by Lynn Cahoon
“Honey, this place is always boring.” Overhearing our conversation, the cocktail waitress stopped at our table and peered at us through a pair of cat eye glasses. “Oh, my. Are you the people who found Dania? You deserve a round on the house. She worked here, you know.”
“No, we didn’t know that.” Greg smiled and leaned closer, bringing his voice to a whisper. “We’re from out of town. And I wasn’t sure the police had determined the body was Dania.”
“Well, bless your heart. My sister works at the station doing payroll and she said the sheriff is convinced they finally found her body. He’s been itching to slap a murder charge on Caleb since it happened. No one believed that she just disappeared. She had too much to live for.” A southern accent twanged her words. Her nametag said Mae and it fit her southern drawl and her beehive of blond hair on her head. “You all are a godsend, that’s what you are.”
“Did you know Dania?” I asked the question before I remembered the promise at the house, but Kathi and Blake had wandered off to choose some music at the jukebox.
“I did. She’d just asked me to be one of her attendants at the wedding. We weren’t best friends or anything, but we were tight. Everyone in town is pretty friendly. Well, except for the bad seeds.” Mae took a cloth handkerchief from her pocket. “I’ve been weepy all day since the news broke. I thought I’d cried all the tears I had for the girl years ago.”
“Sorry to bring back bad memories.” Greg glanced at Blake and Kathi across the room.
“Oh, no. Like I said, you all are a godsend. Who knows how long she would have been up there all alone. At least now, her family can do a proper burial for her.” Mae wiped her cheeks. “Anyway, enough of the sad stuff. You all are on vacation and I’m buying the next round just as my little way to say thanks.”
The door opened and Denny, Russell, and a few more of the Devil Riders walked in the bar. I recognized most of them from the quick visit we’d had on the dunes. Denny stared at Kathi as they walked by and took up a section by the pool table.
“Speak of the devil and he appears.” Mae sighed. “I was hoping they’d stay out at the cabin at least for tonight. Stay away from that group. When I said we had some bad seeds, those are the people I was talking about.”
“We’re just here for a few beers then we’re heading back to our cabin.” Greg assured her. “You won’t have any trouble from us.”
“You’re not who I’m worried about.” Mae smiled and moved over so Kathi and Blake could sit down. “Tell me you played some country. I absolutely love Blake Shelton, don’t you?”
When Mae walked away, Blake leaned closer. “Everyone seems convinced that Caleb is the killer. Yet, there seems to be a whole group of suspects over there playing pool.”
“Yeah. I’ve noticed the town already has Caleb convicted.” Greg shook his head. “That’s one of the troubles with small towns. People think they know things and sometimes they’re wrong.”
“But sometimes they’re right. We don’t know Caleb or the Woods family. Maybe they just appear to be normal.” Kathi blurted out. Seeing Blake’s shocked face she leaned back. “Okay, so you know them. But really, it’s true. Every family has a crazy aunt in the attic they don’t let out until the sun goes down.”
“I’ve never heard it quite that way, but Kathi’s right. We don’t know the players here, which is one reason we need to stay out of the investigation.” Greg looked at me as he finished off his beer.
Mae arrived with another round right then. “What about some wings? We’ve got an amazing chef back there, even if the menu is just fried food and sandwiches.”
“We just ate.” I said, even though I wanted to try the wings. Once the Devil Riders showed up at the bar, I didn’t feel comfortable there. Which was saying a lot. We had several motorcycle clubs that liked to visit South Cove, but there was something off about these guys.
After Mae left, Greg put his hand on my forehead. “Feels normal.”
“What are you doing?” I batted his hand away.
He shrugged. “You turned down a chance to eat. I’m assuming you must be sick.”
Kathi and Blake laughed and the tension broke. The band was on a break so a country song came over the jukebox. Just as we started talking about tomorrow’s ride and where we wanted to go, I looked up to see Russell standing at our booth, staring.
