by Lynn Cahoon
“At least a year,” I added. “But I don’t understand why whoever killed her buried her so shallow.”
“When she was buried, it probably wasn’t shallow. Remember, those dunes move about three feet in a year. And with the storm, that probably made it faster. We had a CNN guy here filming that night when we had to close the road. By the next morning, there was a new disaster somewhere else for him to report on. It’s like that nowadays. Nothing stays news for long. Not even a missing girl.” The sheriff shook his head.
“So what now?” I asked.
“Now, I do my job without any preconceived notions. I need to investigate Dania’s death, which means I need to interview you all.” He glanced at the four of us. “Who wants to go first?”
“I will.” Kathi stepped forward.
Blake put his hand on her shoulder. “Kathi, you don’t have to do this first.”
“I want to. I want to help find Dania’s killer. Besides, I don’t want to be scared anymore. I’m tired of being afraid.” She squeezed Blake’s hand. “Why don’t you all go inside and make dinner. I’m starving.”
Greg was the last one to talk with Sheriff Anderson. When he came in, we had dinner on the table but none of us had started eating yet. I stepped toward him and offered him the beer I held in my hand. He shook his head. “I’m staying clear headed for tonight’s festivities. I told Anderson what we were doing and he told me he’d have someone nearby, just in case we needed him.”
“Did he put Russell on the suspect list?” I handed him a soda instead.
Greg shook his head. “He doesn’t see how the kid could be the killer. He says he just doesn’t have it in him. That he’s always telling on the Devil Riders when they break a law. He thinks he’s Anderson’s undercover agent.”
“They break laws?” Blake looked hopeful. “Maybe this could be over now.”
“Mostly traffic violations. A few petty thief charges, but no one wants to follow through with the charge.” Greg sank into a chair at the table. He pushed around the vegetables with a fork. “This looks good.”
“Blake and I typically have brown rice, chicken, and frozen vegetables when he comes home from a tour. He needs to keep his body in shape.” Kathi grinned at Greg. “Now if we could get you drinking water instead of soda, you’d be fine.”
“Except for the pies and cakes that Sadie drops off at the station.” I cut a piece of my chicken and popped it in my mouth. It wasn’t bad, but I already missed my fish and fry basket from Diamond Lille’s.
“I don’t eat those.” Greg kept his head down. “Mostly that goes to Toby and Tim.”
“And your nose just grew a bit.” I laughed as he turned a little pink. “So what’s the plan for tonight?”
As Greg went through the schedule, I wondered if we’d even be able to find out anything that would help the sheriff solve the case. It was a long shot, I knew.
When Greg finished, I added more. “And then we’ll unmask the killer and find out he was the grumpy janitor at the school.”
“That’s a Scooby Doo episode.” Blake shook his head.
I grabbed our dishes off the table. “Is it?”
This time Kathi insisted she had to dress me because she said I had nothing suitable for a bonfire. I was going to wear Greg’s flannel shirt with a puffy vest over the top. Instead, I had on skin tight jeans, a way too low-cut, purple silk blouse tucked in, with several strands of silver chains around my neck. She did let me wear my puffy vest—only because of the weather forecast. Even with the Kathi touch, the girl still outshone me when she came downstairs.
“You look…” Greg studied my new look, “different.”
“Different better, or different worse?” I was thinking about running upstairs and washing the makeup off my face.
He pulled me into a hug, then kissed me. “I love you like this or like you are. This is just different.”
“Remind me not to play dress up with Kathi again.” I laughed as I lay my head on his chest. “I might wind up dressed as a cheerleader or something.”
“Did I mention I tried out for the Dallas squad?” Kathi pulled on her boots and tucked her jeans inside. Since my boots were ankle length, the jeans disappeared into my footwear. “It was the same year I won Miss Texas. So obviously, I couldn’t do both.”
“Figures,” I muttered. But that was Kathi. If she told me she spent a summer modeling in Europe, I wouldn’t doubt it. I was starting to warm up to her. She couldn’t help it if she’d had more adventures than most people did in their lifetime.
