by PJ Fernor
But it was still there.
Now maybe Trevor was up messing around on the ridge, just trying to be as rebellious as ever.
Or maybe not.
I didn’t like the way it made me feel.
I kept watch on Trevor.
He had to do community service for what happened with Mr. Hinkle’s car.
So that was my next stop.
In all honesty, I wanted to see Trevor cleaning up the park on Sanderson.
The place was a hangout for teens and it was always trashed. I wasn’t foolish either. I knew that both Trevor and Lo had hung out at the park together.
It was in the woods, hidden from town, and was made up of all wooden playground sets. Sadly it was overridden by teens who had nothing else to do.
The drive took me ten minutes, and that was a long ten minutes of thinking.
That poor young woman on the ridge…
I couldn’t stop comparing her to Lo.
She wasn’t Lo.
I would never let Lo end up like that.
How?
I wasn’t sure, but I just believed it.
I parked my car outside the park and the first person I spotted was Trevor.
Wearing a neon green vest, sitting on the top of a tube slide, looking down at his phone.
I wanted so hard to give this kid a break.
I wanted him to be a good guy.
For Lo’s sake.
In my gut I could feel the train wreck that was going to be Lo’s heart when Trevor hurt her. There wasn’t a thing I could do to stop it that wouldn’t end up with Lo hating me.
Just like you and Tommy, Allie.
I beeped my horn and Trevor looked up at me.
He made a jump motion and dropped his phone.
He slid down on top of the tube slide and jumped off halfway down.
He grabbed his phone and wiped it off.
I climbed out of my car.
“A lot of trash up there?” I called out to him.
Trevor turned and tucked his phone into his back pocket.
“You can tell Lo I said hi,” I said.
He swallowed hard. “What are you doing here? Lo isn’t here. She’s not allowed to see me.”
“That’s right,” I said. “I’m glad she’s listening. You’re supposed to be cleaning up here.”
“I am,” Trevor said. “I took a quick break.”
I looked at his wrists.
No bracelet.
Not that it shocked me. I knew where the bracelet was.
“How is it going here?” I asked.
“It’s fine. I show up, do what I need to do, and leave.”
I pointed to his wrists. “You and Lo wear matching bracelets, right?”
“Yeah,” he said. He put his hands behind his back. “Why?”
“You each got the other person’s name on it. I remember that. She was excited when you did that together.”
Trevor nodded. “Yeah. It was cool. It was her idea.”
“And you went along with it?”
“Why not?”
“That’s good. Where’s your bracelet now?”
“What?” Trevor asked.
Sometimes it was easier to talk to a wall than a teenager.
“Trevor, focus,” I said. “Lo has her bracelet. You don’t. You’re not wearing yours right now. I’m asking why. Where it is.”
“You came all the way over here to ask me that?” Trevor asked.
“I came all the way over here to get your answer,” I said.
“It’s at home,” he said so easily. “It’s home. It’s on my dresser in my room. I knew I was coming here and I didn’t want to wear it. I didn’t want to lose it or whatever. Okay?”
Trevor turned and grabbed a shovel and a bucket.
He wandered away and I took a deep breath.
Besides Rick trespassing and tripping over the dead body up on the ridge, I had my first break in the case…
Trevor was lying to me.
Chapter Eighteen
It was now one of those days where there was a lot to take in and process.
That was just what life did sometimes. The ability to turn on a dime and not think twice about messing with anything that resembled the plans that you had made.
I drove from the park to the station.
Along the way, I forced my mind to pause for a few seconds here and there just to breathe in the sights of Sandemor in the fall.
That young woman up on the ridge.
She had a name. She had a past. She had a story about her life. Even though it ended so tragically, she was still a person. My job was to make sure to find all the pieces scattered around and complete the story for the young woman. Her ending was already decided, but that didn’t mean she was just going to be forgotten.
Someone hurt her. Someone stabbed her. Someone took her to the ridge and left her there to die.
And she had the strength to try and save herself.
If anything, maybe she saved others.
I couldn’t bring the young woman back, but if she hadn’t dragged herself to the spot where the hiker had tripped over her, she might have been forgotten.
It made me shiver to think about that.
A body up on the ridge, up against a tree, just sitting there.
Turning from human to a pile of bones.
The message on the rock - WE’RE ALL HIS - would have never been seen.
Washed away by the autumn rain.
When I arrived at the station, Ben was waiting for me.
“Everything checks out,” he said. “And where did you have to go?”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. I walked past him and quickly stopped. “Sorry for the way that sounded. I’m thinking right now.”
“Well, let me help ease some of that thinking,” Ben said. “I talked to Rick again. He had the same story. He’s shaken up, Allie. You can see it in his eyes. On his face. He didn’t do this. You know that, right?”
“What’s next for him then?” I asked.
“His girlfriend should be here any second to pick him up,” Ben said. “His ankle is in pretty rough shape.”
“Where is he now?” I asked.
