“Will I be able to speak with her in the morning?” she queried.
“Possibly. However, I’ve called in a child abuse specialist. There’s a pediatrician who works out of the Cities, Mark Hrovich, who’s hired by the state to investigate this type of case. He’ll be here this evening to make an assessment of the patient’s condition. Your request will have to go through him.
“You can wait for him tonight or see him in the morning before he returns to Minneapolis. Either way, it’ll be his call.”
Deidre opted to wait until morning. She wanted to check with Jeff, and she surmised he might have returned to his office.
*****
Jeff stuck his head into the emergency room. “Is she alive?” he questioned, expecting the worst.
Deidre filled him in on what she knew. “I need a lift back to the Center. Will you give me a ride?”
After Jeff pulled into his parking space, the two of them walked to his office together.
“What do you think, Deidre? There must be a link between that girl and your murder victim. There seem to be too many similarities to ignore. Between the two of us, I think we have our hands full.”
Deidre paused when they reached his office. “I know you’re understaffed, but I think it might be wise to place a guard at her hospital door. I can’t believe her assailant is the only person who wants her dead. I may be overreacting, but whatever is going on is not going to stop. I’m sure of that.”
Jeff looked at her in surprise. “I hadn’t even thought along those lines, but of course, I didn’t have anything to do with the murder you discovered a couple of weeks ago. And you’re right. Better safe than sorry. I’ll have a deputy up there in a short while.”
“Thanks for catering to me. How about you? Have you found out anything about the guy who went over the cliff?”
“So far, not much,” Jeff answered, shaking his head in puzzlement. “As you can imagine, his body was pretty broken up from the fall, but he did have a wallet in his pocket with an ID. His name’s Jason Leder. The interesting thing about him, his address is Thunder Bay, Ontario. I ran his name through our data base. I’m pretty sure he’s not a U.S. citizen.”
That information took Deidre by surprise, and she saw another thread to her case form. The coincidences kept piling up. Another job for Jill, she thought. On her way home to Inga’s, she phoned her office.
“You have reached the office of BCA Officer Deidre Johnson. This is Jill Dobers, her secretary, speaking. How may I help you.”
This was the first time Deidre had heard her answer the phone and was startled at her professionalism.
“Hello,” Jill said again, wondering if her caller had hung up.
“Oh, sorry, Jill,” Deidre said, a little embarrassed at being taken aback. “This is Deidre.”
“Hey, Boss Lady. How are you? I worried about you when I heard there was a problem on Palisade Head. You okay?”
Again Deidre was slow to answer. She hadn’t expected Jill to be concerned about her welfare. “Uh, oh, I’m fine. Just really tired. I know it’s late in the day, but could you run a check on a Jason Leder. He lives in Thunder Bay.” She gave Jill the street address. “We’re pretty sure he’s not a U.S. citizen, so you might begin with the Thunder Bay authorities first. I’m going home and try to get some rest. See you in the morning.”
“Bye, Boss Lady. Take care of yourself. We need you on this case.”
Deidre had to smile as she closed her cell phone, ending the call.
Inga had some kind of hot dish on the stove, and its aroma made Deidre’s mouth water.
“Deidre, I was hoping you’d get home in time for supper. You must be cold and hungry after such a long day. Sit down.” Inga pulled a chair out from the table and motioned for her to sit. The table was already set. Inga dished a helping of food onto both plates. Heat rose from the concoction of hamburger, potato chunks, sliced onions, and carrots smothered in some kind of tomato sauce. She sliced thick slabs of bread from a loaf fresh out of the oven, and poured a cup of steaming coffee.
Over supper, Deidre shared with Inga the story of her trek up Palisade Head, but she gave no information about why she was up there or what she had found, only that it had been bitter cold and hard work.
“I’m going to lie down on the couch, if that’s okay. I’d like to grab a few minutes of sleep. Wake me in a half hour. We can talk more this evening.”
She curled up and pulled a down lap robe over her. After a few minutes she flipped over, trying to get comfortable, but images she could not erase from her mind kept her from rest. A half hour later, Inga gently placed her hand on Deidre’s shoulder. She hadn’t slept a wink.
“Do you want to wake up, dear?” the older woman asked.
Deidre reluctantly sat up. “I couldn’t sleep, Inga. I think I’m going to check on someone in the hospital. She got up and pulled on her parka.
“I don’t think I remember a November this cold, ever,” she said as she closed the outside door behind herself.
*****
Deidre rang the buzzer, and was admitted to the ER entryway. “Has Dr. Hrovich been here,” she asked at the nurses’ station.
“He’s with a patient right now. Do you want me to tell him a relative is here?” The nurse was young.
“No, that’s all right. I’ll wait for him to finish. My name’s Deidre Johnson. I’m with the State Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. I want to learn what he has discovered about the girl we brought in today. How is she doing?”
“She’s stable,” the receptionist answered, noncommittally. “There’s hot coffee in the waiting room.”
Deidre filled a cup and sat in a chair, looking off into space and seeing nothing. The next thing she knew, the nurse was touching her shoulder. “Dr. Hrovich would like to speak to you in the conference room.”
