Dead of Autumn

by Sherry Knowlton

  Alexa looked up in surprise. Her first thought was that the state police had made a breakthrough on Elizabeth Nelson’s murder and wanted to tell her about it. Or, perhaps there was a lead on the vandalism at the cabin. Melinda hadn’t said exactly which policemen wanted to speak to her, and Alexa had met many different officers of the law in recent weeks. Nonetheless, she was bewildered when her old friend Officer Starke walked into the office. He and the older gentleman who accompanied him both had grim faces.

  “Alexa, this is Detective Hiram Miller. There was an incident at the clinic last night and we’d like to ask you some questions.”

  “Incident? What happened?”

  Detective Miller was the one who replied. “We’ll talk about that in a minute. First, can you tell us when you left the clinic? We understand that you stayed later than usual yesterday?”

  “Yes. I got behind on paperwork, so I stayed until it was finished. I’m not sure exactly what time I left … probably close to six o’clock. The second shift guard had come on duty maybe an hour earlier. Also, Emily Baxter had just arrived. I think she usually starts at six on the evenings that she works. What is this about?”

  The detective continued as if he had not heard her question. “Did you see anything or anyone on the street when you left? The security guard, Henry Bricker, said that you left through the front door.”

  “No. The street was quiet. The protestors had left a few hours earlier. I didn’t see any pedestrians, and I don’t even think any cars went down the street between the time I left the clinic and when I reached my car. I’ve been there late before, and it’s usually pretty quiet in that neighborhood in the evening. I heard one brief clang-y noise, but it sounded like random street noise, garbage cans or something like that.”

  “Do you usually park out front or in the staff parking lot?”

  “It varies,” replied Alexa, her concern rising with each question. “Sometimes, I’ll duck down the alley and see if there are any empty spaces. As usual, I was running late yesterday, so I just grabbed a spot on the street.”

  “What were you wearing last night?”

  “A gray pantsuit and an aqua blouse.”

  “Coat?”

  Alexa gestured to her charcoal wool coat hanging on the corner coat rack. “That’s the coat I wore yesterday. Look, Detective, what is going on? I don’t feel comfortable answering more questions until I understand why you are asking them. Nothing out of the ordinary happened while I was at the clinic last evening. It sounds like you’ve already spoken to Henry, the security guard. He can confirm what I told you. And Emily was there part of the time as well. You can talk to her.”

  The detective replied in a heavy voice. “Unfortunately, we can’t speak to Emily Baxter. That’s why we are here. She was shot and killed in the clinic parking lot last night around nine.”

  Alexa gasped and slumped into her seat. “Killed? That can’t be. Emily has two young children at home. She never antagonized anyone. Why would someone kill Emily?” She sat forward. “Shot like Doc Crowe? Is this the same person who tried to kill him … the one who has been sending hate notes?”

  Officer Starke, who had completely abandoned his condescending air of a few weeks ago, answered the question. “We have to run tests, of course. But there was a bullet recovered from the scene. It is the same caliber as the one fired at Doctor Crowe. We’ll know more soon.”

  “How did it happen? Where was the security guard?”

  “It happened in the same place as the attempt on Doctor Crowe’s life—the clinic parking lot. The security guard walked Mrs. Baxter to her vehicle, as per procedure. However, he left as she was putting some papers into the back of her hatchback. He heard a loud crash in the front of the clinic, like glass breaking. Believing Mrs. Baxter to be secure, he went back through the clinic to investigate the noise. Someone had tossed a concrete block through the front window.

  “Mr. Bricker called in to report the vandalism and then took a walk around the outside perimeter of the clinic building. When he reached the parking lot, he found Mrs. Baxter lying on the ground next to the open driver’s side door. The shooter must have fired only minutes after the guard left. Mr. Bricker didn’t even hear the shot. We believe that an accomplice created a diversion with the concrete block to draw the guard away. It worked.”

  With tears in her eyes, Alexa repeated her earlier question. “Why Emily? She wasn’t involved in medical procedures at the clinic. All she did was submit the bills.”

