by Vella Munn
Although he knocked repeatedly on the flimsy metal door, Floyd didn’t open it. The tension that had wrapped itself around him from the moment he’d spotted his brother’s truck was getting worse. He couldn’t deny the sick suspicion he didn’t want to see what was inside. Finding the knob unlocked only added to his impulse to run.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” Had his brother drunk himself to death?
Too many seconds passed before he pushed the door in. It was so dark he could barely make out the secondhand couch and small TV on a box. Then he spotted his brother on the floor near a tipped-over chair in the space between the living room and kitchen.
“No.” The word came out a whimper, a moan.
He couldn’t say what reservoir of courage got him into the claustrophobic space. His brother was dead, lying on his side with his legs out straight and his arms curled in toward his chest. Blood stained the yellowed linoleum and thin carpet. Too damn much blood.
“Maybe he committed suicide,” Jay heard himself say. “He killed Dr. Gilsdorf and then—”
Winter grabbed his arms and jerked him around to face her. Her face had whitened, but there was a fierceness in her eyes. “We have to get out of here. You aren’t thinking straight right now. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
He dimly comprehended that she was trying to provide logic that would carry him through the nightmare, but it didn’t matter.
His brother was dead.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jay had barely moved since the Forks police arrived. Winter was glad he had his truck to lean against, because she wasn’t sure he could support himself. Every time she looked up into his haunted eyes, she was taken back to when she’d found Doc. She’d had Wolf, even if she hadn’t fully understood at the time. In contrast, Jay only had her, and she represented so much he didn’t want to face.
Floyd was too young to die. Jay would spend the rest of his life asking himself if he could have done something to change the course of his younger brother’s life. Right now, she didn’t care if Floyd was responsible for Doc’s death. She just didn’t want anything to do with today—wanted to be in the forest with Jay while he showed her its secret places and told her what they meant to him.
The police chief, a well-built man in his late forties who’d introduced himself as Miles Klein, exited the trailer and headed toward her and Jay. After hauling Jay out of the trailer, she’d called nine-one-one. Would she have to remind him to contact his uncle? Would Jay want her to go with him, and would Talio want to have anything to do with her?
When the officers first arrived, Chief Klein had asked what they were doing here and whether they’d touched anything. The questions had been routine enough, but she’d noted that the chief’s gaze had locked on each of them, longer on Jay than her. Maybe he’d seen that Jay was in shock.
“Did you get a close look at your brother?” the chief asked.
“No.” Jay started to shake his head but stopped, making her wonder if he was dizzy.
“Then you didn’t see what was done to him.”
“Done to him?” she parroted. “He— There’s no doubt he didn’t commit suicide?”
The chief had acknowledged her as she asked her question. Now he went back to studying Jay. “Someone killed your brother.”
As nausea washed over her, she struggled to stay on top of it. No matter what the words’ impact on her, it was worse for Jay. Hoping to give him strength, she grabbed the hand closest to her and brought it up to her chest.
“Who?” Jay slumped a little. “Who did it?”
“At this point, I’m not going to hazard a guess. I’m sorry, Mr. Raven, but I’m going to need you to work with me so we can identify a suspect.” Chief Klein shot a look at the trailer. “We’re going to be here for a while. I’m asking you to wait until we’re done with the crime scene investigation.”
She asked how long that might take, only to be told to be patient. Jay didn’t say anything after agreeing to do whatever he could to help law enforcement. When the chief said he needed to go back inside, she opened the passenger door to Jay’s truck and steered him into it. Once he was sitting, she went around the vehicle and got behind the steering wheel.
“Someone killed my brother,” he muttered. “Did— I don’t get how it happened, whether he suffered.”
“I hope not.”
Jay continued to stare at the trailer. “I have to tell my uncle.”
Much as she longed to hug him, she didn’t want to hamper his ability to concentrate. “It should be done in person. We owe him that much.”
“We?”
Jay had been with her during the worst night of her life. The least she could do was return the gesture.
“After the police are done with me,” Jay muttered, “that’s when I’ll go to Uncle Talio’s place.”
Don’t shut me out. “You don’t have to do this alone.”
If her words made an impact, he gave no indication as he continued to stare out the window. She was still attempting to accept the reality of how Floyd had met his end, but it was far worse for Jay. She’d be strong for him, accept his moods no matter whether she understood them or not.
After what seemed like forever, he swiveled toward her. “Do you still believe my brother killed your friend?”
“We don’t… This isn’t the time to talk about that.”
“What else are we going to do? This is the last thing I expected to… I didn’t want to open the trailer door.”
Her need to touch him became even stronger, but she continued to hold back. “You thought he might be—that you might find him dead?”
Jay closed his eyes. When he opened them, he looked as if he’d aged twenty years. “He’s always been dependent on Uncle Talio and me. Even when he was sure I’d chew him out, he never told me to mind my own business. I should have—damn it, when I couldn’t reach him, I should have come here.”
“It was probably already too late.”
He flinched. “We don’t know how long he’s been dead, what was used.”
