Bodies Out Back

by Nanisi Barrett D'Arnuk

  “Then let’s get out there before they trample all the evidence.” They both quickly cleaned up all the dishes from the breakfast Michael had made.

  * * * *

  Cam and Michael walked carefully out to the stream. A slight wind was rustling the leaves overhead which made it chillier than it had been. Both were glad they had worn jackets. They went to where Michael had found the bodies. They observed what was there without touching anything. Cam hunkered down so she could see more closely.

  “I don’t see anything that shouldn’t be here. It looks like the state troopers took a bit of the dirt along with the bodies. They probably have to test it.”

  Michael looked around. “Let’s look further into the trees. Maybe there’s something that the troopers missed.”

  They walked further south and east into the woods. They passed a spot that looked like a large barrel had flattened the grass and dirt. The ground around it looked a bit scorched, with flakes of rust scattered around it.

  “This must be where they cooked the meth,” Michael speculated.

  Cam looked around. Something looked strange to her.

  “There looks like there was once a path through there.” She pointed toward a tree about ten yards from where they stood. “I doubt the troopers looked at it. It doesn’t look disturbed.”

  “Then let’s explore it.” Michael’s eyes searched the entire area.

  “Walk around the tree,” Cam recommended. If it did lead somewhere important, she didn’t want to disturb it. She walked to the other side of the tree and squeezed between it and the shrubs that hugged it. When she got around the tree, she saw that what was left of a path still lingered there.

  Cam walked along it a couple feet to the side.

  “Where do you think it leads?” Michael asked as she squeezed through the shrubs behind Cam.

  “I have no idea. It looked strange to me,” Cam replied as she continued through the shrubs beside the pathway. “The beginning looked like it was carefully hidden, but I may be wrong. It might lead nowhere.”

  They followed it for a ways.

  “Is this still your property?” Michael asked.

  “I believe so. We haven’t gone that far.”

  They followed the path for a few more yards until it ended at a large pile of rocks. It looked like the rocks had been placed there, behind a large tree: they weren’t there naturally. The last few feet looked like any track or path had been flattened or brushed away.

  “That’s strange,” Cam commented. “I wonder what’s behind or under those rocks.”

  “Let’s see.” Michael stooped down, lifted a flat rock that sat atop the front ones and carefully rolled the first rock to the side. Behind it was a large plastic package of what looked like a white substance.

  “Let’s not disturb it,” Cam said softly. “Let’s go back and see if the troopers are here yet. Don’t mess up the trail.”

  Michael rolled the rocks back and they both stood and turned to go back the way they had come.

  “That looks like another path there,” Michael said, pointing off to the west.

  “It sure does.” They started in that direction. After about fifty yards the path disappeared and they had found nothing. Then they heard voices from the way back toward the house. They turned and headed in that direction.

  “Good morning, gentlemen!” Cam called as they approached the half dozen men who were looking through the trees and around the area where the bodies had been found.

  All the men turned in surprise; a couple reaching for their guns.

  “Good morning, ladies,” Carver acknowledged them. “Have you been out here long?”

  “Long enough,” Cam answered. “We’ve found quite a stash for you.”

  “Where?”

  Cam beckoned for him to follow her. Two of his officers accompanied them. They stopped where the meth lab had been.

  “I was standing here and I saw something that looked suspicious.” She led the way to the tree. She pointed to the ground. “This looked too well-traveled to have it stop here. I didn’t want to disturb anything so we went in over there.”

  “You have a good eye,” he said. “I never even noticed it.”

  Cam led the way around the tree. Carver and the other men followed her.

  “I get suspicious when things have been wiped away,” she explained. “Then we came to here. I wondered why the path stopped a few yards before that pile of rocks. Look behind that first one.”

  Carver and one of the other men moved forward and rolled a rock to the side.

  “Holy shit,” Carver exclaimed. He pulled out rubber gloves and snapped them on. He carefully took the package from the ground. It was a stash of about ten or fifteen pounds of a white substance, triple-wrapped in heavy plastic.

  “We’ve got to take this back to town and see what it is. Have you found anything else?”

  Cam shook her head. “Not yet. We were looking. There are a lot of little paths through here.”

  Carver turned to the other man.

  “Make sure this gets into my car. We should look through the pile of rocks and see if there’s anything else under there.”

  Both men nodded and stooped to brush away the dirt around where the bundle had been. When one of them pushed the dirt aside, he could see a reflection from behind it. He moved that rock away and moved a couple others until it revealed another package, basically identical to the first.

  “I would suspect this is the meth they were making, hidden away until it could be delivered.”

  “It seems like it,” Cam agreed. “I doubt anyone would have this much cocaine hidden around here.”

  “You’re probably right. I guess we need to search everywhere,” his assistant agreed.

  “Yes, this whole pile should be looked at,” Carver agreed.

  Cam and Carver turned to go as the two officers started moving the rocks. They went back to where the men were. Michael was waiting for them. “What do you think?” she asked.

  “There were two packages,” Cam informed her. “They probably made as much as they could and were stockpiling it until it could be weighed and packaged.”