When Blake came downstairs, he paused. “We don’t have to do this. Caleb can get a good lawyer if he’s charged. We already found a reasonable doubt suspect.”
Kathi went up to him and kissed him on the cheek, then wiped away the lip dye left on his cheek. “I want to help. Caleb just seems so lost. He shouldn’t be facing murder charges if he’s innocent.”
“There’s nothing saying we’ll find anything, but it’s a shot. And I want to make sure there aren’t any issues here when the rest of the group arrives. We might just cut the vacation short.” Greg leaned his elbows on his knees. “If we’re doing this, no one goes anywhere alone. Even the bathroom.”
“Got it.” I figured that comment was aimed at me since I had a habit of disappearing to find the closest restroom when we went off on weekend jaunts.
“And no one drinks anything but what we bring. I’ll drink one beer, then refill it with the water I’ve stashed in the cooler. You’re all welcome to do the same.” He rubbed Emma’s head. “But no shots or bottles from any of the Devil Riders, even if you think they might be safe.”
“Got it.” Blake put his arm around Kathi. “Let’s do this.”
As we walked out of the cabin, Greg locked the door with Emma inside. “I’m calling it no later than eleven. So if someone’s talking, get the story fast. We only have two hours.”
Greg and I followed Blake and Kathi down the trail in the side-by-sides. They had regular headlights as well as a light bar on the top. And on the back, were colored whips that moved back and forth as we drove. It was beautiful to watch. Or would have been if we were just out for a night ride.
When we arrived at the bonfire, we parked near the edge so we could get out easier. The party was in full force and when we arrived, Denny stood up to meet us. “Hey guys, I wasn’t sure you’d have the balls to come.”
“Got caught up at the cabin. Sheriff Anderson needed to finish our interviews.” Greg nodded to the fire. “Mind if we set up over there? We brought our own drinks. The girls are both on diets so they have to have specific stuff. You know women.”
“Sounds like a pain, but yeah, set up your chairs. The tunes are running and we’re just getting started with the tall tales. They’re actually a bad bunch of liars, but some of the stories are pretty funny.” He glanced over toward a blond woman coming out of the cabin with two beers. “There’s my girl. I better get over there before one of these jerks tries to mess with her.”
We were alone. Several of the crew watched us, but no one but Denny talked to us. And he mostly wanted to talk about the Woodses’ side-by-sides. After an hour, Greg glanced at Blake. “Time to leave?”
“I guess.” He stretched his arms and yawned. Then he winked at me. “I’m beat anyway.”
I started to fold up my chair, but as soon as we stood, Russell was at Kathi’s side. He pointed to the side-by-side.
“Don’t worry, I found it and put it in your rig. He shouldn’t have taken it.” Russell glanced in the direction of Denny. “It wasn’t right, him taking it. It belonged to you.”
“What belonged to me?” Kathi reached out a hand, but Russell stepped away and back into the gloom.
A few seconds later, Denny was by her side. “He didn’t bother you again, did he? Man, I tried to keep him inside tonight. I’d hoped he’d get over this infatua
tion.”
“I’m fine. He didn’t scare me.” Kathi leaned into Blake. “Let’s go, baby. I’m ready for bed.”
Denny watched the two of them, a gleam in his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving so soon. We haven’t even set off the fireworks.” He held out a beer to Blake. “And you didn’t let me buy the first round.”
Blake waved the offered drink away. “I’m done for the night, but thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks for inviting us. You all have a great setup here. I was telling Jill that when we get home, we’re buying a place on the coast just so we can spend nights out by the fire.” Greg held out a hand and took my arm. “Come on honey, you’re a little tipsy. Let me help you.”
As we walked away, I glanced back at the fire and Denny.
“Is he watching us?” Greg whispered.
“Like a hawk.” I giggled, playing my role and upped the volume on my voice. “Why can’t I drive?”