Deidre looked at her watch. An hour had passed since she took a seat, and she was glad she had set the cup of coffee down before falling asleep.
A kindly-looking man rose to greet her when she entered the conference room. “Hello. I’m Mark. Before I tell you what I’ve discovered, may I check your ID? Just a precaution.”
After Deidre had produced her badge and picture ID, he motioned her to sit opposite him at the end of the table. He placed his fingers to his temples and closed his eyes for a minute. “I don’t quite know where to begin, except to say that we are dealing with one of the worst cases of abuse I have ever witnessed. We might as well begin with some very unusual bruising I found. There is little doubt but that she was manacled by her left ankle to prevent her from escaping. The marks left by the ring are unmistakable. Bruising would indicate she was handled very roughly, although I couldn’t find evidence of her being beaten by any specific object such as a club or a whip.”
He paused again to massage his temples.
“She has been sexually abused. Evidence points to repeated assaults. And, also, she tested positive for gonorrhea. If that isn’t enough, her feet are lacerated from running through snow and over ice while barefoot. Her hands show signs of frostbite, and she’s extremely malnourished. Like I said, this is about the worst case of abuse I’ve seen in over ten years on this job.” He shook his head and went back to kneading the sides of his head. Deidre saw a tear trickle down his cheek, and he blew his nose on a tissue.
“Will I be able to speak with her in the morning?” Deidre wanted to know but not wanting to sound pushy, considering the girl’s condition.
“You can try. I’ll still be here, and we can see her together. However, I must warn you that right now she’s so traumatized that she’s in a stupor. She doesn’t respond to any stimuli, not sound, not lights, not even pin pricks. She has totally withdrawn into a world somewhere else. I’m sorry. I wish I could give you more.”
Deidre drove home in the cold. It wa
s beginning to snow heavily, and she thought it was shaping up to be a long winter.
Chapter 15
The morning dawned cloudy but warmer, the temperature hovering near the freezing mark. Last night’s snowfall amounted to about three inches of the powdery white stuff, and already water was beginning to drip from the eaves of houses. Deidre drove straight to the hospital to check on the girl she had rescued.
She entered through the main entrance and found the information desk. “May I help you,” the volunteer asked.
“Yes, I’d like the room number of a young lady admitted yesterday afternoon. Her room probably has a guard at the door.”
The volunteer looked through her list of patients. “I need to know the nature of your visit and see your ID before I can release that information. Something pretty dangerous must be going on. I’ve never had a request like this before.”
Deidre produced her BCA badge along with her photo. The volunteer examined the plastic cards intently before handing them back. “She is in room 218. Check in at the nurses station before going to her room.”
Deidre took the stairs. She remembered how slowly the elevator responded and knew she could get there faster by walking. She turned left down the hall and stopped at the nurses’ station. A nurse was so intent on his charting that he didn’t raise his head. After waiting a few seconds, Deidre cleared her throat, and he quickly looked up. “I’m sorry, can I help you,” he asked, keeping his finger on the page where he had been writing.
“I’d like to visit the patient in room 218. The person at information said to check with you first.”
“No visitors allowed. Dr. Hrovich’s attending her. He left word that only a Deidre Johnson is to be allowed to see her.” Deidre could see in his eyes that he connected the dots. “Are you Deidre Johnson?”
Deidre smiled at him, thankful that the doctor had not forgotten. “I am. Can I go to her room now?”
“Just a moment please. I need to see your official ID and your driver’s license.” She produced both, pleased that security was tight.
“Go ahead. Hers is the last door on the right.” He motioned the direction for Deidre to go.
The door was marked by a deputy sitting in a chair outside the room, and Deidre nodded to him as she reached for the doorknob. He leaped from his chair. “I’m sorry. This room is off limits,” he ordered, and his hand moved to his hip.
He was a young man hired after Deidre’s resignation as sheriff, and it hadn’t dawned on her he had no clue who she was. “It’s okay. I’m Deidre Johnson. I’m with the BCA. Doctor Hrovich’s expecting me.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ll have to see your ID before I can let you in.”
Again, Deidre had to fumble through her pocket for the required proof of who she was. The deputy knocked on the door and opened it for her. “Sorry about the stop, ma’am, but orders are orders.”
Deidre was a little miffed by the ma’am part. Suddenly she felt old.
Doctor Hrovich was sitting in a chair, staring at the girl. When he looked up, Deidre noted the dark bags under his eyes. He looked as though he hadn’t slept at all.
“Hello, Ms. Johnson,” he said, not bothering to stand. “Have a seat so we can talk. I’m leaving in a short while, but I’ll have a report sent to you tomorrow. In the meantime, we have to decide what we’re going to do with this child. I’m quite sure she’s of Native American descent. At least her physical characteristics point in that direction. She’s been terribly traumatized, so much so that she has completely withdrawn into her own cocoon. Look at her.”
Deidre had avoided looking directly at the motionless form lying under the sheet. She forced herself to look. The girl lay on her right side, knees drawn up to her abdomen, her arms wrapped around her chest. Her chin was drawn down onto her sternum, and every now and then her feet twitched in spasms.
