Upstate Uproar (8 page)

“Thank you,” Kate said.

“Vivian can give you my info,” Lucy called to
Young. “I’m going with Kate. Buddy system.” The two headed
downhill. “We’ll be back.”

Wendy gave Young her contact information,
then Vivian gave him hers and Lucy’s. As she finished, she said, “I
can’t imagine y’all have a lot of crime out here.”

“We have the same stuff the big cities have,
just less of it, but finding a jawbone and possibly more of the
skeleton, now that doesn’t happen every day. We haven’t had
anything like this in the 15 years I’ve been with the
department.”

“What about any missing persons?” Wendy
asked.

Young knitted his eyebrows and paused before
responding. “We had a teen go missing about eight years ago. Never
found him. Then there was one woman who went missing about five
years ago. We never could figure out if she just ran off and left
her husband or if there was foul play.”

Before Wendy could ask any more questions,
the whine of more dirt bike engines could be heard. Stokola and
Young turned their attention down mountain and waved when two more
bikes were visible.

Kate and Lucy rejoined the group just as the
bikes pulled to a stop alongside the others. The riders got off,
both wearing backpacks. Stokola introduced them as Brian Moreno,
the coroner, and Jamie Doda, crime scene tech and photographer.
Moreno was briefed by the deputies while Doda listened and got her
camera out of her backpack. She pulled her long, sleek brown hair
into a ponytail, then both officers put on gloves and yellow
crime-scene booties over their boots.

Moreno pushed a small, bright orange flag in
the ground beside the jaw, and the photographer got to work taking
pictures.

“Done,” Doda said after several clicks. “I
need to get video, too.” She backed up and walked around the area,
talking into her camera. Eventually she walked closer to the bone,
zooming in, then turned and gave a thumbs up.

Moreno turned to the girls. “Can you take us
to the spot the dog led you to earlier? We don’t need you to stay,
just show us the area.”

Lucy reached to take Austin’s leash from
Vivian. “I think I could find it again, but it would be best if he
led the way.”

Vivian didn’t want to be separated from her
friends again, especially now that the cops were there, and she
held tight to Austin’s leash. “Is it okay if we all go?”

“Sure,” Stokola said, so the group took off,
leaving only Young behind with the jaw.

On the way up mountain, the coroner, Moreno,
said, “I can’t have my crime scene jeopardized, so please show us
the tree but stay back. In fact, you’re probably free to leave
after this. Stokola?”

She nodded. “If we need anything else from
you, you’ll hear from Deputy Young or me.”

Austin started pulling harder on the leash,
dragging Vivian along. Kate lingered behind. The tree with its
roots exposed stood out from the others, and Vivian could see where
Austin had been digging. Goosebumps covered her arms, although the
temperature hadn’t changed.

Wendy pointed to the tree and stopped
walking. “That’s it.” She looked at the coroner. “I hope you’re
able to find something.” She turned to Stokola. “Especially if the
person has been missing.”

“We’ll do our best,” Stokola responded. “You
girls can go now. Thank you for calling this in. I know it’s not
how you wanted to spend your afternoon.”

“It wasn’t what we had in mind when we
started out, but we’re happy to help,” Vivian said, and then the
girls turned to leave.

“Just to confirm,” Moreno called. “You didn’t
recover any bones from this site?”

Wendy sighed. “No, but do you mind if we stay
over here and watch you work? We won’t get in the way or interrupt
you.”

“You don’t want to stay for this,” Moreno
said. “We’ll do a grid search in addition to digging around the
tree. It’s a long, tedious process. You’ll be bored to tears.”

“You’re probably right,” Wendy said and
turned to leave.

Vivian grabbed her arm. “I don’t think we
want to see what turns up. I’m done with body parts for the day,
thank you!”

T
he girls hadn’t gone
twenty feet before a muscular, mid-thirties, sandy blond guy
approached. He moved with agility, and his hiking boots looked well
worn. His Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt was ripped on the side, and
Vivian could see part of the six-pack that lay beneath.

He nodded to the girls as he passed. “Good
afternoon.”

Vivian stopped to look at his backside.
Baggy, khaki cargo shorts hid his rear, but muscular calves
indicated nice muscles farther north.

