by Midge Bubany
“How old were you when you went hunting?” I asked.
“Sixteen.”
“Did any members of your family use the Mitchell lodge after Silver Rae was gone?” I asked.
He screwed up his face. “Ah, probably not.”
“Why?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“So before the key was returned, your family used the lodge when the Mitchells were not present?” I asked.
“Yes, as I said, Daniel wanted us to keep an eye on the place.”
“Did you ever take Silver Rae there?” I asked.
He scratched the side of his nose. “No.”
Ellie said he had. “Are sure about that?” I asked.
“Yes, positive.”
“Were you present at a party at Odegard’s cabin on the Fourth of July 1996?”
“In 1996? That summer I was dating my wife, Wendy. We were probably at her parents’ lake place. She’s kept a journal since she was a kid, so she’d know exactly what we did when. I know why you’re asking about that particular day.”
“Why?” Troy asked.
“Something bad happened to Silvy at the party. She told me she’d been drugged and raped but didn’t remember who did it. She was pregnant but thankfully miscarried.”
Thankfully? “Did you mention this to the investigators back in 1997?”
“No.” He cleared his throat.
“Why not?” Troy asked.
“Because I didn’t want anyone to think badly of her. Besides, she didn’t know who it was.”
“And you were a kid at the time. See what maturity does for a man?” I said.
“I hope you find the guy that did this to her.”
“We will,” I said.
We both stared at him. We were badasses letting him know if he did it, we’d get him.
“We definitely will,” Troy said, trying to add to the intimidation. “So, tell us about the night Silver disappeared.”
Gage shifted in his chair. “I took her home about five in the afternoon to have supper with her family.”
“What did they serve?” Troy said.
“Huh? I don’t remember. Anyway, I left because she didn’t want her parents to know I was going babysitting with her. I met up with her later at the Summers’s farm, and we drove into town to pick up the boys at the reception.”
“Seems there were a lot of secrets,” Troy said.
Gage shrugged. “We were just kids.”
“So why were you with her while she babysat?” I asked.
“She said she wanted my help because the boys were a handful. She was right. We had a hard time getting them to bed.”
I laughed inside, recalling what the Summers boys had said about how big of a help he was.
“Did Mr. and Mrs. Summers know you were helping?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. Silvy asked me to stay in the car when she went in to get the kids,” he said.
“So, you said you left about eleven o’clock that night. Why? The Summers weren’t going to be home until two,” I said.
“The truth?” Gage said.
Troy laughed out loud.
“We don’t want lies, Dr. Gage,” I said.
“No, of course not. It’s just . . . well . . . Silvy made me leave after the youngest boy came downstairs and caught us . . . in a compromising position.”
“Like?”
“We were making out.”
“Then what happened?” I asked.
“I left.”
“Where did you go?” I asked.
“Back to the Odegards’s cabin, but the place was dark, so I went home. That was before any of us had cell phones.”
I nodded.
“Did you talk to Silver Rae after that?” Troy asked.
“Yes, she called me about midnight. We talked only for a few minutes. She wanted to apologize for making me leave. She was bored and was going to try to sleep. I told her I’d see her the next day . . . but I never did.” Gage started crying.
I grabbed a tissue and handed it to him. He blew his nose. “I believe . . .” sniff “. . . if I’d stayed with her, she’d be alive today.”
“Or maybe you’d have been killed, as well,” Troy said.
Gage looked dumbfounded, then a sense of relief spread across his face. “I never considered that.”
“Ellie Dawson Conner mentioned an occasion when you called in the early morning hours and woke up her mother. Was that after a fight?” I asked.
“It was just a stupid little disagreement.”
“Explain,” Troy said.
“She got mad at me for talking to Wendy at a party, when she was off flirting with some guy,” he said.
“What guy?” I asked.
“Tommy Odegard,” he said.
“You fought because you were both jealous?” I asked.
“Well, yes,” he said. “We patched it up right away.”
“Was Tommy interested in Silver Rae?” I asked.
“Yeah. Lots of guys were. She was cute and overly friendly.”
“Overly friendly? You the jealous type, then?” I said.
“Sometimes it seemed she tried to make me jealous on purpose.”
“How so?”
“By flirting, being vague about where she was or who she was with.”
“Can you give an example?”
“One night she said she was sick and couldn’t go to the football game and dance. After the game, I drove out to her house to keep her company and no one was home. When I questioned her the next day she said I was being silly, that she was asleep and didn’t hear the door.”
“But you felt like she’d lied to you?” I asked.
“I wanted to believe her but stuff like that happened more than once. I just had a feeling she was being sneaky about something.”
“But no real proof?” I asked.
“No.”
“When she was missing, did you help search for her?” Troy said.
