Desperate Measures

by Patricia H. Rushford

  “So where are you?”

  “At the Sutherlands’. Mom wanted to check on Christine. The sheriff and an agent came to question her and Aleshia.”

  “Did they find Mr. Sutherland or Scott?”

  “Not yet. This is all so weird.”

  “I’m surprised you and Megan are still there.”

  “You should be here too, Jen. This is a real mystery.”

  “Well, take notes for me. I want to know everything they said.” Glancing down at her bare feet, she added, “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

  Setting the phone back into the cradle, Jennie glanced at a fat file sitting on the bedside stand. It was labeled ARM. She opened the folder. It held alarming materials from an Internet address. One was entitled “Electronically Timed Incendiary Devices” with directions for making and concealing them. Placed in stores where furs are sold, they cause a fire large enough to turn on the store’s sprinkler system, which damages or destroys the merchandise and costs the store thousands. At the end the article included this tip: Arson is a felony, so wear gloves. Be careful not to leave evidence.

  Jennie quickly scanned some disturbing articles: “Maximum Destruction NOT Minimum Damage,” “Smashing the Furriers,” and another on the use of fire. There was one long article from an anonymous person who was involved with ARM. Overall the file contained lists of fur farms and detailed instructions on how to destroy or debilitate them.

  She felt sick. Why would John and Mary have information like this in their home? Was it a means of knowing the enemy, or were they underground members of ARM?

  Jennie returned the papers to the manila file and left it where she’d found it and returned to Megan’s bedroom. If she’d had any doubt about the integrity of animal rights activists, it was gone now. These people were criminals, pure and simple.

  She stuffed her feet into socks and her Reeboks, slipped on a sweat shirt, and brushed her hair into a ponytail. Setting her brush on the dresser, she noticed the blank notepaper she’d pulled off the pad at Crystal’s place. Finding a pencil, she lightly shaded the paper until the writing appeared in white. Jennie wrinkled her nose in disappointment. It was nothing but a grocery list.

  Jennie tossed the paper in the trash and headed downstairs. She didn’t bother with a jacket, since the day had turned sunny and warm.

  Jennie debated taking her car but decided to walk over. She needed the exercise, and the fresh air felt good. The file she’d seen at Tom and Mary’s haunted her. How could people who seemingly cared so much about animals talk about torching department stores and restaurants? They were primarily vegetarians with their own set of rules and beliefs. In thinking about it, she realized that Tom and Mary couldn’t be involved with ARM. They were definitely meat eaters.

  When she approached the Sutherland house, Megan and Lisa came out to meet her. “What took you so long?” Lisa hooked her arm around Jennie’s.

  “I, um—” Jennie looked at Megan. “I answered the phone in your parents’ room and—”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Not exactly, I’m just curious. I was hanging up the phone when I spotted a file labeled ARM on the desk.”

  “So?”

  “So I got a little nervous about it. Why would your folks keep stuff like that?”

  “Oh. I guess it would be kind of creepy coming across their articles. Mom and Dad get all kinds of stuff about ARM. The Fur Commission wants everyone to know what kinds of information ARM is putting out. We need to know what we’re up against.”

  “I can see why.” Relieved, Jennie changed the subject. “What’s going on over here? I see that Tess and Agent Tucker are gone.”

  “They just left. They found the deputy who was supposed to be taking care of Scott.”

  “Did they say what had happened to him?”

  Megan sneered. “The owner of our town’s only tavern found him in the alley propped up beside the dumpster.”

  “Had he been drinking?” Jennie asked.

  “I guess. Tess seemed pretty steamed about it.”

  “I can see why.” Jennie sighed. “I wonder …”

  “What?”

  “Well, I think someone slipped something in my tea to knock me out while they took Scott away. The nurse who took care of him is missing. Someone erased all of Scott’s records. And now they find the guard in an alley. I’ll bet he hadn’t been drinking. Maybe they drugged him too. I should go talk to Tess.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Lisa and Megan said together.

