Justice Overdue: A Private Investigator Mystery Series (15 page)

Andy had stopped short, staring at the fire pit at the edge of the tree line. He crossed his arms, glared at Rosie, and pointed toward the pit.

“That’s not safe,” he said, his once friendly voice now taking on a gruffer tone. “Yer too close to the trees and you could start a fire.” He moved over and kicked at the burned out coals. “Next time you light that on the beach where it’s safe, or not at all. You tryin’ to burn this whole forest down?”

Rosie ignored his question and stared at him blankly. “It wasn’t me that lit it.”

“Then see to it you get the message across.” He turned toward the beach. “And clean this mess up afore you go. I won’t have you coming in here and messing up my forest.”

“Yes, sir,” Rosie said in an insolent tone.

Andy gave her a black look. “You oughta learn not to be so disrespectful. Not just to me, but to everything around you,” he said, with a sweeping motion toward the forest.

Rosie turned her head away and said nothing.

Holly touched the officer’s arm. “I’ll be sure the message gets across.”

Andy looked at her as if deciding whether or not to believe her. His tone softened. “I might check back again later.” He turned his head, pressed his lips together in a thin line, and squinted toward the trees. “Where’re the other two at? I understand there was four of you here.”

Rosie spoke up, her voice impatient, “They just went for a walk.”

Andy shook his head at Rosie, frowned, and glared a moment. Then he turned to Holly and motioned across the lake. “I was at the Lincoln camp already. Is there anybody else ‘round here you might’ve seen?”

“I haven’t seen anyone else except Mr. Lincoln and the two boys with him.”

“All right then. Guess I best be moving on.”

He turned abruptly and headed back the direction he’d come. He stopped after a few steps and turned around. “I’ll be back.” Then he strode down the beach and out of sight behind the trees.

Rosie stood, placed her hands on her hips, and scowled down the beach. “I don’t like him.”

“He’s just watching out for the forest. That’s his job.” Holly laughed. “You have to admit; this place is a mess.”

Rosie stuck her nose in the air. “Well, I still don’t like him.” She dropped back down to her resting place and lay on her back, her hands behind her head, and closed her eyes.

Holly looked curiously at Rosie, a girl with a stubborn, rebellious nature. Holly thought the warden was fine. It was Rosie that Holly didn’t like all that much.

She sighed, went to her tent, found a garbage bag, and set about cleaning up the site. None of this was her mess, but she didn’t care. She would clean it up anyway. She didn’t bother asking Rosie to help, already suspecting what the answer would be.

Chapter 33

Saturday, 3:18 PM

ANNIE WAITED ANXIOUSLY for Jake to return. They were in the middle of the wilderness, miles from anywhere, and there might be a killer lurking nearby.

The boys had pelted her with questions, wondering why their excursion was cut short in such an abrupt manner, and she didn’t know how to answer.

She watched them, finally settled down and sitting quietly on the floor of the tent, working on a jigsaw puzzle she’d packed for a rainy day. They would be finished soon, bored, and eager to be active again.

She lifted her head and listened intently to a rustling sound outside the tent, then breathed in relief when she heard Jake’s voice. “It’s just me.”

She warned the boys to stay put with a meaningful look and an upraised finger. They went back to the puzzle and she crawled from the tent.

She stood as Jake approached, a worried look on his face. “Everything ok here?” he asked.

She nodded. “The boys are in the tent.” She scrutinized his face for a sign. “Did you find out anything?”

He moved away from the tent and she followed. They sat on a log by the fire pit and turned sideways, facing each other.

“There was no ID on the body,” Jake said. “Nothing at all in his pockets, and he was nobody I’ve ever seen before.”

“What was the manner of death?”

“I don’t know for sure. There was blood all over his shirt. Probably a gunshot wound or maybe a knife. I didn’t want to disturb any evidence.”

She turned and stared into the cold fire pit, unfocused and frowning. Her detective skills usually kicked in and came up with a plan of action, but this time, all they had was the dead body of an unknown man, and not a clue in the world how to proceed. Besides, the boys were here and she couldn’t bear to subject them to danger.