“I let him sit in my office. He’s drinking some energy water and eating some energy bar thing or whatever.”
“They don’t package cheeseburgers in a tiny wrapper, huh?” I asked.
“Now there’s a million dollar idea,” Ben said.
“Hey, Detective?” Muldavey’s voice rang out to my left.
I turned my head and he stood with a tall, skinny, beautiful woman.
She wore oversized clothes with her left shoulder exposed, giving off the vibe that she was the artist type.
“Where is he?” she asked, looking around. “I swear on my life…”
“He’s over here,” Ben said.
“I’m Mara,” she said, stepping away from Muldavey. “I’m Rick’s girlfriend.”
“Oh, right, of course,” I said. “Sorry to meet you like this. I’m Detective Allie Down. This is my partner, Detective Ben Welloski.”
“He called me in a panic and I really couldn’t understand much,” she said. “I drove over as fast as I could. Please tell me he’s not in any trouble.”
“Well,” Ben said. Then he looked around. “Why don’t we go into my office and talk?”
“Oh, that’s not good,” Mara said.
“You seem very calm about this,” I said.
“Rick is a thriller seeker. A dumb one at that.”
“That much I’ll agree with,” I said.
“He thinks he’s going to find something,” Mara said. “He loves to climb things he’s not supposed to climb. He loves a good ghost story and chases the ghosts down. That kind of thing. His dream is to get a TV show. I kid you not.”
Ben opened his office door.
The look on Mara’s face when she saw Rick was priceless.
I was pretty sure if Rick’s ankle wasn’t hurt she would h
ave slapped him across the face.
“Mara,” Rick said. “Oh… you’re here…”
He wrestled to stand up and jumped to her.
He hugged her like she was a security blanket in a thunderstorm.
I glanced at Ben.
He nodded.
Rick was innocent… of killing the young woman on the ridge.
“I can’t stop seeing her,” Rick whispered.
“Who?” Mara asked.
“I told you on the phone, Mara. That girl. I tripped over her. She was dead…”
Mara looked at me.
I cleared my throat. “Your, uh, Rick discovered a body up on the ridge. While he was not supposed to be trespassing there…”
“A body?” Mara asked. “Who?”
“We’re working on that,” Ben said. “Everything is still developing.”
Rick hobbled away from Mara and looked at me. “Detective. Please. I cannot tell you how sorry I am for what I did. I should not have been up there. When I close my eyes I see…”
I know, Rick. I know the feeling. When I close my eyes I see the bullet tearing through Patrick, ending his life. But I did it to save another detective’s life.
“I think we can just let this be what it is,” Ben said. “My only advice is don’t come back to Sandemor unless you have a real purpose. Going up on that ridge is more than stupid. And chasing down some story from years ago is just as stupid.”
“It was real though,” Rick said. “That’s the thing. It was a real story. One of those hikers went missing.”
“And you think the ridge is haunted,” I said.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But look at what happened today…”
“Okay,” Ben said. “A ghost didn’t kill that young woman.”
Ben quickly glanced at me.
It was farfetched, but at the same time, Ben and I had just worked on the case that revolved around a family of psychics.
In other words, nothing was ever out of the question when it came to our job.
“Rick, take this as a small win in your life,” I said. “You’re not getting into trouble right now. If you come back and go up there again, you will be in trouble. Got it?”
“Got it,” Rick said.
“He won’t do it again,” Mara said.
“I think I need a hospital,” he said. “My ankle is… it’s bad.”
“This is great,” Mara said. “I’ll take you to the hospital. But then we have to figure out a way to get your car back home. Just great.” Mara looked at Ben and I. “Thank you, Detectives.”
Ben stood at the doorway and smiled as they walked out of his office.
Then he let out a sigh. “That guy is going to be sleeping on the couch for a while.”
“He’s lucky he’s not in serious trouble or worse,” I said. “Fool.”
“Fool, yes. But he’s a fool that found a dead body. And we have to figure that part of it out.”
“Believe me, Ben, we will,” I said.
I caught myself staring at him, wanting to tell him about the bracelet. About Trevor. But the idea of admitting it made me want to get sick. The idea that Trevor could be involved…
“You’re holding something back, Allie Down,” Ben said. “I can sense it. I can see it all over your face.”
“I already told you, I’m thinking,” I said. “I’m putting things together. I’ll let you know soon enough.”
“Let me hear it now,” Ben said. “We’re good together with this stuff. Throwing ideas back and forth.”
Good together…
I swallowed hard.
Before I could debate with myself any longer, Laura came rushing into the office.
She pointed at Allie.
“We have a fingerprint match in the system.”
Chapter Nineteen
We were all gathered in Laura’s big office on the second floor of the station.
Garrison kept close to the coffee since it was the only place to get decent coffee in the station. He stirred a skinny, red stir stick in the cup, over and over.
Muldavey stood near the door, always poised to be told what to do and rush to it.
I stood behind a chair, my hands gripping the chair tight.
Ben gently paced, staring down at the floor.