  “Most likely very true,” Michael responded.

  Then Cam turned to Carver. “Did you find anything about the two guys you found here?”

  “It looked like their throats were cut. There were three young men who disappeared from Magog early last November. The medical examiner is checking dental records. Other than that, we have almost nothing.”

  “That’s a shame.”

  “I hope we can get something identified so we can contact their families.” Carver shook his head.

  “Yes,” Michael agreed. “That would be the hard part, but the families need to know.”

  “Let’s look through the property and see what else we can find.”

  Carter directed his men in different directions. Michael also walked off.

  Cam hung back to talk to Carver. “We explored that overgrown path with Michael’s brothers. It goes quite a ways and ends up at Leadville Road. It’s the perfect way to smuggle stuff across the border.”

  “Did you happen to notice any mile markers?” Carver asked.

  “No,” Cam answered, “but Jean-René felt we were still south of the border. There weren’t any markers on the road itself. The path or road was only overgrown with what looked like new growth, it didn’t look like last year’s expansion, but there were several places where a car could turn around. There was also a side path that headed north. You couldn’t drive a car through there, but it would support foot traffic.”

  “Good God,” Carver exclaimed. “And we never knew any of this existed.”

  “That’s understandable,” Cam agreed. “The border here was never really patrolled.”

  “No. There are so many small roads around the border that no one could ever keep track. There would have to be a wall or something, but then that would ruin the good relations between our two countries.”


  “It’s not only vehicular traffic,” Cam commented. “The waterways between the US and Canada can never be fully watched.”

  “And if you fly or like to hike or even mountain climb, there’s no way to stop anything.”

  “No,” Cam agreed. “I was researching heroin routes along the Washington State-British Columbia border a few years ago and when we thought we had found something, the routes changed. Overnight. Sometimes hour to hour.”

  “I’m going to have to send a couple of my men along that road, and then have someone pick them up from Leadville Road so we’ll know exactly where it is.”

  “Jean-René said he thought there were a couple houses a few kilometers south if that helps.”

  “Anything is more than we have now.”

  “Michael’s brother also advised that I put up a chain-link fence to stop any vehicular traffic. We’ll probably do that this weekend.”

  “Around your whole property?” Carver was amazed.

  “No. That would be a waste of time and money. Only thirty or forty feet across the road to stop cars, but if anyone wanted to walk in, there’s no way to stop them. Most fences can be easily climbed over.”

  Carver nodded.

  “Personally,” Cam continued. “I think the fence is a waste, too, but Jean-René insists. I don’t think anyone’s going to come back here. I think this was those two or three guys’ secret lab and now that they’re taken out, there’s no need for anyone to look here.”

  “You’re probably right,” Carver agreed. “But it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

  Cam agreed.

  * * * *

  “I’m still thinking about our back woods,” Cam said softly later than evening as they sat at the table finishing the meal Michael had made. “I can’t get the idea out of my mind.”

  “Oui, I cannot either.” Michael shook her head. “It was a very unpleasant surprise.”

  “I keep thinking there must be something I can do to help with this whole thing. I may go talk to Carver and to Jean-René this week and volunteer to help them. I’m not known here yet, so maybe I can get into the right places and learn something.”

  “That worries me, cherie. That’s putting yourself in danger that’s unnecessary.”

  “Maybe it is necessary. Jean-René’s forces can’t get info because they’re Mounties. Carver’s people can’t get across the border even when this looks like an international deal. Also, you know how law forces are with all the rules and procedures they have to follow. If I was undercover independently, that would give me a lot more leeway. Yes, the boys were making meth here in the US, but I bet they sold most of it in Canada.”

  “Is your mind made up?”

  Cam paused. “I think so.”

  Michael sighed. “Be careful, cherie.”

  Cam shook her head. Everyone always told her to be careful, as if she wouldn’t. Yes, she’d been stabbed, shot, beaten, nearly drowned, and almost blown up, but she’d survived all that with just a few scars. It was better than when she’d been on the force. As a Baltimore police officer, she’d been shot twice. Those times in the hospital had been much longer than any time she’d had from her CIA injuries.

  Cam looked up as Michael took her hand.

  “Let’s put that thought to bed for tonight, cherie. There are many other things we should be concerned with. You can think about it later.” A warm, sexy smile formed on her face. “And speaking of bed…”

  Chapter 6

  Later that week, Cam drove down to Newport to talk to Chuck Carver. She drove her new car she’d bought two weeks before. It was a late model red Mustang, not the vintage one from the sixties that she’d always dreamed of owning, but it was in excellent condition and ran well. When she found the ad about it in a local newspaper, she called right away and went to see it as soon as Michael got home that evening. It had cost her less than ten thousand American dollars. She viewed it as the steal of the century.

  She still owned her old Toyota, but that was in Baltimore and, at eight years old, could stay there until she needed it. It was parked on her friend Maggie Thomason’s Chesapeake Bay vacation property. That made Maggie happy because it looked like someone was there. Every now and then, when Maggie went out there, she’d park the car differently, so it looked used.

  Cam parked her car outside the state police station and went inside. She was directed to Carver’s office and knocked on his door.

