Deadly Desires and Killer Instincts

by Angela C. Blackmoore

  Gabe shifted in his seat and gave Abby a level look. “You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. We need more information. Hopefully Robert comes through in time, before whoever is doing the killing gets to Samantha.”

  Chapter 19

  Lanie threw the ball, skipping it out over the snow before it disappeared into a snow bank. It didn’t stay there because it was followed by an excited dog nosediving in after it. Cheerio came bounding back, leaping through the thick snow before letting Lanie retrieve the slobbery tennis ball.

  “I didn’t think Cheerio could love chasing a ball any more, but the snow seems to have tripped his excitement meter,” Lanie said, throwing the ball high into the air and watching Cheerio take off once again. “Wow, look at him go. Are you sure he’s never been in the snow before?”

  Abby shook her head, smiling as she stood in the cold with her friend and watched her dog have paroxysms of happiness. “No, not ever. Every place we were stationed was a place that it didn’t snow, and of course I was down in Phoenix after Danny died.”

  Abby trailed off, feeling that same old ache whenever she mentioned Danny. However, she also noticed that the ache wasn’t as strong as it used to be, for which she was thankful. Shaking her head, she refocused her eyes on Lanie. “So any news about tracking down the senator’s men?”

  Lanie sighed, “No, that’s what I came out to tell you. The sheriff went out there but none of the men Gloria or her dad were able to identify were there. I’m not surprised, but it sure is annoying to have these men get away, especially now that they’re suspects for murder.”

  Abby sighed, clenching her fists. “So we’re no closer to finding out what they’re after is what you’re saying. I’m still waiting to hear from Robert Carrington so we can talk to Samantha, and get any information that the hospital may have about what’s going on.”

  “But nothing yet,” Lanie said, shaking her head. “Sometimes I hate the law and how it ties our hands.”

  “Lanie, you’re not going rogue, are you?”

  Lanie wrinkled up her nose but eventually shook her head. “No, but sometimes Reggie talks and makes fun of what I do. He’s not really serious, but knowing his past, he’s not really kidding either.”

  Abby gave her friend a worried glance. “Reggie? Hmmm.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Lanie said as she waved her hand. “He’s not trying to do anything wrong. He really is working hard to fix his life. This was the biggest step for him, since he left Seattle to manage McGrady’s. It’s just that he hears what I talk about and shares my frustration.”

  Abby nodded but didn’t answer, just watching as Lanie threw the ball again for Cheerio. It was cathartic watching the dog run through the snow as she tried to think of what their next steps would be.

  A moment later, Lanie cleared her throat and spoke. “I might have another lead, though. It’s a long shot, but I dug and found some of Buck’s older friends that he used to hang out with when he was a minor. Some kid named Anders Creely got in trouble with him a few times. I figure it’s a long shot, but it’s worth looking into.”

  “Really? Why didn’t you say that minutes ago?” Abby said, smacking Lanie on the arm. “Where is he? If he was a friend of Buck’s he probably lives under a bridge.”

  Lanie gave Abby a dark look and shook her head. “No, not really. He managed to pull himself out of trouble and stopped hanging out with Buck. He works over at the Food Emporium as a stock boy.”

  “Really?”

  “Yep, really.” Lanie answered. He doesn’t work for an hour so I figure I’d come up here and throw the ball for Cheerio for a bit, but I’m getting cold. Do you think your Grandma has some coffee I could beg from her?”

  Abby grinned. “Will Tea work? Coffee will take bringing out the coffee maker, which will take about twenty minutes to get some coffee, but I guarantee that there is hot water for tea.”

  Lanie nodded and both women began heading back to the house with Cheerio bouncing around them. Despite her happy dog, Abby was still disquieted by everything that was going on in town. Having Demsey taken from them just when they might have gotten answers from him had been frustrating, but then when Ruby and the other Clawsons had tried to sue Abby, it had taken their last clear lead.

  Lanie had found another lead, but even Abby could tell it was desperate and thin. She was excited to go do something, but she couldn’t help but feel that their true goal was talking to Samantha.

