Deception Trail: A Maggie McFarlin Mystery

by Charisse Peeler

  “Do you know why they were arguing?”

  “I don’t know. Something about the casting or a recording. I think Chase was accusing Bernice of hoaxing.”

  “Hoaxing?” Mike asked

  “It’s what Bigfoot enthusiasts call manufacturing evidence. The Sasquatch believing community is a very political community and these accusations can ruin an organization's professional reputation.”

  “People, I need your attention here,” Brad interrupted. “We are going to talk about tree knocking.” He talked into his walkie talkie. “We are about to knock.”

  “10-4,” a woman’s voice responded.

  “Darrel, can you do the honors,” Brad held out a worn wooden baseball bat. Darrel took the bat and made his way to the edge of the clearing next to a big tree. “We believe tree knocking is a way Sasquatch communicate. Darrel will knock in a pattern that we have previously recorded, and we will listen for a response.”

  Darrell struck the tree in a pattern of three short knocks, paused and three more short knocks.” The sound echoed through the trees, but there was nothing in return.

  “Bernice,” Brad spoke into the radio, “please proceed.”

  It wasn’t long when the echoes of another bat struck a tree in the distance in the same pattern Darrel had performed. There was no response from Bigfoot even after the tree knocking exercise had been done three more times.

  “I guess our forest friends aren’t interested in communicating with us today,” Brad said to the group as he led them back out to the main trail.

  Chapter 17

  It was just about noon when the two groups came together at the mid-point. There was a large plastic fold-out table set up with four coolers. Maggie walked over to the cooler filled with bottled waters and Gatorade.

  “I’ll take one of those,” said a voice behind her, so Maggie grabbed two bottles before turning around to find Bernice standing behind her.

  “Here you go,” Maggie said.

  “Thank you,” Bernice twisted the plastic top and took a long drink, emptying half the bottle. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “It’s an experience,” Maggie said, following Bernice to a fallen log where they took a seat next to each other.

  “The Northwest Alliance is the biggest organization in this area dedicated to research and exploration to proving beyond doubt the existence of Sasquatch. We sponsor Sasquatch-themed Nature Hikes, Bigfoot adventure weekends, not to mention our amazing museum. You should consider joining.”

  “I would consider joining, but I live in Florida. I’m just here visiting. My brother-in-law was part of your group.”

  “Really? who is your brother-in-Law?”

  “Chase Dawson,” Maggie said, watching Bernice’s face change.

  “That poor boy,” Bernice put her hand on Maggie’s leg. “Is Liza your sister then?”

  “Yes,” Maggie answered before taking another drink of water.

  “Ham or turkey?” Brad held out a choice of sandwiches to the two women who each picked turkey.

  “I heard that you and Chase had a disagreement,” Maggie took a chance that Bernice might be open to the discussion and she was.

  “Do you know Chase’s history with Bigfoot?” Bernice asked.

  “Not really. I only know that he had an experience that he swore that he saw a Bigfoot when he was a kid, but he never told me any of the details.”

  “Most of us enthusiasts have had an interaction with a Sasquatch at some point in our lives. When you look into the eye of Sasquatch, there is a connection that can never be broken. Chase’s experience was when he was maybe 13 years old. His family was camping somewhere in the Nisqually Valley. He was walking across a train trestle over the Nisqually River. His friends were ahead of him and had already crossed when he peered down and saw what looked like a large gorilla-like animal. The animal looked up and they locked eyes. It was an actual Bigfoot. The animal just walked away, looking back several times as Chase stayed frozen on the tracks.

  When Chase finally caught up with his friends and told them what he saw, they all rushed back and of course, the monster was gone. They even went down to the spot where Chase had claimed the animal was standing. They searched the ground for footprints, but the riverbank was full of rocks instead of sand.

