Beneath a Winter Moon (20 page)

Alan stepped inside. A skinny tripod was set up about waist high. A large battery sat on the floor beneath the tripod legs. Wires connected the battery to a large halogen light surrounded by a shiny stainless steel dish-shaped refractor. The room was so bright that he had to adjust his eyes.

“At this point,
Alan
, though it pains me,” he paused, “and it really does pain me to do so…I must inform you of your rights. You are under arrest for suspicion and interfering with an ongoing police investigation. Please ask your friend to step inside?”

Alan wanted to protest, but knew it was useless. He damned himself for coming…and double-damned himself for bringing Travis. This was by far the dumbest thing he had ever done and he wondered if he would go to jail for it.

Craig, who overheard everything, came to the door.

The constable told them that they were formally under arrest. He read them their rights, and treated them with mild disdain. He said that he believed that they were no threat, but that they would have to be handcuffed once the corporals came back with Travis. He asked the men if that was going to be a problem. Surprised that he would ask, both men looked at each other, then down at the floor. They shook their heads.

“I didn’t suspect so…else I would zip-cuff you right now. As it is, I am waiting on the corporals so that we can use our normal cuffs.” He paused, seeing Alan’s puzzled face. “They are more comfortable, Alan. They don’t tear into the wrists.”

Alan sighed.

“Now,” the constable said, “are you willing to answer questions without counsel? Do you want to help?”

“Absolutely,” Alan said. Craig did not answer.

The constable cocked his head sideways at Craig, who still seemed unsure. Finally, Craig stammered, “I’m an American citizen.”

The constable raised his eyebrows in mock fascination. “No!” He exclaimed, and then leaned forward close to Craig. “Well, good for you.”

“I don’t know what I should do,” Craig said, the honesty in his voice almost palpable.

“If you are not guilty of whatever crime has occurred here, then you have nothing to worry about. Still…the decision is entirely yours. The law is the same for you…with the exception that you can ask to see the consulate when we return.”

Craig finally nodded. “I’ll help. We came here to help…”

His voice was cut off by a loud ruckus outside, mostly Travis’s loud voice as he shouted curses at the two corporals.

They had dragged Travis to the cabin and now all three men were exhausted and angry, cursing at one another.

“Stay here, gentlemen,” the constable said as he left Alan and Craig, stepping out onto the porch.

Alan and Craig stayed right where they were…but could not resist turning to peer out the door. They saw Travis sitting on the ground in the snow. He was handcuffed and disheveled, obviously having resisted. The two corporals apparently had resorted to half-carrying, half-dragging their captive up the hill.

Corporal Seffert stood behind Travis’s back, a knee bracing against him as he grasped a handful of Travis’s hair, trying to keep him from moving. Elmert turned to look at the constable. He reached around and pulled Travis’s Desert Eagle from his belt and held it up for the constable to see.

The constable nodded. “Get him into the helicopter and read him his rights. Do whatever is necessary to settle him in. I don’t care if you have to chain him to the skids.”

Travis yelled for the constable to go to hell…calling it “Hades” as if he were trying to avoid cursing at the constable…but the two corporals, however, were fair game. He spit at one of them and told him that if he was eaten tonight, he would haunt them for the rest of their days. The two young men looked at their commanding officer, puzzled.

“Eaten…” said the constable thoughtfully. “We suspected a bear right off….until we saw the bullet-holes, Mr. Salmon. Your friends say you shot at a raccoon…but how am I to know that you aren’t a raving murderer returning to the scene of his dastardly deed?” He leaned forward and laughed at his taunt. “Easy, son. Can you confirm for me that a bear did this?”

“Bear my ass…” Travis spit, not realizing how amusing those words were. “If that was a bear then you are the damned King of England.”

The constable turned back to look at Alan, who stood in the doorway. “Is he always like this?”

Alan shook his head. “Never seen him like this. He has it in his head that whatever did this…and whatever killed the horses, is a…” He hesitated, not wanting to anger or mock his friend. “Well…that it isn’t a bear.”

“I understood that.” He turned to look at Travis. “Okay, Mr. Salmon. You are going into that helicopter, regardless of what you say or do. Thus far I have been inclined to limit the charges you all are facing…subject to change upon further investigation of course…but if you so much as lift a finger toward my men again, I swear I will see you locked up, not for a month…not for six months.” He paused for effect. “Your resistance right now carries a minimum three year sentence, and that is not counting assaulting an officer of the law. Just your spit counts as one assault charge. Imagine the charges your kicking and squawking will render…”

He stepped closer and leaned down so that he looked into Travis’s face. “Three years, Mr. Salmon…and I have not lost a criminal case in eleven years.”

Travis started to protest but the constable cut him off. “Not a word.”

Travis’s shoulders slumped. He started to stand, but needed help. The constable nodded to Elmert, who reluctantly helped Travis to his feet.

“Please don’t chain me to the skids?” Travis asked, looking as if he would cry.