  Lanie must have sensed Abby’s concern because she turned to her friend and stopped her before they went inside. “Abby, sometimes this is the way things go. It gets frustrating when the leads start to get thin and things take longer than they should. That’s what Reggie senses when I get frustrated, but it happens. The best we can do is just keep moving forward and running everything down.”

  “Am I that transparent?” Abby said softly.

  “Well, yes, but that’s also something they taught me in the police academy, and also something Sheriff Pearson pounds into our heads,” Lanie said, taking Abby by the arms and facing her. “Don’t get too invested. Do the best you can to protect people and solve crimes, but don’t get lost in it. I know you’re not part of the police, but it’s clear to me that things just keep happening around you, so it’s probably a good thing for you to know.” Lanie paused, making sure Abby met her gaze.

  “I’m trying, but it’s not easy.”

  “I know,” Lanie said before letting go of Abby and opening the door to the warm inside. “And I’ll be here to help you when I can, Abby. You’re a friend, and you were here when I needed support back when the sheriff let me be in charge of Don Buckshire’s murder. Now I’m returning the favor. No matter what, we’ll get through this. Even if we never figure this out, we’ll get through it.”

  Abby took a deep breath and followed her friend. The inside of the house was comforting, but what was even better was Lanie’s friendship.

  Chapter 20

  Abby wondered if they’d corner the boy in the back and intimidate him with some sort of police technique, but it wasn’t like that at all. Lanie went to one of the managers and asked permission to talk to Anders in their office. She also made sure to mention that Anders wasn’t in any kind of trouble, but was just the source of some potential information.

  The manager, a larger man that bore a resemblance to a younger Don Buckshire and who’s nameplate also bore the name Buckshire, gave them a hostile look. “What do you want him for?”

  “We just need to question him,” Lanie said politely, though she met the man’s gaze levelly. “It shouldn’t take more than a minute. He’s not in trouble, but he might have some information we could use.”

  The man frowned before looking at Abby. At first, it didn’t look like he recognized her but after a moment his eyes narrowed and he growled at Lanie. “What the heck is she doing here? Is she part of your police department now? Hasn’t she caused enough trouble?”

  Lanie didn’t flinch. “She’s helping me take notes. Listen, can we talk to Anders or not? I promise it won’t take long and I really need to talk to him.”

  Abby thought the man was going to cause more issues, but instead he just turned and walked toward the back of the grocery store, gesturing for them to follow. “I’ll go get him, but don’t take long. He’s working right now.”

  He led them to the back rooms and a few minutes later, a fair skinned, wispy haired young man came into the office. When he saw Lanie in her police uniform, his eyes got really wide though he didn’t try to back out. Instead, staring at them with a combination of fear and confusion, he sat down in one of the three orange chairs that occupied the office.

  “Uh, am I in trouble?” Anders said carefully.

  Lanie shook her head. “Not at all, Mr. Creely. I just want to ask you some questions about Buck Dansen.”

  Anders visibly blinked, leaning back in his chair and giving Lanie a look like he thought she was crazy. “Buck Dansen? I haven’t talked to him in years. What’s he
done now?”

  Lanie glanced at Abby before looking back to the young man. Despite his being in his twenties, he left Abby with the strong impression of being less mature. “Well, I don’t know if you knew, but Buck was put in prison a few months ago. Did you know that?”

  Anders shook his head though by this time he’d shifted his gaze off of Lanie and was trying to look at anything but. “No. I don’t hang around with Buck anymore. I haven’t for a long time. Look,” he said, finally looking back at Lanie. “I used to run around with him, but he was just too crazy. I had enough when he stole from my parents.”

  “I understand, and I won’t lie to you that this is a long shot,” Lanie said. “What we wanted to ask is if you might remember anywhere that Buck might have hidden things he’s stolen.”

  Anders frowned and put his eyes back down to his shoes, but he was obviously thinking. “Um, do you know what it might have been that he stole?”

