by C. M. Sutter
“True, but knowing the Monroe clan, anything is possible.” He looked down at our feet. “And a change of shoes is advised.”
I gave Jack a well-deserved smirk and headed to the gun safe. “Come on, Kate. Let’s gear up and go.”
Jack yelled out as the door closed behind us. “Be back here by one thirty.”
Chapter 22
Keith sat at the kitchen table and smiled at his spoils. The gold sparkled under the ceiling light as he admired the mound of jewelry. Many pieces were accented with precious and semiprecious stones. That would increase their value. Keith snickered at his last-minute idea to grab the inventory book. It would make tracking the stolen jewelry harder for police and easier for him to sell. Hopefully the son didn’t have the most updated version.
Keith grabbed the stack of cash and began counting—only four hundred bucks.
Damn, if only I could have gotten into that safe.
He stared at the jewelry, which included what he had sold the old man yesterday. By the looks of what sat on the table, the value could easily net him twenty grand or more. He slid everything back into the case and took it upstairs. Later, he’d separate the gold from the silver, the high karat from the low, then look for a place to sell it.
With fifty dollars in his wallet, he headed out. He needed food, so a trip to the nearby grocery store was in order. Keith slipped a baseball cap on his head and left the farm.
Located on a seldom-used road, the farm butted up to a two-hundred-acre county park at its west property line. Trails, a playground, and several soccer fields filled the park. Luckily, the main entrance and the amenities were on a different, more frequently traveled road. The north side of the park and the farm ran parallel to the stream that separated the property lines from Friends for Life pet store and kennel.
Once he’d purchased three bags of groceries and was back in the car, Keith headed home. It was twelve o’clock, and he ate a prepackaged sandwich as he drove. He had work to do and no time to waste. His plan for Tyler Rauch would unfold that night.
Fifteen minutes later and with the groceries put away, Keith headed to the shed behind the garage. Inside, he was certain he’d find every tool needed to complete his project. He flipped on the light, looked around, then spotted the shovel. He grabbed that, a rake, and a tarp, then headed into the backyard. He remembered the spot his father had shown him eleven years earlier, back against the property line and five feet from the base of that old oak tree. Keith was sure the spot hadn’t changed by more than a few inches at most since oak trees grew slowly. No matter what, he’d find that underground vault again, just as he had when he emptied it of its contents all those years ago.
With the tarp spread out on the ground, he pierced the grass with the shovel’s blade and brought up the first clump of dirt. He dumped it on the tarp and continued digging.
Chapter 23
Kate and I exited the cruiser in the parking lot. I looked around and saw only one other car. “Guess nobody comes out here on weekdays.”
We followed the path to the north entrance of the hiking trails. A sign on a post showed the different park trails, their level of difficulty, and the length of each.
I tapped the diagram of the route we needed to take. It would get us the closest to Bob Shoal’s back property line. “So, according to this map, the stream and the back side of Friends for Life is that way.” I pointed at the blue trail that wound its way north and east. “It looks like there are a few hills but nothing serious. I’m glad we changed shoes, though.”
“How far back should we go?”
I shrugged. “Until we see something interesting, I guess.”
Kate and I took off. I checked the time as we hit the trail head—12:28. With less than an hour to locate the buildings, return to the parking lot, and get back to town, we had to hurry.
As much as I would have liked to lollygag and take pictures of every interesting piece of lichen, deer print, and beautiful fallen leaf, time wasn’t on our side. I had to stay focused on the trail and keep walking.
“We should be getting close, don’t you think?” Kate asked fifteen minutes later.
“I don’t know. I’ve never walked this trail. Stop for a minute and listen. Maybe we’ll hear the stream.” We took a minute-long break and kept silent.
“I hear something, but it doesn’t quite sound like water flowing. I’m sure we’re picturing a river rushing over rocks and waterfalls, when in reality it’s probably just a ten-foot-wide muddy creek with stagnant water and slimy rocks.”
