I steered around the vehicle into a small parking area for the campground, which was chockablock with cars and vans emblazoned with television and newspaper logos. I pulled up alongside Ebba Johansson’s red BMW and was immediately surrounded by reporters shouting at me. Ebba was holding court in front of a picnic table. She made eye contact with me and I waved her over. She sauntered over and I yelled at her to get in and unlocked the doors.
She climbed into the passenger seat. “I was wondering if you were still coming because you said you’d be here early and—”
“What the hell is going on?” I snapped. “Why are all these reporters here?”
“Well, I invited them.”
“Why on earth would you do that? I’m trying real hard not to freak out at you so start talking.”
Our picture was constantly being taken so I resisted the urge to strangle Ebba or even give her my death glare.
“There hasn’t been as much coverage lately. I need to keep my Ava in the news so people won’t forget her.” Her voice broke at the end of the sentence.
“You should’ve warned me.”
“I’m sorry. You’ll still help?” She reached over and put a hand on my arm and I could hear the click click click of cameras snapping this emotional shot. Grieving mother pleading with weirdo witch girl who finds bodies.
“I’m not walking into the woods with my dowsing rods and being followed by a bunch of nosy reporters.”
“Okay. I’ll make a statement and tell them to leave.”
“They won’t go,” I told her, my voice cutting. “Why would they? They’re hoping I’ll find a body and each one of them wants to be here if that happens. They didn’t drive all the way out here just to watch us have a touching moment in a car.” I sighed. “Tell me about that day.”
“Well, I’d received the ransom note a few days before saying that he’d release Ava for one hundred thousand dollars. The letter came in the mail to my house and said to get the money ready and told me where to meet them in four days with the cash. I was told no police or they’d kill her.”
She spoke so quietly that I had to lean in to hear her over the sound of reporters outside.
“In the meantime the police were launching their investigation?” I urged her to continue.
“Yes, but they only knew she was a missing person. I didn’t tell them about the ransom note. They came over and searched her room. Called her friends, that kind of thing, but they weren’t taking it very serious. Until I got that letter I was worried but I still thought she’d show up on a friend’s couch somewhere. She often didn’t come home for days at a time if she was out having a good time.” She gave me a look that said kids, right? Whatcha gonna do?
“So you got the money ready?”
“Well, that wasn’t as easy as it sounds because even though I’ve got all these spas and the house my money was tied up. It’s not like I had a hundred thousand in my savings account. I had to go to the bank and they were a big help in helping me leverage everything to the hilt.”
“So you got the cash and then you came out here at the day and time it said?”
“So I packed up the money in a small backpack and came here. The instructions said to drop off the bag on a black rock that was down the trail, and Ava would come out. I dropped the backpack on that rock, which was out of sight from the parking lot. Then I went back to my car and waited for Ava. After an hour of waiting I got worried.” She took a deep breath. “So I walked back down the trail. The pack with the money was gone and there was a lot of blood on the ground and no sign of Ava. I called the police and they got here right away. Brought dogs and everything but...nothing. The dogs lost the scent of them only a few feet from the drop-off spot.”
“Were there other campers here that day? Any other cars?”
“Nobody else was here. This campground was closed for the season and reopened a couple weeks later.”
“So the two would’ve hiked here together and then he hurt her here...but then what? He couldn’t’ve carried her far. You called the police and—”
“And they came.” She looked down at her hands folded in her lap as if trying to keep back the tears. “I can’t tell you how long it took the police to come. I was a wreck. Running around the woods screaming Ava’s name over and over.”
The click of the cameras and the reporters pressing into the car made me feel like a fish trapped in an aquarium. I wanted to flip them my middle finger but resisted.
“I should start looking. You know that this is kind of a formality,” I told her. “I’m sure the police, park rangers and the FBI combed every inch of these woods looking for Ava.”
“They did.” Ebba nodded, swatting a fly away. “But they didn’t find her. You could find her and I’d like to come with you.”
She was dressed inappropriately for any kind of a hike. She had a large white purse hooked over her shoulder and wore white Capri pants, a pink blouse and rose-colored sparkly wedge sandals.
“You’re dressed for the mall and I doubt you’re going to find anything to buy on that trail unless you want to haggle with a squirrel for his nuts. If you want to wait for me in the parking lot, it’ll make this a lot easier.”
“Easier for who? You?” She laughed. “If I’m paying you, I have a right to watch, right?”
“Technically you haven’t paid me yet. You still need to send me the deposit.”
“Oh. Right. I forgot.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m just so overwhelmed right now.”
“I know you have a lot on your mind,” I said gently. “I’m going to head down the trail. I’d prefer to go alone. Maybe you could keep the wolves from nipping at my heels.” I hooked a thumb to indicate the reporters.
“Okay. I’ll try.”
After I snagged my bag from the back seat we hopped out of the vehicle.
“Hey, Witch Girl, did spirits tell you Ava’s body was here?” shouted a reporter, while a cameraman stuck a lens in my face.
“Can we get a picture of you with your dowsing rods?” asked another.
