by C. M. Sutter
At her car, he pulled her cell phone and wallet from the yoga bag, removed the battery from the phone, and left her keys in the ignition. A token clue was placed on the hood of her car.
The short jog to his Jeep took only three minutes. He started the engine, made a U-turn in the park entrance, and headed to his house twenty minutes away. He looked forward to morning and hoped there would be something on the local news about a missing yoga instructor.
Dime checked his face in the bathroom mirror when he got home and saw a noticeable knot on his forehead from her kick. Luckily she was wearing only tennis shoes. He applied ice and went downstairs to drink a beer. Elise’s phone and wallet went behind the bookcase with Morris’s belongings. Dime climbed the stairs, turned off the basement light, and got ready for bed.
As he reached to turn out the bedroom table lamp, the voices spoke to him again. See what she made you do. It’s all her fault, as usual, the bitch.
Chapter 11
I entered the bull pen with a cup of coffee from Pit-Stop. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try it. Jack was a fan. A bag of a dozen assorted doughnuts would offer a good start to the morning too. I’d be generous and share.
I’d planned to work for a few hours, considering it was Saturday. Half days were meant for catching up if there was something pressing and clearing paperwork off my desk if there wasn’t. I planned to follow up with the guys from the third district precinct and see if they got a blood match. Maybe soon we’d be able to release Morris’s body to his uncle so he could arrange a proper burial. If the DNA from the crime scene matched, and there was no other usable forensic evidence for us, we could wrap everything up on our end and have Morris’s body transported to Milwaukee. Detective Lindstrom might have some information about his interview with LeJon and Bobby too, if he found them.
I’d work until noon then go home and begin sorting through things I wanted to get rid of. I’d promised Amber we’d talk about living arrangements. I hadn’t given it any thought at all since she mentioned it. I wrote myself a note to call Melissa Mately again to confirm our appointment to look at condos tomorrow. It would be fun, and Amber would love to tag along. I was tired of Lance’s calls and was ready to get on with my life. He wasn’t coming back. I’d start going through things seriously—no more procrastinating.
Jack walked in with coffee from Pit-Stop too.
“You must have just missed me,” I said. “This cup of mud isn’t too bad.”
“You like?” He lifted his jumbo cup and slurped it from the opening in the plastic lid.
“Yeah, I think it might grow on me, but I could never drink as much as you do. I’d have serious heartburn. Here, check out the doughnuts I bought. Help yourself.” I laughed when he dove for the unopened bag. He would get first dibs. The lieutenant, Clayton, anybody else that happened by, and I would enjoy whatever was left.
The phone rang on Jack’s desk. With a quick swallow and a gulp of coffee to wash down the custard-filled doughnut, he answered. “Washburn County Sheriff’s Department, Detective Jack Steele speaking. Yes, uh-huh. Okay, sir, that’s correct. Just turn left on Schmidt Road. We’re right behind the courthouse. Two-story tan building, you can’t miss it. Yep, see you in a half hour.”
“Now what’s going on?” I asked as I leaned my chair back and stretched. I had hoped for a quiet morning.
Jack grabbed the notes he had just scribbled down and took a seat on one of my guest chairs. “Isn’t this the name of your yoga instructor?”
“What?” I sat up quickly, and my body involuntarily stiffened. “Let me see.” I grabbed his notepad and read the name, Elise Adams. “Oh no. Her husband says she didn’t come home last night?”
“Yeah, he’s on his way in, should be here in a half hour. He’s dropping their kids off at the grandparents’ house first. I’ll get a fresh pot of coffee started.”
“Good. I’ll give the lieutenant a heads-up. We can’t file a missing person’s report yet, though. It’s too early.”
Jack nodded.
The loud buzz of the security door between the bull pen and the reception counter made me look up from my desk. Perry Adams was escorted in at nine fifteen by Jan Seymore, one of the desk deputies that rotated between dispatch and the reception counter. Mr. Adams’s eyes were visibly red and swollen. Jack and I stood and introduced ourselves when he walked in.