  “Hey, Megan!” The shout came from the machine shop. Jim stood in the opening. “Tell your dad to get down here on the double. And call the sheriffl”

  “What’s going on?”

  “You don’t want to know. Just get them. Now!”

  Megan pinched her lips together and tromped up the stairs. “He can be so rude.”

  Jennie glanced at Jim, then back at Megan. “What’s he doing over here?”

  “Christine called him this morning to see if he could help feed the mink. With Bob missing they were falling behind schedule. Dad!” Megan opened the door and leaned inside. “Jim says to get down there right away.”

  “What’s going on?” Tom set his coffee cup on the counter and headed out the door.

  “I don’t know, but he sounds upset. I’m supposed to call the sheriff.”

  Tom and Mary exchanged glances. He passed Jennie in the doorway looking worried. Jennie felt torn. Should she stay in the house or follow Tom to the shed? Her curiosity won and Jennie yelled, “I’m going with him.”

  She jogged after Tom, but by the time she’d reached the shed, she saw no sign of either man.

  “Mr. Bergstrom? What’s going on?”

  “Stay out, Jennie.” Tom came around the corner, leaned over, and vomited on the floor. He waved her away when she took a step toward him.

  “Get back to the house,” he ordered, “and get the sheriff out here.” He rose and came toward her. “Tell her—” He held his stomach and looked like he was going to be sick again. “Tell her we found Bob.”

  “Is he …?”

  “He’s dead, Jennie. Now go.”

  15

  The horror of Tom’s words seeped into her soul as she ran back to the house. Megan and Lisa had come out. She warned them not to go down to the shop. “Jim found Mr. Sutherland. He’s dead.”

  “Do you know how it happened?” Lisa asked.

  She shook her head. “We’ll find out soon enough. Did you get ahold of the sheriff?”

  “Her cell phone was busy,” Megan responded, “so I left a message with the dispatcher to call.”

  “Not good enough.” Jennie jogged the short distance to the house. “Where’s the phone?” Mary and Christine both pointed to the kitchen counter.

  “What is it, Jennie?” Mary asked. “What’s going on?”

  Jennie crossed the room, picked up the receiver, and punched in 9-1-1. She turned around and leaned on the counter looking at Mary, then Christine, as she spoke.

  “Yes,” she said when the emergency operator responded. “This is Jennie McGrady. We need the sheriff at the Sutherland farm right away. Mr. Sutherland …” She gulped at the stricken look on Christine’s face. “No, it’s not an injury. Mr. Sutherland is dead.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jennie said as she replaced the receiver. “I guess I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that.”

  Christine stared into her coffee. “I think deep down I must have known all along.” She pushed back her chair. Her napkin fell to the floor. “Poor Jim. If I’d known, I would never have asked him to help out today. I should go talk to him.”

  “Better that Jim found him than you.” Mary patted Christine’s hand.

  “I need to call Aleshia.” Christine stood. “Would you like me to do that?” Mary offered.

 
“Thanks, but no. I’ll do it.” She left the room and made her way upstairs, apparently needing the privacy of her bedroom.

  Mary went to the oven, slipped on an oven mitt, and took out a pan of cookies. They smelled warm and homey and normal. “She was running low,” Mary explained. “With so many people coming and going she was worried she’d run out.”

  Looking over at Jennie and Lisa, she said, “I’m afraid this hasn’t been a very good time for you girls.”

  “It’s okay,” Lisa said. “You couldn’t have known …”

  Jennie didn’t respond. It was one of those odd statements people said when they were in shock. “Christine said she was going to call Aleshia. Isn’t she here?”

  “No.”

  “Where did she go?”

  “I’m not sure. Back to Portland I suppose.”

  “Listen. Sirens,” Megan said.

  Jennie set her questions about Aleshia aside, then followed Megan and Lisa out to the porch and down the stairs. Tess cut the sirens as she approached the house and got out of her car. “Where are they?”

  “In the machine shop,” Jennie said.