A knife maybe. Like Doc.
The possibility that the same person could have killed both men was more than she could wrap her mind around.
“How long does it take to determine a cause of death?” She was instantly sorry she’d asked.
“I’m not the one to ask.” He rested his head against the seat back and again closed his eyes. “Floyd spent a lot of time at a bar. It’s a place that’s a pain in the ass for police.”
I know. I’ve been in it.
“Cheap booze, customers without a lot going for them, sometimes short tempers. All the owner really cares about is keeping the doors open so he can pay his bills. There was a shooting there last year. A man was shot—in his leg. I think just about everyone there that night got arrested.”
“I imagine you tried to convince Floyd to stay away from it.”
“I’m not his father. He isn’t—wasn’t some kid I could ground.”
Was this conversation helping Jay accept the reality of his brother’s murder? She knew all too well that it would take time, because, in some respects, she still believed Doc was alive.
“Rumors were,” Jay continued, “that the regulars at Seger’s came armed. Floyd stopped carrying a pistol because Uncle Talio said he was asking for trouble, but he almost always had a knife on him.”
And a knife had been used to kill Doc.
“What was it?” Jay’s voice dropped “He pissed someone off at Seger’s, and that person followed him back here?”
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“My brother doesn’t have enemies. What he does—did—is drink too much, and when he did he became impulsive. He says whatever pops into his mind, isn’t always diplomatic.”
That drunken impulsiveness might explain why Floyd had given Doc the wolf mask. “Maybe you can help the police by giving them the names of people he might have pissed off.”
“I didn’t know everyone Floyd hung out with. I wish to hell I’d made the effort, because maybe he’d still be alive.”
No matter what she said, Jay would blame himself. She’d done the same thing by telling herself Doc might not be dead if she’d been with him.
Jay started rubbing his thighs much as she’d seen Talio do yesterday. “This is going to be so hard on my uncle. How am I going to tell him?”
She squeezed Jay’s arm but stopped when he didn’t respond. His eyes were still closed. She wished he had. Seeing him mourn made her feel as if she was intruding on a private experience, and yet she didn’t want him to be alone.
The air inside the truck was getting stuffy, so she opened her door. Jay didn’t seem aware of what she’d done. As the minutes ticked along, she made a mental list of what Jay would have to do. Answering the policemen’s questions would come first. Then he’d have to get in touch with his supervisor and tell him he needed some time off. He had to drive to his uncle’s place and deliver the devastating news in person. Some kind of funeral would need to be planned, Floyd’s belongings dealt with.
Did he want her with him while he was doing those things? Should she offer her body for escape, and would he take the gift?
When she spotted Chief Klein coming their way, her first impulse was to speed away with Jay. Instead, she shook his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, she pointed. Groaning, Jay got out of the truck. She joined him.
“There’s going to be an autopsy,” Chief Klein said. “Once that’s over, we’ll release the body to you. I’ve run into your brother at Seger’s. Never had to arrest him or so much as threaten to.”
“Could someone at the bar have done it?” Jay asked.
“It’s possible. If it wasn’t for some of those who hang out at Seger’s, the town wouldn’t need a police force. My officers are going to be in the trailer a while longer collecting evidence, but I’d like to talk to the two of you in my office. That way, I can record the conversation.”
“Yes,” Jay muttered. He pushed his fingers into his thick hair. “Did he suffer?”
The chief looked down at the mud oozing around his boots then met Jay’s gaze. “He didn’t die fast.”
She squeezed Jay’s fingers. Except for a faint nod, Jay didn’t react to what he’d just learned. When he didn’t say anything, she knew she had to.
“Was his throat cut? Is that what killed him?”
The chief stared down at her. “What made you— Wait, were you involved with that killing in Olympic?”
She swallowed around a too-familiar lump. “I found the body.”
“And you believe there might be a connection between the two?”
Next to her, Jay tensed, adding to the warning bells already going off inside her. “They knew each other,” she said. “I’m not sure how well.”
“We need to talk about this,” the chief said. “The media’s going to show up, and I want to get the two of you away before that happens. I suggest we go to the station.”
Jay pushed out a long breath. “All right.”
* * * *
Jay had appreciated Winter asking him if he wanted her to drive, but maneuvering a vehicle might be the only thing he could control today. Every few seconds, the reality of his brother’s murder slammed into him as if fresh. The rest of the time, he felt numb.
They’d only gone a few blocks when she touched his thigh. It took everything he had not to slap her hand away. Didn’t she realize he couldn’t take anything more?
“Jay, I didn’t want to tell the chief about the relationship between Doc and your brother.”
“You think their murders might be related?”
“Maybe.”
His head cleared one layer at a time until he was staring at the void that had become his life. “I don’t want there to be a connection. To wonder if what went on between them was enough for my brother to lose his life over—what the hell brought them together, Winter?”
She flinched. “You don’t want to know.”
The police station was just ahead. Instead of deciding where to park, he glared at her. “Are you trying to protect my feelings? If that’s your intention, it’s too late. Nothing can be worse than what I’m going through right now.”