  This time Detective Miller answered. “At this point, we’re not sure why they killed Emily. We’re not even sure she was the intended target. All we know is that no one who works at that clinic is safe until we catch this bastard. That includes you, Ms. Williams. Don’t go near the clinic. It will be closed for several days at least. I can’t emphasize this enough; you need to be very alert at all times. We thought we were dealing with a single anti-abortion extremist. Now, it appears he had help. Be on your guard.”

  Emily’s murder had taken place too late to hit the morning’s newspaper, so Alexa looked at coverage online. There were a few brief articles that mentioned the death, but few other details. The police had not even released Emily’s name to the press.

  Alexa called both Elise and Doc Crowe, but they had little more information. Both doctors were reeling from the news that one of their own, a young mother, had been killed at the clinic. The board had called an emergency meeting later that afternoon to discuss whether to close the clinic until the killer or killers were arrested. At this point, they were extremely concerned about the safety of the clinic staff and patients.

  Alexa tried to immerse herself in work, but she kept thinking of Emily’s children crying for their mother. She felt like she could have done something to prevent Emily’s murder. If she had been more alert when she left the clinic, she might have seen the criminals lurking around. If she’d told the guard about that loud noise, he might have called the police. If she had only stayed a few more hours at the clinic, the presence of a third person might have forced the criminals to cancel their plan. Alexa knew that many of her thoughts were irrational, but she felt guilty that, other than the security guard, she was the last person to see Emily alive.

  Reese called Alexa on Friday afternoon. “I just found out about this shooting at the clinic. I had an early shift on Friday and didn’t read about Emily Baxter’s murder until I came home this afternoon. I called you as soon as I saw the article. Are you OK?”

  “As OK as I can be. Emily’s family must be devastated. How do two small children really understand that their mommy won’t ever be coming home? These bastards who shot her and Doc make me so angry. Who’s next on their list?”

  “Hey, I think you need someone to talk to about this. I can tell that everything is starting to get to you—which is not surprising. Why don’t you come up to my place for dinner? Nothing fancy. I’ll just run over to the general store and get some sandwiches. You shouldn’t be alone.”

  Alexa didn’t really feel like sitting by herself in the empty cabin and brooding about this latest tragedy, so she accepted Reese’s offer. “I’ll just stop by the cabin to change into jeans. Will six o’clock work?”

  “Whenever you get here is good. See you soon.”

  Alexa followed Reese’s directions to his house. He lived a few miles east of the state park in an old farmhouse that he shared with another park ranger. Although it was the first time Alexa had been to the place, she found it easily. She pulled the Land Rover into an empty space next to Reese’s beat-up Jeep and a gleaming silver Porsche 911 that probably belonged to the roommate.

  Reese popped out of the front door and walked out onto the porch to greet Alexa. “Hi. I’m glad you decided to come.” When she stepped up onto the porch, Reese pulled her into his arms. “I know these last two days must have been pretty rough.” As they walked to the door, Reese whispered, “I didn’t realize that Jim was going to be here tonight. He’s usually out on Friday nights. I hop
e you don’t mind.”

  “No. It will be nice to meet him.”

  When they reached the kitchen, Reese introduced her to his tall, burly roommate, Jim Kline. Jim looked like a lumberjack in his plaid flannel shirt and jeans. He wasn’t exactly what Alexa had expected. Reese had described his fellow ranger as a bit of a ladies’ man and party guy. “Is that your Porsche? Nice car.” Alexa remarked.

  Interest in his car was apparently the way to Jim’s heart. As the three of them sat down to turkey sandwiches and store-bought potato salad, they spent quite a while talking about the finer points of German engineering.

  Alexa found Jim to be a pretty funny guy. He was a font of amusing stories about the park and his friends, which kept both Reese and Alexa laughing during the simple meal. As the three of them dove into the brownies, Jim launched into a new topic.

  “Alexa, you are such a lovely lady. Do you have any friends who are as beautiful and charming as you—and currently unattached?”