“Because you’re drunk.” He responded and helped me into the seat. When Blake and Kathi reached their vehicle, I heard Kathi gasp.
“You guys okay?” Greg went to get the cooler from Blake to strap in the back of our rig.
Kathi nodded, her face white in the moonlight. “Let’s get out of here. Russell left me a gift.”
When we got back to the cabin, we were inside before Kathi sank into the couch. “Tell me the doors are all locked.”
“The front one is. Blake, run upstairs and make sure we’re alone. I’ll check the back door. Jill, sit here with Kathi.” Greg didn’t wait to see if anyone followed his directions before he moved into the kitchen. I sat on the other couch.
“Are you okay?” I asked Kathi. “Do you need something to drink?”
“I wouldn’t mind a whiskey straight, but I’ll settle for some hot cocoa. But not yet. I need to get this over with.” Kathi took something out of her pants pocket. And when Greg and Blake returned, she held it out, dangling from her fingers. A Black Hills Gold cross.
“I’ll call Anderson.” Greg grabbed his phone.
Chapter 7
After stopping by the cabin to pick up the cross, Anderson took off without talking to anyone but Greg. We settled into the living room with a fire and blankets. Kathi made hot chocolate and I brought out the cookies. And we waited.
Sometime after two, I’d notice that Blake and Kathi were both asleep. Greg was awake and pacing, keeping his phone in his hand. I put my book away and curled up under the blanket to watch him.
I woke to someone shaking my arm. I blinked my eyes and saw Kathi standing over me. Even right out of sleep, she looked like an angel. I decided I didn’t want to deal with that today so I rolled over and pulled the blanket closer. She pulled it off me. “Jill, Jill, wake up. Anderson is here.”
That made me sit up quickly and I knocked my head against Kathi’s chin. “Ouch. Where is he?”
“Outside, talking with Greg and Blake. I’ve heard Russell’s name mentioned several times but the sheriff doesn’t look happy.” Kathi glanced out the window. “It’s not easy hearing through these windows so I’ve cracked open the door.”
I went over and stood by the wall and tried to listen. Muffled voices at best. “This is stupid, I’m going out there.”
“But you haven’t even brushed your hair.” Kathi’s eyes widened and she looked totally shocked.
“I’m not looking for a date, just information. You go upstairs and get ready if you want. I want to find out what happened.” I opened the door and stepped outside. All three men turned to look at me and self-consciously, I ran my hands over the top of my hair to hopefully smooth any crazy flyways. “What’s going on?”
“As I was telling the others, Russell’s gone. His room at the boardinghouse looks like it was trashed. When we got to the party, Denny said he’d just left so we followed his trail, but nothing.” Anderson sank into a chair. “I really thought the kid was innocent.”
“Are you sure he’s not? Who else said where Russell went?”
Sheriff Anderson took his hat off and rubbed the top of his head. “No one, but why would Denny lie?”
“Trusting him is what got you in this trouble in the first place. When we were at the bar, the waitress even said the Devil Riders were trouble.” I sat in a rocker next to him. “Russell told Kathi that someone else had taken her necklace. I think Russell thinks Kathi is Dania. And if he killed her, he’d know somewhere in that brain of his that it was impossible. He just thinks Dania came back.”
“Are you saying that Russell found the killer when he found the necklace?” Anderson shook his head. “I should have thought about it. Denny was always in trouble, even after he married Anna and supposedly settled down. You think one of the Devil Rider’s killed Dania.”
“One particular one, I do. I can’t give you proof, but Russell could.” I glanced at Greg.
Greg nodded his agreement with my assessment. “And that’s why he had to leave. Hopefully Russell’s still alive.”
Anderson stood and grabbed his microphone. “Sally, get everyone out to the Devil Rider’s compound again.”
He listened to the squawk on the other side. “I don’t care if they just went to bed. I need everyone up and out there no later than fifteen minutes from now. Is that clear?”
I heard the yes sir from where I sat. If I worked for the guy, I’d know when I could push, and when, like now, Anderson’s voice demanded you listen. Before he hung up the phone, the woman called out for him to wait.
