Desperate Measures

by Patricia H. Rushford

  Jennie walked with Tess to her squad car. “Do you think the tractor was a diversion? I mean, the divers didn’t find the body in the lake. Could the tractor have been driven in there to throw us off the real trail?”

  Tess smiled as though she found Jennie’s comment amusing. “Maybe.”

  “You think ARM is responsible?”

  “Aleshia’s right about the MO. Before when ARM has conducted a release, it’s been get in and get out. They don’t usually come back. I’m not saying it didn’t happen.”

  “They could have decided to change the way they work,” Jennie offered. “What if they kidnapped him and are holding him hostage?”

  “Not much point in that. However, they may have killed him to send a message.” She opened the passenger side door and set the gloves and hammer, which she’d bagged, in the back. “There’s one thing about that scenario that puzzles me, though. If ARM is responsible for Sutherland’s disappearance, why haven’t they owned up to it?”

  “Maybe it’s too soon.”

  “Would you like a ride to the house?”

  “Sure.” Jennie ducked inside and automatically fastened her seat belt, then waited for Tess to climb in. Like most police vehicles, the car was fully equipped with a radar scanner, a rifle, radio, and all types of other paraphernalia. Tess picked up the radio and started the car at the same time. She backed around and headed up to the main driveway. The call was to a dispatcher to check on the progress of the Search and Rescue team.

  “Should be there in another fifteen minutes,” the gravelly voice said.

  “I’ll be waiting.” Tess replaced the mike and turned to look at Jennie. “You’re wondering about your boyfriend again, aren’t you? You worried he might be involved in Sutherland’s disappearance?” “I-I don’t know. Anyway, he’s not my boyfriend. I told you before …”

  “Yeah, yeah—just a friend. If it’s any consolation, I’ve got the state police looking for him. He won’t get far.”

  That wasn’t what Jennie wanted to hear. She felt totally confused and at odds with herself over Scott’s guilt or innocence. As much as she wanted to believe in him, part of her couldn’t help but question his motives for coming to the mink farm in the first place. Why are you doing this to yourself, McGrady? He admitted he’d been in on the raid. Sutherland bloodied his nose, and she had seen him head toward the Sutherland farm when he left.

  “Hey, you did the right thing calling me.”

  “It sure doesn’t feel right.”

  “Having a friend involved in criminal activity is always hard. Thing is, if you don’t go to the police, you’re helping them escape, and that’s a crime. It’s like saying you agree with what they’re doing.”

  “I know. I just wish I could see him and talk to him. I feel so lousy not knowing for sure—about Scott and Mr. Sutherland, I mean. We don’t even know for sure if Mr. Sutherland is missing.”

  “True. Ordinarily I wouldn’t even be looking for him yet. Usually we wait twenty-four hours, but with the tractor and the fact that he was in that altercation with your friend—we needed to move on it. Now I have a hammer that may have been a murder weapon and possible blood evidence. We may be chasing our tails here but” —she shrugged—”what can you do? If it were my husband I’d want someone on it yesterday.”

  Husband. Somehow Jennie hadn’t associated Tess with a husband, but of course she’d have one. Jennie remembered the picture of the little boy on her desk.

  “What does your husband do?”

  “Ex—” She pulled into the driveway behind several cars and turned off the engine. “Paul is an engineer for Boeing in Seattle. Cinderella story gone bad. The prince didn’t like the idea of my being a cop. He tolerated it as long as I stayed in Seattle. When the position opened down here and I suggested the move—well, let’s just say he took advantage of the opportunity to divorce me. End of story.” She offered Jennie a wan smile. “I get my little boy on holidays and an occasional weekend. The judge didn’t think my career was stable enough to warrant full custody. He also felt I should be home instead of out chasing criminals.” She looked down at the steering wheel and shook her head. “More than you ever wanted to know, right?”

  Among the twangs of bitterness, Jennie detected a still-broken heart. Tess must be incredibly sad. “I bet you miss him.”