What was most disturbing to Deidre were the girl’s eyes. They were wide open but not blinking, expressionless, and to Deidre it appeared that all spark had left them. She looked like a breathing corpse.
“I don’t know what it’d take to bring her back to this world, or if that is even possible anymore. Last night, I told you about her physical problems, but I can’t look into her mind. I’m recommending she be moved to a hospital in Duluth, to a psychiatric ward. She needs the intensive psychological care they can offer. Even then, I’m not sure what can be done. She’ll recover from the physical abuse, but I have to believe her mind will be scarred forever.”
He sighed deeply and then sat still.
“I need to do a couple of things, doctor. First, I need to fingerprint her, and second, I need to have a buccal swab taken for a DNA test. Can I do that?”
“No need,” he responded. “The sheriff was here last evening after the guard was posted, which, by the way, is prudent, I believe, not only to keep intruders out, but also to not allow her to leave if she should revive enough to try an escape. Anyway, he took prints and a sample for testing last night. He seems like a good man.”
“The best,” Deidre said in a quiet voice.
The doc continued. “Part of my job is to testify in trials involving child abuse cases. Catch whoever did this, and I’ll crucify him from the witness stand.”
He sat in silence, looking at his patient, and then forced himself from his chair. “I’ve got to be going. I’m set to testify at one o’clock against a father who intentionally scalded his two-year-old son. Who spawns these bastards I’ll never figure out.”
Doctor Hrovich left the room without saying goodbye. Deidre followed him out the door.
*****
“Good mornin’, Boss Lady,” Jill’s chipper voice sang out as Deidre entered her office. “I’ve got some info for you that I think might wake you up.”
Deidre was getting used to her secretary’s greeting. At least she didn’t rankle at the words anymore. She poured herself a cup of coffee. “I hope it is better news than I’ve had so far this morning.”
“Yesterday, you asked me to check on this guy, Jason Leder. You were right. He has Canadian citizenship, but that hasn’t stopped him from having a record here in the U.S. Check this out.” She handed Deidre a piece of paper, and she quickly scanned down the sheet.
June 2, 2006. Implicated in prostitution case—Dismissed from Minnesota 4th District Court.
September 9, 2008. Implicated in child pornography case—Dismissed from Minnesota 4th District Court.
December 18, 2009. Implicated in prostitution case—Dismissed from Minnesota 4th District Court.
July 22, 2010. Arrested with juvenile female in car—Charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor—Dismissed from Minnesota 4th District Court on technicalities.
There were a few other minor infringements recorded: speeding, disorderly conduct, running a red light. Deidre ignored those, but she focused on the pattern of offenses that fit the case she was tracking.
Jill interrupted her thought. “Now here’s what you’ll want to hear. The judge in each of the possible sex cases was none other than your friend, Tony DeMarcus. Not only that, but Leder’s attorney in each case was the same person, Gerald Colter II. He’s the one who represented Billy Evers the time he dodged the bullet and got off without so much as a slap on the wrist. Remember him? He lives here, in Two Harbors.”
“Oh, I remember him all right,” Deidre said, disdain dripping from her words, but she didn’t elaborate. “Tell you what, Jill. It’s almost noon. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving, and you probably could use the time to get ready. I’m heading to Duluth to spend the evening with a friend and his daughters, and I won’t mind getting an early start. That okay with you?” Deidre realized she had just asked permission of her employee to leave work early.
“I don’t have anything planned for tomorrow,” Jill s
aid. “I’ll catch the evening community church service, and do some reading tonight. I’ll watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on TV tomorrow and then some football. Maybe read a little more.”
“Don’t you have family?” Deidre queried.
There was an uncomfortable pause. “Not around here.”
“Well, rest up. My guess is we’ll have some heavy lifting on Monday. See you then.”
The women left the office together, and Jill locked the door behind them.
Chapter 16
Deidre rang the doorbell at Ben’s home, and she heard the thump of running feet as the twins raced to be first to the door. She hadn’t called ahead to let them know she was arriving earlier than they had planned. Ben would be at work, and the sitter was not expecting her. The door was flung open.
“Deidre!” the girls shrieked in unison.
Deidre stooped to their level, and they wrapped their arms around her neck so tightly she could hardly breathe. She kissed each on the cheek and tried to walk away, but they continued to hang on her, one on each leg.
The sitter stood back, smiling. She had met Deidre several times and knew how the girls loved her.
“Is it okay if I’m a little early?” Deidre asked. “I needed to get away from work for a while.”
The sitter laughed. “You’re a savior. I’ve got a ton of company coming tomorrow, and I sure can use some extra time to prepare.” Then she thought, “Oh, you are staying aren’t you?”
It was Deidre’s turn to laugh. “You couldn’t force me to leave. Anyway, I think you’d have to battle these two,” and she ruffled the twins’ hair. They looked up at her, grinned and hung onto her legs more tightly.
After the sitter left, Deidre got down on her knees to be at twin height. “Well, what are we going to do until your daddy gets home?”
A River Through Two Harbors Page 12