  Tom stepped out of the shop and waved the sheriff over. “We haven’t touched anything except for when Jim opened the box. Looks like someone gassed him.”

  Jennie’s insides crumbled. Gassed. As in carbon monoxide—the deadly gas the farmers used to kill the mink. She covered her mouth thinking she might be sick.

  “Did you hear that?” Lisa grabbed Jennie’s arm.

  “I heard.”

  “I can’t stand it,” Megan whimpered. “Who could have done something so awful?”

  “I’m wondering the same thing.” Jennie did a quick calculation. “Mr. Sutherland disappeared yesterday shortly after Scott left.”

  “Are you thinking he did it?”

  “No. But he might know who did. Suppose he witnessed it or figured it out. The murderer might have gone after Scott and run him down.” She frowned. “But if that was the case, why didn’t he say something at the hospital?”

  “I don’t know.” Tears filled Megan’s eyes.

  Lisa bit her lip. “I sure hope he’s okay, Jennie.”

  “I can’t stand to talk about it anymore.” Megan sniffled. “I need a Kleenex.”

  “I have some.” Jennie pulled a box of tissues out of the Mustang and handed it to her.

  Lisa sighed. “M-maybe we could do something to get our minds off all this. It’s warm enough to swim.”

  “I’d like that. Maybe the guys would like to come too.” Megan wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

  “You two go ahead. I want to stick around for a little while.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Jennie,” Lisa said. “Mr. Sutherland is dead. Scott is missing. I’m afraid that if you get too involved, something might happen to you too. You know what happened last time.”

  Jennie rolled her eyes. “Don’t remind me. Anyway, that was different. I was in the hospital parking lot alone.”

  “You were trying to figure out who burned down our school.”

  “I’m not getting involved in this one. Not really. I’m just curious, that’s all. And I’m worried about Scott.”

  “We are too,” Lisa insisted. “Maybe we should stay here too.”

  “Don’t be silly. Nothing’s going to happen to me here. The place will be swarming with cops in a minute.”

  Jennie had no sooner uttered the words when three more emergency vehicles pulled into the driveway—Agent Tucker and the two deputies who’d scoured the lake for Sutherland. Two minutes later a deputy medical examiner showed up with an ambulance on his tail. The investigation had begun in earnest.

  Jennie did a lot of pacing over the next hour. Lisa and Megan had finally gone back to Megan’s place to change into swimsuits and call Algie and Kyle. Jennie promised to meet them at the lake later. She probably should have gone with them, but she couldn’t bear to leave until she’d learned the facts.

  Tess, Agent Tucker, and the medical examiner would be investigating the body and the crime scene, comparing notes, and drawing conclusions from the evidence. That had to be the hardest part of police work. Gathering evidence at the scene of a murder. This was what her father did as a homicide detective. Somehow she’d always glamorized the job. Now she realized how awful it could be having to deal with murder on a daily basis. No wonder he looked so stressed when he came home from work. Jennie had no desire to see them in action but desperately wanted to hear the details about how Bob Sutherland had been killed.

  Tess came out of the shed, raking a hand through her hair. “You still here, Jennie?”

  “I couldn’t go without knowing what happened to him. With Scott missing …” Jennie couldn’t finish.

  “We’ll find him. We’re talking to the hospital staff now.”

  “I heard you found your volunteer deputy.”

  “Right. He’d been drinking and apparently stumbled into an alley. We still haven’t found the nurse.”

  “Crystal is camping—until Tuesday. At least that’s what Christine says.” Jennie went on to tell her about the encounter they’d had at Crystal’s house.

  Tess heaved an exasperated sigh. “That was a stupid thing to do. What if it hadn’t been Christine? Jennie, that nurse may have been an accomplice.”

  “I know. I just wanted to find him. I thought if I could just talk to Crystal—”

  “We’re dealing with ruthless criminals here. And unless you want to end up like Mr. Sutherland, you’ll keep your nose out of it. If you don’t, I’ll call your parents to come get you. The last thing I need around here is a nosy kid who fancies herself the next Nancy Drew.”