  “Yeah, I do.” She pinched her lips together and pulled the key out of the ignition. “I haven’t told anyone that in a long while. You’d make a good cop, Jennie. You’re the kind of person people open up to. Comes in handy.”

  “My folks have had some trouble,” Jennie admitted. “Dad used to work for the DEA. Mom didn’t like his being an agent. He was missing for five years, and everyone thought he was dead. Mom got a divorce so she could marry someone else. But then Dad came back. I don’t think she would have remarried him if he’d stayed with the DEA. They compromised. He’s still a police officer, but Mom is handling it better now. She still doesn’t want me to be a cop, though, but we compromised there too. I’m going to get a degree in law. Maybe someday your husband will come around.”

  “That’s doubtful. I don’t plan on giving up my job.” She hauled in a deep breath. “Speaking of which, I’d better get back to it.”

  Jennie went with Tess to the shop to show her what she’d seen. “That’s funny,” Jennie said as they approached the building. The door had been opened. “I closed the door when I came out.”

  “Maybe Jim came back in,” Tess suggested. “Let’s go see.”

  “I can’t believe it.” Jennie eyed the nail that Mr. Sutherland’s tool belt had been hanging from. “The tool belt is gone.”

  Tess grunted. “Looks like Mr. Sutherland is back, or else someone is removing evidence.”

  The strong scent of Pine Sol drew Jennie to the area where she’d seen the blood. Someone had cleaned up the mess.

  “The plot thickens.” Tess folded her arms.

  “You can still tell the blood was there, can’t you?”

  “Probably, but I doubt we’ll be able to determine whether it was human or animal.”

  Jennie felt sick. The attempt to destroy evidence pretty much proved a crime had been committed. And that crime was probably murder. She shuddered at the thought that a killer could have been standing on the very spot she was now. Stop it, McGrady. You don’t know there was a murder. Okay, it looks like something happened to Mr. Sutherland, but like you told Tess, it could have been abduction.

  After Tess was through looking around, they headed up to the house. Mary let them in and settled them both at the table with coffee for Tess and tea for Jennie. Tess reported what they’d learned so far and wanted to know if Aleshia or Christine had been out in the shop.

  Mary gasped and leaned forward, holding her cup in both hands. “You’re not suggesting they destroyed the evidence, are you?”

  “Not knowingly. Could be they felt the need to clean things up. Grief works on people in different ways.”

  “Well, neither of them have been outside. Christine took a sedative when she came in and has been upstairs sleeping for the last hour. Jim brought Aleshia in and she’s sitting in the living room in front of the fireplace, right where he put her. Poor thing is beside herself. I imagine she feels guilty. If something has happened to Bob, she’ll never have a chance to make amends. It’s always hard to lose a parent, but when the relationship is as volatile as the one Aleshia and Bob had, it’s doubly hard.”

  “What about Jim?” Jennie asked. “Did you see where he went after he brought Aleshia in?”

  “No. He just said he had to get back to work. I assumed that meant he was going to our place.”

  Since Jim was the one who talked to her about the bloody counter in the first place, she doubted he’d go through the trouble of cleaning it up. But who else could have?

  She couldn’t think, The tea was making her w
arm and sleepy. She propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, trying to place the various people who might have had access to the shop after she’d been there. The list included everyone except Tess, the divers, and the tow truck operator.

  “You look exhausted, Jennie. Why don’t you let me drive you back to our place and you can take a nap?” Mary asked.

  Jennie yawned. “I am tired, but I don’t want to miss anything. Besides, I want to help.”

  “There’s nothing you can do right now.” Tess set down her cup. “I could go out with the Search and Rescue team.”

  “I don’t think so. It’s possible that whoever destroyed the evidence is responsible for whatever happened to Bob. That means they’re still around and could be armed and dangerous. I have backup coming in, and we’ll do another search of the barns. Go home, Jennie, where you’ll be safe.”

  “All right. I could use a nap.”

  Mary stood. “I’ll take you, then come back. I feel I should stay around.”

  “You don’t have to drive me. I’ll walk.”