  Alexa laughed at his shameless flattery while Reese joked, “If you do have any unattached friends, you should keep them as far away as possible from this guy.”

  “Most of my friends are either married or in a committed relationship,” Alexa replied. “But I would be happy to introduce you to my friend, Melissa.”

  Jim whooped. “I knew you would have a friend.” Then, his eyes narrowed in suspicion, “What does she look like? She’s not a beast, is she?”

  “I think she is very nice looking,” Alexa said, honestly. Somehow, Jim had such a disarming air that Alexa hadn’t been put off by his sexist question. “But, I’ve found that sometimes guys look at these things differently. Reese, I think you may have met Melissa.”

  “I thought the friend that I met was named Haley and she’s married?”

  “Yes. You did meet Haley when we were at Florentine’s. However, Haley and I were talking about you one night after yoga class. Melissa mentioned that she met you one night this past summer at Outlaws. Jim, you may have been there, too. Melissa said that a whole group of people from the park were having a party on the outside deck.”

  Reese continued to look puzzled, clearly unable to place Melissa. However, Jim let out another hoot and cried, “She must have been at Outlaws the night we had the going away party for Natalie. No wonder you can’t remember Melissa. Natalie was all over you like white on rice. She headed off any other woman who got near you.”

  Reese looked embarrassed. “Of course, that was the night. I do remember talking to two women for a brief time. One of them looked like a hippie with spectacular red hair. I don’t remember the other one much … was she a big woman with a lot of wild jewelry? But, you’re right, Jim. I couldn’t get away from Natalie. I finally had to leave the party.”

  Jim jumped back in to the conversation, directing his attention to Alexa. “Natalie was this pretty little blonde intern who worked in the park office this summer. The party was actually a farewell party for her and a few other interns. Natalie sure did have a thing for Reese. It provided the rest of the rangers with a lot of entertainment, watching Reese try to dodge that young thing.”

  Reese groaned and said to Alexa, “She was a nice kid, but she couldn’t have been more than nineteen. She developed a huge crush on me early in the summer. No matter how much I tried to discourage her, she remained hopeful. I sure hope she doesn’t come back this summer. Or that she finds a boyfriend in college.”

  Alexa laughed at the story and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She had never truly believed that the young blonde Melissa had seen with Reese was Elizabeth Nelson. Still, there had been a nagging doubt. Hearing these two talk about the besotted young intern confirmed Alexa’s initial instinct. Reese was one of the good guys.

  “Maybe we can get together sometime, go out for drinks or something, and I’ll introduce you to Melissa. Just let me know,” Alexa said. “She’s got a quirky sense of humor. You two might just get along fine.”

  When Jim wandered into the living room to watch a hockey game, Reese and Alexa discussed Emily Baxter’s murder. It was good to have someone to talk to about the tragedy.

  “You need to be very careful,” Reese told Alexa. “Whoever is behind this violence is a force to be reckoned with. Clearly, he is targeting people who work at the clinic. You are at risk and need to be very cautious. Not just when you’re at the clinic. You don’t know what these people are capable of doing.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Saturday afternoon, Alexa spent a few hours at her mom and dad’s with Scout. She couldn’t believe how much she missed her big mutt. After an early dinner, much of it spent discussing Emily Baxter’s murder, she tore herself away to drive home in the gathering dark.

  On the road, Alexa’s mind wandered. Emily’s death continued to hit Alexa hard. She didn’t understand how anyone could callously kill a young mother, no matter how deep their hatred of abortion. It didn’t make any sense that people who felt it was wrong to kill an unborn child had no problem killing an adult. But, Alexa knew that zealotry was rarely rational.

  She feared that the gunman was going to try to kill everyone who worked at the clinic. They all needed to be vigilant and stay on the lookout for all possible threats.

  Alexa’s thoughts turned to Elizabeth Nelson’s death. She resolved to call Trooper Taylor on Monday to see if the police had made progress on the young girl’s homicide. She was still committed to acting as the girl’s advocate and pushing the police to solve her murder.