“You digging for dinosaur bones, Stokola?” he
teased. “I heard Young’s call on the radio and figured you could
use some volunteers for this one.”

Stokola greeted the man with a handshake and
a shoulder hug. “Larson, good to see you. I think we can probably
use your help. We’ve got a jaw with a silver filling, and I suspect
there’s more to be found.” She tucked some stray strands of hair
back into place and fluffed the back. “Could be scattered around.
The dog was digging at the roots of that tree.”

“So they found the bone?” Larson asked and
glanced in the girls’ direction.

Vivian gave a little wave and smiled.

Larson and Stokola talked a few more minutes
before he wandered over to the girls, who hadn’t left as
instructed.

“Who was the lucky girl playing fetch with
the golden retriever?” he said with a grin.

Vivian raised her hand. “Me, and I may never
play fetch with my dog again. I’m too afraid of what I’ll get
back.”

Austin loped up to Larson who bent down and
scratched behind the dog’s ears, flopping them around. Larson’s
voice turned playful. “Who’s a good boy? Who deserves a treat for
finding the bone?”

Austin started licking Larson in the face and
almost trampled him to the ground.

Larson stood, wiping his face on his sleeve,
and patted Austin’s side. He looked at Vivian. “He was just doing
what was natural, digging, chomping on bones.”

“It’s just best when they’re not human,” Lucy
said.

The girls laughed and Kate made
introductions, Austin included. “We’re visiting and thought a hike
would be just what we needed today. You know, take in the fall
foliage, get some exercise, help with a police investigation, that
sort of thing.”

Vivian looked toward Moreno who was
excavating the dirt under the roots with a small shovel, then
looked at Larson, who was still petting Austin. “We got more out of
this hike than we bargained for, but things are definitely looking
up.”

Larson laughed. “You never know what you’ll
find out here. I love to hike and I’ve found some interesting
things over the years. You’ve got to heed the Boy Scout motto and
always be prepared.”

“So you heard Deputy Young’s call?” Wendy
asked. “Are you a police officer?”

“No, I’m a volunteer fireman. We’re part of
search and rescue, and we pitch in with emergencies or situations
like this.”

“What is there for you to pitch in and do?”
Lucy asked.

Larson pointed up mountain to where the crime
scene tape had been hung in a 30-foot radius around the tree. Doda
was busy taking pictures while Moreno pulled tools out of his bag.
Five more guys arrived and started setting up big spotlights and
running extension cords to a generator.

Larson waved to the new arrivals. “They’re
going to lay out a grid in a few minutes and start searching by
section. We’ll probably be here all night.”

“You’ll work all night even though this isn’t
a fresh crime?” Vivian asked.

“It’s freshly found, and we have to gather
all of the evidence and info as quickly as we can,” Larson said.
“I’ll probably go from here directly to work in the morning for a
half day because I have an event tomorrow with the fire department.
Good thing I’m off from both the day after that.”

“What do you do?” Kate asked.

“I’m a line repairman for the electric
company.”

Vivian cringed outwardly and inwardly. “I
can’t function without sleep. I don’t see how you do it.”

“Doesn’t happen often. I’ll sleep in the day
after tomorrow, although the weather should still be warm enough to
take the boat out on the lake. Will you still be in town? Want to
go?”

The girls looked at each other. “Sure, that
sounds like fun!” Vivian said. “Wear your fireman outfit. I can’t
resist a man in uniform.”

Larson looked at Vivian with a mischievous
twinkle. “Give me your number and I’ll get you details tomorrow.”
They exchanged numbers, then he said, “I’d better get to work. I
might be here as a volunteer, but Moreno treats me like he pays me
a six-figure salary.” He laughed, gave Austin a final pat on the
head, then winked at Vivian as he walked off.

Lucy slapped herself in the forehead.
“Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. We find a piece of a
decomposed body and you’re ready to make out with the first hiker
to come along.”

Vivian grinned. “He wasn’t just any hiker.
Did you see his legs? I bet his ass is picture perfect.”

Groans all around.

“What? I’m single!”

