Desolation Lake

by Kane, Remington

  Craig had asked Brady to look around the area if he got the chance, and with Mary working until evening, he had the whole day free.

  Despite the bright fall sun overhead, Brady was dressed in jeans, wore boots, and a warm jacket, for although he grew up a city boy in Boston, he had done a fair amount of hiking years ago with a former nature-loving girlfriend, and knew that the temperature would be cooler up atop the mountain.

  Brady actually liked being out in the woods and wished that he could do it more often.

  The woods surrounded the lake, although a large section of them would be cleared to make room for the homes that his company would be building in the coming year.

  After identifying an ideal spot to place the construction trailers, Brady went off to explore the area by circumnavigating the lake rim, which was solid granite, but would be covered over with soil to create a shoreline for the lake.

  Brady smiled as he thought about all the homes that would be built. Although, it didn’t give him a rush, such as the thrill he got from pulling a heist.

  Brady liked the construction business, enjoyed turning nothing into something, and marveled that when they had finished their work, that there would be a new community, where now there were only trees and stone.

  The homes they were building on the south side of the lake weren’t cabins either, but rather, five and six room McMansions that would fetch a hell of a good price as lakefront property.

  Destination might be a quiet little town, but in the next few years, it would become a yuppie enclave and bring in the tourist dollars in the summer.

  While walking along, he spotted a beam of bright light deep in the trees, pointing upward and when he investigated, he realized that he was walking atop one of the old roads that used to lead to a mine entrance.

  Some of the gravel remained and they were thick chunks of rock mostly submerged in the soil.

  Brady pushed aside tree branches until he reached the source of the light. It was coming from the inside of a mine entrance.

  Apparently, the mine had collapsed over the years and now the hole led straight down into the huge pit, which reflected the sunlight and sent it up the shaft.

  There was an old sign at the boarded up entrance warning people about the danger and it stated that it was by order of the Destination Police Department.

  Mary had mentioned a cop named Richards the night before, and said that she was caring for the man’s dying wife.

  Brady had spent plenty of time in a hospital when Mitch’s wife Roz was ill and dying, and he felt sympathy for the police chief. Of course, that didn’t mean that Brady wouldn’t pull a heist in his town if the conditions were right.

  He walked back to the trail and continued until he had returned where he started. The hike around the lake had taken almost four hours and he was tired, and yet, at the same time, he felt invigorated by being outdoors.

  He was also hungry, and so he decided to drive into town and try out the food at the diner.

  ***

  Eva Ames eyed Brady the second he stepped through the door of the Destination Diner.

  The diner wasn’t crowded and it was close to closing time, as it only served breakfast and lunch, and as Brady took a seat on a stool at the counter, Eva greeted him with a bright smile.

  “Hi, I’m Eva, what can I get you?”

  “Let’s keep it simple,” Brady said. “I’ll just have a cheeseburger and some fries.”

  “Coming right up,”

  Eva gave Brady’s order to the cook and then leaned on the counter.

  “Are you passing through or visiting?”

  “I’m visiting, and working, I’m part of the crew that will be building homes up at the lake.”

  “Oh, but that work won’t be starting until spring, right?”

  “Yeah, but there’s a lot of details to be handled before we start building,”

  They talked a while longer and Brady got the impression that Eva was flirting with him, but then chalked it up to her desire for a good tip.

  The other few patrons cleared out while he was eating, and then he watched as the short order cook told Eva goodbye and left.

  Brady checked his watch and saw that it had just turned three o’clock.

  “Sorry to hold you up, Eva; I wasn’t aware that you closed early.”

  Eva took a seat on the stool beside Brady as he swallowed the last bite of his burger.

  “Don’t worry about it, and I guess we’ll be staying open later once the lake brings in the tourists. That’s fine by me, because then I can quit my part-time job.”

  “The town will be busier, that’s for sure.”

  Eva stared at Brady.

  “You’re a good-looking guy, Brady, do you know that?”

  Brady stared back at Eva, and looked the shapely woman over.

  “You ain’t so bad yourself there, hot stuff.”

  Eva laughed and then rested her hand on Brady’s thigh.

  “Why don’t I lock the door and then you and I can get cozy on the couch in the office.”

  “What? Here?”

  “It’s a big couch, and I can’t be seen with you... I’m sort of seeing a guy.”

  Brady looked Eva over again, eyed the pert breasts, the small but shapely body, and the oh, so pretty face.

  “It’s tempting, Eva, but I’ll have to say no. I’m seeing someone too.”

  Eva pouted.

  “I must be losing my looks, but alright, and I’ll be here if you ever change your mind.”

  Brady gave Eva a larger tip than he normally would have and then left the diner.

  A quickie with the petite beauty sounded like a lot of fun and something he might have jumped at in the past, but not now, not since meeting Mary.

  As he drove away from the diner, he was smiling and shaking his head.

  Yes, he was definitely in love.