Jake spoke again. “The body hasn’t been there long, maybe a couple of hours or so. It appears he was dragged there, possibly carried a distance first, and then dragged the rest of the way.” He paused and held out his hands, palms up. “That’s all I have.”

She studied her husband’s face. “We need to get out of here. Leave the SUV and take my car.”

Jake nodded. “That seems to be our best plan of action—our only plan of action. We can notify the authorities at the gate and the police can take care of it. We’ll get the SUV later, when it’s safe.”

Annie took a quick look around. “We’ll leave everything else here as well—the tent, everything. There’s nothing we need to take with us.”

“Almost everything else is locked in the SUV anyway,” Jake added. “And there’s nothing much of value to worry about.”

“I’ll get the boys in the car,” Annie said, as she jumped to her feet. “You can get it started.”

“I need the keys.”

“They’re in my bag. I’ll get them.”

She ran to the tent, found her handbag, and fumbled for the keys. She popped her head through the flap of the tent and tossed them to Jake. He caught them with a one-handed swoop and strode toward the Escort.

She pulled back into the tent and spun around. “We’re leaving. Matty, Kyle, we have to go.”

Matty looked at her in disbelief and disappointment. “I thought we were staying until tomorrow. Why do we have to go home now?”

“Change of plans, hurry. I’ll explain everything to you later, but right now we have to move,” she said. The boys reluctantly obeyed, crawled from the tent and shuffled toward the car. Annie came behind, prodding them along.

Jake stepped out from behind the steering wheel and gave Annie a bewildered look. “It won’t start,” he whispered, as she drew closer.

She cocked her head and frowned. “It ran fine when I got here.” She turned and hustled the boys into the back seat and spun back. “I know it’s not out of gas.”

“No, it’s not the gas. The starter turns but it won’t spark.” He had already popped the latch for the hood and he went to the front of the car, lifted the hood and fastened it into place.

Annie looked around uneasily before following Jake to the front of the vehicle. He had his head under the hood, poking around beside the engine. “Any idea what the problem is?” she asked.

He straightened his back, a grim look on his face. “I sure do. The spark plug wires are missing.”

“Missing? How? Who?” Annie was at a loss for words.

Jake frowned at the engine. “How did he get the hood—?” He stopped abruptly and turned his gaze toward Annie. “Did you leave the car unlocked?”

Annie’s mouth dropped open. Finally, she said, “I didn’t bother to lock it. Out here in the wilderness … I didn’t expect …”

Jake interrupted, “You could never have anticipated that.”

Annie glanced at the engine. “So, we’re stuck here then.” She blamed herself. She should have locked up the car, but then, a determined person could find any number of ways to disable the vehicle.

Jake was deep in thought, his arms folded, his brow wrinkled.

“What about the SUV? Will the wires from it fit on here?” Annie asked, hopefully.

Jake’s jaw tightened and he shook his head slowly. “They’re totally different. They won’t fit.”

“What about the belt thingy that’s broken.” She pointed to the front of the engine. “Will this one fit the SUV?”

Jake shook his head again. “Nope. Different length. Even if it would, I have no tools.”

Annie was out of ideas. She looked uneasily at Jake. “Someone doesn’t want us to leave here.”

Jake was staring at the SUV. “I wonder …”

“Wonder what?”

He didn’t answer. He strode over to the RAV4, unlocked it, and opened the back door. He reached in, removed a belt from the floor and held it up, turning it over and over, examining the ends. He walked slowly toward Annie, still holding the belt, inspecting it closely.

“It looks frayed,” he said, holding the ends out for her to see. “But even when I first saw it, I was curious about how it’d snapped in one spot, and wasn’t worn anywhere else.” He stopped and looked intently at her. “It might’ve been hacked off, and didn’t wear out at all.”

Annie was struck with a sudden realization of what that meant. She spoke slowly, thoughtfully. “So if that’s the case, even yesterday before I came, someone had plans to keep you here.”

Jake raised his head and looked vaguely across the campsite. “That might be exactly what it means.”

Annie turned and followed his gaze, her eyes scanning the miles of wilderness surrounding them. Now she knew for sure, someone dangerous was around, maybe close by, and whatever his plans were, it made her very afraid.