I gave Kate a snarl. “Wow, thanks for ruining the image I concocted of something that should be on a November calendar page. Come on. I don’t hear squat.”
We continued for another few minutes. I looked from left to right and stopped again. I pulled out my phone from my back pocket.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling Jack. We’d have to turn around now if he wants us back by one thirty. Why that time, anyway?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t say.”
“It would be a wasted trip with nothing accomplished if we turned back before getting eyes on those buildings.”
Kate took in our surroundings as I made the call. “Hey, what’s that?”
She continued down the trail on her own and disappeared before I could stop her. Jack picked up, and my attention went to the phone call. “Hi, boss. Kate and I are at the park and making our way to the stream. Bob’s property line is nearly a mile back. We hadn’t expected that. We have to be close, but if we turn back now, it will be a wasted trip. Uh-huh.” I glanced at my watch. “Sure, another forty-five minutes would really help. Thanks.” I clicked off and returned my phone to my pants pocket. I loudly whispered, “Kate, where the hell did you go?” I continued down the path. Several hundred feet ahead and slightly to my right, a flash of movement and a denim jacket caught my eye. Another flash of movement was to my immediate left. I turned and saw Kate with her finger to her mouth. She waved me over.
“You’re damn lucky I didn’t draw my gun on you. You scared the crap out of me.” I scolded her but kept it to a whisper. I jerked my head toward the man. “Who the hell is that, and what is he doing?”
She frowned. “That was a rhetorical question, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s get a closer look.”
Kate grabbed my jacket and pulled me back. “Um, I don’t think so. We’re here to check out those buildings, remember?”
“Right, but we have to go that way anyhow.”
“No we don’t.”
“But it looks like he’s digging a hole or something. I have my binos.”
“It doesn’t matter if he’s digging a hole to China. We’re out here on a mission. If that’s the private property that butts up to the park, then we’re almost to the stream. We need to turn left. Those buildings have to be close by. Keep on point and don’t worry about the damn neighbor, Amber. He’s probably going to plant a tree.”
“Right, and who plants trees in November?” I kept my eye on the man digging as we turned slightly left and continued on. We arrived at the stream less than five minutes later. As Kate imagined, it was nothing special. Why wasn’t I surprised? We followed the stream for fifty feet and finally saw what I believed to be the buildings belonging to Bob Shoal. I elbowed Kate in the ribs and cocked my head. I pulled the binoculars, which had been dangling from my neck, up to my eyes. “There they are in that tree cover. There are two wooden shacks a couple hundred feet into the woods on the other side of the creek. They’re at one o’clock.” I lifted the binoculars from around my neck and handed them to Kate. “See them?”
“Yeah, and I also see some rocks ahead. That might be a good place to cross. Let’s check it out.”
We continued on and found a spot where we could cross the stream without the need of waders. Kate and I stepped from rock to rock several times to make sure it would work. Going farther into the woods and snooping around the buildings was hard to resist, but we’d pro
mised Jack that we wouldn’t.
“Why are you trespassing on my property?”
The voice at our backs startled both of us. I lost my balance and grabbed Kate’s arm. She slipped off the rock, and I followed her into the water. We were both drenched to the knees. I cursed the fact that we were soaked and spun around to see the man with the shovel standing behind us. He was larger than he looked from that earlier sighting at several hundred feet.
“This is private property, and it’s posted. So what the hell are you doing on my land?”
We couldn’t tell him the truth. We had no idea if he was on friendly terms with Bob Shoal or not. Jade and I had learned early on from our mom’s example that when all else failed, we should lie through our teeth—so I did. Plus, cops got a pass.
“I’m so sorry. It wasn’t deliberate. I guess we lost track of how far we went. Jumping from rock to rock is kind of fun, you know.” I looked down at my pants and shoes as I pulled myself up to the bank. I was furious but didn’t want to show it while trespassing on private property belonging to a large man with a shovel in his hand.
“You want to play on the rocks, go do it somewhere else.” He turned and walked away.
