by K C Gillis
The chief texted MacGregor to come out, but MacGregor said he needed to see something inside.
The chief looked around, not for anything in particular but out of force of habit. He figured if he didn’t go in and look at whatever MacGregor had, he’d get a call telling him he needed to take a look. He got it over with and went inside.
MacGregor was at the back of the lobby of the small building, leaning over a desk and looking at a computer monitor. He waved at the chief. “Take a look at this.”
The chief walked over to stand by MacGregor, who stood up. “What’s so important you dragged me out here? I have better things to do with my time than hang around here.”
“You’ll want to see this,” MacGregor said, pointing at the computer monitor. “Watch.”
From the time showing on the monitor, the chief concluded MacGregor had already retrieved video footage from earlier in the day and had it queued up to a specific point. The chief stood still, arms crossed, as the video played. He saw the sequence of Jordan approaching the gate and looking around. He saw her start to leave and then return. Last, he saw her unknowingly stare right into the console camera and press the intercom button. By the time MacGregor stopped the video, the chief was leaning over the desk, his face just a foot from the monitor.
“Son of a bitch,” he said, standing up straight. “I knew she was lying.”
“You know her?”
“Not exactly. She was at the marina yesterday when that boat accident happened. She fed me some shit that she was in town with her family for a few days.”
“So what? People come here to visit all summer. I thought that was kind of the point of Copper Lake?”
The chief looked at MacGregor like he was looking at a child after a stupid question. “She’s a reporter. From Boston. Does that make you think she’s here to have some fun?”
“Maybe not. But there’s no way she knows anything about what we’re doing here.”
“You’re being naïve. It can’t be a coincidence a reporter shows up days after you dump a shitload of dead fish in the lake.”
MacGregor looked to be running through the scenario and its implications. “If you’re right, you’ll have to watch her, and I’ll have to put this in my weekly report. But do you think she’d actually push the intercom if she suspected anything? It would be pretty risky if she had any idea what was going on.”
“I don’t know one way or the other. I also don’t care. My job is to keep this place off people’s radar. Somehow, this reporter has stumbled right onto it.”
“What’re you going to do?”
“Just like you said. Keep an eye on her. Maybe encourage her to end her vacation.”
“If you try to force her to leave, she’ll know for sure something is going on. It might be better to just watch her. I’ve got things covered here.”
“I know how to do my job. Just don’t give her a reason to want to come back here.”
“No one in town knows anything about what we do here. That won’t change.”
“It better not. Let me know if that reporter or anyone else shows up here. Immediately.”
The chief didn’t wait for a reply.
The chief used the drive back to his office to make a call.
“Yes?” the man said.
“Francis, it’s Chief Foster. Can you talk?”
“One moment.” The chief heard a door close. “I can talk now. What is it?”
“We have a problem. There’s a reporter from Boston in Copper Lake. She seems to be alone, and today she somehow stumbled right up to the gate of your site. Caught on camera.”
“That’s not good news. Why do you think she’s there?”
“I’ve got no damn idea. I don’t know what goes on at that site and don’t want to know. But it can’t be a coincidence that of all the people who visit Copper Lake, the only one to actually go up to the gate at that site was a reporter.”
“Maybe not. What’s this reporter’s name? I’ll do some digging.”
“Jordan Reed.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Francis ended the call.
The chief tossed his phone on the passenger seat. “Asshole.”
About an hour later, Francis made a call. It wasn’t going to be well received, but he couldn’t take the risk of not communicating what he knew.
“Francis,” the man on the other end said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I learned of something that you need to know.”
“Oh? That sounds like something I don’t want to hear. Should I find a quiet place to talk?”
“That would be best.”
“Hang on.” Francis could hear the sound of someone walking. After a minute, the discussion resumed. “All right, Francis. Tell me what’s so important.”
“I got a call today from your friend, the police chief in Copper Lake.”
“Oh? And the topic of the call?”
“It seems there was a random visitor at the testing site.”
“What do you mean by ‘random’?”
“Out of the blue, a woman showed up at the site. She walked right up to the gate and gave it a good look. Then she had the nerve to open the console on the gate and press the intercom button. We obviously have the whole encounter on video.”
“That’s definitely odd. What are the chances that she was some hiker or tourist who just stumbled on the place and let her curiosity get the better of her?”
“Close to zero. Seems our police chief knew the woman’s name. She’d been at the marina the day before.” Francis paused.
“Yes, so what?”
“The woman’s name is Jordan Reed. Does that ring a bell?”
“No. Should it?”
“She’s a reporter for the Courant in Boston. Last year, she did a big investigative piece on a Boston biotech company that was doing some kind of illegal drug testing overseas. Killed some people. Anyway, her story brought down the company and pretty much all of their leadership. Hell, one guy even died. Some kind of infection.”
“Do we know why she’s in Copper Lake?”
