Bodies Out Back

by Nanisi Barrett D'Arnuk

  “Yes. Come on up and see it. It’s the size of both the rooms down here.” She led the way up the stairs and into the bedroom.

  When Teresa got to the top of the stairs, she was amazed. “Oh, Cameron, this is unbelievable. There’s room for everything up here. And there’s a bath?”

  She walked into the bathroom and looked around. There was a big claw-foot tub with a shower rod and connections, a two-sink countertop, and a toilet. There were also big storage closets. The southern wall of the bathroom also had vents to let the fireplace heat rise to there, too.

  “I’m envious, Cameron. Maybe I’ll make Jean-René redo our house to look like this. And I love the way you have your bed.” The queen-sized bed was kitty-corner into the northeast corner of the room. Both occupants could look into the shadows of the fireplace.

  “I haven’t completely finished decorating the whole house yet. I haven’t found curtains I like for up here. I’m thinking of buying two-inch wooden blinds instead.”

  “Did you buy the curtains downstairs?”

  “No, they were there. I washed them. Actually, I had a local lady come in and clean. She suggested I leave them. They’re still good, no rips or tears, so they should last me until I see something I really want.”

  “There’s good light down there, too. It will be fine for quite a while.”

  “Yes, it seemed strange to me. I’m used to living in the big city where you have to have thick curtains so no one will see what you have, but there are so few people around here, that I really don’t worry.”

  “Where did you find your cleaning lady?” Teresa asked.

  “The realtor recommended her. She wasn’t that expensive and she brought her teenaged daughter with her. It only took them three days to do the entire thing, including all the closets.”

  “They went through everything. There were four big sacks of things that had to be thrown out, and another five or six boxes of dishware and things we didn’t want,” Michael added.

  “They did such as good job that I told her she could have what she wanted and if she’d bring all the other stuff to a charity, she could take the tax deduction, too. I think she’ll sell some of it at her own yard sale.”

  “This is phenomenal,” Teresa said as they went downstairs.

  “Cam bought two barbecue grills to cook on today but I’m thinking of building a real grill out back. If it’s close to the back door, it can be used year-round.”

  “That’s another excellent idea. You two have some wonderful plans.”

  “I hope everyone likes chicken. That’s all I bought for today, although there is hamburger in the freezer,” Cam said, looking at Teresa.

  “Chicken will be great. Yes, we all love barbecued chicken.”

  “And I bought stuff to make potato salad,” Michael said as she ripped open the bag of potatoes. “Corn was on sale, too, and I bought two dozen ears.”

  “Then we’ll have a feast. Would you like help peeling those?”

  “Sure. There’s another peeler in the drawer to your left,” Michael answered.

  “Yes, the kitchen maven has everything organized in your kitchen.” Teresa laughed as she turned to open the drawer and find a second peeler.

  Michael and Teresa peeled the potatoes while Emilie shucked the corn. Soon they had three large pots boiling on the stove. Cam went outside to collect wood and charcoal for the fire and bring six packs of coke and beer to the men.

  * * * *

  Mid-afternoon, Jean-Claude was at the kitchen door.

  “Cameron,” he called, “Papa has something to show you. We found something in the woods.”

  Cam and Michael immediately followed him out through the trees to where they were building the fence. About thirty yards further down that road, Guy and Jean-René were piling branches that they were dragging out of the trees into a heap. When Jean-René saw them approach, he waved at them.

  “Well, this answers where their car was,” he said, pointing into the trees. When Cam and Michael got to the spot they saw the small tan sedan pushed far back into the trees. It had been covered with leaves and branches.

  “Whoa. I’d better call Chuck.”

  “But that’s not all.”

  “What else?” Cam asked.

  “There’s a body inside,” Guy said. “You can see it through the windshield.”

  “Fuck!” swore Cam. She immediately pulled out her phone and dialed Chuck’s number. When Chuck wasn’t in his office, another patrol officer took the call.

