by Cindy Bell
“If you can’t see the trail, then listen for it. The woods can be noisy, but sounds that shouldn’t be there will stand out if you listen closely enough.” Then he’d had her stand in silence, without the slightest movement, for as long as she could. Each day, he had her push it just a little longer. She had heard things in a way she had never experienced before. Now, she put that lesson to use.
Kerri remained as still as she could. She took slow, even breaths and shifted her body just enough to prevent her muscles from cramping. If her grandfather was somewhere in these woods, she knew that he would be hard to find. His survival skills hadn’t diminished in the least since he’d been retired. She wondered if she’d be able to find him. As skilled as he was, the thought of him being alone in the woods with a killer made her uneasy. Although she was quiet, the woods around her were not. Frogs trilled, animals rustled in the leaves, and in the distance she heard something that sounded like a growl. Through all of that she was able to detect the subtle snap of a twig. Her heart skipped a beat as she calculated the direction and distance of the sound. If she listened closely enough, she might be able to hear leaves crushed beneath a shoe. However, before she could detect it, she heard something much louder.
“Kerri! I know you’re out there!”
Kerri took a sharp breath, then stepped out from behind the tall bushes. Her grandfather stood several feet away from her, his arms crossed, and his features creased with tension.
“How did you spot me?”
George gestured to her bright hairband. “Hot pink doesn’t occur often in nature. Now, do you want to tell me why you’re here?”
“Maybe I should ask you that first?” Kerri stepped around the bushes, and moved closer to him. “I woke up in the middle of the night and you were gone.”
“Last I checked I do have the freedom to roam.” George raised an eyebrow. “How did you know I was here?”
“After the way you encouraged me to go to sleep last night, I guessed that you wanted me in bed for a reason. Then when I found Cashew in the laundry room and you missing, I knew I was right. I assumed you would have taken off to try to find out what you could about the mountain, without me for some reason. But there are safer ways to do that, like taking a partner, or at least letting someone know where you’re going.” Kerri frowned.
“You’re right, maybe I should have. But I intended to be back before daylight, and I wanted to prevent something like this happening. You’re putting yourself in danger needlessly.” George crossed the distance between them. “You shouldn’t have come out here by yourself.”
“And I feel the same way about you.” Kerri placed her hands on her hips. “I thought we were a team?”
“I just wanted a chance to explore a few things.” George cleared his throat. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated to report everything we found back to Detective Carver. I like to decide when I show my hand to her.”
“I understand that.” Kerri frowned as she considered his words. She didn’t like keeping anything from the police, if it might help them solve a crime. But she knew that sometimes revealing information could do more harm than good. “Did you find anything?”
“Yes, actually, I did. It’s not good.” George glanced over his shoulder, then looked back at her. “We should both get off this mountain before someone discovers that we’re here. The people on this mountain are playing some very dangerous games.”
“What kind of games?” Kerri peered through the thick branches of the trees and dense brush for any sign of others nearby.
“Games that involve tack strips with extra nails stuck on, and gasoline.” George narrowed his eyes. “I found a storage container. It was camouflaged, but I spotted it because of its shape. It was padlocked, but I managed to pick it. I found those things and a lot more inside of it. Someone has plans to cause a lot of mayhem on this mountain, and we don’t want to be here when it starts.” He directed her towards the path. “Let’s go, I don’t want to tip anyone off to the fact that we discovered it.”
“Grandpa, you may not want to hear this, but I think we should call Detective Carver about this. Someone could really get hurt if those supplies are used.” Kerri settled back on the path. “She could at least confiscate what she finds there.”
“I agree. I’ve been trying to call her. But I can’t get a signal out. Do you have one?” George frowned as he showed her the display on his phone. “No service.”
“No, I don’t.” Kerri sighed as she glanced at her phone. “Let’s just head back to town. I want to check with her about the video we sent, anyway.” She looked up at the sky which had begun to lighten. “Hopefully, she’s there by now.”
“I’m willing to bet she is. I’ll meet you at the station.” As George started back towards the trail, he glanced back at Kerri. “Let’s go, I don’t want you up here alone. Now we know the kind of lengths at least one person will go to on this mountain.”
“I’m right behind you.” Kerri followed after him.
Chapter 16
On the drive to the police station, Kerri tried to sort through her thoughts. Although she understood her grandfather’s desire to protect her, it did cause her defenses to prickle. She liked to think of herself as fully capable, but it was so easy for her to forget the amount of danger her grandfather had seen in his lifetime, a kind of danger that she couldn’t even begin to imagine. Why wouldn’t he want to protect her from that? By the time she reached the police station, her attitude had softened. She met him at the door, and they walked in together. As he predicted, Detective Carver was already in.
“Just give me a minute, I’ll see if she’s available.” The desk sergeant picked up his phone.
“Send them in.” Detective Carver called from her office, without even picking up her phone.
“Go ahead.” The desk sergeant nodded as he hung up the phone.