“Not for sure. But we’re going to need to keep an eye on her and make sure her interest stays away from that site. We’ve done a good job at locking up the ownership records, but there’s always a crack someone can exploit.”
“I fucking know that, Francis. It’s Brian’s job to handle her.”
“I don’t trust him. I know you guys go way back and have some kind of understanding. But if the shit hits the fan, he’ll be well positioned to protect himself. We need another set of eyes up there.”
“You’re right. You should pack a bag and get a guest pass for the week. You have new plans for the Fourth.”
Francis had expected this. He knew they needed to have someone trustworthy up there to keep an eye on the situation. He was the only option.
17
Jordan made her way back to the marina around one p.m. Her head was spinning from the events of the morning, with her day already shaping up to be a roller-coaster ride. She wondered if this was going to be her new normal. At least when she was working a real story.
Derek had given her a guest pass for the marina so she could enter on her own. She parked in the first open space available and went to the bar. It surprised Jordan that she was happy to see Kasey. She was bright and energetic in a truly friendly way one couldn’t help but like. Jordan hadn’t met many people like that in her life. Combined with her good looks, she probably had tip income to be jealous of. If the cars in the parking lot were any indication, Kasey made more in a summer than Jordan did at the Courant in a year.
“Hey, Jordan,” Kasey said, seeing her as she came up to the bar. “How was your morning?”
Jordan thought of an honest answer that gave away nothing. “Surprisingly busy, actually.” Jordan took a quick look left and right, but there was no one really within earshot. “You probably heard from Derek that I sent one of the dead fish to a friend to get tested. We could know som
ething by Tuesday.”
“I actually haven’t had time to catch up with Derek today. He was busy with the runaway dock. You know about that, right?”
“Shit, I completely forgot. What’s up with that anyway?”
Kasey leaned on the bar, closing the gap to Jordan so she could speak more softly. “Not much. Derek and some of the other guys got everything back in place without damaging any of the boats, which is good. But the chief said there wasn’t evidence of any wrongdoing. Just like that. Without even looking at the docks.”
Jordan knew enough cops to know that it wasn’t normal to dismiss something without even looking at it. Especially if he was already at the scene. “That seems off. What did your dad think?”
“He was mad. He controls his temper pretty good, but I could hear him raising his voice to the chief. That probably didn’t help the situation. But he’s so hard for my dad to work with.”
“From what I’ve seen, the chief’s not just hard for your dad to work with. He seems pretty nasty to most people.”
“You’re right.” Kasey’s gaze moved past Jordan. Before she could turn to see what she was looking at, Derek came over and sat down beside Jordan.
“Taking a break?” Kasey said.
“Yep,” Derek said. “I feel like I should be done for the day, but I still have to put in a few more hours. Can you order me a grilled-chicken salad?”
“Sure, babe. But no beer yet, right?”
“Unfortunately, no. Not until I clock out.”
“Be right back.”
Derek turned to Jordan. “I see you made it back. How long have you been here?”
“Not long.”
“Did you get that package shipped out?”
“I did. My friend will have it first thing tomorrow. Tests could be back Tuesday.”
“OK, then. I guess we wait.”
Jordan gently shook her head at Derek. “I don’t think so. The tests will tell us what killed the fish. We still need to find the source.”
“What does that mean? We look for something suspicious?”
“Basically, yeah.”
“Hmm. Sounds like a wild-goose chase. We won’t really know what to look for.”
“Welcome to investigative journalism. The more we look, the more likely we are to find what we need.”
“Oh. That sounds kind of boring. No offense.”
“None taken. It often is boring. Until you find a piece of whatever puzzle you’re trying to solve.”
“Does that mean you’re going to go exploring today?”
“I actually did some already. That’s one reason I only just got here.”
“No shit? Where did you go?”
“I checked out some of the roads northeast of here, up near the part of the lake where you found the fish.”
“If you had asked me first, I could have saved you a lot of time. There’s not a hell of a lot up there. A few houses, but mostly undeveloped land owned by some out-of-town folks. Plus some farms and timberland. The state owns a lot of it. I don’t think there’s even a business except for a couple of homegrown shops.”
Jordan picked up her phone and found the photos she’d taken that morning of the gate and fence. She passed Derek the phone. “What’s this place?”
Derek took the phone and looked first at the picture of the gate and then at the pictures of the fence. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen any place with a gate like that. It looks pretty solid. Where was it?”
“It was on a road just off Copper Lake Road, about three miles north of here. It was toward the lake, not too far from where you found the fish, I think.”
Derek scrolled through the pictures again and then handed Jordan the phone. “I’m not sure if it’s the same place, but I remember hearing my dad talking to someone once about a company looking into a big piece of land owned by the state. I asked him about it, but he said it was nothing.”
That answer coming from the chief didn’t surprise Jordan. It also didn’t rule out further investigation of the site.