“Of course,” he said. “They divided us up into crews with a deputy in charge of each. First we walked fields and later other places. I know we walked through the Lake Emmaline area where her remains were found.”
“You were one who searched the area where she was found?”
“Yes, I think I was more toward the road, but yeah, our group was right there.”
“So how could so many people have walked through there and not found the grave?” Troy asked.
“I’ve wondered about that, too. It upsets me it was missed,” he said.
“We’re trying to think of a motive here. Why would someone murder such a nice, pretty girl?” I asked.
“I can’t imagine.”
“So, why did you lie to us today?” I asked.
“What?”
“You told us you’d never taken Silver Rae to the Mitchell lodge. She told her sister you took her there on more than one occasion,” I said.
He closed his eyes.
“So why lie, Doc?” I asked.
“Okay, yes,” he admitted. “We were there that afternoon. That was the one thing I probably didn’t tell fifteen years ago.”
“And why not?” Troy said.
“I didn’t see the point. We were there only about a half-hour. Then I took her home.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“And I didn’t want my parents to know I snuck the key. I didn’t want them to think less of Silvy.”
“Why exactly did you go there?” I asked.
“I wanted to have sex with her.”
“Did you?”
“No. We did a lot of things, but we never had intercourse. She said she wanted
to wait until we were married.”
“So you were sexually frustrated?” Troy asked.
“How do I answer that?”
“Yes or no.”
“Then, no.”
“I’m confused,” I said.
“I took care of myself,” he said.
Troy and I both nodded with full understanding.
“Did she lose a piece of jewelry that day?” Troy asked.
I tried to interpret the look on Gage’s face. Confusion? Concern?
“I don’t remember if she did,” he said.
“Anyone else go with you to the lodge on other occasions?” I asked.
“Sometimes we went out there to drink,” he said.
“We?” I asked.
“Tommy Odegard, Brian Deitz, and Lucky Holmgren.”
“Only those three?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“Did you sneak the key on those occasions, too?” Troy asked.
Gage readjusted himself in his chair and swiped an imaginary something off his shirtsleeve. “Yes,” he said.
“Were either of your siblings aware you used the lodge for drinking parties?”
“I don’t believe so, unless Silvy told Aubrey.”
“We think you know who’s responsible for Silver Rae’s death, Doctor,” Troy said.
“No, I do not.”
Troy stood and crossed his arms. “It’s you! You killed her!”
Dr. Gage sat straight up, his face reddened. “That’s ludicrous! I loved her. I could never have hurt her.”
Troy moved in close to Gage, leaned over, and talked softly in his ear. “This is how it looks to us. You were the last known person to see her alive . . . and she turns up missing. You were admittedly a jealous, frustrated guy. Maybe you were tired of being put off. You got a little rough. She died. You didn’t mean to do it—you panicked and got rid of the body. You knew Lake Emmaline was isolated.” Troy straightened up but stayed next to Gage.
I said, “Doctor, the time’s come to relieve your conscience and tell us what really went down.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t know what happened to her. I loved her.” Gage began crying.
“That’s bullshit,” I said.
His eyes slowly met mine. “No, it’s not. I wish I did know what happened.”
“You’re a lying sack of shit,” Troy said, banging his fist on the table.
Gage jumped. “I’m telling you the truth,” he said. His face was red and tear streaked.
“You know exactly what happened!” Troy yelled.
Gage put his hand up and said, “Okay, I’ve cooperated with you and told you the truth, but if you don’t believe me and think I harmed Silvy, then I need my attorney.”
And that ended that. I thanked him for coming in and walked him out to the front door. The only sound coming from Gage was a couple of sniffs and the clickety-clack of his shiny black shoes on the terrazzo flooring.
When I returned to the office, I said to Troy, “So, what do you think?”
He shook his head. “Why would he lie about being in the cabin?”
“He’s saying he’s protecting her memory.”
“He’s either hiding something or he’s still afraid of his mommy and daddy.”
“They substantiated his alibi. It held fifteen years ago, and it’ll be a son of a bitch to discredit,” I said. “But today we did establish he’s a liar.”
Chapter 11
Before I left for home, I called Shannon to tell her I’d stop and pick up something for dinner. She said she had it covered. When I walked into the kitchen, Shannon and the boys shouted, “Happy birthday!”
A birthday cake was aglow on the counter next to a present and some cards.
My birthday?
“You forgot, didn’t you? Remember we talked about celebrating it a couple days late?”
“Yeah. I’ve never forgotten my birthday before. Not a good sign. And, man, who put all those candles on my cake?”
Colby’s face brightened. “We did. There’s thirty-three. That’s a lot. Open your presents!”
“First, we have dinner,” Shannon said.