  Nearly two months had passed since Elizabeth had been killed. Alexa regretted that she’d lost track of the investigation, but she had been preoccupied with everything else that was happening at home and at the clinic. She knew that her involvement wouldn’t produce any clues or solve the case, but Alexa believed that her continued interest might help spur the police to greater efforts to solve it.

  Alexa’s mind continued to drift. With all the other things going on, she hadn’t really analyzed Wednesday’s confrontation with Reverend Browne. But, as she considered it now, she realized the whole incident had been very disturbing. Reverend Browne had stared at Alexa like a cobra trying to mesmerize a bird just before it struck. To Alexa, the minister seemed more malevolent than benevolent; clearly he was unlike any man of the cloth that she had ever encountered.

  She was so glad that she had ended things with Caleb. Both her former lover and his peculiar family were much further over the edge than she had ever imagined.

  “Speak of the devil.” Alexa realized that she was approaching Caleb’s sporting goods store and let out a bitter laugh. Alexa braked as she noticed a vehicle ahead with its driver’s door hanging open into her lane. A man was standing in the street, talking through the open door to someone in the darkened vehicle.

  The huge neon Browne’s Sporting Goods Store sign bathed the man in a kaleidoscope of reds and blues. Alexa winced when she recognized Caleb. In an effort to avoid another emotional encounter, she slouched down in the seat, hoping that Caleb wouldn’t spot her.

  In that instant, Alexa registered that the vehicle was a light-colored van with a roof rack. When she passed, Caleb appeared to be engrossed in conversation with a man in the driver’s seat. A baseball cap threw the man’s face into shadow. He sat sideways, his body angled toward Caleb. Alexa gasped when she glimpsed the mottled green and brown pattern of his pant leg in the neon glow. Camouflage.

  The van. The baseball hat. Camouflage clothes.

  Alexa’s heart lurched. It took all her willpower to resist flooring the Land Rover, but she didn’t want to draw their attention.

  A torrent of thoughts streamed through Alexa’s mind. The van and its driver looked like the ones she had seen the day she found Elizabeth Nelson’s body. Could the man in the van be the same one who sped past her on that mountain road? Even more alarming, could Caleb somehow be involved with these people?

  “No,” Alexa moaned as she headed for home.

  Caleb has certainly turned out to be a different
man than I thought he was. But, he can’t have anything to do with the murder of that young girl. Perhaps the man was just one of his clients. Caleb specialized mainly in hunting supplies like rifles and bows. The store carried rows and rows of camouflage for every type of hunt and season.

  Alexa equivocated. It was dark, and the area’s only source of light was the glow from Caleb’s big ass neon sign. If called upon to testify in court, she couldn’t confirm with complete certainty that this was either the van or the driver she had seen weeks ago in Michaux Forest.

  As hard as Alexa tried to explain away what she had just seen, the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach undermined any attempt to stay rational. The panic that gripped her when she saw Caleb talking to the man in the light-colored van just wouldn’t go away. She didn’t think that Caleb had noticed her passing; he had been very wrapped up in conversation, facing toward the van. However, Alexa probably had the only ancient Land Rover in the area, and Caleb knew the vehicle well.

  As she reached the outskirts of town, dismay hit Alexa like a ton of bricks.

  Caleb knows I found Elizabeth’s body. Kate let it slip on Thanksgiving. He could tell the van guy that I was there. And, if that guy is the killer and remembers passing me on the road, he could put two and two together and conclude that I could identify him and his friend.

  After a few miles, Alexa calmed down and decided to report that she may have seen the van again. She berated herself that, instead of panicking, she should have picked up her cell and called Trooper Taylor right away. She just didn’t seem to learn from experience.

  Alexa kept one hand on the steering wheel and used the other to rummage through her purse for her cell phone. She had reached a deserted back road that cut through several miles of farm fields so she felt it was safe to make a call. She pulled up the number for Trooper Taylor. Before she could dial, she noticed headlights approaching rapidly from behind. Alexa put the phone on the seat and slowed a bit to allow the oncoming vehicle to pass on the narrow road.