I pointed to a guest chair at my desk. “Mr. Adams, please take a seat. How do you take your coffee?”
“Black, please.”
“May we call you Perry?”
“Sure, that’s fine.”
“Okay, start from the beginning. I want to tell you up front that I attend your wife’s evening yoga classes. Elise is a wonderful woman.”
“Then you were there last night?” he asked, hope filling his eyes.
“No, sorry, I went to Thursday night’s class. What can you tell us, Perry?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary. She called at nine fifteen. Class just ended, and she was packing up. She wanted to know if we had enough milk for the kids’ breakfast cereal. I checked and said we had plenty. That was it.” He paused to compose himself and wipe a tear that rolled down his cheek. “Our kids were already tucked into bed and sleeping. I went to bed myself and clicked on the TV. I intended to wait up for her to get home, but I must have fallen asleep.”
“How long does it usually take Elise to get home from the yoga studio if she doesn’t stop anywhere?” Jack asked as he flipped the page in his notepad.
Perry rubbed his forehead as he thought. “I don’t know, twenty minutes, I guess.”
“So what happened when you woke up earlier?” I asked.
“The kids ran into our bedroom, wondering where breakfast was, around seven o’clock. I looked to Elise’s side of the bed, and it hadn’t been slept in. I knew right away something was wrong.”
Clayton was thoughtful enough to grab the carafe and fill our coffee cups. I nodded a thank-you. “Go ahead,” I said.
“I ran downstairs and searched the house. I called out her name, but she didn’t answer. That’s when I opened the garage door and saw her side of the garage was empty. I started calling her cell phone right away, but it went straight to voice mail like it was turned off.”
“What time was that?”
“Um… I don’t know… around seven fifteen, I guess.”
“How many times did you try her phone?”
“Six or ten… I don’t remember. A lot.”
Jack glanced at his notes. “You called here and spoke to me at 8:05.”
“Yeah, that sounds right. Now what? We have to find her. You’ll start searching, right? Elise doesn’t do this type of thing. She’s a responsible woman and a good mom.”
Jack flipped the page in his notepad again. “We need to know the make and model of your wife’s car and the route she takes home. A person has to be gone for twenty-four hours before we can file an official missing person’s report, but we can do some looking around. We’ll have a few deputies check her usual route home. Would you mind drawing us a map from the yoga studio to your house with the street names she takes? Maybe she just broke down somewhere.”
“Sure, but that wouldn’t explain why she didn’t call home or answer her cell.”
I handed Perry a sheet of printer paper so he could get started. I sensed Elise was in some kind of trouble, but saying she could have had car problems and keeping him busy might relieve his anxiety for the time being.
“Clayton.”
“Yeah, Sergeant.”
“Head to the strip mall and check every business that has camera surveillance facing the parking lot. I want to see Elise get into her car and leave. We may be able to get other footage along her route home, if that’s indeed where she was heading.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Perry asked indignantly.
I put my hand up as if to pump the brakes. “Give me just a second, Perry. Clayton, get video copies back here from every angle of the
parking lot. Round up Billy and Todd on your way and get them in here to go over the footage. If we’re going to do this by her last known whereabouts, then the strip mall belongs to the city. They may want to take the lead. We’ll take the city limits out into the county jurisdiction, where their residence is, if we have to. I’m fine with that. Either way, call the police department and give them a heads-up. We aren’t going to make this an active case yet unless something looks suspicious on the video feed.”
“Got it, boss.”
“Okay, Perry, what year, make, model, and color is Elise’s car?”
“It’s a white 2014 Chevy Malibu sedan. I can’t think of the plate number right now, I’m too frazzled.”
“Jack, can you pull up her DMV records and get the tag number?”
“Yep, no problem.” He had his pen ready to write it down.
“How’s the marriage, Perry? Anything hinky going on, like affairs, dishonesty, or financial problems? Have you fought recently?”
He buried his face in his hands. “No, of course not! Our marriage is perfect. We have two great kids. I love my wife, Sergeant Monroe. We love each other.”