“Can I help you?” Greg shook his head at Blake, letting him know he would handle the interruption.
“Remember this is our song?” Russell ignored Greg and tried to lean past Blake. “You came back so I played our song.”
“Look buddy, I don’t know what your game is…” Blake stood and placed himself between Russell and Kathi.
“You can’t keep us apart.” Russell pushed at Blake’s chest but all of a sudden, his arms were pulled back by two of the Devil Riders. Denny nodded his head and the other two men dragged Russell back to the pool table.
“Sorry about that. Russell’s had a few too many brews today. And even on a good day, he’s not all here. He had a brain injury in high school.” Denny shook his head and appeared to be mortified at his friend’s actions and condition, but there was something else in his face. A touch of glee. I had to be imagining the emotion, or it may have been the neon lights. Whatever was going on, it was time for us to leave.
“Just keep him on a leash,” Blake said, his tone dark and menacing.
“Buddy, you have to be used to men trying to upstage you, especially when you’ve got a woman of that quality on your arm.” Denny held up his hands. “But I get it. Let me buy the next round. We don’t want you all to think that the Devil Riders aren’t hospitable.”
“Actually, we were just finishing this one up and getting out of here. It’s been a long couple of days.” Greg locked his gaze on Blake’s and tilted his head in the direction of Kathi. The meaning was clear, even to me. Let’s leave before trouble really starts.
Blake nodded, letting Greg know he agreed with the plan, then he turned back to Denny. “Thanks for the offer, but maybe another time. We’ll see you on the dunes?”
Denny grinned. “You won’t be able to miss us.”
As we walked back to the cabin, Blake and Kathi took the lead. I slowed down a little and let them get out of earshot. “Denny’s parting shot seemed more like a threat than a see you soon.”
“You noticed that.” Greg pulled me a little closer. “I’m not sure what his game is. I understand gangs, we have enough of them around South Cove. There’s a clear power structure, and if Denny thought Russell was going to be an issue, he would have stopped it sooner.”
“You’re saying he let Russell come over and harass Kathi?” I’d had the same feeling. The backup was there, just a little too quick to be a coincidence.
“I’m just wondering how much our Kathi looks like Dania. And if I was doing the investigation, I’d be wanting to know where Russell was the night of her disappearance.” Greg laughed. “I guess I’m feeling what you feel when I shut down your investigations.”
“Yeah, but you are the real deal. From what I see of the sheriff, he and the rest of the town are convinced Caleb killed her, which makes no sense at all.” I thought about what Mae told us at the bar. ‘We can’t let him be railroaded if he didn’t kill her. He’s been hurting for a long time, this is probably adding salt to the wound.”
“You’re always there for the underdog, aren’t you?” Greg kissed me. “All we can do is feed the information we find to the county sheriff here. Or to Caleb’s defense lawyer, if they do charge him. I can’t believe I’m even considering that.”
“It might not be your circus or your monkey, but you’re kind of a Superman type. Justice is more important to you than the easy answer.”
He stopped and pulled me into his arms. “You think I’m Superman?”
“I said you were that type.” I giggled as he swung
me around. “Don’t get a big head over it.”
“Honey, I love you.” He sat me back down on the ground and kissed me again.
“Hey, save it for your room. We’re almost at the cabin.” Blake called out from ahead of us.
“Sounds like a plan,” Greg whispered in my ear as we hurried to catch up.
A lone figure sat on the steps when we came into the clearing and both Greg and Blake pushed Kathi and I behind them. I took her hand and we stood at the edge while they moved forward. After the scene at the bar, I didn’t want to rush into another confrontation.
“Nate? Is that you? What are you doing out here?” Blake stepped forward and into the circle of light from the cabin porch lanterns.
“Sorry to bother you folks. I came over to talk, but when you weren’t here I thought I’d sit for a bit and wait.” Nate stood, wiping his cheeks.
Kathi and I followed the guys to the cabin now that we knew it wasn’t one of the Devil Riders or worse. I looked at Nate and then at Greg. “Let’s make some coffee.”