“Damn it, Amber, our clothes and shoes are full of mud. What’s up with that guy scaring us like that? I didn’t even hear him come up behind us.”
“Yeah, me neither. No matter what, this is the only way to cross the stream without waders.”
“Then I guess we’re getting waders. I don’t want to run into him again.”
We walked back to the cruiser in shoes that squeaked with every step.
“What do you make of that guy?” Kate asked as she climbed into the passenger seat.
“I feel like sending him a dry cleaning bill, but that would only fuel the fire. He’s nothing more than a grumpy guy who doesn’t like people. Who else would live back there in the boondocks like that?”
“Serial killers.”
I laughed. “You’ve been listening in on way too many of Jade’s stories. We’ll get the damn waders if he scares you that bad.”
Chapter 24
Clayton and Billings beat us back by a half hour. We walked into the bull pen to raised brows and wide grins.
“Can’t take you two anywhere,” Chad said.
“Zip it.” Kate scowled at him and took a seat at her desk.
Jack exited his office and stared at both of us. “I don’t think that’s proper office attire, Detectives.”
“We fell into the stream, which had a muddy bottom—obviously. Can we go wash up and change shoes?” Kate asked.
“In a minute, but first tell me if you found the buildings.”
I responded. “We did, and it was really hard not to go investigate. We’re going to need to buy the waders, though. We can’t cross where we would have liked to.”
Jack took a seat on my guest chair. “Because?”
“It’s the neighbor’s property, and that’s why we fell in the creek. He came out of nowhere and scared the crap out of us. He also told us in no uncertain terms that we were trespassing and to stay off his land.”
“Were you?”
“Just a little,” I said. “We couldn’t help ourselves. The rocks made it the perfect place to get across.”
“The sheriff’s office will pay for the waders. Unless something else takes precedence before Friday night, you’ll go in from the park, cross the creek, and check the buildings. Dog fights, if that’s what’s happening, normally take place after paydays, when the people betting have a lot of cash.” Jack looked at Clayton. “So the busboy from the golf course’s bar and grill confirmed seeing a car pull in shortly before ten o’clock on Monday morning?”
“That’s what he said. He went out to have a quick smoke before they opened for the day. He saw someone pull in a few minutes before ten just as he was walking back inside. He thought it odd that nobody came in after they opened for business.”
“But he couldn’t describe the guy?”
“Nope, he never gave the guy a second look.”
“What about the car?”
“He only remembered that it was black and possibly a sedan. Sorry, boss. I know that isn’t much.”
“So we clocked the distance and how long it takes for somebody to get from that spot to Leslie’s house.”
“And?” Jack said.
“And, it’s two miles. It took us six minutes driving the speed limit under normal conditions.”
“So there’s a good chance that the mailman had already left the neighborhood by the time the killer got to Leslie’s house.”
Billings nodded. “Yes, sir, a very good chance.”
Jack rocked his head from side to side. “And another dead end.”
Chapter 25
The vault was now unearthed and awaited its recipient. A two-foot-deep pile of dirt sat on the tarp, and Keith would rake the dirt out smooth over the steel lid once it was replaced on the cinder block opening. The two rolls of sod that Keith purchased earlier would conceal the fact that the ground had been disturbed.
He showered, popped a frozen pizza into the oven, and kept a watchful eye on the clock. Keith would leave the farm at 5:40 in the afternoon and get comfortable in the same spot where he’d waited yesterday when he saw Tyler Rauch leave work. That night, Tyler wouldn’t make it home.
The sun had set a half hour earlier, and other than a few glimmers of blue in the sky, night had taken over.
Keith parked away from the streetlights and watched. It was six o’clock—shift-changing time—and employees walked in while others walked out. Keith saw Tyler cross the lot and approach his truck. He stood with another employee, lit a smoke, and gabbed for several minutes.
Come on. Get going. I have things to do and places to be.