  Reluctantly, Jennie slipped her coat back on and stumbled to the door. She said her good-byes to Tess and asked them to let her know of any news. She didn’t want to give up, but at this point, like Tess said, there wasn’t all that much she could do.

  Jennie set out on the path along the lake. About halfway around she stopped. Had she heard something? The cool air brought her wide awake. Being near the lake had jump-started her adrenaline. Or maybe it was the rustling she heard in the bushes not ten feet away.

  11

  Panic turned Jennie’s legs to rubber. Her heart pounded. She should run, but her feet refused to move. There it was again. One thing was for certain, she was no longer alone. The tall grass to her right shuffled and waved.

  Just about the time Jennie was going to take off screaming, Drooley lumbered out, carrying something furry in his jowls.

  “Drooley, what have you got there? Put it down.”

  Drooley gazed up at her with big, sad eyes, then whimpered and obediently dropped the furry creature at her feet as if that had been his purpose all along.

  Jennie recognized it immediately as one of the missing mink. “Good boy.” She had first thought the animal dead, but when she knelt to examine it, she realized it was still breathing. She didn’t especially want to pick up the mink for fear it would bite her. Finding a stick, she prodded at it. The fur on the underside of the neck was bloody and matted. Jennie unzipped her jacket, scooped the small animal up, and settled it in a sling she’d made by lifting up the bottom of her sweat shirt. “Let’s get this guy home, Drooley. Maybe we can still save him.”

  Drooley ran ahead, nose to the ground, snooping in the bushes and grassy clumps along the way.

  Several vehicles out on the main road slowed down and turned into the Sutherlands’ driveway. Search and Rescue, no doubt. She thought of going back but figured she’d only be in the way. And she did need to rest up for Megan’s party. She doubted she’d have much fun, but Megan and Lisa had worked so hard, it wouldn’t be right to back out. Besides, they wouldn’t let her.

  The Search and Rescue unit would concentrate their search in the woods that began near the house and extended over to the Bergstrom farm on one side and down to the road on the other. Woods that Jennie was walking parallel to that very moment. Tess was right. The evidence she’d gathered spelled foul play, and whoever had tampered with the evidence could still be out there. She quickened her steps but didn’t run so as not to jar the small patient nestled against her tummy.

  Rather than stop at the house, Jennie went straight to the barns where she thought Tom or Jim would be. She found Tom hosing down some empty pens.

  “Hey, Jennie.” Tom turned off the hose when he saw her. “Any word about Bob?”

  “Still haven’t found him. They’ll be combing the woods with dogs about now. Someone washed the blood off the counter.” Though Jennie didn’t really suspect Tom, she watched his face for signs of surprise or guilt nonetheless.

  “Now, why would anyone want to do that? Unless …”A worried look replaced the frown. “Someone seems to be toying with us, don’t you think? Could be the folks from ARM are aiming to strike again. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem like they’d want to draw attention to themselves. This is mighty strange. Tess tell you what she thinks about it?”

  “She’s puzzled.” Jennie gently unfolded her sweat shirt and lifted the small mink out of its warm cocoon.

  “What have we got here?”

  “Drooley found him. He’s got a cut on his neck.” Jennie handed the animal to Tom. “Don’t know if Drooley hurt him or just found him like that.”

  Tom examined the little critter and began walking toward the machine shed. “My guess is the latter. Drooley’s been trained to hunt down mink and bring them to us. You remember how helpful he was after the release at Bob’s. He treats them like a mama would her babies.”

  Drooley snuffled and barked at the sound of his name. He sat on his haunches, gazing up at the creature he’d rescued. He looked expectantly from Jennie to Tom, then barked again.

  Tom reached down to pet him. “Think you deserve a treat for this one? Well, I do too. Jennie, how about getting a biscuit out of that container in the corner while I see to our little friend here.” Jennie made a production out of giving Drooley his treat. He licked her hands and face in appreciation. When he’d finished scarfing it down, they went back to watch Tom. He carefully cleansed the wound, which had stopped bleeding, then placed the animal in a small cage. “Would you like me to take it over to the Sutherlands’?”

