Silver's Bones

by Midge Bubany

  It was a first for me: interviewing a friend in a murder case. I’d known Lucky Holmgren for ten years. He was amiable and well-liked. I took him through the same line of questioning as I had Odegard, but in contrast to Tom’s demeanor, Lucky leaned back in his chair and smiled his way through.

  But when I made the same implications as I had with Tom—that he had gone out to the Summers’s farm and accidentally hurt Silver Rae when she resisted him—he sat forward and furrowed his brows.

  “Are you just going through the routine here? Or are you telling me you seriously consider me a suspect?”

  “It’s been said you asked Silver Rae out.”

  “Well, yeah, but she turned me down. Can you imagine that?” He gave me a perplexed look. Then he flashed a smile.

  I smiled back. “So she hurt your feelings?”

  “Sure. The male ego thing, you know.”

  “What about Brian Deitz? Did he like Silver as well?”

  “Nah, Jenny already had him by the balls.”

  “So, anything else I should know about Silver and her relationship with others or the day of her disappearance?”

  What he said next gave me pause. “After Jenny’s dad busted our party up the night she disappeared, it was just us guys left at the cabin. Tommy suggested we go out to the farm to keep Silver Rae company.”

  “And what did you say?”

  “To forget it.”

  “Why?”

  “It was a stupid idea.”

  “Did you tell him where the farm was?”

  “Hell, I didn’t know.”

  “So, you didn’t go out there to keep her company?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Did you see Tom leave Round Lake?”

  “No, Brian and I took off before he did.”

  “Did you drive separate cars?”

  “No, Brian picked me up and dropped me off.”

  “If Brian was with Jenny, and Parker was with Silver, did you or Tom pair up with Aubrey Gage?”

  “No. Although at that age I would have hooked up with any girl who seemed interested in me, Aubrey made it clear we were just friends.”

  “When was the next time you spoke to Tom Odegard?”

  “The next morning when I called him at home to tell him about Silver being missing.”

  “And how did you find out she was missing?”

  “Jenny called me early that morning. Her old man told her.”

  “What was Tom’s reaction?”

  “Same as everybody’s. We were shocked.”

  “What then?”

  “Then we all beat it out to the Dawsons’s. Ellie told us where the Summers’s farm was so we could help search cornfields. Monday, when busloads of people arrived, someone organized us. We searched the square mile Lake Emmaline is in. Tell me how we missed her.”

  “I wouldn’t know,” I said. “Were you given instructions?”

  “Yeah, they said we should walk in a line and be like five feet apart so we wouldn’t miss anything.”

  “You remember the Fourth of July party the year before Silver died? “

  “The year before? Sure, I guess. Why?” he said.

  “Were you aware of anyone giving Silver attention that day?”

  “Man, I don’t.”

  “Was Sawyer Gage there?”

  He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, yeah, I guess he was.”

  “Alone?”

  “He was with Jonah Wolfson.”

  “Did they cause any trouble?”

  “Nah, they only stayed for a hour or so.”

  “What was Sawyer Gage like in those days?”

  He laughed. “Opposite of Parker.”

  “How so?”

  “Parker was straight as an arrow. His brother wasn’t.”

  “Example?”

  “He was the go-to man for weed.”

  “Anything else? Like date rape drugs? Rohypnol?”

  He scrunched up his nose. “What? No, man.”

  “You had access to your dad’s pharmacy back then—you could get your hands on any drugs you wanted.”

  “Are you kidding me? My dad watched me like a hawk. He didn’t trust me counting pills back then. Funny, now I don’t trust him. He’s been making more mistakes lately. So, just between you and me, check the number when you fill prescriptions.”

  “Good to know.”

  I wrapped up the interview and walked Lucky out to the lobby.

  “Good luck with this investigation,” he said. “I hope you get the bastard. Silver was one sweet girl. Probably be tough though, solving after all these years.”

  “Oh, we’ll get our man. The guilty always slip up in some way.”

  “Yeah, well, let’s hope so.”

  I slapped him on the back and told him to have a good day counting pills.

  Yep, they’ll eventually slip up—like telling us they saw Silver pick up the kids from the reception.

  Next, I called Ralph Martinson, the investigator who had handled Silver’s case fifteen years ago. We’d worked together a few months before he left to become the chief of police in Lafayette Bay, west of Minneapolis. Despite Patrice’s doubts about his competency, I respected him as a person and investigator. I wanted to discuss the case and, specifically, his suspects.

  “How high on your list was Wesley Stillman back then?” I asked.

  “Pretty high, but there were problems. His parents said he was home all evening and the only thing in the way of evidence was the cut on his finger, and that didn’t help us a whole hell of a lot because there was no blood at the scene, in his truck, or anywhere else.”

  “He admitted he saw Silver picking up the boys from the reception.”

  “He did?”

  “But his family said he was home all night.”