“Whose rule is that anyway?” I asked the boys.
“Mommy’s,” Colby said.
“I don’t like it.”
Colby grinned. Luke frowned.
“What are we having, anyway?”
“Steaks and artichokes,” Shannon said. “Now, everybody wash up.”
After dinner, when Shannon and I were cleaning up the dishes, she said, “It was tough keeping your mom and grandmas away like you asked me to.”
“I bet.”
“I told them we’d celebrate again when things calmed down for you.”
“And they accepted that?”
“I feel guilty I didn’t have them over,” Shannon admitted.
“Why?”
“Because they mean well.”
“Do they?”
“Your mom said you still haven’t forgiven her. She can feel it when she hugs you.”
“And you said?”
“To give you some time.”
“How can I forget she lied to me about Patrick being my real father? And truth be told, I may not ever be able to forgive her. I think I’m doing well being polite.”
“Yes, you are. Sorry I brought it up.” She kissed me. “Now, let’s open those cards and presents.”
She went to the hallway and shouted, “Boys!”
They came running and hovered over me as I opened my gift: an iPad. I acted overjoyed even though I had one through work. She handed me a pile of cards. My mom and grandmas had gone together and given me a five hundred dollar Visa gift card. Shannon’s parents gave me one to the Birches Golf Club, a new course midway between Prairie Falls and Dexter on the east end of the county. I wondered if I’d ever get time to play.
After chocolate cake and ice cream, we put the movie Shrek in. I pretended it was my favorite. Well, Donkey makes me laugh.
Later, after we put the boys down to bed, I got a call from Troy.
“Okay, we have a real situation out here I thought you should know about.”
“Out where?”
“At Adriana’s.”
“What’s going on?”
“First someone tied silver ribbons on trees along her driveway, then someone lit fire to fabric in the shape of an S in her side yard. I could have caught them. We were sitting on her deck and smelled whiffs of gasoline and Tino barked, but I dismissed it as somebody’s boat fuel. Then I saw the flames.”
“Why were you sitting on her deck?”
“We were just talking is all—having a glass of wine.”
“Are you dating?”
“Sort of.”
Shit. Adriana was dating my asshole partner, a guy she knew I only tolerated because I had to work with him. Did it surprise me that Troy would go after her? Not a bit, because he’d gone after women I’d dated before. Rat bastard. But how could she be interested in Troy?
“I’ll be right out.”
“Not sure you have to come. Lucky is on his way out to investigate.”
When I hung up, Shannon was staring at me over her wine glass.
I told her what Troy had said.
“So, tell me, are you concerned about the fire or that Troy and Adriana are together?”
She got me right between the eyes on that one. “Both.”
“Well, only one is your business, and that’s the fire. If you want to drive out, I’ll ride along. Brittany can watch the boys.”
Once in the car, she said, “Look, Cal, I know you care about Adriana. I accept that, but even if you think Troy is the worst jerk in the world for
her, it’s none of your business.”
“He’s only dating her to stick it to me.”
She laughed. “No, Sheehan, he’s dating her because she’s gorgeous and he wants to stick it to her.”
“If he comes near you, I’ll take his head off.” I said.
“If he comes near me, I’ll cut his balls off.”
She made me smile. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.
“Thanks for riding out with me,” I said.
“I’m along only to control you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Smart woman.
“I think the ribbons tied on the trees are both nice and creepy at the same time,” Shannon said.
It was eerie to see the silver ribbons reflecting the light all the way down Adriana’s driveway. “It’s trespassing.”
When we drove into Adriana’s yard there were two fire trucks and two squads lighting up the landscape like Christmas.
“Poor Adriana,” Shannon said.
We parked behind the garage, exited my truck, and walked around to the action. Several firefighters dressed in full gear were standing around talking and laughing. Shannon made her way over to Adriana and Magna. They hugged. It was weird.
Deputy Austin Spanney walked toward me.
“I didn’t think the fire was this serious,” I said.
Spanky said, “It’s not. Troy put it out before the trucks arrived. Did you see the silver ribbons along the drive?”
“Yeah.”
“That happened this afternoon, I guess.”
“Heard that. What does Lucky say about the fire?”
“He says it was fortunate it didn’t spread to the house and woods. Who would do such a crazy thing?” he asked.
“That’s the million-dollar question,” I said.
As Lucky Holmgren walked toward me with his easy smile, he took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his copper-red hair. He’d grown a beard since I’d seen him last.
“Like the beard,” I said.
He rubbed it and said, “Yeah, me too.”
“So, where’s the fire?” I asked.
He laughed. “It was over there. Come and see.”
We walked over to the side yard where Troy was standing. He rolled his eyes when he saw me.