  Lanie shook her head, sending Anders back into a thinking mode. Abby could tell he was just about to shrug but before he could, she cleared her throat. “Or was there anywhere he hung out a lot? Besides anywhere he used to live was there some place that people wouldn’t go very often?”

  Anders looked at her questioningly but even as the two friends watched, he brightened and nodded. “Yeah…yeah there was a place, though I don’t know where he was when he went there. He talked about it but got mad when I asked to go up there.”

  Lanie leaned forward and licked her lips, intent on the young man. “Where is it? That sounds exactly like where we need to look.”

  Anders stuttered but nodded. “There’s an old lake up by the sawmill. I don’t know where he went when he went up there, but it seemed to be an actual place, not just to hang out on the shore or anything.”

  “Do you know which sawmill?” Lanie asked. “I know about the old Barrow mill near town, but just want to make sure that’s the one you are talking about.”

  “That’s the one. Wherever Buck hung out, I didn’t get the impression that it was close to the sawmill itself but-“ Anders trailed off, shrugging and looking worried that the answer wouldn’t be satisfactory, “I never went there.”

  “That’s all you remember?” Lanie said while she stood.

  Anders nodded and got up, looking at them carefully as he didn’t move, but turned half toward the door. “Can I go back to work now? Mr. Buckshire wasn’t very happy about this. I’ve got some stock to put on the shelves.”

  Lanie nodded. “I think that’s all we need from you, Anders. Thank you. Hopefully this will help.”

  After Anders left, Abby and Lanie made their way out to the sleek police car that Lanie was still driving around. Abby grinned as she got into the passenger seat, looking at Lanie. “So! How big is this lake? Do you think it will be easy to find something out there?”

  Lanie grimaced as she pointed at Abby’s phone. “Big enough to call your boyfriend,” she said. “It’s not the largest lake around here, but it is a full lake, not a pond. I’m pretty sure we’ll need Gabe’s fancy ranger skills to help us look around.”

  Abby nodded, pulling up her phone and calling Gabe who agreed to come out. “I’ll meet you up in the sawmill’s parking lot in about fifteen minutes,” Gabe said. “Don’t go stomping around out there without me. The last thing I need is for you two to get lost out in the woods.”

  “Okay, thanks Gabe,” Abby said, nodding at Lanie who had started up and pulled out of the parking lot. She looked into the rear-view mirror as they did so, and saw the store manager come outside to watch them leave. He had an angry look on his face, reminding Abby of the split that currently haunted the town.

  Chapter 21

  Abby didn’t know what to expect of a sawmill, but when they pulled into the large gravel parking lot, she let her eyes rove over the several buildings encased in corrugated siding that sported areas of rust. Looming behind the buildings were the occasional stacked piles of logs and mountains of wood chips interspaced by muddy, cold looking gravel roads.

  Parking in a fairly dry area of gravel, Lanie and Abby looked out over the dark water lake that Anders had mentioned. It was indeed no pond, stretching for quite a way away from them and surrounded by thick woods.

  “Isn’t this a sawmill?” Abby asked crossly. “Why are there so many trees around here?”

  Lanie shrugged as she took a bite of an energy bar, the wrapper crinkling softly against her hand. “You’d think they’d have cut it all down, but I suppose they like the look of upright trees better then fields of stumps. Kind of ironic really. One of the things I hate the most is driving around and seeing how they try to hide the clear cutting. They leave a thin strip of trees along the highways that hide the ugly, barren swath of destruction.”

  Abby frowned. “That sounds terrible. Why do people allow that to go on?”

  Lanie shrugged. “Well, that is one of Oregon’s biggest industries, and they are obligated to replant everything. I’m sure there are still problems with it, and it looks terrible, but it’s in their best interest to keep it sustainable.” She offered a bar to Abby who accepted it before gesturing around herself with her half-eaten food. “Still, very ironic.”

  “Where do you think Buck hung out around here?” Abby said softly as she opened her energy bar and took a bite. “Are there any houses around here?”