  CHAPTER 12

  In Boston, FBI agents Curtis Weathersby and Ella Tyson were hearing news that gave them hope of someday tracking down Brady and his crew. The news was delivered by an agent named Tim Wilson, who was a computer tech, and they were meeting in a small conference room.

  “Hacked?” Curtis said, as he scanned a report.

  Wilson nodded at him.

  “That’s right, someone hacked into the computer system of the armored car company and gained the route info, and that’s also how they knew exactly what cases held the most valuable paintings.”

  Ella held up her copy of the report.

  “Our guys aren’t this sophisticated, they must have had help. Is there any way to track down the hacker?”

  “Maybe,” Wilson said. “It all depends on the hacker though, if he or she is smart, there’s little chance, but a lot of these people get lazy and reuse the same IP address while committing several crimes. We’re running checks now to see if we can find a connection to other criminal acts, but I wouldn’t hold out much hope.”

  Curtis and Ella thanked Wilson, and after the agent left the room, they were alone.

  They talked about the case for a while, about strategies they might employ to track down the hacker, but the conversation ceased when Curtis reached over and brushed back Ella’s hair from her left ear.

  His touch electrified her and she reached out and touched him gently on the lips.

  Seconds later, they were kissing and before another minute had passed, Ella was laying atop the conference table, naked from the waist down and Curtis had his head buried between her legs.

  When the door opened, they froze as their hearts leapt into their mouths.

  The door had only opened halfway when a voice cried out from down the hallway.

  “Hey, Wilson, can I see you for a minute?”

  Both Curtis and Ella recognized the voice as belonging to a rookie agent named Taylor, and then realized that it must have been Wilson who had opened the door partway.

  Curtis looked down the table past Ella’s wide eyes and saw that Wilson had left his copy of the
report behind, and was likely coming back for it.

  The door closed, and Curtis and Ella could hear Wilson’s voice as he walked down the corridor.

  “What can I do for you, Agent Taylor?”

  Ella slid off the table and dressed as quickly as she could, and in seconds, both she and Curtis looked as professional as ever.

  They were leaving the conference room when Wilson returned, and Curtis held out the copy of the report that had been left behind.

  “I was just going to look for you, Tim; you left this behind.”

  “Thanks, and that was me who opened the door before, but then I had to go help the rookie.”

  “So, I heard,” Curtis said.

  “Yeah, he was a bit loud and I told him that shouting in the halls didn’t go over well around here, but he’ll learn, and thanks for the report.”

  They told Taylor goodbye, left the building to go on an interview about another case, and once they were in their car and away from prying eyes, Curtis drove to the rear of a nearby restaurant and turned off the engine.

  He looked over at Ella as a smile played on his lips.

  “That was so damn close.”

  She giggled.

  “I know, but hot too, don’t you think?”

  Curtis thought about it and grinned.

  “Yeah, it was a hell of a rush when that door first opened.”

  Ella reached over and unzipped him.

  Curtis swiveled his head around and spotted a couple returning to their car only a dozen yards away.

  “Here! Ella, what if someone sees us?”

  Ella lit up in a smile.

  “Yeah, what if?”

  Curtis laughed, then, moaned, as Ella lowered her head and went to work.

  ***

  By Monday night, Harry was sure that Dr. Rafferty had murdered Melissa Hartford.

  He had grabbed a copy of the dead woman’s driver’s license photo from the case file of the other detectives, and when his shift had ended, he went to work showing it about at all the local hotels and motels.

  He figured that they wouldn’t have used the sleazy ones and concentrated more on the better establishments. He hit paydirt when he spoke to a hotel detective named Geary, who was also an ex-cop.

  “Oh yeah,” Geary said. “That one has been here once a week like clockwork for months.”

  “What day?” Harry asked.

  “Today, Mondays, but you know, now that I think about it, I didn’t see her today.”

  “And you won’t see her again, she’s dead.”

  “No shit? Who killed her, was it the guy she’s always with?”

  “Caucasian, brown hair and eyes, mid-forties, well dressed, tanned, athletic looking?”

  “That’s him.”

  “No, he’s been cleared,” Harry said. “He has an air-tight alibi.”

  Geary laughed.

  “Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t be that easy.”

  ***

  But it was easy, easy money, and all Harry had to do was apply a little pressure and the doctor would pay him to keep quiet.

  Still, the two detectives assigned to the case were no slouches, and they would eventually get on the doctor’s trail.

  Harry figured that he had to not only offer the doctor his own silence, but also insure that someone else went down for the killing.

  He could think of a half dozen crack addicts right off the top of his head that would be easy to frame, and it wouldn’t take much to herd the investigation their way. After all, the murder scene had the look of a push-in robbery gone wrong.

  Harry checked the time on the hot watch he had coerced from the fence Stu Tate, and decided that the doctor could wait until tomorrow. For now, he would go home and think about how much to ask the doctor for in exchange for remaining silent.

  He smiled.

  Who says that crime doesn’t pay?

  CHAPTER 13

  Mary snuggled in Brady’s arms after the two of them had made love.