  “This is Cameron Andrews, the owner of the land where those two boys’ bodies were found last week. We found something else he needs to see immediately.”

  She was assured that he would be contacted right away and would call her.

  “We didn’t touch anything besides the trees and branches this was hidden behind,” Jean-René explained to Cam.

  Cam nodded her understanding. “How did you find it?” she asked.

  “When we were back in the trees setting the last post, I could see something in the trees that didn’t look right. It turned out to be this car’s back fender,” Guy answered. “Whoever tried to hide it didn’t consider the back of the car. We started to uncover it. Then we saw the corpse.” He shook his head.

  “Leave it for Chuck. It’s been here for months, so I doubt it’s going anywhere.”

  The men went back to where they were working on the fence, while Cam poked around at the car, trying to see into windows without touching anything.

  Fifteen minutes later, Cam’s phone rang.

  “Cam, it’s Chuck. Walt said you found something.”

  “Yes,” she answered succinctly, “the other boy and the car.”

  “Holy fuck,” was Chuck’s response. “Accessible from Lake Road or Leadville?”

  “Leadville. Before my new fence.”

  “We’ll be there in about a half hour.”

  “We’ll still be here.”

  And the lines went dead.

  * * * *

  The branches had all been pulled away and the leaves raked back. All the troopers had gloves on so they wouldn’t disturb anything and were being careful to touch as little as possible. When the car door was opened, the stench from inside made them all retreat quite a ways.

  “Damn,” Chuck exclaimed. “That is rank. The forensics guys at the medical lab are going to have to stop breathing.”

  “Or wear gas masks,” Guy added.

  “I don’t think the ambulance workers are going to have fun driving home,” noted John Adams.

  Everyone walked away from the car to allow the smell to diffuse as much as possible.

  About fifteen minutes later an ambulance made its way down the road. Chuck had sent two troopers to the end of the path so they could show the ambulance and tow truck drivers where they were.

  “Sorry about this, guys,” Chuck said to the EMTs. “He’s been in there for about five months.”

  “We’ve been through something like this before. It’s never pleasant. We’ll get him out of here as soon as we can.”

  “There’s also a tow truck waiting at the end of this road. He’ll drive in as soon as the ambulance leaves,” one of Carver’s men announced. He was talking to the other troopers on his phone. Chuck nodded.

  The EMTs immediately donned gloves and masks and took a stretcher out of the ambulance. One of them also spread a large, black plastic bag onto it. He unzipped it and opened it wide. After a quick appraisal, they knew it would be impossible to get the stretcher through the trees, so they carried just the bag to where the car was. The EMTs carefully, but quickly removed the body from the car and zipped it into the bag. Two of them carried the bag back to the stretcher and got it ready to be put back into the ambulance. In less than ten minutes they were ready to leave.

  “Thanks, guys,” Chuck told them as they crawled back into the ambulance and backed up far enough to turn around. They were gone as quickly as they had gotten there.

  “That is one job I
wouldn’t wish on anyone,” John told the rest of the people standing around watching.

  “There are worse,” Guy injected. “At least the blood was dried.”

  Everyone nodded as they started to inspect the car.

  “Well,” Chuck said to Cam, “I guess this answers most of the questions.”

  Cam and Michael both nodded.

  “Is the cross the only one left?” Jean-René asked.

  “As far as I know,” Chuck said. “We’ll have to search the car to make sure but that won’t happen until it’s had a chance to air out.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” John agreed.

  “Sergeant?” one of the men called from behind the car.

  Four heads immediately turned to him.

  “Yes?” Chuck replied, smiling at John, Michael, and Jean- René.

  “You gotta see this.”

  Chuck and almost everyone else walked back to where the trooper had popped the trunk open.

  Chuck let out a long whistle. “I guess whoever did this missed something.”

  In the trunk was one more plastic-wrapped white cube. It had been under a gray blanket.

  “Holy crap!” John exclaimed. “These guys were cooking up a storm!”