  They searched the surrounding thick woods for a path or broken limbs. Soon the boys lost interest, but Chase couldn’t get it out of his head. The two other boys were brutal and made fun of him, even bringing it up at school. Chase’s parents told him it was in his imagination and he probably saw a bear.

  Finally, Chase gave up and convinced himself it was all in his head and it must have been a bear. That is until he saw my flyer at the Little Creek Casino for a Bigfoot Convention. He attended that very weekend and after hearing others recounting the exact same experience, he became not only a believer but a huge enthusiast. That is when we met and have been friends ever since.”

  “Why were you fighting?”

  “Chase thought he had some evidence of hoaxing, but he was mistaken. He wouldn’t let me explain, or rather he didn’t believe my explanation, so he went behind my back. I was so mad at him. He didn’t understand how harmful it is to the community when something like this gets out. He is well-respected in the Bigfoot community and an active member of several groups dedicated to the existence, so if he made an accusation, it would be taken seriously. He had the power to ruin our organization. Honestly, Chase had a lot going on in his personal life and I think he was just taking it out on me. All Chase wanted in this life was someone to believe him and I guess he might have overreacted when he thought something he believed in was being tested.”

  “What happened to the footprint?”

  “You know about the footprint?” Bernice smiled, looking over to where Darrel was now standing, talking to Sue.

  “Isn’t that what the argument was about?” Maggie asked, refocusing Bernice’s attention.

  “Not exactly,” she stood and stretched, “I’ll tell you what, come by the museum after the hike and I will give you something.”

  Mike had been waiting close by and when Bernice walked away, he filled the now vacant space next to Maggie. “That looked intense. What did you find out?”

  “It seems like she knows a lot about Chase. She told me a story about Chase seeing a Bigfoot, but I knew Chase then and I don’t remember him ever making a big deal about it. I honestly thought he was kidding or maybe he had smoked weed with his friends. Bernice would have a motive to kill Chase if he was going to expose her somehow. She said she had something for me when we get back to the museum.”

  “This is a big organization, and it looks like they bring in a lot of cash. If Chase had evidence, concrete evidence, he could ruin her,” Mike said, looking around.

  “Evidence in a crate in a storage unit?”

  “But why kill him before you have the evidence in your procession? That crate was delivered after Chase died, so even if Bernice is involved, there has to be someone else involved.”

  Sue now stood in front of Mike and Maggie. “Darrel is here,” she whispered.

  “We know,” said Maggie. “He was in our group.”

  “I love Bernice,” Kat said, joining her friends.

  “She certainly knows a lot about Bigfoot,” Maggie said.

  “I wish we could see a Bigfoot,” Sue said. “I’m having so much fun.”

  “We have at least another hour out here, so get any info you can, and we will meet up at the Museum.” Maggie drank the last of her water but resisted grabbing another one. She didn’t want to have to use nature's restroom.

  “I have to babysit so we need to leave right after,” Sue said.

  “I rode with her,” Kat said.

  “No worries, we got this,” Mike said.

  Bernice was waving at Sue and Kat toward the other side of the clearing. They would head down the same trail Mike and Maggie had already traveled.

  “They got this down to a science,�
� Maggie said as their group headed down the trail.

  “So how do you know Sue?” Darrel was now standing next to Maggie, forcing Mike to walk behind them.

  “We are old friends,” Maggie said. “We worked together at the shipyard a long time ago.”

  “How did she break her hand?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Maggie paused. “In a car door?”

  “How do you know Sue?” Maggie turned the conversation back to him.

  “We work together,” he said, “she is pretty amazing.”

  “Did you know Chase?” he asked, causing Maggie to stop walking for a moment, but she started again.

  “Yes,” she admitted. “He is -- was -- my brother-in-law.”

  “You’re Maggie?” he then stopped mid-stride, almost causing Mike to run into him.

  “Yes,” she stopped.

  It looked like he had tears in his eyes, “I’m so sorry,” he said.

  “Thank you,” she said, now confused.