I glanced at Jack and gave him a concerned look. Perry finished the map of the route Elise usually took home and handed it to me. I excused myself and went out front to talk to dispatch.
“Jan, I need you to get this out.” I handed her the sheet of paper.
She put on her reading glasses and looked it over.
“I want you to have a few deputies check out this route. Call North Bend Police Department and have someone meet Clayton at the strip mall. We’re looking for a white 2014 Malibu sedan. Get the tag number from Jack. He’s checking on it right now. The car could be broken down along the road or possibly in a parking lot at a hotel, restaurant, or business. Run the gamut. Get some eyes out there and keep me posted. It isn’t officially a missing person’s case yet, but with the crap that went down earlier in the week, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
Chapter 12
By ten o’clock, Clayton had checked back in. He and Detective Don Miller from the police department looked over several tapes from Pegasus Greek Diner next door to the yoga studio. Nothing appeared unusual or suspicious. The video time stamp showed Elise climbing into her car at 9:17. By the time she exited the parking lot, six empty cars were in front of the restaurant, and another had just driven away. Clayton said the videos showed her pulling out of the parking lot in the direction she would take to go home. No other car followed hers. They viewed several tapes from different angles of the parking lot, including the back lot where the Dumpsters were located, but nothing seemed amiss.
“The business owners made us several video copies, Jade. They gave me and the police department a stick to review the footage on our own. I’m going to take it down to tech. If anyone can catch something we didn’t see, it’s Todd and Billy. They’re the best when it comes to fine details.”
“Okay, go ahead and get them downstairs. Get me a list of all the businesses along her route home that have camera surveillance. I want to see her car pass by every one of them until there aren’t any more businesses. Let the city boys know that too,” I said.
“I’m on it, boss.”
I entered the small cafeteria where Perry sat alone. I took a seat next to him.
“Can I get you something from the vending machine, or more coffee?”
“No, thanks. Sergeant Monroe, I saw the article in the newspaper a few days ago about the man who was found at Cedar Lake. He was murdered, wasn’t he?”
“Perry, it’s an ongoing investigation. I’m not at liberty to discuss it with you. You read what the media wrote just like everyone else.”
“What if—”
“Let’s hold on for a bit,” I interrupted. “When was the last time you tried calling Elise?”
“Five minutes ago. Still goes directly to voice mail.”
I felt the phone vibrate in my pocket. “Excuse me for a second.” I walked over to the row of vending machines at the end of the cafeteria and checked the text. Lieutenant Clark wanted me in his office immediately.
“Perry, I’ll be right back. Why don’t you make a call to your folks? Talk to your kids, reassure them. Sit tight.”
“Yeah, okay.”
I headed back through the bull pen. Jack got up and was right on my heels.
“The lieutenant texted you too?”
“Yep.”
I rapped on the door, and he waved us in.
“Close the door, Jade. Sit down.”
“What’s up, Lieutenant?”
“I just got a call from the park patrol out at Glacier Hills. He recognized the white Malibu he heard about on his police scanner. It’s sitting vacant at the farthest end of the parking lot. He felt the hood—the engine was cold. He said a lone dime sat on the hood. Round up everyone and get out there now.”
“Shit. Morris King had a dime in his pocket, nothing else. Boss, that sounds like a calling card to me. The person Morris met up with that night calls himself Dime.”
“I know, Jade. We’ll go over all of that again after we see what’s going on in the park. Right now, we have to move.”
“What do you want me to do with Perry?”
“Have Billings sit on him while we check the area. If we find Elise’s body, the husband stays for interrogation, even if he isn’t our main suspect. Right now, we don’t have anyone else. Get Kyle and Dan out there right away. Have somebody call Doug and Jason. If we find a body, they’re going to be working today too. It’s not sounding good. Let’s go.”
My cell phone buzzed as Jack and I headed to one of the cruisers. Amber was texting me, wanting to know if she could come over. She wasn’t scheduled to work until six o’clock. We could have a girl’s day, do lunch, and discuss the living arrangements. I sent a quick message to her.