The constable nodded at his corporals. “Put him in the helicopter, read him his rights, and tell the pilot that he will need to have the aircraft ready for takeoff in one hour.”

The two corporals flanked Travis and each one held an arm as they escorted him toward the helicopter. He didn’t resist.

Alan shook his head and sighed. “The damned idiot.”

“You said
something
killed the horses, Alan? You didn’t say,
someone
, you didn’t say
bear
or
wolf
or even some
animal
. You said,
thing.
”

Alan nodded at the constable. “You will have to go inside the stables and see the tracks for yourself.” He shook his head. “But never mind the horses for now, please, constable. Like I said…we didn’t look in the woods or at that burn pile. I think that a body was burned on that hill….maybe five meters into the wood line.” He paused. “Please check it out before snow begins to fall again?”

The constable motioned for Alan and Craig to come outside, then called to Jaffey, who had been upstairs laying markers and photographing the area. Alan knew the constable was going to ask him to go to the stables and to point out where they had stepped and what they had done and seen—followed by a trip to the location of the burn pile. And it was completely dark now. He shivered.

The three men stood at what Alan had long ago dubbed ‘the burn pile.’ Only when they were within a few feet did the smell of burned flesh hit them. Alan gagged but the constable seemed
unphased
and poked at them with a long dead branch.

Elmert and Seffert held large powerful searchlights aimed at the pile. Seffert’s beam of light landed directly on what looked like a thigh-bone protruding from a twisted and half-burned torso. No one said anything for a moment. They all gasped.

“Whoever tried to burn the body had to have known the fire wouldn’t do it without a good fuel source,” Alan offered after a moment. “Maybe if he’d stayed around here and kept dousing it with fuel or something…”

“I don’t think he was interested in burning it to ash,” the constable said. He kneeled down and poked into the pile again, this time making a concerted effort to force something out of the ash.

“Good God,” Seffert said as he shone his light on what the constable had brought to the edge of the pile. It was a hand, missing three fingers. It appeared that only the wedding finger and the pinky were left.

On the wedding finger was what looked like a class-ring still in amazingly good condition.

“Recognize it?” the constable asked, looking up at Alan.

Alan grimaced. He had recognized it instantly as Kyle’s. He nodded. “It’s his…I believe it’s Kyle’s.” He pointed at the ring, trying to block out the vision of the grisly, charred fingers. “See that it is a mix of yellow gold with sterling? It’s an odd ring because of that. They were the colors of his High School…gold and silver. I’d have to see it close to be sure, but from here it looks the same.”

The constable grunted and stood up. He looked skyward for a moment, then turned to Seffert.

“You are staying with us.” He pointed at Elmert and began snapping orders. “You fly back to the airfield with Mr. Tucker’s two companions. Place them in cells for now, but do not give them a hard time. I mean it, and you can tell Jeanice the same. He should be waiting. Get in touch with
Lena
while
enroute
if you can. Either way, have her prepare a complete crime-scene kit and ask her to place the Air Rescue unit on standby on my authority. Have Jeanice wake up Brad Samson and get him to the airfield, quickly, with his very best dogs. He is to tell Brad that we will be going after a man on horseback.” He paused. “Also, you get in touch with the on-call from Wildlife Management and ask that they put a team together to track a Grizzly. Offer our helicopter to them if it is needed” He sighed, and then continued, “The first trip back here is to bring the kit and Brad. We will get everything else afterward. Got all that?”

“Yes sir,” Elmert said, excitedly. This was undoubtedly the young man’s biggest case, and his eagerness was only outdone by his huge grin. “I’ll double-check it all as we get airborne.” He referred to the small, portable radios that they each had hooked to their belts.

“And rifles,” the constable said after a pause. “I want Brad to bring his own, and I want rifles for you and for Seffert. Not the autos…well…bring
one
auto and bring the aught-six.”

“Yes sir. Will
Lena
be able to get into the arms room?”

“Jeanice can…but you will have to be sure to tell him exactly what weapons and ammunition. Be damned sure to have Jeanice repeat every word back to you.”

“What about me?” Alan stammered, injecting himself into the conversation.

“You’ll be flying out of here later, or maybe at first light.” the constable answered.

“But why….”

“I want to talk with you some more about what has happened here. I’m sure you don’t have any objections?”

“Well…”

“Alright then. That is settled.” He shooed Elmert away. “Go on son, get moving.”

The helicopter lifted off a few minutes later, blowing frozen powder in all directions as it carried Travis and Craig back to civilization…even if it was a jail cell. Alan sighed as he followed the constable and corporal Seffert back to the cabin. He supposed they would just sit there, waiting for the troops to arrive. He shuddered at the cold that had come with the night, and wished heartily that he had never talked himself into flying back out here. There was nothing he could do, now, but pray that the constable would consider his good intentions when he drew up the charges against him. He looked skyward before stepping onto the bloodstained porch of the cabin and saw a full moon staring back at him in all its glory, and he wondered what
else
this moonlit night would bring.