Kenner’s voice cracked. “None of this seems real.”
21
Mama and Rufus
Rufus stood by, watching his mother make beef and cheese sandwiches for their lunch. She put three on a plate and handed it to him.
“Thanks, Mama.” She made him do things he didn’t like, but she took good care of him and fed him well.
“Well, Son, I still have my sights on the three patients I told you about, the ones who are more than ready to start their heavenly journey. The time is closing in and the date is coming up soon of when one must go. I’m still trying to decide if we shouldn’t send all three.”
“Mama, you’ve never done that before. One at a time. One a year.”
“I know that, Rufus. That’s been the plan, but everything changed this week when they stole those who were waiting in the bog until it was time for them to be taken up.”
That didn’t make sense to Rufus. He thought when Mama made him put the patients in the bog they were already on their way to Heaven. He’d finished one sandwich but had lost his appetite and slid his plate aside.
“Son, you can’t be full, already? One sandwich isn’t enough for you to keep up your strength.”
Rufus was full up to his chin and didn’t care one little bit about his strength.
22
Smoke drove his pen into a stack of papers on his desk.
“I’ll make the call,” I phoned Communications, let them know Jaxson was likely carrying a gun and asked them to pass the information to other county sheriffs, state agencies, and police departments in Minnesota.
“I have a bad feeling about how this is going down. Jaxson’s a fugitive from justice and now come to find out he’s likely armed besides,” Smoke said.
“I’ve had a pain in my side since Sheriff told us about the gun. It’s gotta be terrorizing for them.”
“No doubt about that. I’ll give Sam Magnus, the FBI agent I know at the Minneapolis office, a call. With Jaxson in their national system, we’ll have a better chance of tracking him down.”
“Contacting the FBI twice in one day, for different reasons, is a first. Sheriff’s right, none of this seems real,” I said.
Smoke was speaking with Special Agent Magnus when my cell phone buzzed. Bob Edberg. I stepped out of his cubicle to answer. “Hey, Bob, what’s up?”
“Sergeant, I got home from work and checked the video equipment. The health aide that was here today was snooping around in my mother’s bedroom. Looking in her drawers, her closet. She’s one of the regulars, one my mother really likes.”
“Did she take anything?”
“Not that I know of. I planted a hundred dollar bill in a dresser drawer and it was still there. It looked like she was rearranging things in Mom’s underwear and pajama drawers. I kept thinking she was going to get something for my mother to change into, but she didn’t.”
“That does seem odd. I’d feel creeped out if someone went through my personal things for no good reason.”
“I do, for my mother’s sake. My first reaction was that I should call the agency, tell them I don’t want her to come back, and why. But the more I thought about it I wondered if I should let it go for now, watch to see if she does something else,” Edberg said.
“You said your mother likes her. Do you think she’s taking good care of her?”
“I do. She plays board games with her, reads to her, feeds her a good lunch, seems attentive. When I’m in the area, I stop at home on my lunch breaks, see how things are going. I’ve met Melody—that’s her name—several times. She’s getting up there in years, wears orthopedic shoes for some sort of foot issue, but seems capable enough.”
“As long as she can outrun your mom.”
Bob chuckled. “I think she can.”
“I’m not sure how to advise you, Bob. The thing is, Melody could have taken the money and didn’t.”
“And if she had, it’d be a no-brainer. We’d charge her.”
“Let me ask you this, who does your mother’s laundry?
“I do.”
“If you want to question Melody, without tipping her off about the cameras, you could make a comment that your mother’s things were moved around in her drawers and see how she responds, what she says.”
“That’s an idea. She may have a good reason, other than she was snooping around.”
“Bob, change of subject, we got some info on Jaxson. You should get the alert on your devices any minute.”
“What is it?”
“Two things: he bought a car in Dellwood this morning. And Sheriff discovered a pistol he had hidden is missing.”
“Lord almighty.”