“I don’t want to bother you…” Nate began but Greg cut him off.
He put an arm around the man and walked him into the cabin. “No bother at all. We were planning on starting a fire and talking for a while.”
I was always amazed at how fast Greg could lie to make someone feel better. We hadn’t planned on staying up, chatting around the fireplace, but now we were. “Kathi, why don’t you set out a plate of those cookies and muffins. I’m starving, aren’t you?”
I made the coffee and brought it out to the living room where Kathi had already set out a plate of treats. Blake took a cookie then handed the plate to Nate. He had a ginger snap in his hand and was staring at it like he didn’t know where it came from. After a couple of bites, he sipped his coffee and seemed to relax a little.
“I shouldn’t be here with you all.” Nate sighed and leaned back into his chair. “I should be at home. But Hilda, she’s not taking this all well and she doesn’t want to talk. When she’s in this mood, all she wants to do is clean. She’ll be up cleaning something until she drops tonight and tomorrow, she’ll start over.”
“I have to say, I’m not a stress cleaner. I’m a stress eater. But what has her so worked up?” I pushed the cookie plate toward Nate.
“She got a call from Martha who heard it from someone at the diner that the sheriff told someone at the station that he finally has the evidence to convict Caleb.” Nate pressed his lips together. “I know my boy is hurting and not at his best right now, but there is no way he’s a killer. No way.”
Greg leaned forward. “Tell us about the night that Dania disappeared. Maybe we can help convince the sheriff that Caleb isn’t his prime suspect.”
“You’d do that?” The hope on Nate’s face gleamed like a beacon and for a minute, I was worried that Greg promised too much. Throwing a lifeline to this drowning father seemed like too much of a chance.
“We’ll try. It doesn’t mean we can find the person who really killed Dania, but if we could give the sheriff at least one other lead, your son might have a chance to defend himself.” Greg sipped his coffee. “Let’s start with the night Dania disappeared.”
Nate walked us through the day. Dania and Caleb had a disagreement at the bar where she worked about how much they were spending on the wedding. Caleb didn’t want to start their lives in debt. Dania wanted the fairy tale ceremony. “They would have worked it out. Compromised, you know. But they didn’t have a chance. Dania never got home from her shift that day. She stayed to work a double to make more money for the wedding. No one saw her again until this week.”
After Nate left, we all turned in. Greg and I were lying in bed, still awake, probably from the late night coffee as much as the promise Greg made to the upset father. “They fought and she winds up dead. Seems like an over the top reaction to a lovers’ spat over money.”
“But it was a public fight. Something that everyone could point to as a flaw in their relationship.” Greg stirred on the other side of the bed. “That’s why the town is looking at Caleb.”
“Would everyone look at you if we fought at Lille’s before I’d disappeared?” I needed to wrap my head around the public sentiment against Caleb.
Greg turned toward me and our gazes met. “Of course, darling, but if I actually killed you, no one would ever find your body.”
“That’s such a sweet thing to say.” I slipped off to sleep, still thinking about Dania.
Chapter 5
The next morning, I was back at the computer trying to find as much about Dania as I could. According to Nate, Caleb said he had fallen asleep at the cabin while he waited for Dania to get home from her shift. His boots were muddy as he’d been out in the woods, scouting out places for hunting blinds for the upcoming turkey season. When he woke in the middle of the night and she wasn’t home, he figured she’d stayed with a girlfriend. He went to the bar the next morning to apologize for the fight, and found she was gone.
He hadn’t done anything to solidify an alibi. Like going to talk to his dad about the fight. Or arriving at the bar to walk her home, which he often did when she worked late. Caleb rang all the bells and whistles of being a spur of the moment killer. I was sure the sheriff thought the fight continued when she arrived home and he killed her.