“Just making the best of a bad situation,
huh?” Lucy butt-bumped her. “Come on, let’s move.”

The girls passed the crime scene techs who
had begun to lay out a grid; two worked in one quadrant, while two
others worked in another. Doda took pictures while Larson and the
techs got started digging in another section. Two more sheriff
deputies arrived along with three men in street clothes, and Moreno
put them all to work on the grid. The girls watched the action a
few minutes until Kate said, “I’d like to use a real toilet the
next time I feel the need. Can we head back?”

Larson bent over as Vivian admired. He
straightened and she turned to leave. She giggled as they headed
down the mountain. “Did y’all see the size of his feet?”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “I didn’t pay attention
to his feet.”

Vivian looked around at them and grinned. She
just couldn’t help herself. “I bet that fireman has a big
hose.”

T
he girls hiked past
Deputy Young, who looked bored babysitting the jawbone, and down
the mountain to the car without incident. No more porcupines,
tricky streams or body parts, though Austin sniffed the tracks of
several somethings and left his mark on the mountain more than
once. Vivian didn’t want to find out what the somethings were, so
she held his leash firmly until they got to the trailhead.

“I’m looking forward to a long, hot bath,”
she said. “When the water cools, I’m going to drain the tub and
fill it again.”

“I’m ready for a nice, mellow bottle of
wine,” Wendy said. “At a minimum.”

Lucy rubbed her cheek. “I can’t wait to use
my Clarisonic. Wash off the jawbone funk.”

“You didn’t even touch it, Lucy,” Kate said.
“I’m just looking forward to using a real toilet. Is that too much
to ask?” She dug in the right-hand pocket of her red North Face
jacket, then in the left pocket. She patted her pants pockets
before saying, “Uh, guys, I can’t find the car key. Did I give it
to someone to keep track of on the hike?”

“I don’t think so,” Wendy said, patting her
pockets.

Vivian and Lucy checked theirs, too, and Lucy
checked her CamelBak and backpack.

“Nothing,” Lucy reported. “Do you think you
could have dropped it on the trail?”

“I hope not.” Kate looked back at the trail
and shook her head.

“Maybe it’s in the car,” Vivian said.

Wendy peered through the passenger window to
their rental. “Yep, there it is. Right there on the seat.” She
tried the door handle. “Locked. We just need a slim jim or
something similar. We can pop the lock.”

“At least it’s not lost,” Kate said,
relieved.

Vivian looked toward several sheriff cruisers
parked close together. A deputy stood outside one of them. “I’ll be
right back.”

The officer strode to Vivian as she
approached. His name tag read Dawson. She smiled and said, “Hi,
there, we seem to have locked our keys in the car. Would you happen
to have a slim jim?”

He looked over her shoulder to the other
three girls standing outside the SUV. Kate turned to the side,
showing off her baby bump. Austin wagged his tail.

“I sure don’t, ma’am,” he said and reached
for his radio, “but let me call someone for you.” He told dispatch
he needed a locksmith pronto. He turned back to the girls. “We
don’t want you stranded out here. Strange things have been known to
happen on this stretch of road.”

Kate, who had been watching Austin sniff a
pile of leaves, snapped her head toward Dawson. “What sort of
strange things?”

He shook his head and sighed. “Oh, I
shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just a legend, but I’d feel
better if you were out of here before dark.”

Vivian took a step closer to the SUV, wishing
she could somehow transport herself through the door. “Is there a
giant man-eating bear in these woods?”

“It’s Bigfoot, isn’t it?” Lucy asked.
“There’s a show on Discovery Channel, I’ve been watching it. I knew
he existed!”

Dawson looked solemn. “No Bigfoot, but what
I’ve heard is just as scary. Years ago a young woman was sexually
assaulted, beaten, then dragged behind a car ’til she died. People
swear her ghost runs up and down this stretch of road at night,
screaming to get away from her attacker. No one in their right mind
walks or bikes through here at night.”

Vivian took in a sharp breath. “Oh my god!
Did they catch the guy?”

“Yes, and he hinted, but never confessed, to
murdering several others. Though they investigated some missing
persons cases, the detectives were never able to prove
anything.”