Kerri pushed open the door wider to Detective Carver’s office. As the older woman looked up, Kerri noticed the dark shadows under her eyes. No, she hadn’t been sleeping much, either.
“Morning Detective. Did you get the video?”
“Yes, I got it, thank you. But I’m guessing that’s not the reason for this early visit.” She shifted her attention from Kerri to George as he stepped in behind her.
“I found something on the mountain.” George began to launch into a description of what he found, but the detective held up her hands to stop him.
“Wait, let’s start from the beginning.” Detective Carver gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. “Please sit. Shove things over if they’re in your way.”
“I don’t need to sit.” George rested his palms on the top of her desk as he leaned over to look into her eyes. “It’s very simple, I can tell you the exact coordinates of the container I found.”
Kerri eased into one of the empty chairs and watched tension begin to build between Detective Carver and her grandfather. He was never one to take orders, she knew that about him, but she sensed that there was much more to his behavior with Detective Carver. It seemed personal.
“I need to know all of the details. Starting with, why you were up on that mountain in the middle of the night.” Detective Carver stared back at him, her voice unwavering, and her eyes locked to his. “I can’t just be sent on a wild goose chase at your word, George. Either you tell me a few more details, or this meeting is over.”
“Really?” George straightened up, his voice sharp as he spoke. “You would throw away the best evidence you have because you can’t find a way to just trust me? How many times do I have to prove myself to you before you start giving me the benefit of the doubt?”
“George, sit down, please.” Detective Carver gestured to the chair beside Kerri.
Kerri wished she had chosen to wait outside. As she watched her grandfather’s cheeks flush, and Detective Carver’s lips tighten, she felt as if she was caught in the middle of far more than just a simple argument.
“Fine.” George dropped down into t
he chair beside Kerri’s. “I’m sitting now. Are you ready to listen?”
“Yes. Please, start at the beginning.” Detective Carver eased herself down into her chair, then pulled out a notepad and pen. “Why did you go to the mountain, and what time did you go?”
“I went to the mountain to find out what I could about the murder that happened there. I left the house at quarter to three and started out on foot on the mountain at quarter after three. I stopped once because I had too much coffee—”
“Thanks, I don’t need to hear about that part.” Detective Carver looked up at him with a frown.
“Well, you wanted the details.” George raised an eyebrow. “Just the ones that make me look guilty, I suppose?”
“Grandpa.” Kerri put her hand on his arm and tried to meet his eyes. “She’s just trying to find out what happened.”
“Quiet, Kerri.” George pulled his arm back and shot her a brief look of warning.
“She’s right, George. You seem to be convinced that I have you in mind as a suspect.” Detective Carver shrugged as she made a note on her notepad. “I can understand why. It’s my job. I’m a suspicious person. To me, until a murder is solved, everyone is a suspect. In fact, you should be a suspect, a strong suspect, but you’re not.” She set her pen down and looked across her desk at him. “This is a difficult case to make. A girl was alone in the woods and a tree fell on her. It reads like an accident, not a murder. Without some evidence, it may be impossible for me to ever find her killer. So yes, I am paying attention to every fine detail. But that doesn’t mean that I am treating you like a suspect. Now that we have that clear, could you begin cooperating with me?” She picked up her pen and held it up in the air. “Or is it impossible for you to get past your dislike of me long enough to help me solve this crime?”
George shifted in his chair. He glanced at Kerri, then looked back at Detective Carver.
“I don’t dislike you.” His gruff tone indicated otherwise, but as he continued to speak, his voice softened some. “As I said, I was on the mountain by quarter after three. I hiked along the main path until I reached a dense area, then I broke off into the woods. I followed some tracks for several minutes. I passed through a clearing, and picked up the tracks again on the other side. That’s where they ended. I started to look around for anything that might have brought a person out to that area, and I noticed a shape in the trees that didn’t look quite right. As I got closer to it, I saw that someone had gone to a lot of effort to pile up branches and brush around this area. I moved some aside and discovered a portable storage container.” He pulled out his phone and displayed a picture of the container on it. “I looked inside and this is what I found.” He flipped his fingertip across the screen to move on to the next picture, which revealed the tack strips and several cans of gasoline.
“You should have called me immediately.” Detective Carver stood up as she peered at the picture.
“I tried to, but there’s no service up there. That’s why we came here instead. I figured it would be easiest to just see you face to face.” George leaned a little closer to make sure she had a clear view of the phone. “I can send these to you.”
“Yes, please do.” Detective Carver glanced up at him, and for a moment their eyes met.
Kerri caught sight of a flicker of a smile on her grandfather’s lips.
“I’ll head up there now and check this out.” Detective Carver straightened up and walked around the side of her desk.
“I’ll go with you.” George stood up to follow her.
“No thank you, I’ll handle it.” Detective Carver started towards the door.
Kerri remained in her chair as the office was so small that it was nearly impossible for three people to move around each other. She watched as her grandfather and Detective Carver faced off.