Smoke had finished his conversation with Special Agent Magnus and stared straight ahead, tapping his pen. “A damn fugitive from justice.”
“What did Magnus say?”
“He’d get a Be-On-The-Lookout to other states. Troopers are as likely as other agencies to spot him on state highways. More likely on interstates. They’ll see if they can track his location through his phone, although it’s not always very accurate with prepaids, and even tougher if it’s a burner.”
“Jaxson could have thrown that one away and gotten a new one after he called the party in Dellwood.”
“True.”
“Smoke, I know you want to hop in your car to see if you can find him, but until the FBI or another department gets a hit on his location, or someone spots him, you’d be chasing your tail,” I said.
“I know, I know.” He pointed at his computer. “Besides, Meeker and Sherburne both sent the files for us to review. I’ll get ˊem printed.”
“It was Bob who called. An aide that he and his mother really like was snooping through her closet and dresser drawers today but didn’t take anything. He saw it on video.”
“Poor Bob and all he’s going through with the aides. What does he plan to do about it?” Smoke clicked print for the first set, and then the second.
“Monitor her, see if he can find out what she was up to.”
Smoke thought a moment and nodded. “Let’s get to work on these files.”
The workday was winding down for both of us. I had officially been off duty for some time but was unofficially assisting Smoke. We pored over the details of the files we’d received from the other sheriffs’ departments and compared them with the Winnebago County files. The ones from Blue Earth and Mille Lacs arrived shortly after the others and we included them with the documents spread across the table in the squad room. Smoke and I hovered over them, made our way around the table as we perused and took notes.
Smoke pointed at some of the papers. “Each of them disappeared in May of different years, except the two outliers in March and April. The one missing from Sherburne County and the two from Meeker County, all lived within ten miles of Winnebago County. It stands to reason they could be among the victims in the bog as easily as those missing from our county. The gentleman from Blue Earth may be one of the four men, but I’m not so sure about the woman from Mille Lacs, since we have three women from the area to consider first.”
“I agree. Let’s organize them chronologically by their years of disappearance. If you read, I’ll write them on the whiteboard.” I picked up a dry erase marker.
“Okay, Oscar Wright disappeared on May seventeenth, one year ago.”
“Oscar Wright, check.”
“We don’t have one missing from two years ago, so the next one is Silas Petty who disappeared on May fourteenth, three years ago.”
“Silas Petty, okay.”
“Agneta Keats, disappeared on May ninth, four years ago.”
“Check.”
“Mildred Dryer from Sherburne disappeared May fifteenth, five years ago.”
“Got it.”
“Gloria Freiburg from Meeker disappeared May eleventh, six years ago.”
“All righty.”
“Horace Kline, also from Meeker, disappeared May thirteenth, seven years ago.”
“Ch
eck. Well, that potentially accounts for six of the seven victims. One for every year of seven, except for one two years ago,” I noted.
“Something could have happened that thwarted our bad guy’s efforts that year.”
“True. But we still have the seventh body, that of a male.”
“Hiram Scranton of Blue Earth went missing April fifth, six years ago. And Rozanne Olson of Mille Lacs County, disappeared March sixteenth, eleven years ago,” Smoke said.
“Rozanne Olson is definitely an outlier. Hiram Scranton may be, too.”
“We’ll put them on hold, for now. I’ll work with Meeker and Sherburne, see how they’re doing in their quests for DNA samples from the families of their missing persons.”
Prickly sensations crept up my arm and spine. “Smoke, it’s May. As far as we know our bad guy is still out there. Has he got another body he plans to dispose of this month, or is the seventh body one of the males, someone who recently disappeared, and it hasn’t been reported yet?”
“You gotta wonder. It’d be damn near impossible for him to get in there now with the road all torn up. But Highway says they’re scheduled to finish the project before the end of the month, and it’d be smart to put surveillance on Coyote as soon as they pull up stakes.”