He put the phone back to his ear and listened. Then he nodded. Then he listened some more. When he hung up, he sighed. “The locket has a partial print. A print that matches Denny Doan.”
“I’ve got to get warrants in place.” He glanced at Greg. “You want in on the takedown?”
Greg shook his head. “We’re going to stay in and together until you tell us you have that guy in your jail. He seems like he could be a little slippery.”
Anderson laughed. “You got that right. He knows his way around the forest and the dunes. So staying in might not be a bad idea.”
Greg took my hand and lead me to the cabin. “Call me when you have him.”
“You got it.” Sheriff Anderson was already on his phone as he climbed into his car.
Greg turned me around to face the cabin. “Go get ready and Blake and I will make breakfast.”
I went inside, hoping the sheriff would find the killer sooner than later. What was a perfect place to spend Thanksgiving had turned a little scary, even for someone who liked solving mysteries. The cabin was quiet and my footsteps echoed as I jogged upstairs to my room.
I took off the clothes I’d slept in and put on my sweats. Dropping the clothes in the laundry basket, I realized I still had Kathi’s silver chains. I dangled them off my fingers. Then I knocked on Kathi’s bedroom door. When I didn’t hear a response, I decided she must be in the shower. I didn’t want to have these get mixed up with my stuff, so I opened the door and went to the dresser. The mirror faced the bathroom and I saw a man’s boot sticking out from behind the door. A boot and a leg.
We had a visitor. I didn’t turn toward the bathroom. “Hey Kathi, don’t walk out right now, it’s just me. I’m leaving the necklace you loaned me on the table.”
When I didn’t get an answer, I called again. “Hey, are you awake in there?”
“Sorry, I’m brushing out my hair before I get in the shower. Thanks for returning the necklace.” Kathi’s voice sounded strained but at least she was alive.
“No trouble. The guys are making waffles so as soon as you’re ready head down. You know they’ll burn the first several batches.”
I shut the door hard, then quietly reopened it. Then I ran downstairs to get Greg.
He only had to see my face to know. “Where is he?”
“In Kathi’s bathroom. He has her. I left the door open but he
doesn’t know I saw him.”
Blake tried to push past me but Greg held him back. “Take Jill out of here and see if you can catch Anderson. Go now.”
Blake took one look up the stairs then grabbed me by the arm with one hand and his cell with the other. “If anything happens to her…”
“Nothing’s going to happen.” Greg opened the movie cabinet and grabbed his gun out of it. Then he started up the stairs. And I was outside on the porch with Blake.
Sheriff Anderson’s car was starting to back down the drive and Blake took off after him. When the sheriff looked back, he slammed on the brakes, leaning out of his window. “What’s happening?”
“Someone has Kathi.” Blake pointed to the house.
“Front or back?”
“What?” Blake stared at him.
“Does your window in the room face the front or the back? I don’t want to go in guns blazing and get your friend killed if the guy’s watching us right now.” Anderson shut off the engine and got out of the car. He pushed the button on his radio. “Send the guys to the Woodses’ rental cabin instead. And have them keep it down.”
“So, what view do you have?” The sheriff leaned on his car like he and Blake were having a nice little chat about trails or wildlife.
“The back. We see the mountain,” Blake said.
The sheriff started jogging to the house. “Good, then we might have a chance. Get her out of here.”
Blake waved at me and I ran to join him by the car. Then we ran. When we reached the y in the road, he pointed to Caleb’s road. Go and knock on his door. He’ll keep you safe.”
“Where are you going?” I knew the answer before he answered.
“Back to save my girl.” And he took off on a run.
I was out of breath by the time I hit the clearing where Caleb’s cabin sat. Running on the beach hadn’t prepared me for the uphill climb of the trail. Caleb came off his porch and ran to meet me.
“What’s happened?”
I stopped and leaned my head forward with my hands on my knees, trying to stop the burning in my lungs. “Someone is trying to kidnap Kathi.”