  He told her about his trip around the lake and the oddness of looking down into the empty crater, and then assured her that he would be back permanently when construction started in the spring.

  “What exactly does that mean, permanently? Does that mean for as long as the job lasts... or maybe longer?”

  Brady kissed her on the forehead.

  “I guess we’ll see. Who knows, you might be sick and tired of me by the time the job is done.”

  “And if I’m not, would you consider staying?”

  Brady looked into her eyes.

  “I can’t imagine leaving you. It’s going to be hard enough going back to Boston as it is.”

  “When do you have to go back?”

  “Not until the weekend and then Mitch wants me to supervise a job that’s starting in Cambridge.”

  “You talk about Mitch a lot. You really like him, don’t you?”

  “Mitch is like the father I never had, and you’ll be meeting him, Jake, and Craig next month on Thanksgiving.”

  “I hope they like me.”

  “They’ll love you, but I warn you, they’re all a little protective. I’m like the baby in the family.”

  “I’m glad that you have such close friends and I’m sure we’ll all get along.”

  They grew quiet, and just as Brady was about to fall asleep, Mary asked a question.

  “I told you that the police chief’s wife died, but will you come to the funeral with me?”

  “When is it?”

  “I’m not sure, but it will likely take place before you leave.”

  “Yeah, I’ll go, any excuse to be near you.”

  “Good, and I want you to meet Clay; I think you’ll like him.”

  Brady said nothing, but he doubted he would ever be friends with a cop.

  ***

  Not far away, Steve Beck was returning home from a long day at work.

  He kept the shop open late on Mondays for those customers who couldn’t make it in the rest of the week, and then he stayed even later to catch up on paperwork.

  He was dog-tired, wanting only a shower before heading to bed, but he became alert when his wife gave him some news.

  “Toni did that work that you asked her to do in the attic, and she wants you to give her a call.”

  “Work?”

  “Something electrical, Kimberly says there’s a gray box on the wall up there with flashing green and red lights. Didn’t you okay the work?”

  “Oh, uh, yeah, it’s uh, a new type of electrical breaker. I’ll go up and take a look at it.”

  “Alright, but be quiet, Kimberly may be asleep by now.”

  Steve went up to the unfinished section of the attic, and it was just as Donna had said. There was a gray metal box there with red and green blinking lights, and when he tried to open it, he realized that there was a small padlock keeping it closed.

  He also noticed with irritation that the box was sitting over the hole he had been using to spy on Kimberly.

  When he went back downstairs, he entered the bedroom and heard the shower running. And so while Donna was in the bathroom, he gave Toni a call.

  “I was wondering when you were going to ring me,” she said.

  “I just got home. What’s with the box?”

  “Are you alone?”

  “Yeah, Donna is in the shower.”

  “I’m sending you a video. Watch it and call me back.”

  Toni ended the call and Steve received the video. It showed Kimberly in the attic bathroom as she stepped out of the shower and dried off.

  “Holy shit, she put in a camera,” Steve said, and then clamped a hand over his mouth as he realized he’d spoken aloud.

  Toni answered on the first ring.

  “That’s a gift for you. Now you can watch her all you want and never have to worry about being caught again. I’ll send you the web address for the feed.”

  “Web? It’s on the Internet?”

  “No, it’s password protected, and the camera will
only activate when someone enters the room. So, do you like?”

  “Yeah, I like.”

  “As soon as the camera catches something good we’ll watch it together. It’ll be hot.”

  “Toni?”

  “Yes?”

  “You’re the best neighbor I’ve ever had.”

  “Goodnight, Steve.”

  Donna came out of the shower just as Steve was watching the video of Kimberly again. In particular, he was watching the part where she bent over to dry her feet, a section of the video that he had watched four times.

  When he grabbed his wife by the wrist and pulled her atop the bed, she laughed.

  “I thought you said you were tired?”

  Steve slipped a hand beneath her robe.

  “I’ve gotten a second wind.”

  CHAPTER 14

  Harry went to see Dr. Rafferty at the man’s office on Tuesday night, after he waited for the doctor’s receptionist to leave for the day.

  Rafferty wasn’t going to let him in, but then Harry showed him his badge through the glass, and the doctor’s shoulders sagged as he unlocked the door.

  “Is this... is this about Mrs. Hartford’s murder?”

  Harry grinned at the man.

  “Is that what you called her in bed, Mrs. Hartford?”

  The doctor looked unsteady and sat down hard in one of the uncomfortable looking chairs in his reception area.

  “How did you find out that we were having an affair?”

  “It wasn’t hard to do, Doc. I mean you met at the same hotel every week.”

  “I loved her. I want you to understand that, and I swear that killing her was not premeditated. I simply lost my mind when she told me that she was staying with that fossil.”

  “You mean her husband?”

  “Yes, and the old fool is more than twice her age.”

  Harry took out a cigarette and Dr. Rafferty scowled at him.

  “There’s no smoking in my office, Detective.”

  Harry lit up and took a deep drag.

  “Well now, Doc, the way I see it. I can do anything I want.”