  “We were really good friends. I guess you could say best friends,” Darrel said, “If you need anything, please.” He stood staring at Maggie while the rest of the group disappeared ahead.

  “We better get going,” Mike suggested. Darrel looked at Mike as if he hadn’t noticed him standing there.

  “We can talk later,” Darrel said to Maggie before turning and, with wide strides, traveled down the path, leaving Mike and Maggie standing there stunned.

  When they finally came out of the woods, Darrel’s jeep was gone.

  “That was just too weird,” Maggie said.

  “I have a feeling he knows something and isn’t sure whether to tell you or not.”

  “I agree,” Maggie’s said, sitting in the passenger seat with her tired legs hanging out. She took off her boots and handing them to Mike, who had popped the trunk and retrieved her tennis shoes.

  “I need a hot shower and a glass of wine,” Maggie said when Mike started the car.

  “You want to skip the museum?”

  “No way, I am way too curious to see what Bernice has for me.”

  Mike and Maggie walked into the museum, which was more like a huge gift shop. There were racks and racks of t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and even long johns with Bigfoot images adorning the merchandise.

  Every wall was covered with shelves full of Bigfoot memorabilia, including coffee cups, snow globes and resin images of Bigfoot. The museum portion was in the back section of the huge building. There were pictures showing blurry images capturing the mysterious creature in the woods. There were plaster castes of various footprints displayed in a glass case next to the cash register.

  “Pretty cool, huh?” Bernice was standing behind the counter.

  “Definitely,” Maggie said, not that impressed. She didn’t believe in the whole thing but could see the draw. It was fun to watch people get so excited about the possibility of coming face to face with the Bigfoot. It reminded her of trying so hard to stay awake to see Santa Clause on Christmas Eve.

  Bernice reached under the glass case and unlocked one of the drawers. She pulled an object from the drawer and, with both hands, passed it to Maggie. “You can have this.”

  “What is it?” Maggie said, unwrapped the package and showed it to Mike.

  “It’s a print we found from the trail you hiked today. It is proof of a family unit,” Bernice said.

  “Is it a miniature Bigfoot?” Mike asked.

  “It’s the print of an adolescent. It is very rare. Chase was the one that discovered it along with the parent’s prints.”

  “Well, thank you for the print. I appreciate it,” Maggie said.

  “Sorry for your loss,” Bernice said, “Chase will be missed around this place.”

  “Thank you,” Maggie said as Bernice moved to the other end of the counter to ring up a purchase.

  “You know we have our own mysterious monster in North Carolina,” Mike said as they headed to the door.

  “I’m sure you do.”

  “Its name is Normie and it lives in Lake Norman. There is a gift shop a lot like this one,” he paused, “well, not quite as big as this one.”

  “Have you ever seen Normie?” Maggie asked Mike.

  “No, but I know people who have. They say he resembles the Loch Ness monster. Some people say it’s just an overgrown alligator mutilated by the Nuclear power plant nearby.”

  “Seriously?” Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Do you believe in such things?”

  “It’s fun to believe in something. What does it hurt?”

  “I don’t know, Maggie, these people are very serious when it comes to Bigfoot.”

  “Hey Maggie,” a voice came from behind just as Maggie reached for the car door. She turned to see Darrel parked nearby.

  “Oh, hey, Darrel.”

  “I just wanted to let you know again. I am sorry about Chase and here is my number if you need anything.”

  Maggie looked at the card Darrel handed her. It was a Bigfoot background with his name and number.

  “Thanks, Darrel,” Maggie said, pausing for just a moment before she handed the package she held in her hand to Darrel. “This is for you.”

  Darrel took it and unwrapping the small footprint. He looked at Maggie with tears in his eyes. “The print?” Darrel held the casting to his chest. “Thank you, Maggie.”

  “I feel like Chase would want you to have it.”

  “This means more to me than you would ever know,” Darrel said, looking around and quickly got in his car and took off.