My feet ate the ground toward the far side of the lot where a trail was visible and Ebba followed. It wasn’t hard to spot since a tree on that side of the camping area had become a makeshift memorial with dried flowers and ribbons tied to its trunk.
“Could we get a picture of the two of you in front of the tree?”
I kept on walking.
“Ebba, what made you hire Julie Hall and her magic wands?”
Ebba stopped at that question and I just kept walking.
“I want my daughter found. I need to bring her home.”
Her voice broke into a sob and I felt horrible for her. She was a mom who’d lost her daughter. All the reporters paused and focused on Ebba, sensing an emotionally charged clip as she struggled to regain composure.
“I can’t bear to know that she’s out there. Alone. With the animals in the forest.” She nodded toward me. “Please let Julie do her work and, if anything comes of it, I’m sure you’ll all know soon enough.”
They asked Ebba more questions. She was openly crying now and they were in a feeding frenzy. I wanted to take advantage of the reporters being distracted so I sprinted far enough away that I was out of sight. Ebba’s email to me stated there were a few trails that led away from the campground and I was to take the path that was directly behind the picnic table. I walked to the table and placed my backpack on top to take out my rods. Carved into the wood were dozens of names inside hearts and uninventive curse words but right across the center of the table, carved deep and with care was engraved: Ava we will miss you forever.
It made me pause and give thought to the pretty twenty-five-year-old blonde who’d had friends who cared and once loved Rock’n Ron and who had her entire life ahead of her. Did Ron bring her here to this spot, take the cash an
d kill Ava anyway? If he did, who killed him and why?
A massive hemlock tree that had to be two hundred feet tall guarded the start of the trail. A makeshift memorial of dried flowers and weatherworn teddy bears surrounded the base of the tree. Ava’s friends had found out the location where she’d died and taken hours out of their day to make the drive to this secluded campground just to pay their respects and chose this tree and picnic table. If it were me there wouldn’t be a single person besides Garrett who would bother.
After I attached my bear spray to my belt loop I started out. With my rods in hand I stepped into the trail and breathed deep the smell of earth and old growth forest. My sneakers crunched on the hard-packed dirt and branches as I followed the trail that wound through the thick woods. There were wolves in this forest. And bears. Neither of which appreciated being surprised so I hummed a little as I walked and sighed a wish that Wookie was with me. Had Tracey Cook not been so freaked by the dog, I would’ve brought him along.
It wasn’t far at all. The place Ebba left the cash and where Ava was murdered was only a few dozen yards down the path. I reached the large flat rock that was the scene where she’d been killed. Even though we’d had rain since, the bottom of the rock was still spattered red. I paused a moment and took in the area. Although I wasn’t far from my Jeep and the campground, I was completely obscured by dense shrubs. If Ebba had left the pack with the money here and returned to her vehicle to wait for Ava, she would not have been able to see her daughter being killed. I tilted my head and listened to the forest. Birds, bugs, a breeze rustling the tops of the trees, and I could also hear the muffled voices of the journalists. If Ava had screamed, her mother would’ve heard her.
“Why didn’t you scream, Ava?” I whispered to the forest but a squirrel’s chatter was the only reply I got.
It was entirely too Mother Nature for my liking.
Chapter Five
I’d been expecting some kind of marking by police around this rock location but there was none. Whatever crime scene tape and staked out markings had long since been taking down which, of course, made perfect sense. Probably dozens of campers had hiked down this trail and walked right over the soil where Ava’s blood had drained and become part of the ecosystem.
With my hands extended holding the dowsing rods out I walked quite a ways before realizing I’d gone too far. There is no way someone, anyone, would’ve carried deadweight this far. Turning around, I followed the trail back. The rods never flinched and, honestly, I hadn’t expected them to. Investigators had scoured this area and volunteers had fanned out far and wide to search as well. If she was nearby, she would’ve been found. As I approached the large, flat rock, I noticed another less traveled trail off to the side. Others had broken twigs and pushed through the shrubs here too, but there was no harm in seeing where it went.
I walked steadily on the tight trail while I hummed “Stay away bears” and “Screw-off wolves” in a fun little singsong that wasn’t going to be a chart topper. The rods never moved, except briefly when I tripped over a log. The trail curved and I stopped short when it brought me to a walking bridge over a ravine.
“Damn.”
I felt fear trickle with sweat down my spine as I contemplated my next move. I could turn around and go back to the other trail. I didn’t have to go over the bridge but it was only a half dozen yards long and wasn’t very high up.
“Still a bridge,” I told myself.
I heard Dr. Chen’s voice in my head.
“When you feel strong enough you can face your fears and you’ll find it very empowering.”
“Won’t feel much empowered if I fall to my death over the side or pee my pants out of fear trying to cross it,” I grumbled under my breath.
I could see the headlines now: Water Witch Plunges from Bridge and Pees Pants. I took in deep, cleansing breaths and practiced some mindfulness meditation.
Then I told myself to pretend there were a couple ice-cold bottles of Riesling waiting on the other side. That did it.