Laura looked at her computer screen, then at me.
“Nikki,” she said. “Nikki Pearson. That’s who she is.”
“Age?” I asked.
“Nineteen,” Laura said .
I looked back at Ben.
She was young. Just about the age Ben guessed. To me, she looked younger than that. Or maybe since I had compared her to Lo, that meant Lo looked older.
Either way, I didn’t like any of it.
“Why was she in the system?” Ben asked.
“Shoplifting charge,” Laura said. “Just after she turned eighteen.”
I leaned forward and Laura showed me the information on the screen.
The picture of Nikki matched the young woman up on the ridge.
In a sad way, even the picture of her when she was alive didn’t show much life at all. Her eyes looked sad, quiet… maybe already accepting that her only fate was to end up dead at a very young age.
“Nothing else on her?” I asked.
“No,” Laura said. “Nothing ever happened with the charge from what I can see. But at least we have an ID. We know who she is.”
“No, we don’t,” I said. “We don’t know anything about her. We have a name. Now what?”
“We find out everything we possibly can,” Ben said. “Someone knows her.”
“Her killer,” Garrison said. “I don’t think he’ll be talking anytime soon.”
“He, or she,” I said.
“Right,” Garrison said. He put his coffee down and put up his hands. “Everything has to be equal.”
“Well, here’s the problem,” Laura said. “We have the fingerprints and a mugshot. But nothing else. Whoever did the report did everything wrong. Or just threw it together in a hurry.”
“Small crime like shoplifting,” Ben said. “Lazy cop.”
“There’s no such thing as a lazy cop,” Garrison said.
He said it with a grin on his face that irritated me to no end.
I pushed from the chair and looked at him. “You know what, Garrison? Go get on the porch case, okay? We don’t need you for this one.”
He glanced at Laura.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her nodding.
“Great,” Garrison said. “Stick me on that, huh?”
“Better than nothing,” Laura said.
“Fair enough,” Garrison said.
“Hey,” I said. “This is serious, too. Last thing we need is this town getting all worked up. Like I said up on the ridge, all we need to do is say a body was found and we’re investigating it. Simple as that. Reiterate that the ridge and fire road are completely a no trespassing area. It’s dangerous.”
“I agree,” Ben said.
“Ben agrees,” Garrison said.
“Is that a problem for you?” Ben asked.
“Garrison, just focus,” I said. “We have to keep as much trouble from this town as possible right now. As much of the normal as we can grab at. Got it?”
“Sure thing, Detective,” Garrison said. “I’ll go review the addresses and come up with something.”
“I’ll go with him,” Muldavey offered. “If that’s okay.”
“That’s fine,” I said.
“Hey, Down,” Garrison said in his cocky voice. “Do you think this is connected?”
I didn’t want to hear that question, but there it was…
“Think about it for a second,” Garrison said. “All these porches are getting trashed. Now there’s a dead body up on the ridge. Teenager…”
“Nineteen,” Ben said. “That’s an adult.”
“An adult teenager,” Garrison said.
Ben stepped toward Garrison.
I put my hand out. “He’
s right. It could be connected. That’s why we need to cover as much as possible right now.”
Garrison knew what he was doing. Trying to get into my head.
He clicked his jaw and he and Muldavey left Laura’s office.
“He’s a piece of work sometimes,” Ben said.
“Focus, Ben,” I said. “We have to figure out as much as we can about Nikki. I want to know who arrested her. Who filled out the police report. What happened. Where she lived or was seen at. Anything…”
“Maybe someone will report her missing,” Ben said.
“We’ll keep an eye on that too,” I said.
Laura’s phone started to ring. “I have to take this. Anything you need, tell me. We have the full support of the county on this.”
Ben touched my arm and we exited the office side by side.
I looked at my phone.
“I have to get back to the apartment soon,” I said. “At least just to check on Lo.”
“That’s fine,” Ben said. “We can work over the phone together. It’s going to be a lot of thinking and plotting. At least we know who she is.”
We got to the steps and I paused. “Ben, I have to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
“I saw someone.”
“What?”
“I’ve been going on late night walks. When I can’t sleep. When I can’t stop thinking. I’m talking after midnight.”
“How long has this been going on?” Ben asked.
“Since… you know…”
Ben took a deep breath. “Allie, you were cleared in that. You had no choice in the matter. I’m not a fan of Johnny Barby myself, but between him and some serial killer-”
“I don’t want to hear that,” I said. “Sorry. But I just don’t want to hear that.”
“No,” Ben said. “I’m the sorry one. I shouldn’t have said that. Not like that. I just tried to discount your feelings.”
Oh, Ben, do you always have to be perfect?
“The walks help,” I said. “I mean it.”
“You should talk to the therapist that Lo talks to,” Ben said.
Dr. Jerry floated through my mind.
I had thought about it.
But that was Lo’s time and place.
If anything, I needed to find someone else.
“Just listen to me,” I said. “This isn’t about the walks. I saw someone on one of my walks.”