  “You gave him the print?” Mike asked as she got into the car.

  “What was I supposed to do with it?”

  “Compare it to what you found in the storage locker.”

  “I didn’t think of that,” Maggie said. She looked down at her phone, ignoring Mike's shaking head.

  “Did you know this Bigfoot Craze started in 1967 when this guy, Roger Patterson, caught Bigfoot on film?” Maggie was reading from the google search she had on her phone. Some people believed it was a giant ape and others feel like it was someone dressed up like a giant ape. The picture here looks a lot like that costume we found. What if we found the original costume? It’s pretty remarkable that in 50 years there hasn’t been another recording.”

  Mike didn’t respond and hadn’t back out of the parking spot but was looking at his phone.

  “What are your plans for the morning?” he asked.

  “Breakfast with the girls, I guess.”

  “Change your plans. We have an appointment.”

  Chapter 18

  Mike and Maggie walked into the small office set up in a metal utility trailer outside the secure facility at Bangor Submarine Base. It was one of those portable offices that are often found at large construction sites.

  “Good morning, Mike.” A large man rose from the single desk and reached across to shake hands with Mike. “And you must be Maggie.” he offered her his hand, which she took. “Please have a seat.” He pointed to two armless chairs in front of the desk before sitting back into his chair that creaked in protest. Maggie held her breath, wondering if the chair would give up, but it held, and Maggie could focus on her surroundings.

  The nameplate on the desk said, Glen Campbell. Maggie smiled as the tune ‘like a rhinestone cowboy’ bounced around in her head, distracting her from the first of the introductions.

  “I am here from Inspector General’s Office in DC. We are here partnering with the local Naval Intelligence to uncover a plot we believe involves suppliers who were sending in some medical supplies knowing they would be rejected and destroyed. We think this has been going on for several years.”

  “What is the benefit for the company?” Maggie asked.

  “The Navy would have to reorder. The government still pays full price even when the first shipment was destroyed. Somehow, they convinced the system to authorize another shipment. There are so many hands-on this; it’s not hard to get through the system.” He leaned forward causing more creak
s in the chair before continuing.

  “We believe we have corrected some of the holes in the process, but there is defiantly someone on the inside that has continued to manipulate the system.”

  “It was Chase Dawson,” Maggie said, “but now he’s dead.”

  “It wasn’t Chase,” Glen Campbell said, “Mr. Dawson was part of the investigation. He was undercover pretending to sell the vaccinations.”

  “He did sell the vaccines at his mother’s retirement community,” Mike said.

  “The vaccine that Chase processed and distributed to the senior living place was saline. The original batch of vaccine was actually destroyed.”

  Just then, the metal door of the trailer was opened, shaking the entire building. A Navy Officer entered. Maggie turned her attention as the tall man took off his hat and she was shocked to see the short red hair and crooked smile.

  “Aww,” Glen Campbell said. “Let me introduce Commander O’Gara. Commander, this is Detective Mike Marker and Maggie McFarlin.”

  Maggie turned, slinking down in her chair until she was forced to turn in greeting.

  “We have had the pleasure, although not formally introduced,” the Commander said, shaking hands with Maggie. “Nice to meet you, Detective Marker. I’ve heard a lot about you.” He said to Mike as they too shook hands.

  “I told the Commander about our adventures overseas,” Glen Campbell said to Mike. “He was also in Special forces.”

  “You two know each other?” Maggie pointed between Mike and Glen.

  “Yes, we served together in the Marines,” Mike said.

  Maggie just shook her head, “Do you believe that Chase’s undercover activities led to his murder?” Maggie directed the question to Glen, but the answer came from behind her.

  “There was a second batch of fake vaccine shipped and we had a location device attached. It was supposed to be delivered to the storage unit, where I saw you ladies, but it never made it. The locater was disabled. There is defiantly someone on the inside. We have eyes on the house, the storage unit and at the wife’s residence,” Commander O’Gara explained.