Walk the Wire

by David Baldacci

  “I’m sure they have. And the sooner we solve this, the sooner they can get on with their lives. The not knowing probably isn’t good for them.”

  “That’s a fair point,” conceded Kelly. He suddenly gave Decker a hard stare. “Some young punks went to the hospital the other night with assorted injuries. Nothing too serious. You know anything about that?”

  “Why would I?”

  “They didn’t file a police report, but one of my guys was over there interviewing some other dumbbells who got into an altercation. That’s how he hooked up with them. They said it was a couple of really big, rough-looking guys who took them out. Six against two, and the two kicked some serious ass. Surprised they admitted to that, but I think even they were impressed. Sure you don’t know anything about that?”

  “Lot of really big, rough-looking guys in this town.”

  “Yeah, there are,” said Kelly, not looking convinced.

  “You want to call the Brothers so we can head out?” said Decker. “I’ll go bring the SUV around.”

  He left Kelly and Jamison there.

  Kelly eyed her. “So what exactly is going on?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You going down the obfuscation road, too?”

  “Wow, that’s an SAT word if ever I heard one.”

  “Where do you think I got it?” replied Kelly.

  On the drive out to the Colony they passed the All-American Energy Company’s oil well site, which bordered both the Brothers’ land and the Air Force station.

  “Colonel Sumter really hates all this stuff right next to his installation,” said Jamison. “I guess I can understand that. I mean, what if there’s an accident with one of those oil rigs, a fire or something? It could affect what he’s doing over there.”

  Kelly stuck an unlighted cigarette in his mouth. “Like shooting fish in a barrel.”

  “What is?” asked Jamison.

  “Drilling for oil around here.”

  “You ever think about getting into the fracking business?” asked Jamison.

  He shook his head. “I prefer steadier work. It’s not like crime is ever going to go away.” Kelly glanced at Decker. “If you weren’t a cop, what would you be?”

  “Unemployed,” answered Decker quite truthfully.

  MILTON AMES AND PETER GUNTHER were waiting for them in the dining hall. They were dressed the same as before, but each man seemed paler, with Ames looking feeble and disoriented.

  He mumbled, “When can we have Pammie’s remains? We have to bury her properly.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as possible, Milton,” said Kelly in a gentle tone. “It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

  “Do they . . . did they have to, you know?”

  “They had to perform an autopsy, yes,” said Jamison quietly. “It’s legally required under the circumstances.”

  “I . . . I guess so. Susan keeps asking. She . . . we . . . want to . . .”

  Kelly said, “We’re doing all we can, please believe that.”

  “I do, Joe. Thank you.”

  Decker said, “I know you didn’t keep a file on Cramer’s documents, but after she gave you the information about her undergraduate degree, did you check with Amherst to see if she actually went there?”

  Ames said firmly, “No, we didn’t. Why would she lie about that?”

  Gunther chimed in, “And why would someone come all the way out here with a made-up story? We can’t pay a lot. What would be her motive to lie to us about her past? I just don’t see it.”

  “Well, if she wanted to disappear but needed a job to support herself?” said Jamison. “That would be one motive.”

  Gunther’s expression showed clearly that he did not believe this to be a plausible explanation.

  Jamison said, “Did she give you references from past places of work that you could check out? She’d been out of school for about eight years. She had to have held other jobs in the meantime.”

  Gunther and Ames exchanged a glance.

  Decker said, “During job interviews, you always ask about a potential hire’s experience. You check references.”

  Gunther placed his hands together and said quietly, “We needed a teacher and . . . and she was the only one to apply for the job. It’s not like we could be choosy.”

  “Teaching is a lot of work,” added Ames. “And a person could come here and make twice what we were offering just to be a cashier at a truck stop. So when she applied for the position we were thrilled.”

  “In fact, I imagine you were desperate for someone?” said Jamison.

  “Yes.”

  “How’d she find out you needed a teacher in the first place?” asked Decker.

  Gunther answered. “We placed an ad online and also in the local paper. She apparently saw it and came in. She interviewed very well. She brought model lesson plans with her, seemed very well prepared to teach our children, and appeared happy and well-adjusted. And she had done a very good job for the time that she was here. Susan told you that herself, if you recall.”

  Ames said, “But why all these questions about Irene’s past? How is that relevant to what happened to her? She was a prostitute. Don’t a lot of them have bad things happen to them? I mean, it’s just the nature of the beast, isn’t it?”

  “It can be, yes,” said Jamison. “But we have to follow up other angles as well.”

  “We’re just trying to trace her past. It might have an impact on what happened to her,” explained Kelly. “At least we can’t discount that yet.”

  “Meaning it might be someone from her past who killed her?”

  “Could be.”

  Gunther nodded. “Well, that is a little comforting. At least it might not be anyone from London. I would hate to think that we might have a brutal killer running around here.”

  “You’d be surprised how many places have brutal killers running around,” said Decker, drawing a sharp look from Gunther.

  Ames said, “I know that you have to look into what happened to Irene, but do you have any clue as to who killed my daughter?”