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  “Look, I know how you must feel. You care very much for Scott, and I can see why. He’s a nice kid, but he got in over his head. The FBI shouldn’t have used him like they did. Tucker admitted that. You can bet they’re busting their britches to find him.”

  Jennie stared down at her shoes. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have gone to Crystal’s house.”

  Tess backed down and nodded in the direction of the shed. “I’m sorry too—didn’t mean to bite your head off. Murder is a nasty business. I meant what I said though.”

  “I don’t plan on doing any more investigating on my own, but I’d still like to know what happened to Mr. Sutherland.”

  Tess shook her head. “You’ll read about it in the paper tomorrow anyway, so I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. You can come with us to talk to Christine.”

  “Us?”

  “Tucker will be along in a minute.”

  One by one the two deputies, Jim Owens, Tom, and the medical examiner filed out of the building. The two paramedics who’d arrived with the ambulance came next, maneuvering a stretcher carrying the large, covered form of Bob Sutherland between them. “The ME promised a preliminary report this afternoon.”

  Tucker’s troubled gaze stayed on the body until the ambulance doors closed. “Never gets any easier, does it?”

  “I’m told that’s a good thing.”

  “So I hear. You ready to question the widow?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be. You want to talk to her or should I?”

  “You do it. When we get to the pelt, I’ll take over.”

  Pelt? What pelt? Jennie didn’t dare ask. Instead, she tagged along behind, trying to look invisible. The less conspicuous she remained, the better her chances of picking up information.

  Once inside, they sat around the table. Jennie stood near the door where they couldn’t see her. Out of sight, out of mind.

  Tess and Agent Tucker gratefully accepted the coffee Mary offered. After pouring herself a cup, she set the tray of freshly baked cookies on the table, then sat down next to Christine. Tess took several sips before she spoke. �
��The medical examiner figures your husband died about twenty-four hours ago.”

  “About the time he went missing.” Christine closed her eyes. “I shouldn’t have gone into town. Maybe if I’d been here—”

  “Don’t blame yourself,” Mary said.

  “How—how did it happen?” Christine straightened as if bracing herself.

  “We’ll have more details after the autopsy, but he was apparently struck on the head with a blunt instrument—probably his hammer. He may have been removing a pelt at the time.”

  Christine covered her face with her hands. “Do you know who did it?”

  “We have some ideas.” Tess reached for a cookie and broke it in half. “The hammer isn’t what killed him. The killer put him in the gas chamber and pumped it full of carbon monoxide.”

  “Oh no.” Christine looked ready to break.

  “It was ARM, wasn’t it?” Mary asked. “They killed him in the same way he killed the animals.”

  “It was them, all right,” Jim piped up. “I’ve never known them to come back and kill the owner, but maybe they’re getting more aggressive.”

  “You may be right,” Tess said. “There’s something else. Whoever killed him left a signature—used a marker to write an X on his back.”

  A sound like that of a wounded animal escaped Christine’s throat. “I don’t think I want to hear any more.”

  “Look, why don’t you let her be? She’s been through enough.” Jim stood up and went around to stand behind his future mother-in-law, his large hands cupping her thin shoulders.

  “I know this is hard.” Tess softened. “We can finish up later if you need to stop.”

  Christine shook her head. “It won’t be any easier then.”

  “Well, we know one thing. The blood we found all over the counters wasn’t Bob’s,” Tess said.

  “Blood?” Christine looked up at Tess.

  “On the counter in the shop. Jim found it, but by the time I got there to check it out, someone had cleaned it up.”

  Christine rubbed her forehead. “I’m afraid that was me.” She glanced guiltily at Mary, then back at Tess. “I went upstairs and took a sleeping pill, but I still couldn’t sleep. I thought maybe if I looked in the shed again … When I went out and saw the mess, all I could think of was how upset Bob would be when he got back. I suppose that sounds rather insane. It didn’t occur to me that I might be disturbing a crime scene. I’m sorry.”