The bridge was sturdy and didn’t shift under my weight. Had it wobbled, even a little, I would’ve screamed and possibly found my death over the side and onto the rocky ravine below. My eyes focused straight ahead and my feet propelled me forward. I would not look left or right because the edge of the bridge was a siren’s call that would tempt me to climb the railing and jump over.
When I reached the other side, I dropped my pack and rods on the ground, put my hands on my knees and wiped away the tears that had drenched my face.
“You are such a frigg’n baby.”
I wiped my damp face with my palms and took a few minutes to find my breath. I took out a water bottle and emptied it into my parched throat. Then I gathered my stuff and continued on the trail nonchalantly as if I hadn’t just seen the face of my own death.
It was only a couple minutes later that the trail came to a stop, opening up onto a gravel road. Following the sounds up ahead, I realized that the trail had opened onto the second fork in the road. Although it would’ve taken some effort to drag a body this far, someone as fit as Ron, the avid outdoorsman, could’ve heaved Ava through this trail and then tossed her into his car. If the car had been parked down this fork in the road, it wouldn’t have even been visible to Ebba when she turned into the campground.
When I walked back into the campground clearing, the reporters were waiting. They swarmed me and pummeled me with questions. I walked stoically toward my car without cursing them out like I wanted. Somebody should give me a medal for that.
Ebba had been sitting at the picnic table and, when she saw me, got to her feet and ran over to my vehicle.
I rolled down the passenger window and whispered that I hadn’t found anything but had a few more questions. I told her I’d call her in a few minutes. She nodded not looking at all surprised that I’d returned without the exact location of Ava’s body. She knew her daughter wasn’t here because she would’ve been found already.
At least she got the publicity she wanted. Ava’s face would be headlining the news again tonight. So would mine. Although I should be used to the witchy name-calling, it still stung. When I started up my website I’d given a few interviews to benefit www.DivineReunions.com but journalists weren’t interested in the lengthy, legitimate history of dowsing. They didn’t want to hear that grave divination didn’t make me a sideshow freak. They wanted to ask about the vortex of doom that was my old home. Questions were about fifteen months ago when I met and worked with Garrett to help find a serial killer.
I drove out of the campground, relieved that the reporters didn’t follow me. A few minutes later I called Ebba on her cell phone.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I know you understood it was unlikely that I’d find Ava today but I’m sure you were still hoping. Unfortunately, these things rarely go as planned.”
“If anyone can bring my daughter home, it’s you,” Ebba said emphatically.
I appreciated her vote of confidence but it wasn’t that easy.
“There’s a really good chance I won’t find her,” I said gently. “I’m going to try, of course, because you hired me.” I looked around the vastness of the forest around the road. “But she could be literally anywhere in the state or the country.”
Ebba didn’t respond for a long while and I was beginning to think the call was dropped.
“Hello?”
“I’m still here,” she replied so I waited.
The sun was now high in the sky and it burned my skin through the window. I turned up the a/c and accelerated. I wanted to get the long drive over and get back to Wookie.
“When her dad died I didn’t know what to do. We’d never had much money. He was a laborer who brought in enough to keep a roof over our heads and food in the pantry and, honestly, I never wanted more than that.”
I thought about the Ebba I knew who was always dress
ed to the nines, and had a hard time imagining her living a lower class lifestyle.
“When he got sick I took a retail job to help pay the medical bills but the bills kept coming long after his heart gave out.” She sighed long and wistfully. “I didn’t have an education. I’d always just stayed at home to be a mom. Ava was just entering school at that time so it was a good time to get some training. When she went to school, so did I. I took classes to become a massage therapist and then worked retail at night. I barely made enough to pay the rent and her babysitters but it was worth it. I opened one spa location at a single casino and soon many spa locations at many Washington casinos. Ebba’s Bliss is a name recognized for the epitome of perfection when it comes to massage.”
“Ava must’ve been very proud of you for all you accomplished.”
“You’d think that but, no, Ava really didn’t care.” Ebba gave a derisive snort. “As long as there was money for the things she wanted, she didn’t care how I got it. I worked long hours myself and then I hired others. It took years to get my name out there but my reputation grew so I became known as the best of the best. That’s why the local casinos and hotels were happy to have us.” I could hear the pride in her voice. “My massage studios are now inside of nearly every major casino hotel in the state and I wanted Ava to be a part of it because I’d done it for her. She was ungrateful.”
Ebba had pulled herself up from poverty as a single mom and a widow. Although she said she did it for Ava, I doubt her daughter saw it that way.
“Still, she was my daughter and I wanted us to be close so I kept on trying,” Ebba said. “And now it’s too late.”
“I’m so sorry.”
Those weak words were all I had to offer. She was grieving. The pain of losing a loved one carries on far beyond the time the sympathy cards and phone calls stop and way beyond the time of casseroles being dropped at the house.
“What did Ava do for work?” It was something I didn’t remember reading about in the news articles.
“When she did deem me worthy of her presence she answered the phones for the spa at the same casino where Denny works.” Her tone was so bitter it surprised me.
A Grave Search Page 8