She looked at her husband. He stood unmoving, his eyes far away, his mind deep in thought.

She prayed he would have a solution. Otherwise, they had no means of protection, no way of escape, and nowhere to hide.

Chapter 34

Saturday, 3:35 PM

JAKE PULLED UP the stakes and the tent collapsed with a whoosh. He forced out most of the air and rolled up the canvas while Annie rounded up a few basic necessities and hustled the boys from the car. They were the focus of a direct, subtle attack by someone deranged, and if the body in the woods was any indication, highly dangerous.

He knew of a small clearing a short distance away where there was a dip in the terrain, like a small natural valley, the area surrounded by bush and dense forest. They should be able to pitch the tent there and avoid discovery by any intruder until Andy Fletcher came back.

He carried the tent under his arm, the boys following, with Annie close behind carrying a cooler of food.

In a few minutes, they arrived at their destination where Jake dropped his burden on the ground, unrolled the canvas, and he and Annie began assembling the tent.

Matty came over, a frown in his face, and watched them curiously a moment before saying, “Dad, I know we’re in some kind of danger because you and Mom are acting funny.”

Jake looked up at his son and struggled to form a response. Finally, he said, “Son, there seems to be somebody around here who’s hurting people and I don’t want the three of you in any danger. We’re being careful, just in case, until the game warden comes back and can take us out of here.”

“Is that why we had to stop hiking? Did you see somebody when we were in the forest?”

Jake wasn’t sure how to answer that. He’d seen somebody all right—somebody dead, but the last thing he wanted to do was frighten the boys. “I didn’t see anyone who could hurt us,” he said.

“Then what’s the hurry?”

“We’re just being cautious, Matty. Just trust your mother and me.”

Matty had no more objections. He stood still a moment and watched his parents continue with their task before wandering away and sitting on a log beside Kyle.

When the tent was up, Jake said, “I’ll go and watch for the game warden. He should be back soon.”

“I’ll keep the boys in the tent,” Annie said.

Their new camp was a short distance from the narrow road the warden would have to travel when he came by. Jake made his way through the thick undergrowth to the trail, sat on the bank, and waited.

It was more than an hour before Jake heard the unmistakable sound of Andy Fletcher’s pickup some distance away. He climbed down the embankment and waited. The vehicle came into sight, stopped, and Andy poked his head out the window.

“I just dropped by your camp,” the warden said, as Jake approached. “I didn’t see anybody there.”

“We had to leave camp,” Jake said, and told him about the body in the woods.

Andy listened intently to the story. “Yer going to have to show me where that is.”

Jake pointed down the trail behind the vehicle. “It’s back there, and then off the path a quarter mile or so.”

“Jump in,” the warden said. “We’ll take a look.”

Jake got in the passenger side door and the warden turned in his seat to face him. “Where’re the kids?”

“My wife came awhile ago,” Jake explained, and pointed with a thumb over his shoulder. “She’s with the boys in a safe place.”

Andy pulled the gear shifter into low and the vehicle sprung ahead. “I saw a car at your camp. Is that your wife’s car?”

“Yes, and now it won’t start. Somebody has sabotaged it.”

“Sabotaged?”

“The spark plug wires were taken,” Jake said. “It seems like someone doesn’t want us to leave here.”

“Very strange indeed.” Andy frowned and pursed his lips, glaring through the windshield. “How far to this body?”

Jake pointed ahead. “Stop up there by that rock.”

Andy drove another fifty feet, stopped the vehicle, and they climbed out. He followed Jake into the undergrowth and in a few minutes, Jake stopped and pointed ahead of them. “Right behind that bush.”

Andy moved forward curiously and stepped behind the wild evergreen shrub. When he saw the body, he let out a low whistle. “Gosh, that’s a body all right.” He leaned over, wrinkled his face, and examined it closer. “And not dead that long I guess.”

“Do you know who it is?” Jake asked.

Andy straightened and glanced around uneasily. “Afraid I don’t. Might be one of those city folk.” He looked at Jake. “No offense.”

“None taken, but whether or not he’s from the city doesn’t tell us who killed him.”

“Course not. Just makin’ an observation is all.” He looked closely at Jake. “Have you seen anyone around asides yourselves?”