  Decker looked at Ames. “As Detective Kelly said, we’re working hard on it. Both these cases are a priority for us.”

  “Do you think they might be connected?” asked Gunther.

  “How so?” asked Kelly.

  “Well, both women had ties to this place. Both were killed when they were off our property. Do you think it might be someone who had a grudge against our lifestyle and beliefs? These things do happen. Religious persecution.”

  “Yes they do,” said Jamison. “And we will look at that angle, although Cramer was not a member of the Colony.”

  “Someone might have held it against her that she taught here or had a mistaken belief that she was a member somehow.”

  “Again, we will look into that,” said Jamison, glancing at Decker.

  Kelly added, “Do you have any idea where Pamela might have been living in London?”

  “She never told me,” said Ames. He paused and his expression grew uncomfortable.

  Jamison was quick to pick up on this and said, “Is there something on your mind?”

  “The way she was dressed when she was found? I saw the clothing. I . . . she never had clothing like that when she lived here. I saw how she dressed at the truck stop but this . . . this was far more . . . What was going on there? I would like to know. And Susan asked me about it, too. She was deeply worried.”

  Kelly said, “She might have just been, you know, trying out a new style.”

  Ames said, “You . . . you don’t think she was? I mean . . . s-sex? With Hal Parker? She wouldn’t have done that because she found him . . . attractive. He was older than we were!” He looked down. “But she might have . . .” He stopped and shook his head. “No, I cannot believe something like that about my daughter. She would not have done that. Never.”

  Decker said, “The postmortem showed that they didn’t have sex, if that makes you feel better.”
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  Ames put his head in his hands, moaned, and looked like he might retch right there on the flowery tablecloth.

  Decker reached out and put his hand on Ames’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ames. I just wanted you to know that whatever she went there for, that particular act didn’t happen with Hal Parker, okay? Just put that right out of your mind. And tell your wife that, too.”

  Ames lifted his head, rubbed his eyes dry, and nodded. “Okay. Right. Thank you.”

  When Decker glanced at Jamison, she was gaping. She quickly said to Gunther, “We understand that you bought some land from the Air Force? And then leased some of it to frackers?”

  Gunther nodded. “Yes. The lease payments have come in very handy. It was one of the best investments we made, winning that auction.”

  “I’m sure,” said Jamison.

  Decker said, “Did you ever notice anything odd at the Air Force facility?”

  “Odd? I haven’t. But I don’t really pay attention to it.” Gunther looked at Ames. “What about you, Milton?”

  “My home is not near there. But there are others who do live closer to the facility. I can ask them.”

  “Do you mind if we do that, and if we could meet with them now?” said Decker.

  Gunther said, “All right. But what is all this about?”

  “I wish I could tell you,” said Decker. “But I’m not sure myself.”

  JUDITH AND ROBERT WHITE sat across the table from Decker, Jamison, and Kelly in the dining hall. They were young, having been married for less than three years, but she was already pregnant with her second child. Her scarf was colorful, his clothes were dark and nondescript. He looked nervous; she looked intrigued.

  They had been asked to come here because their small farm was closest to the Air Force’s outer perimeter fencing.

  Robert fiddled with his hat and looked at his feet while Decker scrutinized the pair.

  “Anything you can tell us,” he said, now looking directly at Judith. “Whether it seems important or not.”

  Robert shrugged and glanced up. “I don’t know nothing.”

  His wife elbowed him in the arm. “Bobby, tell them.”

  “Shush, Judy, this is no business of ours.”

  “Two women have been killed,” said Jamison. “One of them lived here and the other worked here. That makes it our business.”

  Judith started to tear up. “Bobby, tell them. It’s important. Oh, poor Pammie and Ms. Cramer.”

  Robert straightened, resignation clear on his features. “Okay, there were odd noises at night.”

  “Odd? Like what?” asked Decker.

  “Planes coming and going. Choppers doing the same. Seen the lights going over our house.”

  “And the dogs, tell them about the dogs,” implored his wife.

  Robert sat up straighter and his expression became somber. “They got guard dogs there. Fierce things. We got a puppy. Went over to the outer fence one time. Just curious. Well, thank God there were two fences between it and them. Thought they were going to tear right through both to get our little pup.”

  “And tell them about the you-know-what,” prompted Judith.

  Robert screwed up his mouth and shook his head.

  Decker leaned in. “The ‘you-know-what’?”

  “The man!” said Judith. “Bobby, if you won’t tell them I will.”

  “Good Lord, woman, don’t you see what you’re getting us into talking like that?”

  “The truth is always better,” said Decker. “You tell the truth, you won’t get in any trouble.”

  “Says you,” retorted Robert.

  “Bobby!” exclaimed his wife.

  He sighed again. “It was about a month ago. Late. I couldn’t sleep. I was out in my little workshop repairing some tools. It’s about a hundred yards from the fence. That’s when I heard a commotion outside. Around two in the morning. We’ve never had any problems around here, but, well, this sounded not good. I picked up an ax from my workbench and went outside. I could hear the sounds of someone running. And there were shouts and then I heard those dogs barking. They were in a frenzy, seemed like. I ran over toward the fence but stopped before I got there because I could see lights. They were wobbling around because the people holding them were running.”