“I’m so sorry.” She stroked his thigh, gave him too much to concentrate on.
Sorry wasn’t enough. He needed his brother alive. “What are you going to tell the chief?”
Her eyes looked larger than he remembered, full of emotions he didn’t have the energy for. “Whoever killed Doc and Floyd needs to be brought to justice. I’ll do what I can to help.”
The millions of things he had to do today loomed over him, but he struggled to focus on the present. And on what he owed his little brother. “Make me one promise. Whatever it is you’re keeping from me, tell me first.”
“You want me to hold back from saying anything to the police?”
“When our parents died, Floyd crawled into my bed. We slept together for more than a year. I helped him with his homework, stood up for him when he was being bullied at school. He was my best man when I got married. So, yes, I deserve the truth. The whole damn truth.”
She pressed her hand against his thigh. “All right,” she whispered and opened the door. His leg where her hand had rested instantly cooled. As he watched her get out, he struggled to mentally return to last night but couldn’t.
He didn’t know how the hell he felt about Winter Barstow.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chief Klein talked to Jay first while Winter waited in another room. In answer to her question, the city officer receptionist explained that a reporter from the area newspaper centered in Port Angeles was on his way here. Because the major news media had already reported on Doc’s murder, it was possible they’d be interested in Floyd’s death to see if there was a connection, but the receptionist hadn’t heard from them yet. It felt unreal to Winter to realize Doc’s death had resulted in coverage she was unaware of. Wouldn’t someone have wanted to talk to her?
Then it dawned on her that the media didn’t know where she was or how to get in touch with her. She’d be surprised if Dr. Wilheim hadn’t made himself available for interviews. Maybe that was what she should have done if she wanted the grant committee to sit up and take notice of her.
This wasn’t about her career or Doc’s legacy. It was about two killings that might or might not be connected and about Jay’s right to know about the wolf mask.
When Jay came out of where the chief had been talking to him, he looked at her but didn’t say anything. His eyes were still haunted, but he seemed to be standing straighter than the last time she’d seen him. If he was getting over shock, grief had begun.
“My conversation with Jay revolved around his brother’s comings and goings,” the chief said once it was just the two of them. “Floyd wasn’t a troublemaker, but he hung around with those we deal with on a regular basis. Jay is taking his brother’s death hard.”
“Yes he is.” Even though she was sure Jay had already done so, she explained how losing their parents at an early age had bonded the brothers. When she was done, she sat back in the metal chair and waited for the chief to start questioning her. Jay had asked her to hold back everything he deserved to hear first. She wasn’t sure if she could do that, but she’d try. She could always get back in touch with Chief Klein.
After telling the officer about her professional connection with Doc and what had brought Doc to Olympic, she explained that, after his death, she’d learned that he’d been working with Floyd. “It wasn’t as if Dr. Gilsdorf had formally hired Floyd. He needed someone who was more familiar with the forest. I’m not aware of the specifics of what they did. I’m guessing that in part Floyd acted as a guide.”
“You said you learned about their arrangement after Dr. Gilsdorf’s murder. How did that come about?”
She’d prepared herself for the question but was afraid her tension showed as she told the chief that Dr. Gi
lsdorf had left her a letter. “He had concerns about his safety. I believe he wanted to make sure I had the details of what he’d been doing, in case something happened to him.”
Chief Klein looked up from his notes. “So you can’t speak to whether Dr. Gilsdorf and Floyd’s relationship was an amicable one?”
“I wish I could.”
“Did you mention this relationship to those investigating Dr. Gilsdorf’s murder?”
She frowned. “I don’t believe I did. I didn’t learn about their relationship until after I’d talked to the park’s law enforcement.”
“You need to.”
Her mind kept spinning. She wanted to yell at Miles to slow down so she could put the puzzle pieces together. “You think—”
“Winter, a knife was used on Dr. Gilsdorf. Floyd almost always had a knife on him. He probably avoided a few fights by pulling it out.”
“Jay just told me about it.”
“Do you suspect Floyd might have had a reason to kill Dr. Gilsdorf?”
Be careful. Don’t say something you aren’t ready to. “I did, but Floyd wasn’t the only one.”
The chief rested his elbows on the table between them. “Who else?”
As she spelled out the competition between Doc and Dr. Wilheim, Michael’s frustration and Booth’s resentment, she realized she might be looking for motives when there weren’t any.
“I should have said more about this to Christian Turney,” she finished.
“Why didn’t you?”
Because I was determined to defend Doc’s reputation. Because having Wolf in my life meant so much. Because I wanted to be with Jay. “I guess I thought—Jay helped me work through my hunches, but that’s all they are. I didn’t want Christian to think I was trying to do his job.”
When the chief didn’t respond, she stumbled on. “You see how it is for Jay right now. He’s an emotional mess. I was—still am the same way.”
The police chief leaned back only to rock forward again. “We don’t get many killings in this part of the country. Now, in the space of a few days, there have been two. You’re connected to both of them. Closely to the first victim, peripherally to the second.”