  “Not yet. We’ll keep an eye on her tonight and see how she’s doing in the morning. If she makes it, I’ll let you do the honors. We’ll keep it up at the house tonight where it’s nice and warm. I’ll mix up a protein drink.” He took a can of powdered mix down from the shelf above the workbench and scooped a small amount into a plastic container, added water, and handed the mix to Jennie. “If you’d like, I’ll let you take her to the house. Give her to Mary or Megan. They’ll know what to do.”

  “Sure.” Jennie took the food in one hand and the caged mink in the other.

  She and Drooley left Tom to his chores and headed up to the house. Going past the older house where Scott had stayed, a wave of disappointment washed over her. “Oh, Scott,” she murmured. “Why did you have to get involved with ARM? We could have had so much fun together.” She sighed and shifted her gaze to Drooley. “Guess all we can do now is pray for him, huh?”

  Lisa and Megan met her at the door eager to hear about Mr. Sutherland. Drooley nudged his way in. His toenails clicked on the entry floor as he made his way to his water dish.

  Jennie handed off the mink to Megan and told them about Drooley’s heroic rescue. Taking off her jacket, she stepped into the kitchen and inhaled the pungently delicious scent of barbecued chicken and ribs. “Mmm—that smells so good. I’m starved.”

  “So were we. We’ve been grazing on veggies.” Lisa nodded toward the fresh vegetable platter on the counter. While she brought them up to date, Jennie washed her hands and began munching on a celery stick.

  “I feel terrible about Mr. Sutherland.” Megan set the cage on the floor in the corner of the kitchen by the heating vent. “I hope they find him soon. One way or the other, it’s better knowing.”

  “That’s for sure.” Lisa hunkered down beside the cage. “What can I do to help?”

  “We’ll have to put it up on blocks and set paper under it.” Megan went into the porch and rustled through a stack of papers. “Mink have this unique way of going to the bathroom. They designate one area of the cage for their messes. That’s why you see those little piles under the cages.” She meticulously laid out several sheets of newspaper on the linoleum, then set two bricks in the center of the paper, parallel to one another and about a foot apart. She picked up
the cage and balanced it across the two bricks. “She’ll be okay here.”

  “Oh look,” Lisa squealed. “Its eyes are open. Maybe it’s saying thank you.”

  Jennie laughed. “Could be.”

  Drooley, his big belly nearly brushing the floor, almost tripped over his feet getting to the cage.

  “Slow down, boy.” Megan chuckled and petted him. “Silly thing. You gonna take care of your guest?” She looked up at Jennie. “Don’t worry. Drooley thinks it’s his job to guard over strays. Whenever we have an injured animals—and living out here, we’ve had plenty—he sits with them. Hardly leaves their side until they’re well.” She rubbed his back. “Don’t you, boy? That’s a good puppy. Yes, you are.”

  Jennie smiled at Megan’s baby talk. Drooley loved it. “He’s a great dog.”

  “The best, aren’t you, Drooley.”

  Megan sat back on her heels, pressed her hands to her thighs, and looked up at the digital clock on the microwave. “I don’t want to rush you, Jennie, but the guys will be here any minute.”

  “Are you still planning to eat down by the lake?”

  “No. Algie says there’s another storm coming through. He suggested we go into town to a movie after we eat and go in the hot tub when we get back.”

  “What’s playing?”

  “Free Willie. I know it’s old, but our movie theater never shows anything but older movies. If we want new ones, we have to go into Lebanon or Salem.”

  “I love that movie. Reminds me of Scott.” The words were out before she had a chance to catch them.

  “I’m sorry, Jennie.” Lisa’s empathetic look nearly brought tears to her eyes.

  “It’s okay. Um—he didn’t call or anything, did he?”

  “Scott? No.” Megan offered her a tight smile. “I can still ask Algie to bring another guy …”

  “Don’t do that.” Jennie recovered quickly. “I don’t need a date. I just need to know Scott is okay.”

  “He will be,” Lisa assured. “We just need to have faith.”