  “No, not all night. They said he ran some eggs into town for the next day’s sales. They told me he was in for the evening at nine o’clock.”

  “Oh, I didn’t catch that. But he could have snuck out of his house without his parents’ knowledge—like I did.”

  “Yeah, like we all did.”

  “And family members tend to cover for each other. Did you get a sense the Stillmans might be?”

  “Maybe. Edgar came off as controlling. Wes was nineteen and lived at home, worked for his dad. Still does, I’m sure.”

  “Yes.”

  “He had no friends. Silver had been nice to him and he mistook it for interest. He gave her a birthday card. It’s probably still in the evidence box. According to school records, he did poorly. If I remember correctly, his I.Q. was at the very bottom of what still classified as average intelligence.”

  “Did he have any symptoms of mental illness at that age?”

  “Not that I knew. Does he now?”

  “He’s agoraphobic.”

  “Heard that.”

  “And talks to God.”

  “Lots of people do.”

  “I suppose, but he hears God talking back. Did you ever interview Sawyer Gage, Parker’s older brother?”

  “He and the sister were there when I interviewed the Gage family. They were all trying pretty hard to prove Parker innocent.”

  “Did they succeed?”

  “I’ve always had my doubts, but we didn’t have anything solid on the kid. The phone call made from the Summers’s phone to the Gages indicated to me he may be telling the truth.”

  “Did you suspect any of Parker’s friends?”

  “We suspected everybody. Why? Did you find something new?”

  I told him about the party the year before, Silver’s rape, and her pregnancy.

  “Holy shit. I missed that.”<
br />
  “The people who knew about it were protecting her reputation.”

  “Are you thinking it’s connected?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Well, if there’s anything I can do, don’t hesitate to call. How’s Troy?”

  I gave him the lowdown. “I’m going to head over to the hospital now to see how he’s doing and update him.”

  “Are you two getting along any better?”

  “He seems to think so. He’s acting all chummy because he’s dating Adriana.”

  “No! Boy, I’d never would put those two together, but I’m not the best matchmaker.”

  “No shit. Are you the one who set him up with Heather and Erica?”

  Ralph laughed. “My wife did. Neither worked for Troy, either.”

  Chapter 16

  When I walked into Troy’s hospital room, Adriana was leaning over kissing him. I had an intense desire to pull him out of the bed and kick him. I cleared my throat. She backed off and stood beside Troy’s bed, looking silly and blushing like a teenager.

  I counted backwards from ten and forced a smile. I took a good look at him. He looked ill. Being hooked up to IVs and a beeping monitor didn’t ring of good health.

  “So, how are you feeling?”

  “Not good,” he said.

  “Do they know what’s wrong with you?”

  “They’re still running tests. Have a scan of some sort pretty soon,” he said.

  “Are you still in pain?” I asked.

  “I’m on happy juice,” Troy said. “Which reminds me, Adriana, I need a bump.”

  “Sure, I’ll find your nurse,” she said and disappeared out of the door.

  “Troy,“ I said.

  “Yeah?”

  “If you disrespect Adriana like your other women, I will break your face in. You know how you always have to tell me about your blowjobs? If you speak to me about any sexual act you have with Adriana, I will shoot your dick off. Do you hear me?”

  “Oh, don’t be such a dickhead,” he said. “I know better than that, and I’m more worried about her hurting me than vice versa. She’s the best thing that’s happened to me.”

  “I can believe that.”

  “Tell me about this afternoon’s interviews,” he said.

  I gave him the low-down and he said, “What’s Odegard like?”

  “Jenny Deitz said he was ‘brooding’ after the disappearance. As far as I can tell he still is. He was mostly cooperative, but I get the feeling he’s holding something back.”

  “Damn it. I can’t be fucking stuck in here.”

  “You don’t have much choice.”

  “Keep me updated. Will you do that?”

  “Yeah. I need to get Aubrey’s interview in ASAP.”

  “Sounds like you need to talk to Sawyer Gage, too.”

  “He lives in Texas.”

  “Fly down there, if you have to. Just keep me in the loop.”

  “I will.”

  “Hey, did Byron Stillman call you?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Right. You’ll have to go to him.”

  As I left, Adriana was following a nurse with a syringe into Troy’s room. Why did she look so worried? Wasn’t she dating that jerk-off just to piss me off because I married someone else?

  I needed to settle something. I stuck my head back into the room and said, “Adriana, can we have a word?”

  “Sure.”

  She followed me out to the hall.

  I crossed my arms and said, “Troy’s loving the personal shit about me you’ve been feeding him. When I confided in you, I assumed you’d keep it to yourself. How would you like it if I spread your history?”

  “Oh . . . sorry. I didn’t think . . .”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You said that already.”

  I walked away.

  In the steps between the hospital and my vehicle, I forced myself to calm down. I had work to do and couldn’t afford to be distracted with bullshit.