  “Yes?” she heard.

  She opened his door and looked in. “Got a few minutes?”

  “Come on in,” he greeted her. “What are you doing down here?”

  “I came down to talk to you about the case,” she said. “I wanted to know what you’d found out.”

  “Are you asking as a private citizen or as a CIA agent?” he asked.

  That made Cam smile. Of course he couldn’t discuss the case with just anyone.

  “Let’s just say my CIA side got very curious.”

  “I see.” He ushered her in and indicated a seat in front of his desk.

  “Well, we identified the boys we found on your place, and their families have been notified,” he told her. “They were both from the Magog area, but we have no authority to do anything there. I even had to request local aid in visiting their families.”

  “Well, Chuck, it feels like there’s something I should be doing to help,” Cam told him. “I’ve been talking to Jean-René Gauchet and I may be able to search some places up in Magog. I don’t have any authority there either but I’m not known there, so maybe, with my cover…” She went on to explain her undercover persona.

  * * * *

  It was in an alley behind a bar. Everything had been planned by the DEA and they knew the Baltimore Police Department’s Internal Affairs officers had been watching her for a week. Tonight was the night she was going to be arrested.

  The same four young people she’d partied with two or three times before were waiting for her to bring them treats.

  Cam chuckled and unzipped her jacket pocket. “Who deserves some of this?” She withdrew a small silver packet from her pocket.

  “Me!”

  “I do!”

  The four held up their hands like hungry school children. They’d played this game the last time Cam had been there and been rewarded with two lines apiece, free of charge.

  “Wait.” Cam closed her fist around the packet. “Who’s she?”

  There was a new face in the crowd. A fifth face. This one just as young and fresh, dressed in the same way, but somehow, oddly out of place.

  “This is Terry. She’s our new friend.” Chris was at Cam’s side, holding onto her arm.

  Cameron studied Terry. A new kid on the beat, she thought. A rookie. Fresh out of the academy. It was written all over her. First undercover, first bust, scared out of her mind. Probably thought I’d recognize all the regulars.

  At first she was insulted that the department thought she’d fall for such an obvious set-up. She decided to play with Terry for a while. At the very least, Terry needed to be taught how to act like a good undercover cop before she got blown away on a real bust.

  “You a cop?” Cam asked outright. If the kid was wired, the guys on the other end must be shitting in their pants.

  Terry’s eyes opened wide. “N-no,” she stammered. “What makes you think that?”

  “You look like a cop.” Cam continued her stare.

  “How would you know? How do I look like a cop?” Terry’s voice wavered slightly.

  “I know cops when I see them. You just look like a cop. I’m not giving this to a cop.” The other four were beginning to get scared and slowly started to back away.

  Go ahead, thought Cam. Talk your way out of this one.

  Terry’s face softened as the initial shock of Cam’s statement raced through her. “Don’t be silly.” She smiled. “You’re being paranoid.”

  “Shouldn’t I be?” Cam asked.

  Terry tried a stall tactic to get the four kids back o
n her side. “She ain’t got no more stuff. You guys are full of it. This is some kind of joke. I’m going back inside.” She started past Cam toward the bar.

  “Come on, Terry,” Ally started. “She’s just kidding. Aren’t you?” She turned to Cam. “This is movie shit. Tell her you’re just kidding.” She was trying to salvage the situation. She wanted the coke Cam had but she also didn’t want to lose this new friend who had been so generously buying them all drinks.

  “I wasn’t kidding,” Cam said. “Cops can be anyone. You never know. What if I were a cop?”

  Danny and Ally exchanged glances. Cam wondered if they had considered that but had written it off to being too scared of being busted and bounced out of school.

  “Don’t be silly. You’re no cop.” Chris hugged even closer to Cam.

  She watched as all the kids stepped back. “Okay, okay, enough playing. We’re all getting paranoid.”

  Cam realized she’d pushed about as far as she could without blowing Terry’s resolve. “You’re right, children. I just get a little suspicious with new people.”

  Terry looked like she’d been given a reprieve from a death sentence. She turned and rejoined the group.

  “Terry’s okay,” Ally assured her. “She’s been hanging out with us all week. If she were a cop she could have busted us a long time ago.”

  Unless she was waiting for a bigger fish, Cam thought. “Okay, okay,” she said aloud. “Sorry, Terry.”

  Terry thought she was on solid ground now. “Trying to get us hooked so we’ll buy more and more from you?”

  “Who said I was selling?” Cam’s eyes still bore into her. She wanted to say, Don’t blow it now, kid. You’re almost home free. Just keep your mouth shut. Don’t ask stupid questions.

  Terry wouldn’t let it go. “Bill said he bought some from you.”

  “Bill said that? And you believed him?” Cam wondered how much the kids knew about what was really going on here.

  “Don’t be so uptight, hon.” Chris was getting antsy. “Come on, relax.” She started to massage Cam’s neck.

  Cam handed her the foil packet. Chris snatched it and opened it carefully. She licked the tip of her finger, dipped it in the snowy white powder, and rubbed it across her upper gums.