  “No clue, but I’m hoping there’s some sort of farm house or something out in the woods. That would be the best bet,” Lanie said but pursed her lips in thought. “Do you think we’ll get lucky?”

  Abby just shook her head, not feeling like answering that. The way things had been, she didn’t expect it would be very easy. Instead, the two sat in silence until Gabe arrived. When he got out, he was accompanied by Julia who was another of the rangers that worked with him up at the national forest.

  “Howdy, Ladies!” Gabe said after Abby and Lanie stepped out. He gave Abby a quick kiss, and she wanted it to continue, but they had things to do. “So, tell me more about what we’re looking for.”

  “We don’t know,” Abby said. “We just got information that Buck Dansen used to come up here and hung out somewhere, but we really don’t know what we’re looking for.”

  Gabe frowned, clearly not happy at hearing the vague news while he perused the woods surrounding the lake. “Well, there’s some dirt roads that go almost around the lake, but we can’t really go far from the road. Not in this weather.”

  “It’s just a little lake, though,” Abby said.

  Gabe looked at her and shrugged. “No, you’d be surprised. It doesn’t look like it from here, but once we start traveling around it, you will realize how much area this really is. It’s at least a few miles of shoreline.”

  Abby looked out toward the trees surrounding the lake and got a sick feeling. “Miles? Oh boy.”

  “Well, we better get to work,” Lanie said, frowning at the roads that led off around the lake. They were small, muddy, and very uninviting. “I think it’s best to just drive around at first. I can’t see walking these roads is going to be a good idea.”

  Gabe nodded. “Yes, besides, it will be dark in a few hours anyway. I’ll call if we see anything.”

  The rest of them nodded, and they returned to their respective vehicles. They spent the next few hours driving the roads immediately around the lake, but neither vehicle found anything and it was slow going with the snow and mud. As it became dark, Abby’s phone rang when Gabe called.

  “We need to call it a night,” Gabe said. “I almost got stuck twice, and I can’t imagine that little sporty police car Lanie is driving has been enjoying these roads.”

  Abby sighed. In fact, they’d turned back several times to avoid muddy or difficult roads, retracing roads they’d already driven and peering out into the woods. They had seen nothing, not even a small shed or anything other than trees, brush, and snow so Abby was more than ready to call it a night.

  “Is that Gabe?” Lanie asked in a wheedling tone. “Is he ready
to stop for the night? Because I’m just fine with that.”

  Abby nodded and spoke into the phone, but also answering Lanie at the same time. “Yes, let’s call it a night. I think we should all meet at Becky’s because I’m ready for a nice warm dinner.”

  Gabe and Lanie both agreed, and after extracting themselves from the backroads around the lake, they found themselves at Becky’s Café. It was a quiet dinner around the table, since everyone was exhausted from searching, and equally despondent at not finding anything.

  “What now?” Gabe asked into the quiet of everyone eating.

  Abby sourly put her fork down and blew out a big sigh. “We wait. Again.”

  Gabe looked at her and took her hand, squeezing it softly under the table but didn’t speak. Abby could feel his support and smiled at him, thankful for his silent strength.

  Chapter 22

  “Hey Darlin,” said the smooth voice of John Troutdale. “Got a few minutes to meet with me today?”

  Abby groaned, her bleary eyes having trouble reading the small text on the phone before returning it to her ear. She didn’t have difficulty seeing the time though, which read 5 a.m. “John? Is that you? Why are you calling so early?”

  John chuckled softly. “Sorry! I always forget most people don’t get up as early as I do. I’m on the road down from Seattle.”

  Abby let herself fall back into her pillow, closing her eyes but keeping the phone to her ear. “Yes? Um, what time do you think you’ll be down here? I’m working at Becky’s through the afternoon but I have free time about three.”

  “Great!” John said, sounding far too chipper for so early in the morning. “Come on over to McGradys when you can.”

  Abby clicked off the phone and closed her eyes but she felt two paws flop onto the side of her bed and a wet nose pushed against her cheek. Groaning again, she reached her hand over and petted the soft fur of Cheerio’s head. “You too? Traitor.”