Sorry, Sis, I have an emergency. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
I jammed the phone into my pocket and zipped it up. Jack flipped on the red and blues as he squealed out of the parking lot and headed west.
We arrived at Glacier Hills County Park in less than ten minutes. Four patrol cruisers, Clayton, and the forensic team arrived ahead of us and were already in the parking lot.
“Hear or see anything?” I asked as we approached.
“We were waiting for you, Sergeant,” one of the patrol officers said.
“Did anyone talk to the guy from park security?”
Clayton responded, “I got his statement. He said he only touched the hood of the car with the back of his hand, nothing else.”
“Okay, let’s spread out. This is a big park. I want to take a quick look at the vehicle first.” I pointed ahead at the expanse in front of us. “You guys start searching that meadow. We’re looking for a thirtyish blond woman, shorter than me. She’ll likely be wearing workout clothes. Let’s move.”
Kyle and Dan were already at the Malibu, doing a quick once-over to see if anything looked suspicious. Goose bumps rose on my arms. I felt certain we were looking at a crime scene. I didn’t view Elise as somebody that would wander off for an overnight hike in the park, plus there was that damn dime. Jack and I walked over and joined Kyle and Dan. I leaned over the hood and felt it with my gloved hand—stone cold. The dime sat about a foot back, dead center where it wouldn’t be overlooked. Kyle snapped a few pictures.
“Anyone take a peek inside?”
“We’ve only looked through the windows—haven’t tried the doors yet. The yoga bag in the backseat looks like it’s been rifled through. The doors are unlocked, and the keys are still in the ignition.”
“Damn… that isn’t a good sign. Who would wander off and leave their keys in the ignition with the doors unlocked? Kyle, did you take any pictures through the windows?”
“Yep, all done. Let’s open her up.”
When Dan opened the driver’s side door, I immediately noticed that something was off. I only had a minute to process what I was thinking.
The search was more important right now. We had people spread out in the meadow to our west, and Jack and I were heading into the woods in a few minutes.
“Hang on a second here. Jack, how tall are you?”
“Just over six foot.”
We both looked at the seat position. I knew Elise was shorter than me. I climbed in and sat. My feet didn’t reach the gas or brake.
“Jack, have a seat.”
He climbed in after I stepped out. His feet reached the pedals perfectly.
“Okay, we know she didn’t drive this car back here herself. How tall did Perry look to you?”
Jack rubbed his chin. “Probably your height, five foot eight or so. He isn’t a tall man.”
“Yeah, I thought the same thing. Okay, let’s head out. Guys, get pictures of that seat position and do your usual onsite routine. Photograph the surroundings before the car is moved, then get the flatbed out here. This vehicle is going back to the evidence garage with us. Has Doug been called?”
“He’s on call and waiting for us to notify him if necessary,” Kyle said.
I saw the lieutenant pull in and park his Crown Vic.
“Clayton, update the boss. Tell him we’re heading into the woods.”
Chapter 13
“How do you want to proceed?” Jack asked as we stared at the expanse of heavy woods ahead.
I’d been to Glacier Hills many times. Lance and I used to hike quite a bit, and I knew the park was well over one hundred acres. There looked to be at least fifty acres of dense forest with hiking and snowmobile trails in front of us. People used the meadow to run their dogs, and it was a beautiful habitat for wildlife, primarily deer. That was also a good fifty acres.
“Shit, I don’t know. First off, our perp is at least your height and likely big and strong. Elise is shorter than me and slender. I bet she doesn’t weigh much more than a hundred pounds. Heck, Morris was a lightweight. This guy could probably carry or drag a body for a while without losing steam.” I looked at the trails—hard-packed from plenty of use, no shoe prints or evidence of someone being dragged. “Do you think the city boys would lend a hand? I don’t want every weekend warrior out here along with the media hounds, especially when we don’t know what we have yet. For all we know, Elise could have had a boyfriend drive her car back here and park it. They could have taken off together.”
