Spirit Lake

by Vickie McKeehan

  “We didn’t use the fireplace last night,” Lando monotoned. “It was too warm.”

  Tully scratched his stubbled chin. “I counted five smoke detectors in there and they’ve all been tampered with, batteries removed.”

  Tully turned to another fireman. “Hey, Charlie, grab a ladder and get up on the roof. See if you can find what’s stuck in the chimney.”

  Charlie did as he was told and scrambled up the ladder. Reaching down into the flue, he pulled out a quilt. “Here’s your problem, Chief. Someone stuffed a blanket into the shaft, closing off the airflow.”

  Hands on his hips, Dale glanced over at Lando. “Looks like someone set a trap for you and Gemma. They didn’t expect you to get out of there alive.”

  “Trying to make it look like an accident,” Payce said in agreement. “It’s no secret, everyone knew you guys were coming up here tonight.”

  “Radio for Jimmy, have him head out here to join us,” Lando instructed. “Then the four of us will spread out and try to locate those shell casings. Let’s see if we can tie down that gun.”

  17

  With daylight came more questions along with a crime scene unit that dusted for fingerprints all through the cabin.

  Every available body helped scour the surrounding woods, looking for anything that might ID the shooter and the one person who wanted them dead. One of the firemen found casings above the cabin near a perch that made for the perfect view of the front door.

  “We were like sitting ducks,” Lando realized. “It’s a wonder he didn’t pick us off without worrying about smoke inhalation.”

  By six a.m. Luke showed up with Lianne to assess the damage himself before his mother arrived with Leia.

  “What do you want us to do first?” Luke asked his mother.

  But Lydia was studying the gray smoke residue climbing the walls and the condition of the fireplace. Realizing the severity of it all, her hand flew to her mouth. “It’s amazing they found a way out. If not…” she swallowed hard. “I don’t even want to think about the alternative right now.”

  “Hard to imagine someone going to this much trouble to kill them,” Leia uttered as she looked around at the damage. “Why didn’t he just shoot you both when he had the chance out front by Lando’s cruiser?”

  “I’m pretty sure it wasn’t for lack of trying,” Gemma snapped. “How much closer do you want him to get? Try inches away from our heads. While he was doing his best to put a bullet in us we were making a mad dash to get back inside. I can still hear the bullets whizzing past my ear and the sounds of them pinging off the car and the side of the house.”

  “That sounds like a lot of rounds,” Luke determined.

  “I don’t think a cup of tea or chocolate will fix this,” Lianne bemoaned. “Someone went to a lot of trouble to make sure you guys didn’t wake up this morning.”

  Gemma turned in a circle, surveying the pitiful black walls. “You do realize he brought a backup plan, right? We either died of smoke or he was prepared to shoot us.”

  Lando came through the front door with a resigned look on his face. “Found casings and a few faint footprints. But nothing that would explain how someone came in here last night, built a fire in the fireplace, sabotaged the smoke detectors, then hung around and waited to see if the toxic fumes did his dirty work. If not for Gemma waking up when she did, we wouldn’t have escaped in the first place.”

  “But he was sitting out there watching just in case we made it out alive,” Gemma said in a quiet voice. “That’s when Plan B kicked in.”

  Lando’s arms went around her. He’d been so busy with everything else, he hadn’t even tried to comfort her. “Don’t think about Plan B.”

  “Easy to say, tougher to do,” Gemma acknowledged, resting her head on his shoulder. “Shooting us would’ve ruined the impression our deaths were the result of a terrible accident.”

  Lando ran his fingers through her hair. “Yet he brought a big-ass rifle just in case.”

  “I think you guys should grab your gear and come back to town with us,” Luke suggested. “The crime scene people are gone. Your getaway just got hijacked whether you want to admit it or not.”

  “He’s right,” Lydia said. “There’s no point in staying out here now. I’ll get in touch with the insurance company, take some pictures, and then hire someone to come out here and clean this mess up.”