The men finally parted ways, and Tyler climbed into the Tundra. Keith heard the engine turn over, the headlights came to life, and within seconds, the truck turned right out of the parking lot and headed toward the Lexus. Keith dipped down in the seat to be sure he went unnoticed as the Tundra passed by. He sat up and watched through his rearview mirror as the taillights became smaller and smaller. Keith started his car and made a U-turn. Tyler Rauch didn’t have long to live.
Away from traffic and now on country roads, Keith decided it was time to put his plan into motion. He sped up until he was only a car length behind the Tundra. He flashed his high beams and honked the horn. Tyler didn’t react, and Keith was running out of space. Only two miles remained between Keith’s intentions and Tyler’s home. He pulled up alongside the Tundra and lowered the passenger-side window. He called out and pointed at the back of the truck.
“What? What did you say?” Tyler yelled. “I can’t hear you!”
“Pull over. It’s your back wheel. The whole thing is wobbling like it’s ready to fall off.”
“That’s impossible.”
Keith threw up his arms to plant enough doubt in Tyler’s mind that he’d stop to check it out. It worked, and Tyler pulled to a stop at the shoulder of the road.
Keith smiled with anticipation.
Here we go. The fun is about to start.
Tyler jumped to the pavement and looked back as Keith slowed his speed and stopped behind him, making sure to keep his tires on the pavement.
Keith exited the Lexus and met Tyler at the rear of the truck. He pointed to his right. “It’s the passenger-side wheel, man. It looks like it’s ready to spin off the axle. It’s a good thing I happened along when I did and noticed before you had a deadly accident.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Tyler scratched his forehead. “It’s weird that nothing felt wrong.”
“Come and take a look. I already grabbed my flashlight.”
Tyler rounded the back of the truck and walked to the ditch while Keith followed him. Keith gripped the flashlight tightly. He was itching to go.
“Here, I’ll shine the light for you.”
As Tyler knelt at the back tire, Keith prepared for the attack.
He raised the flashlight above his head and struck Tyler from behind. A deep thud sounded when the heavy steel connected with Tyler’s skull, knocking him out cold. The flashlight dropped to the ground, and Keith pulled out his knife. A quick snap of the blade release and Keith was ready. He moved in for the kill. With his knee firmly planted in the small of Tyler’s back, he grabbed Tyler by the hair and pulled his head toward him. In one smooth motion, Keith slit Tyler’s throat from ear to ear. He let the body fall to the ground to bleed out.
Keith smirked while walking to his trunk. “Idiot, you’re an EMT for crissakes, and you can’t even save your own life.” Keith reached in and pulled out the plastic sheeting then spread it on the ground alongside the lifeless man. He lifted the bloody body to the plastic, emptied the cash from the man’s wallet, and pocketed it. Keith tossed the wallet on the plastic and sealed the sheeting around Tyler. He heaved the body up and over his shoulder. Tyler wasn’t a small man, but luckily for Keith, he wasn’t, either. He carried Tyler to the trunk, dropped him inside, and slammed the lid.
Back at Tyler’s truck, Keith pulled the keys from the ignition and climbed out. He locked the doors, picked up the flashlight, and drove away.
The gravel crunched under his tires when he turned off the road and into his driveway fifteen minutes later. The beams of the headlights bounced up and down as he rounded the garage and parked behind it. He got out and went inside the house. He needed all the light he could get.
With the backyard spotlight on, Keith grabbed a hat and gloves from the mudroom and returned to the yard. The night was nippy, and the north wind brought in colder than normal temperatures. He opened the shed, flipped on that switch too, then pulled out the wheelbarrow and steered it over to the back of the car. That night, Tyler would meet his final resting place, and tomorrow Keith would tidy up the yard.
Keith walked to the far end of the property. Ghostly images bounced off the ground from the spotlight shining at the ancient oak tree. The night breeze caught the branches just right and made them sway. They creaked in the wind. Keith pulled up his collar. He wasn’t immune to the eerie night, and the fact that he was dumping a corpse into the backyard vault heightened his uneasiness. He pulled out the flashlight that had been tucked in his pocket and shined it into the hole. “He’ll never be found in there.”