  Cam turned to Jean- René. “I gotta get on this.”

  Three other Gauchets nodded.

  “Make sure it gets put in my car,” Chuck told his men as they walked back out of the woods.

  The tow truck pulled up to where they were. A tall guy with long blond hair got out of it.

  “I hate to tell you guys,” he growled, “but if you haven’t noticed already, this thing stinks,” he said as he wrinkled his nose.

  “No kidding?” Michael said. “You should have been here a half hour ago.”

  He inspected the car.

  “That’s really wedged in there. Do you have a chainsaw? I don’t know how they got it in there, but it’s going to be a bitch to get it out. I can’t get the angle to pull it out.”

  “There’s one in the garage,” Cam answered. Jean-René sent Jean-Claude to get it.

  “And bring the can of gas, too,” Cam called after him. He waved to show he heard her.

  “No, wait,” one of Carver’s men interjected. “There are eight of us. I bet we could push it around those trees,” he said. “There’s no need to destroy good trees. They had to push it to get it back there.”

  He organized the men to push the car from side to side and back and forth until they had it free. Less than thirty minutes later, the tow truck started down the road, the car loaded and chained to its back.

  * * * *

  The entire space had been examined and all of the other officers had left. Michael had gone back into the house to make sure the food was being taken care of. Cam had invited Chuck and John to join their barbecue.

  Teresa passed plates of chicken, potato salad, and ears of corn to Chuck Carver and John Adams as everyone sat at the dining room table. The extra leaf had been added and another couple of chairs brought out from the bedrooms.

  “Thank you,” Chuck said. “We usually don’t get a wonderful meal like this when we close a case.”

  “It’s not closed yet,” Cam reminded him.

  “At least everything to do with this case has been taken off your land, or at least in the vicinity.”

  “And the third boy has been found,” Cam reminded him.

  “Yes. The lab in Newport will have to confirm the identity but it looks like it.”

  “This will show you what happens when you get involved with drug dealers,” Jean-René told his children.

  “I know, Papa. I don’t want anything to do with drugs or criminals,” was Jean-Claude’s response.

  “Me, either,” repeated twelve-year-old Emilie.

  “Good. Remember that. Think how that poor boy felt, knowing he was dying as they were putting the branches over his car,” Teresa reminded them.

  Both teenagers shuddered at the thought.

  “That new fence looks great,” John noted.

  “Yes, merci, Men of the Gauchet family. It is perfect,” Cam complemented them.

  “At least you’ll be a little more secure. No vehicle can come onto your property.”

  Cam nodded. “Who owns the land to the south-west?” she asked, looking from Chuck to John. “I meant to look it up when I was in Newport at the beginning of the week.”

  “I think it still belongs to the county,” Chuck answered.

  “Why? Were you thinking of buying it?” Guy asked.

  Cam laughed. “I spent everything on my sixteen acres and the house. I was wondering if someone who owns it might be responsible for that road or the trail north,” she said.

  “Whoever was responsible for the trail north was probably Whitburn or a friend. I’m sure it was how some got into Canada during the war,” Guy responded.

  “Yes, but we may never know about the road. It may have been the same people who used the trail north.”

  “We haven’t investigated that trail yet, have we?” Guy asked. “I’d be interested to see where it ends up.”

  “Yes. It might become a historic landmark,” Jean-René projected.

  “Landmark? One of thousands across the continent.” Guy shook his head.

  “Very true, but this is a local one.”

  “I’m still going to check my entire property,” Cam said. “I’m still not sure that’s everything. There might be a lot of hidden caches.”

  When Teresa looked confused, Cam clarified. “The drugs in the trunk weren’t the only things we found. We found two large bags of white powder hidden under a pile of rocks.”

  “Oh, by the way,” John started, “That was meth: close to sixty thousand dollars-worth, most of it already ground down into bath salts. With what was in the trunk that probably makes it seventy-five thousand or more. These kids weren’t playing.”