  “I’ll take care of all that,” Lando offered. “It’s our fault this happened.”

  “Nonsense,” Lydia protested. “You need to get back to work and catch whatever sick person did this. Obviously, he’s scared you’re already on to him. I’d take advantage of that before he slips away.”

  Lando’s cell phone interrupted those kinds of thoughts. “Hello? Where are you? Okay, I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Who was that? What’s happened now?” Gemma asked.

  “That was Zeb. Arlo Stokely was found dead an hour ago by a passing motorist on the Rez.”

  “What? How’d that happen? Did he have a heart attack or something?”

  “No. Zeb says it looks like he committed suicide. If I hurry I can catch Tuttle at the crime scene.”

  Gemma covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. Was he far from the cabin?”

  “No. Just across the lake, about half a mile from where we stumbled across Rolo.” He pivoted toward Luke. “You want to come with me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  But Gemma was right behind him. “I’m going, too.”

  “Not this time. I’ll text you with an update. Pack up our stuff and head back to town. Leia and Lianne will give you a hand with everything.”

  So much for what they’d agreed on last night. “Lando, why? I thought we talked about this. Partners, remember?”

  “Because Zeb says Raynelle is already questioning the suicide ruling. She’s fit to be tied, she’s so mad. I’ve got to help Zeb get this under control and make sure it’s done by the book. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Once Lando got to the cruiser, Luke grabbed his arm. “What is it you didn’t want Gemma to know?”

  “Zeb says Arlo killed himself with a 30-30 rifle. The same kind of gun used to shoot at us not five hours ago.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “Dunno. But someone sure wants us to think it is.”

  Arlo Stokely’s life had ended some twenty feet from the roadway, his body slumped against a blue gum eucalyptus, a Winchester rifle on the ground between his knees, one hand still on the trigger.

  Dressed in his tribal police uniform, Zeb greeted Lando and Luke as soon as they stepped out of the cruiser.

  “All dressed up for the Feds I see,” Lando said as he headed into the foggy interior to inspect the scene for himself.

  Zeb followed. “Yeah. Right. Like the Feds would bother showing up here for a suicide.”

  “Is that what it is?”

  “Maybe. Tuttle seems to think so. He’s over by his car jabbering into his recorder.”

  “Tuttle can be an idiot,” Luke pointed out as he studied the scene over Lando’s shoulder.

  Lando took out his cell phone and took pictures for himself. “What do you think?”

  Luke knelt beside the body. “I hate to say this, but it does appear that he took his own life.”

  “Who found him?”

  “Patty Hartshorn called it in. She was taking her kids to the sitter’s house before heading to work when she saw a pickup parked on the side of the road and then glanced over and spotted the body.”

  Lando judged the distance from the truck to where Arlo was propped up by the tree. “No drag marks so that’s not an issue. Maybe he came out here to meet someone.”

  Zeb decided he knew where this was going. “Look, Leia told me what happened at the cabin. The way I see it, Arlo tried to kill you guys and when it didn’t work, he came out here to end it all before you caught up with him.”

  “Convenient, huh? How did he know he
didn’t succeed, though? How did he know he failed? Tell me that. When we heard the car drive away, Gemma and I had just gotten out of there via the back. The shooter couldn’t have seen us from his position. So if the shooter was Arlo how did he know we made it out at all?”

  Luke considered that. “But you were responsible for locking him up over the weekend. He was pretty steamed about spending four nights in jail because of you.”

  “Is that enough to want us dead, though?”

  “Maybe he killed those women and thought you were getting too close,” Luke countered, playing devil’s advocate.

  Lando shook his head. “It’s just all too convenient for me, tied up in a neat bow. But right now, there’s no evidence to contradict the suicide theory. Sad to say, it looks like that’s exactly what Arlo did.”

  Gemma walked into her house with the group of women trailing behind her and was met at the door by Rufus and Rolo. “Hey there, guys. Did you miss me? Where’s Radley?”

  Rufus woofed and led the way into the kitchen where the dog sitter sat at the table eating a bowl of granola.