“Definitely. Back to your contacts in Meeker and Sherburne, will you send them a picture of the pendant, see if any of the families recognize it?” I said.
“Sure.”
I took a photo of the information I’d written on the board. “Are we good here?”
Smoke nodded. “We’re good.”
I erased the board and made copies of Dryer’s, Kline’s, and Freiburg’s photos to add to those missing from our county. We put the documents back in their respective files, carried them to Smoke’s desk, and called it a day.
“Wanna fool around later?” I said as we walked to the parking lot.
Smoke’s spontaneous laugh came out as a chortle and helped break the pressure and tension we’d worked under all day. “Little lady, you knew exactly what to say to make me feel a hundred times better.”
I grinned. “So do you?”
“How about we get to our respective houses, free our dogs from their kennels, and then decide how we want to spend our evening?”
That sounded good to me. “I got a frozen lasagna I could put in the oven. It’s not homemade, but I found a brand that tastes pretty close.”
“Well, heck, why wait to decide how to spend the evening? Lasagna sounds good and fooling around later sounds even better. Rex and I will be over as soon as I’m presentable.”
I opened my car door. “See you then.” I climbed in and watched Smoke’s long legs carry him the twenty feet to his car. My heart picked up its beat with excitement that the evening would belong to us.
The aroma of the Italian dish wafted from the oven and made my stomach rumble. It had been a long time since lunch, whatever I’d eaten. When Smoke and Rex arrived, Queenie begged for Rex’s attention and I grabbed Smoke. Locked in his arms, I felt secure. And filled with excited anticipation of how the evening would end wrapped in his arms. Our deep kisses sealed the deal.
Both our hearts pounded, his faster than mine. He pulled back slightly, captured my head in his hands, and massaged the back of my neck with his thumbs. He looked at me and his long dimples deepened when he smiled. “There are times your beauty takes my breath away. Did you know that, Corinne?”
“Yours takes mine away pretty much all the time.”
He shook his head and smiled. “In that case, I’d say beauty is decidedly in the eye of the beholder.”
“Whatever.” I said in my best teenage-voice imitation.
“That smells like real food in your oven.”
“It does. But it’s not like you and I are the best judges of what constitutes real food.”
“That’s partially true because we both appreciate good old home cooking.”
“We do.”
I pulled the dish out of the oven and we heaped servings onto plates. We’d barely taken a bite when Smoke’s phone rang. He looked at the dial. “It’s the sheriff.”
“Mike, what’s up? . . .” Smoke pinched the top of his nose then rubbed his forehead as he listened. I struggled to swallow my mouthful.
Smoke cleared his throat. “Where are you now?” . . . “Corky and I will come and pick you up. Can you hang tight for the hour and a half or so it’ll take us? . . . In the meantime, call if you need to.” He disconnected and shook his head.
“What?”
“Sheriff’s got himself in a helluva mess. He’d gotten a call from the Pine County Sheriff’s dispatch reporting Jaxson’s disposable cell pinged from a tower outside of Pine City. Sheriff had himself convinced Jaxson was in the Chengwatana State Park up there, at one of his favorite camping spots. He drove to the park and started poking around in other people’s tents. Got himself arrested.”
“Our sheriff got arrested for going into other people’s tents?”
Smoke’s exhale was loud. “He didn’t get into much detail, but it sounds like he talked the deputy that arrested him into contacting the sheriff there, that he’d vouch for him. Sheriff Brown saved him from getting booked into the jail, but I don’t know if there will be charges. Brown told Mike he had to have someone pick him up. They towed his car to the law enforcement center and are holding onto his keys. Mike said he’s waiting with Sheriff Brown in his office. Oh, and he said, ‘Jaxson’s in the area’ about three times.”
“Brother. What about April?”
“He didn’t mention her, so we can presume she’s not with him. I hope he’s letting her know.”
“This is not the Mike Kenner we’ve known forever.”
