stage his own suicide.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Calgary, Alberta

  The Southern Alberta District headquarters for the RCMP’s K Division in northeast Calgary was housed in a glass-and-brick building overlooking Deerfoot Trail, the city’s major expressway.

  Thankfully, it was also near the airport, Kate thought as she wheeled her rented Toyota into the parking lot.

  Kate had arranged to meet a Corporal Jared Fortin at 9:00 a.m. to discuss Tara Dawn Mae’s disappearance and Vanessa’s case.

  She had ten minutes before her meeting and checked her phone for messages. Nothing new. Smiling at her daughter’s face, she remembered what Grace had said before giving her a million hugs goodbye yesterday.

  “I hope you find out what happened to Aunt Vanessa, Mom.”

  Kate entered the building and went to the front desk.

  “I’m Kate Page. I have an appointment with Corporal Jared Fortin, who I believe is with Major Crimes.”

  “Yes, one moment, please.”

  As the receptionist’s keyboard clicked, Kate looked at the wall map behind her. The Southern Alberta District had more than thirty detachments and covered everything in the southern region of the province west of Calgary to British Columbia, east to Saskatchewan and south to Montana, an area larger than most states.

  The receptionist stopped and looked at Kate.

  “Kate Page, from New York City?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did Corporal Fortin not contact you about today?”

  “No. Is there a problem?”

  The woman resumed concentrating on her monitor, then, finding something, her expression changed, indicating all was well.

  “No, it’s fine. Sorry.” She then requested Kate exchange two pieces of photo ID for a visitor’s badge and her signature on a sign-in sheet. “Thank you. Please have a seat. Someone will be right with you.”

  Kate went to the waiting area, wondering if the receptionist had inadvertently signaled a problem. She sat in a chair and glanced at the spread of magazines on the table. Something was up. She took out her phone. She hadn’t received any new messages. She scrolled through news sites out of Rampart, scanning stories for any updates.

  She’d found nothing new.

  “Ms. Page?”

  A man in a dark blue suit had materialized. He was about six feet tall with a solid build, short brown hair and thick mustache. He looked to be in his late forties.

  “Staff Sergeant Ian Owen.” He extended his hand. “I’m Corporal Fortin’s supervisor. Right this way.”

  He led her to his office. Through the large windows Kate saw jets approaching the airport. Sergeant Owen directed her to a chair before his desk.

  “Can I get you a coffee or anything?”

  “No, thank you. I’m fine.”

  Owen sat, took up his pen and leaned forward, staring at it for a moment.

  “Ms. Page, I’ll come to the point. I know why you’re here. Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to help you.”

  “But Corporal Fortin assured me he was willing to discuss my sister’s case and the cold case of Tara Dawn Mae.”

  “He explained your call to me. All I can say is that we’re supporting an active investigation in another jurisdiction.”

  “But the case in Rampart, New York, and the case in Brooks, Alberta, are linked and there’s every possibility they’re linked to my sister.”

  “I understand, and I can only imagine how terrible this sounds to you, especially after you’ve traveled here from New York.”

  As Kate’s heart sank, she grew angry. Angry at herself for believing police here would help her when, in the back of her mind, she knew cops were all the same. As her resentment rose she realized what had happened.

  “You’ve been talking to Ed Brennan about me, haven’t you?”

  “As I said, we’re supporting another jurisdiction in an ongoing investigation.”

  “I got that. Forgive me for being blunt, Staff Sergeant, but I’m not an idiot. Let me give you some context, which I’m sure you know from talking to Rampart. Ed Brennan called me, requesting my help. He asked me to bring my necklace to him so he could compare it to one found at his scene, which resembles my sister’s necklace.”

  Owen said nothing, letting Kate continue.

  “At the same time, there’s evidence at the Rampart scene that’s tied to the disappearance of Tara Dawn Mae, which is in your yard. Now, here we sit, some one hundred and fifty miles from where I lost my sister in the Kicking Horse River.”

  “That was twenty years ago near Golden, BC. That’s E Division’s jurisdiction.”

  “Stop, stop this bureaucratic police bull, please! I was underwater in that river when our car crashed into it. I held my sister’s hand—”

  “Ms. Page, I understand but—”

  “No, I’m sorry, you don’t understand. For twenty years I’ve lived with being told my sister was dead. But her body was never found and I’ve refused to give up hoping that she’d somehow survived. And now her necklace surfaces at a murder scene in New York with a link to the cold case of a missing girl from your jurisdiction. I’ve cooperated with you guys. I’ve given you my necklace, my DNA, yet you, just like Brennan, throw up your hands with the I can’t discuss the case, it’s an ongoing investigation when we all know that it’s the ghost of my sister that’s tying this all together for you!”

  Owen repositioned his pen as his jawline pulsed.

  “Since we’re being blunt, allow me to give you a little context, Ms. Page. It’s my understanding that you have charges pending against you in Rampart for trespassing on a crime scene, possibly tampering or planting evidence?”

  “Oh, for God’s sake, I did not tamper or plant evidence.”

  Owen leaned forward.

  “That may be, but given your personal stake, a good defense attorney could easily create the perception in court that you did, and destroy a case, allowing someone guilty to go free. Now how do you think that would sit with the family of Bethany Ann Wynn?”

  Kate let out a long, tense breath and glanced at the 747 approaching the airport.

  “Ms. Page, I’m sure you can appreciate that it’s critical for investigators not to risk weakening an iota of the case so that it will remain solid when it comes to prosecuting it.”

  Kate said nothing, letting a few moments
pass.

  “I think it’d be best if you let us do our job.” Owen stood to conclude the meeting. “Give me your contact information and if there are any developments that I can share with you, I give you my word, I will.”

  Kate reached into her bag for her wallet and handed him one of her business cards. Owen then escorted her to the reception desk, where she traded her visitor’s pass for her identification.

  “Safe travels, Ms. Page.” Owen shook her hand.

  In her car, Kate was still simmering from the exchange.

  Before she’d left New York for Alberta, she’d made other calls. She paged through her notes for other people who’d agreed to talk to her.

  Sheri Young was a neighbor of Barton and Fiona Mae at the time of Tara Dawn’s disappearance. Then there were Eileen and Norbert Ingram, who now owned the Maes’ former house. And the Children’s Searchlight Network was working on finding her people familiar with the Mae case. She roared out of the lot. As she glanced at the RCMP building in her rearview mirror an image burned across her mind.

  A tiny hand rising from the cold dark water…

  Kate squeezed the wheel. No way was she backing off.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  CHAPTER 17

  Tilley, Alberta

  Kate drove toward the horizon undaunted.

  The Trans-Canada Highway east from Calgary cut across gentle hills that soon flattened for as far as she could see. Still smarting from her meeting with the RCMP, she was now counting on the people of Southern Alberta to help her.

  “Certainly, we’ll talk to you,” Eileen Ingram had told her earlier when Kate had called. Eileen and her husband, Norbert, were the current owners of the Maes’ house.

  Two hours after leaving Calgary, Kate had reached Brooks, a small prairie city known for agriculture, gas, oil and meat processing. Staying on the Trans-Canada, she passed the Grand Horizon Plaza.

  The truck stop where Tara Dawn Mae was last seen fifteen years ago.

  Kate continued east to the hamlet of Tilley then followed a ribbon of highway south for another fifteen minutes or so before coming to the remote property amid the eternal rolling treeless plain. It was a modest two-story frame house, set back from the road. Gravel crunched under her tires when she rolled along the driveway to the house. Two women and a man stepped onto the porch to greet her.