  “Surprise!” Gemma hollered. She watched Radley jump and look up from his cereal bowl in shock. “What are you doing back home? Unless I skipped a day.”

  “Taking a mini getaway isn’t what it used to be,” Gemma deadpanned. “How are things here?”

  “Fine. Rolo seems like he’s already settled in, but Rufus is like a nervous ninny, following him around like he’s worried about protecting his little buddy.”

  “Nothing happened here out of the ordinary after we left?” Gemma asked as casually as she could.

  “Someone did come by really late last night and rang the doorbell. But by the time I got to it, nobody was there.”

  “What time was that?” Leia asked, helping herself to a cup of coffee.

  “About eleven. I’d just fallen asleep when the dogs went to barking. Then the doorbell started ringing. I didn’t think anything about it, though. Why?”

  “No reason,” Leia returned mildly. “Someone tried to kill Gemma and Lando at the cabin.”

  “What?”

  “I’m making breakfast tacos,” Lydia interjected, moving to the refrigerator. “A body needs more than corn flakes to get through the day.” She looped an apron around her neck to cover her blouse and got out a bowl to scramble eggs.

  “I’ll make another pot of coffee,” Lianne offered. She pushed Gemma into a chair across from Radley. “You should chill.”

  “What happened last night?” he wanted to know.

  Gemma filled him in while the smells of breakfast wafted from the stove.

  “That’s crazy. Why would anyone want to kill you guys?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we might be getting close to finding a killer.” She went into more detail about Jane Doe and the other dead girls. “And now, the man who we first suspected is dead.”

  “Arlo was never going to be mayor,” Radley stated. “He was just too out there in his thinking. And when he went after Daryl, for a lot of people that was the last straw.”

  Just as Lydia brought the food to the table, they heard banging on the front door.

  “I’ll get it,” Leia offered. But before she reached the entryway, the door burst open and Raynelle stepped inside.

  “My boy is dead because you Bonners got him killed.”

  Lydia appeared behind her daughter, even moving her out of the way to get to Raynelle. “You can put a sock in those kinds of accusations. You either come here to talk nice or turn around and go back where you came from. I know you’re upset about Arlo, any mother would be, but don’t go accusing us of being responsible. Someone tried to kill Lando and Gemma this morning at the cabin. Right now, everyone’s pointing fingers at your boy.”

  “That’s ridiculous. He was mad at being locked up, but he wouldn’t try to kill anyone over it.”

  Gemma folded her arms across her chest. “Then what was he doing out there on the Rez with a rifle, less than a mile from where someone shot at us?”

  Desperate, Raynelle’s eyes darted from one to the other. “Arlo was set up. He didn’t take his own life no matter what they say.”

  “Maybe you should sit down with Lando and tell him that,” Gemma suggested. “Convince him why you think Arlo didn’t do anything wrong. Want coffee while you wait? He should be back any minute now.”

  “Why are you being nice to me?” Raynelle asked, bewildered at the gesture.

  Gemma let out a sigh. “Because you just lost your son. And we should all sit down and try to figure out what happened, separate fact from fiction.”

  “Do you really believe Lando can help?”

  “If not, then you’re out of luck. But for what it’s worth, his last text to me said you might be right. Although the rifle Arlo used to…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “The same type of rifle left with Arlo was the same type used to shoot at us.”

  They were gathered around the table when Lando and Luke walked in, hungry and needing caffeine.

  Lando was shocked to see Raynelle there. “I’m sorry about Arlo.”

  Raynelle’s lower lip quivered at the first sign of tears. “He wouldn’t have done that to himself. It’s just not possible. He wanted to be mayor more than anything. And last night, he got a call from someone who promised him dirt on Sam Wells, stuff he could use against him in the campaign.”

  Gemma got down cups from the cabinet for coffee. “Do you know who it was?”

  “Arlo didn’t tell me that, but he said he had to meet him at some ungodly hour out near Spirit Lake.”