  “Go on,” said Kelly.

  “I got scared, so I dropped to the ground, but I kept watching. It was a pretty full moon that night. And then out of the darkness this man jumps up on the inner fence and he’s trying to climb to the top.”

  “What did he look like?” asked Decker.

  “He had a beard, and his hair was all wild and thick like. Tall and he looked skinny, but he was climbing that fence for all he was worth.”

  “Clothing?”

  “Like overalls and his feet were bare.”

  “What happened next?” asked Jamison.

  “He was halfway to the top when a dog got to him. Jumped up and grabbed a hold of his pants leg. He was screaming.”

  “Could you understand anything he said?”

  “No, I was too far away and it sounded like gibberish to me. I think he was crazy or on drugs or something. But I would’ve been doing the same thing if a dog had a hold of me like that. Then the men came running up and they called the dog off and pulled him down from the fence. He just gave up and went limp. A truck pulled up and they put him in that, and it drove off. Then the others left. By the time I got back to the house I was shaking like a leaf.”

  “He was,” said Judith. “I made him some tea to help him calm down. That’s when he told me what happened.”

  Decker eyed Kelly, who looked both concerned and confused.

  “Did you tell anybody else about this?” asked Jamison.

  “No,” said Robert. “Look, it’s the government. I don’t want to get mixed up in any of that. I’m just a farmer. We want to be left alone, that’s all.”

  Judith said excitedly, “Do you think this has anything to do with Ms. Cramer and Pammie?”

  “It might,” said Kelly, while Decker sat back and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

  Jamison said, “Did you know Pamela and Irene Cramer?”

  Judith nodded. “I knew Pammie pretty well. She didn’t like it here. Our son is only one, so he’s not in school, but I helped out Ms. Cramer some in the schoolroom. I helped the last teacher we had, too.”

  “Did Cramer ever say anything to you that seemed odd? Did she mention the Air Force facility?”

  “No, never.” Judith paused. “She did ask me where in the Colony I lived.”

  “And you told her?” said Jamison.

  “Yes. It was funny, though.”

  “What was?” Jamison said quickly.

  “Well, we practice communal living here. And with a lot of Anabaptist colonies, everyone usually lives in little houses next to each other or attached. I know this because my second cousin is a Hutterite, lives in North Dakota, too, only not near here.”

  Decker was now eyeing her steadily. “And your point?” he said.

  “Well, here there’s enough land for all of us to have our own place, and we each grow some of our own crops. We contribute most of it to the Colony, but we get to keep some for our own use. And folks can grow different things that they might like, that the Colony doesn’t grow collectively.”

  “And your point?” Decker said again.

  “I told Ms. Cramer about that. And it was just funny what she said. She said to maybe not do that. To maybe not grow our own food.”

  “Why would she say that?” asked Jamison, glancing at Decker.

  “I don’t know. She never said.”

  Decker said urgently, “Where did she teach class here?”

  “In the little schoolhouse next to the building where we have the egg production,” said Robert.

  “Did she have an office there?”

  Judith nodded. “In a room in the back.”

  Decker rose. “Can you show us? Now?”

  DORIS, THE COLONY
TEACHER, answered their knock. She was in her fifties and dressed like the other women at the Colony but with a different color and pattern for her skirt and scarf. Behind her they could see students ranging in age from six to teens, sitting in separate clusters in the middle of the large room. They all looked at the visitors with both interest and puzzlement.

  After Judith introduced Kelly, Decker, and Jamison, Doris explained she was filling in for Cramer.

  “It was so terrible about Irene,” she said in a low voice.

  “Yeah,” said Decker distractedly. “Look, we need to see Cramer’s office.”

  “Oh, all right. It’s this way.”

  She led them past the students. Several of the younger boys looked up at the giant Decker in awe, while several of the teenaged boys watched the pretty Jamison every step of the way.

  Doris opened the door to a small room and ushered them in.

  It was ten-by-ten with one window. A small desk sat in the middle of the room with a straight-back chair slid into the knee-hole. Two metal file cabinets were set against one wall.

  On the desk was an ink blotter, a Rolodex, a stack of books, and what looked to be some student journals.

  Doris and Judith left them there to look around.

  “What are we looking for?” asked Kelly.

  “Anything that will help us,” replied Decker.

  “Well, that’s kind of vague.”

  “Decker thinks that Cramer’s murder might be tied to something in her past. Before she came here.” Jamison glanced at Decker. “Old sins cast long shadows, or something to that effect.”

  Kelly looked intrigued by that. “So, before she came here, then? Which is maybe why the Feds are interested?”

  Decker nodded. “Yes. I think finding out the reason she came here in the first place will go a long way toward helping find who killed her.”

  “So are you thinking her murder had something to do with her past?”

  “It’s certainly possible,” noted Jamison.

  “Works for me.” Kelly slid open the desk drawers and looked through them, even checking underneath each one. Jamison started going through the books and journals, while Decker popped open one of the file cabinet drawers and began searching.