“That might be what he said, but there’s definitely something there. We’ll need to know what’s behind that fence if we learn the fish died from something unnatural.”
“Maybe we can do some exploring tomorrow. I can find a few hours to go with you. It was me who got you out here in the first place, so I should probably help you look around.”
That reminded Jordan that she’d have company tomorrow. Tonight, even. “I almost forgot. My sister, Rachel, is coming up this evening, and my friend Travis is coming up tomorrow. Travis is the one who actually convinced me to come here. I think it was Kasey’s brother who knew him, right?”
“Yep. And that’s good for your cover story. Especially to shut my dad up. Once he sees you were telling the truth, he might back off.”
That led nicely to the one piece of information she hadn’t told Derek yet. “About that. I’m not sure he’ll completely buy my story, even with my sister and Travis here.”
Derek looked at her with a questioning expression on his face. “Why not? It’ll be true. At least technically.”
“Your dad’s a pretty suspicious guy. Probably a good thing for a cop, but not great for a reporter trying to keep a low profile. Seems he did some digging on me and knows I’m a reporter from Boston. And he knows about that story I did last year.”
Derek looked more confused. “How do you know that? Did you see him again?”
“You could say that. When I came out of the UPS Store, he was waiting for me. He practically cornered me.”
Derek shook his head. “Jesus. He’s a piece of work sometimes. I expect him to be protective of the town, but this is too much.”
“Why do you think he did it? It must have to do with the fish kill, right?”
“Maybe. For some reason, he swept it under the carpet.”
“What about the other fish you have? Are you going to keep it at your house? If your dad ever figures out you kept two of them and helped a reporter get them tested, he’ll be pissed.”
“I know. It worried me to keep them at home in the first place, in case Dad saw them. I’ll get Kasey to take the last one. It will be safer at her place.”
Kasey came over with Derek’s salad and a Coke. “I heard my name. What’s that about?”
“I’ll need you to babysit the fish I have in my freezer. Can I bring it to your place tomorrow?”
“Why not? We’ve got a ton of freezer space. Now eat.”
“Thanks. I’m starving.”
With the fish kill story moving in the right direction, Jordan had a chance to dig into the marina events. “Can I ask you both about something? It will only take a few minutes.”
“Sure,” Derek said.
“Let’s grab a table where it’s quiet.”
Jordan led them to a table as far from the other guests as possible. As they sat down, Jordan’s phone rang. It was a number she didn’t recognize, so she let it go to voice mail.
“Do you need to get that?” Derek said.
“No. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message. I want your opinion about the incidents. Do either of you think it’s not a coincidence there were two strange accidents within twelve hours?”
“I hadn’t really thought about the two of them together,” Kasey said.
“Same for me,” Derek said. “I’ve been kind of busy dealing with them and didn’t think much about them being connected. I assume you’re still suspicious?”
Jordan paused a moment before answering. “I won’t say they’re definitely connected. Not yet. But it’s quite a coincidence. A runaway boat, with no driver, crashes into the docks. Then a section of dock becomes detached and almost floats away. I could chalk up one bizarre incident as a fluke, but two in a row? It smells fishy. Pardon the pun.”
Derek took up the challenge. “OK. Let’s say you’re right. Someone arranged these incidents on purpose. What’s the reason?”
“I’d keep it simple and start with the obvious
. Someone has a grudge against the marina. Maybe it’s targeted at a guest of the marina, someone with a boat here. It could also just be stupid vandalism.” Jordan had one more reason, one that she thought was most likely. “Or someone is sending a message directly to Mike. A message aimed at the heart of what his family built.”
Kasey’s face clouded over with concern. “Do you really think it’s something like that? I can’t imagine anyone would want to do something to my dad. He’s one of the nicest people around.”
Derek agreed. “I don’t know why anyone would be out to get Mike. The marina is the town. Mike is a friend to everyone. It can’t be that.”
“I get why you find that hard to believe. But in my experience, there are always things we don’t know about the people we’re closest to. And some of those things may not be what we would expect. They may even be shocking. These hidden or secret things are the reason behind what we see happening.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Jordan,” Kasey said. “But I’m sure we would have seen some kind of sign if something was wrong. I haven’t noticed anything, and I’m here almost every day.”
“Same here,” said Derek.
“I take it you’re both in the camp of bad luck or vandalism?”
“It could be vandalism,” Derek said. “Kids get bored in the summer, and bored kids cause trouble.”
“It’s possible. But my gut says there’s more to it. Since I’m here, I may as well look into the accidents.”
“If you learn something, please tell me,” Kasey said.
“For sure.”
“Wait,” Derek said. “You’re not bailing on the fish story, are you?”
“No way. I can do two things at once.”
“Gotcha. I’ve got to get back to work. I need to check on the boat damaged last night and find out when the repairs can start.”
“I need to get back to the bar,” Kasey said. “What will you do?”