“No, it’s not. And we need to get to Pine County, a-sap.”
“Let’s take my squad, then you can drive his car home,” I said.
“What about our pooches?”
“They should be fine in the house for the hours we’re gone.”
On the way, Smoke and I volleyed Sheriff Kenner’s bizarre behavior back and forth, tried to stay optimistic. We could only speculate on the details that had led to his arrest and what might happen as a result. Did Kenner’s actions constitute more than trespassing? How many campers did he approach? If any of them pressed charges the Pine County sheriff would need to follow through with their county attorney to decide whether or not to prosecute. Elected officials were held to a higher standard and public trust was important. How would Sheriff Kenner’s constituents view this odd, potentially criminal, behavior?
“Sheriff Brown must be worried about Mike’s emotional state if he won’t let him drive,” I said.
“With good reason. Mike sounded excited, like he was high on something. That bothered me, considering he’d been arrested, and his car had been towed.”
“I can’t imagine him taking any drugs. Unless he got a prescription from his doctor. I’d say it’s more likely he’s excited because he believes Jaxson is in the area.”
“Probably so. Hopefully so. That raises the question: does Sheriff Brown have his troops out on the lookout for Jaxson?” Smoke said.
“You’d think. And they’ve been informed Jaxson’s got a gun.”
“Yeah, that too. What’s got me concerned is Mike’s gonna try to talk us out of driving him home. He’ll want to stay up there, keep searching for his son.”
“I know he’s a mess, but even so, he’s gotta realize the seriousness of all this. He could get banned from the county. If push comes to shove, there’s two of us, and one of him,” I said.
That coaxed a half-hearted chuckle out of Smoke. “You’re up on your defensive tactics, little lady?”
“You know it, but I sure don’t want to have to try them out on our sheriff.”
“Nope.”
“And it’d take both of us to out-tactic Kenner,” I said.
“Probably.”
The sun was setting when we pulled into the Pine County Law Enforcement Center park
ing lot. “There’s Mike’s personal vehicle,” I said. It was easy to spot in the mostly empty lot.
Smoke phoned Kenner to let him know we’d arrived. The sheriffs waited for us in the lobby. I was taken aback by Kenner’s appearance and hoped he didn’t notice my reaction before I forced a small smile. I might not have recognized him if I’d run into him on the street. Smoke cleared his throat, gave himself that few seconds to think of what to say.
Sheriff Kenner looked like he’d wandered around for days. How had he gone downhill that fast? Unshaven and unkempt, his hair was matted down on one side and stuck out on the other. Dirt clung to his face, with lines, likely made from sweat, running down it. His clothes were dirty and stained, as was his exposed flesh. Bloodshot eyes, swollen half-shut, with a bit of a wild look in them. Blood had dried on the skin of his arm around a small cut.
No wonder he’d been reported. His appearance was enough to scare the most seasoned campers. Why hadn’t Sheriff Brown told him to clean up?
“Thanks for making the trip,” Sheriff Brown said then shook our hands.
“Glad to do it.” Smoke finally had words.
“Yes, thank you,” Kenner said.
Smoke put a hand on his shoulder. “Sheriff, you’ve been out in the woods. It’d be a good idea to wash up before you go home to your wife.”
Kenner looked down at his arms without changing his expression. Did his brain register how he looked? He shrugged. “Okay.”
Sheriff Brown pointed. “The restrooms are right around the corner there.” After Smoke had led Kenner away, Brown said, “I tried to get him to clean up, offered him a shower and change of clothes, but he said he was fine. Obviously, he’s not.”
“No. So what led to his arrest?”
“He was out in the state park looking for his son. There aren’t many campers out there yet, not like after Memorial Day. Tried to get people’s attention outside their tents. If they didn’t answer, he’d stick his head inside, thought maybe his son was in there, keeping quiet because he’d recognized his dad’s voice,” Brown said.
Remains In Coyote Bog Page 13