  Lucky’s statement about Tom wanting to drive out to the Summers’s farm bothered me. I had time, so from the hospital, I drove directly to his home. As soon as I pulled up to the small rambler I heard dogs creating a ruckus inside—big dogs. Tom opened the door. Only a flimsy screen door separated two Rottweilers and me. I get uneasy when dogs growl, bare their teeth and bounce with the desire for a kill.

  He turned and yelled, “Quiet!” One of them gave out a sassy little “woof.”

  “What can I do for you, Deputy?”

  “Mr. Odegard, in the interview today you neglected to mention the night Silver Rae disappeared you wanted to go out and visit her at the Summers’s place.”

  He looked away for a second then when his eyes met mine again he said, “Lucky tell you that? It was just an idea I put out there. Never happened. Okay?”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m positive, but I can’t speak for him.”

  “What else do you know about Silver Rae I didn’t ask about?”

  He looked away, down, then back. “Come in,” he said. As he opened the screen, the dogs lunged, showing their teeth. I stayed where I was and pointed at them.

  “They’re friendly, but I’ll put them out back.”

  Friendly?

  He grabbed their collars and dragged them out of sight. I waited outside in case they’d pull loose and come back for me. I didn’t want to have to shoot dogs and be placed on leave.

  Only when he walked back into the room alone did I enter. Odegard’s living room was sparsely furnished with a fuzzy brown chair and ottoman, a matching couch, and one floor lamp. Hunting and fishing magazines and beer cans seemed to be his only décor. The walls were bare, not a photo or painting anywhere. A newspaper article on Silver Rae’s disappearance lay on the ottoman. Her high school graduation picture was featured with the caption Closure at Last. Wrong. There would be no closure until we solved the case.

  “Want a beer?”

  I shook my head.

  “Have a seat.”

  I took the chair, and Tom sat at the end of the couch farthest from me.

  “Talk to me,” I said.

  He let out a big sigh. “I’m not sure it matters . . . but I had a thing one night with Silver Rae.”

  “A thing?”

  “She’d broken up with Parker and needed to talk to someone so I listened. She kissed me and one thing led to another and we made out pretty heavily. I would have taken it further, but she stopped it. The next day I heard that she and Parker had already gotten back together.”

  “Broke your heart?”

  “I got over it.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “March of the year before she died.”

  “Anybody else know about it?”

  “I doubt it. The next time I saw her she said as far as she was concerned, nothing happened between us. She said Parker could never find out.”

  “You afraid of Parker?”

  “No, he was a wimp. I could take him.”

  “Were you in love with her?”

  He looked down at his hands. “Suppose in a way, I still am.”

  “You didn’t hurt her?”

  He looked me straight in the eye and shook his head. “I never could have.”

  “Someone took advantage of her at that Fourth of July party. How much did she have to drink?”

  “I have no idea. It was a long time ago.”

  “If there’s anything else you left out, now’s the time,” I said.

  “I wish I knew more. I want you to get the son of a bitch.”

  Before I left, I asked him for directions to
Wolfson’s. He gave me directions to their unit in South Haven, the trailer park south of town. It was generally well-maintained and the landscaping was attractive.

  Number thirty-four was a doublewide like the others surrounding it. No cars were parked in the driveway but I knocked several times anyway. I finally gave up and left.

  My next stop was the Save-Rite, where I briefly spoke with Brian Deitz. He backed up Tom’s and Lucky’s accounts of the night Silver went missing.

  I kept coming back to my interview with Tom. I didn’t know what to make of his “thing” with Silver. Why had he told me? Maybe he thought she may have shared that information with someone and it would come out, or maybe he just wanted me to think he loved her so much he’d never have killed her. Either way, it just made me more suspicious of him—and Parker, too—because a love triangle is a trigger waiting to be pulled.

  Chapter 17

  August 19

  Sunday morning I stopped and picked up three dozen cinnamon rolls from the Sportsman’s Café to put in the squad room. The cinnamon smell drifting up from the bag tempted me into eating one on the way. I grabbed another to eat at my desk before I called Aubrey Farmer’s cell phone. This time she picked up.

  “Sorry, I haven’t gotten back to you. Things have been crazy ever since I heard Mom was sick.”

  “Sick?” I said.

  “Breast cancer. She’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning.”

  “Sorry to hear that.” Maybe it was the looming surgery and treatment that made her parents angry and hostile. Nah, I decided. They’re just nasty people.

  “Anyway, I’ll be in Prairie Falls for the rest of the week.”

  “When’s the earliest you could come in?”

  “Now?”

  “Works for me. Come to the department and ask for me at the front desk.”

  I hoped Aubrey Gage Farmer could give me more insight into her brothers and the dynamics of the group Silver Rae had hung around with. She was a softer, fuller version of her mother. Her big smile and firm handshake made her appear friendlier than good old Mom, but that wasn’t saying much—a mosquito was friendlier than Lillian Gage.