  Guy let out a short whistle. “That’s a lot to get off the streets.”

  They all nodded as they thought of the consequences.

  Jean-René thought of another thing he’d forgotten to say.

  “Oh, Michael,” he said. “I got Dr. Nance’s okay for you to come to Magog RCMP instead of me sending my men to Montreal, so anytime you want…”

  “That sounds good. Two weeks from Monday? Let me get everything in Montreal in order, then I’ll be ready,” she answered him.

  “Good. We’ll plan on starting two weeks from Monday. Thanks.”

  Chapter 8

  The next day

  Cam sat with Jean-René and read through the list of places he had compiled for her.

  “A few of these I don’t know, but my officers have been watching them,” Jean-René told her. “These three—” he pointed to the ones highlighted on the list, “—seem to be the most likely. We’ve been watching them but haven’t been able to find anything on the premises.”

  Cam looked at the city street map to see where they were located.

  “I understand. That’s why I kept this cover,” Cam said to him. “I mean, after all I went through to establish it, it would have been a shame to throw it all away. I’ve learned more undercover than anyone ever suspected.”

  “Oui,” he responded, “When Michael first told me what you were doing, I had to meet you. You are a brave woman.”

  “Brave? Sometimes I wonder if it wasn’t pretty stupid,” Cam admitted as she shook her head.

  “Non. I think it was brilliant,” Jean-René said.

  “Well, we could debate that for years. I love having a case where I can be a regular person and not a felon, though.”

  “Oui, that must be hard to drag with you.”

  They each took a deep breath.

  The real story of Cam’s arrest and incarceration was kept from everyone except three high-level government officials, the two people who did her training, psychiatrist Maggie Thomason who would be her control, her parole supervisor, and Cam’s best friend, Paul Tarelli, another Baltimore police officer who b
ecame her back-up. Michael was one of her trainers. That was how they had met. It was almost four years before that cover was blown and she was able to tell her family what she was really doing. The public: her friends and former co-workers were never told about it and still believed that she was a criminal.

  From time to time, she revived that cover to solve cases.

  “At which one of these do you want me to start?” Cam asked.

  Jean-René took the paper from her and reached into his shirt pocket for a pen.

  “Let me put them in order for you. Numbers one and two are very suspicious, but we can’t get in. The others are tips we’ve gotten, but we’ve never found anything. Now, this one here,” he pointed to the last name on his list, “moves around a lot.”

  “That’s probably the starting point for the meth,” Cam speculated. “That’s another of my hazards. Meth labs can be moved at a moment’s notice.”

  Jean-René nodded his agreement.

  “Warn the leaders of your troops so I don’t get arrested, nor have my cover blown. I don’t want to spend time in a Canadian jail. I had enough of that in Maryland.”

  “I will tell them to stay away unless you request their help.”

  Cam nodded her agreement.

  “If you do find something, call me right away.”

  “Wouldn’t you rather I keep investigating so that we get to know everyone involved? That’s how I found out about that big ring in the eastern US.”

  “Good thought,” Jean-René agreed. “Better to get them all at once, eh.”

  “Or at least most of them.”

  “When do you want to begin?”

  “Later this week,” Cam decided. “It may take me a while to find anything.”

  “There’s no rush,” Jean-René said. “Whatever you find will be more than we’ve got now. Thank you for the efforts.”

  “It’ll help me stay in shape. I don’t know when or where my next assignment will be.”

  * * * *

  That week, Cam walked around the town, getting a feel for the layout and the people. She went into a lot of different stores so it would look like she was shopping. One sandwich shop she went into was listed on Jean-René’s paper; Sandy’s Sandwich Shoppe. As she sat eating her BLT, she observed everyone there. The young man behind the counter seemed to know everyone and talked and laughed as people came and left. She saw him making plans with a couple of the customers but their reactions didn’t look suspicious, so Cam finished her meal, paid for it, and walked out.