Honestly, that’s what I would think too. Maybe Nate was just blind to his son’s guilt. But something about Caleb when he came to talk to Kathi about finding Dania, told me that he was in pain. Not because his sin had been uncovered, but because she was dead, not just missing.
Missing. Caleb thought for years that Dania was missing. Maybe he tried to find her online? Could that be a defense? I started searching for missing people out of Oregon and had too many hits. I found a Facebook page for Oregon disappearances and found a post from Caleb. He posted their engagement picture, along with the details of her disappearance. Scrolling through the page, I found a post every month on the seventh. Since the page was created, Caleb posted regularly to keep Dania in the top of the posts.
I scrolled down and saw another picture of Dania, but this one was a single shot. I opened the post and read the details. “Greg? Come here.”
Greg came out of the bedroom and hurried down the stairs. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, but come look at this.” I turned the screen so he could see the post.
He read the information, then sat down and reread the description. “This isn’t Dania.”
“I know. But she looks like her. And Kathi.” I glanced upstairs to where Kathi and Blake still slept. “And she disappeared in Reedsport. That’s just a few miles up the coast from here.”
He picked up his phone and made a call. “Hey Toby? Do me a favor.”
I waited for him to finish the conversation. “You think it’s connected?”
“I’ve asked Toby to call the Reedsport station. We might not get anyone who knows anything since it’s a holiday week, but it’s worth a shot.” He glanced upstairs and I knew he was thinking the same thing. “I think we need to keep an eye on Kathi. If these disappearances are connected, well, we need to keep her close.”
He opened up a new tab on my computer and keyed in a password. “Let’s see if there are any more lookalikes missing out of this area.”
We searched the database, but only came up with Dania’s record and this new woman, Sandy Trainer. The alert was still out on Sandy, but Dania’s file had been updated with possible remains found. “I guess the DNA is still out. Which is why they haven’t charged Caleb yet. But it’s only a matter of time.”
“But what about this woman?” I pointed to Sandy’s picture. “Doesn’t that prove that someone else might have done this?”
“Actually, all it says is that Dania might not be Caleb’s first kill.”
Blake came down the stairs, humming. When he saw us, the smile dropped off his f
ace. “Oh, great. What now? This was supposed to be a fun week and now it’s all about murder. I don’t know how you deal with this day after day. Greg.”
“Believe me, most of my day is paperwork and boring meetings. These types of cases don’t happen every week.” Greg pointed to the laptop. “Tell me your first reaction to that picture.”
Blake sauntered over, grabbing a donut on his way. When he sat down, he froze. “She looks like Kathi. I mean, not as polished, and definitely younger, but there’s a resemblance.”
“Yeah, we think so too.” Greg turned the laptop around and started reading. “Wait, this might just be a coincidence. She disappeared from Reedsport on a girls’ weekend, but she’s from Boise.”
“Idaho?” Blake finished his donut and then stood, crossing over to the kitchen. “But if the killer is here, does it matter where she grew up?”
“It probably doesn’t.” Greg joined him in the kitchen. “But just to be safe, Kathi needs to be with someone 24/7. No quick trips into town, no leisurely walks in the woods alone. It’s probably overkill, but I don’t want her to disappear just because we picked the wrong resort to have Thanksgiving dinner.”
“You mean, I picked the wrong resort.” Blake filled a coffee cup. “These people are solid, Greg. I know it. They go to church on Sundays, they supported the school football team when Caleb and I were in high school. Hilda even ran the PTA.”
“I think this is happening to them too. I don’t see any of the three as killers. And it’s not your fault. Dead bodies show up in the most out of the way places.” Greg leaned on the counter. “We’re not going to let this ruin our vacation. We just need to be careful. Especially Kathi.”
“And why, especially me?” Kathi stood on the bottom step watching the men in the kitchen. “Don’t tell me you two are bothered by that jerk last night. Things like that happen all the time. Some men just don’t know how to take no as a full sentence.”
“Kathi, it’s more than just that guy.” Blake turned and poured a cup of coffee for her. “We need to talk.”