  “Didn’t he think that was weird?” Gemma asked, as she set the cup in front of Raynelle.

  “A little, but he did want the information on Sam.”

  Lando sipped the coffee Gemma had put in front of him. “To verify that, I’ll need to see Arlo’s phone records.”

  “Fine. The call came in on the landline, not on his cell phone.”

  “Sounds very mysterious,” Gemma added, pouring Raynelle a refill. She cut her eyes to Lando, alerting him to a new line of questions. “Don’t take this the wrong way or anything, but did Arlo have a habit of meeting up with people at odd hours? Did he often leave the house and go traipsing off to do his own thing? Was he like that as a boy?”

  “To some extent,” Raynelle said. “Don’t all teenage boys defy their mothers at one time or another?”

  “They certainly do,” Lydia added, picking up on where this was heading. “When my boys were fifteen, they used to sneak out of their rooms at all hours to meet up with their friends. There for a while I thought I’d have to nail the windows and doors shut just to keep them at home.”

  Lando started to protest that characterization but realized this line of thought might produce something valuable. “Teenagers can certainly be rebellious. Did Arlo ever have a steady girlfriend, or did he play the field?”

  Most of the people in the kitchen wanted to laugh at that, but Lando sent them a scowl that told them to follow his lead. “So did he date much?”

  Raynelle sniffed into a Kleenex Lydia had given her, squirming in her seat. “He got his heart broken at a very young age and sort of swore off women.”

  That disclosure didn’t help much. Lando already knew Arlo didn’t have much of a public social life so he pressed on. “Do you remember her name, the woman who broke his heart?”

  “Oh, yes, Charlene Wofford. She broke up with Arlo to start dating Sam Wells. Unfortunately, she died at sixteen. Or was it seventeen? One of Caulfield’s men found her Mustang out on the highway one morning where that dangerous stretch of road is. You know the one they used to call Deadman’s Curve. Her car, a little Mustang, had gone over the edge and had been burning most of the night.”

  Lando sat up straighter. “Was she alone in the car?”

  “Well, that’s just it. Caulfield never actually found the body. We just all assumed poor Charlene Wofford perished in the accident.”

  “When
did this happen?”

  “A year after the other string of car accidents. March, I think.”

  Raynelle had given him enough to start checking out. He drained his coffee and stood up. “I need to get to work.”

  Raynelle stood up to block his way out of the kitchen. “What about my boy? You need to get Tuttle to change the cause of death.”

  “That’s where I’m headed now. To make sure Tuttle does a thorough analysis,” Lando promised. “Just give me time to sort things out. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Gemma followed him out. “Do you remember when we went through all those old accident files? I don’t remember reading a report with the name Charlene.”

  “That’s just it, I thought we accounted for every victim who died out there. Charlene wasn’t listed.”

  “I was certain Arlo was in the clear, that it was Sam we needed to focus on, but now, I’m not so sure. My vision showed it was Sam in the Fiat in Reno. That much was clear.”

  “Stick with your vision. Sam started going out with Charlene and no one knows what happened to her. And Arlo’s supposed suicide is just too convenient to suit me. Sam’s moved to number one on the list.”

  “I guess that means you aren’t taking the day off.”

  “No choice. I’m determined to figure out if it was Arlo or Sam who fired that rifle at us. I need to remind Tuttle to look for gunshot residue. Sometimes our county coroner likes to take short cuts.”

  “Our medical examiner is incompetent? Don’t let that get around. If you’re headed to work I suppose I should do the same. Lunch later?”

  “Sure. Text me.”

  Lydia led Arlo’s mother past Gemma. “I’m going home with Raynelle to make sure she gets settled. She needs someone to stay with her for a little while.”

  “Okay. Call if I can do anything.” Gemma headed back inside where Luke was using Radley’s laptop. “What’s up?”

  “They arrested a serial killer down in Los Angeles earlier today using a genealogy website. They got DNA data to lead back to a relative that provided the break they needed. It’s breaking news all over the web.”