“I know where it is, I’ll be able to get you there quickly.” George pushed open the office door for her.
“You are not a detective. You are not trained to investigate situations like this. I can’t have a civilian interfering with my investigation.” Detective Carver looked into his eyes. “If it’s not clear, then let me make it clear, you are to stay off that mountain. Do you understand?”
“You’re restricting me from being on public land?” George’s hands tensed at his sides. “Are you serious?”
“I am very serious. Until I figure out what happened on that mountain it is a dangerous place, and you need to stay off it.” The detective looked from George to Kerri. “Got it?”
“Got it.” Kerri frowned. She wanted to argue the order as well, but she knew it would serve no purpose. Detective Carver had her heels dug in, and she doubted her grandfather would adhere to the restriction.
“Unbelievable.” George shook his head as he headed out of the office. Kerri fell into step behind him, with Detective Carver behind them. The detective pulled the door shut to her office, then caught George by the curve of his elbow.
“Just let me do my job, all right?” She met his eyes. “I will find out what happened up there, you can count on that.”
“I am.” George gazed back at her, his eyes narrowed some. “Don’t let me down.”
“Don’t disobey my orders.” Detective Carver stared at him for a moment longer, then headed out of the station.
As Detective Carver walked away, Kerri crossed her arms as she stood beside her grandfather.
“I’m sure she is a more than capable detective.”
“I am as well, but sometimes it takes a little more than that.” George shook his head. “Maybe if she wasn’t so determined to be in charge, she would see that.”
“Hmm, sounds like you both might have a problem with that.” Kerri elbowed him lightly in his side.
“That is ridiculous.” George rolled his eyes, then sighed. “Okay, maybe you’re right about that one. She just drives me crazy sometimes.”
Kerri smiled. “Crazy in a good way.” She followed him out into the parking lot.
“No, you’re the crazy one if you think that. Can you believe the nerve of that detective?” George scowled as he stalked up to his jeep.
“You weren’t exactly being cooperative.” Kerri sighed as she glanced up at the morning sky. Not long before it had been pitch black, but now there were layers of color spread out in all directions on a background of deep blue. “We shouldn’t get too hung up on this. The important thing is that she is going to investigate the container. That should at least prevent anyone else from getting hurt.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s easy to assume that the container belongs to the protesters, but we don’t know that for sure. It could belong to anyone on that mountain.”
“But who has the most to gain from being destructive?” George rubbed the back of his neck as they walked towards the parking lot. “It’s important to remember that those tack strips, especially modified ones with extra nails, are used as road spikes which send vehicles off the road, to disable them. They’re not meant to be harmless or just to scare someone. Whoever intends to use them, has a plan in mind.”
“Yes, you’re right. Maybe Detective Carver will find something that identifies the owner of the container.” Kerri paused beside her car and took a deep breath. “That might get us closer to the killer. If someone is willing to go so far as to use tack strips, and who knows what they planned to do with the gasoline, then they are likely to go even further and take someone’s life.”
“But they didn’t use tack strips or gasoline to kill Pam, that’s where our theory hits a brick wall. The way Pam’s death occurred is so strange. It is possible the two are completely unrelated.” George squinted in the direction of the mountain. “It seems to me there’s a lot of criminal behavior going on up on that mountain.”
“You may be right. Maybe we’re focusing too much on that. We do know that Colin was in love with Pam, and she was in a relationship with Elm. We know that Elm and Colin fought. Maybe that’s where our focus should be.” She jangled her keys in her hand as she co
nsidered the options.
“Well, since we’re a team, we can cover both, right?” George flashed her a smile. “I’ll see if I can track down any information about Colin.”
“Right. That’s a good idea. You do that, and I’m going to check at the hardware store. It’s possible that the clerk remembers someone purchasing a large amount of nails, or gas cans. If so, then we might have a lead on who the container belongs to.” Kerri looked back at her grandfather just before she opened the door to her car. “Make sure you follow Detective Carver’s instructions and stay off the mountain. Okay Grandpa?”
“I’d love to know who all I’m supposed to be taking orders from now.” He raised an eyebrow as he looked at her.
“It’s just a suggestion.” Kerri smiled. “One that will hopefully keep you out of handcuffs.”
“Well, I do prefer my freedom.” George rubbed his wrist and grinned. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask.” Kerri settled into her car. As she started the engine she hoped that he meant that. She knew it was hard for him to let someone else take the lead, but she also believed that Detective Carver would do absolutely everything she could to get to the truth.
Chapter 17
When Kerri stepped through the door of the hardware store she was greeted by the scent of treated wood, metal, and dust. She peered down the towering aisles of supplies in search of Peter, the man who owned the store. Each aisle she passed was empty. It was too early in the morning for it to be too busy. However, as she approached the back wall, she heard voices.
“I just want to make sure that you know the account has to be settled.” Peter’s stern voice grew just a bit louder.
