Sneaking Suspicions (The Tharon Trace Mysteries Book 1) (9 page)

She slowed when the river and trail curved again.  Street lamps along the streets flickered on, bathing parts of the trail in soft light.  A spillway spanned the river ahead and before that to the left a bridge crossed North Anthony over the river.  She craned her neck to the other side and saw a double railroad tracks on the other side of the river.  “Let’s cross here and follow the tracks.  It will be harder for Burt to find us and one of them should take us close to Sandy Creek.”

The boy’s agreed.  Tharon hoped Helm was right that Burt would go get another car.  She had no idea how long it would take him and she wanted to get out of sight of the roads as quickly as possible.  Shadows lengthened around them adding a new level of apprehension about walking through the city after dark.

As she approached the bridge she remembered the tracking code she and her father agreed on when she was eight.  She paused at the edge of the bridge and scratched an arrow on the yellow paint on top of the curb at the edge of the bridge with the short blade of the knife.

Helm stopped next to her. “What’s that?”

She was a little embarrassed. “It’s a trail marking that my dad and I worked out.  The right side of the arrow is the way we’re going.  I know it’s stupid and he’ll probably never find it, but I feel like I have to leave a trail for him to know where we are going.  Do you mind?  I’ll just use the small blade but it will probably dull it.”

Helm said, “I don’t mind.  You hang onto the knife and make all the marks you want to.”  He held her hand as they crossed the bridge.

The tracks crossed the road and ran parallel to the other side of the river.  Tharon ran hard to cross the bridge and the street on the other side.  The boys followed her as she scrambled to get out of the open area and headed for the cover of trees between the tracks and the spillway.  She paused briefly to scratch her arrow on the curb of the intersection.

Soon she lagged behind them.  She was tired and emotionally drained, but she wasn’t about to complain.  The stitch in her side felt like a stab from a hot poker.  She hated to admit she was running out of steam.  She slowed to a walk and once they were hidden by the trees and a passing train, she dropped to the ground.

The boys stopped when they saw her and sat down on either side of her.

“I’m sorry, guys, I’m just so thirsty.  Maybe if I rest for a few minutes it won’t be so bad.”

Helm slapped his forehead with his palm.  “I can’t believe I forgot.  My mom sent some hot cocoa.  She figured you’d be cold in the woods.”  He wriggled out of his back pack and poured some cocoa into the cup lid and handed it to Tharon.

She drank the rich chocolate milk.  It wasn’t steaming hot but was still warm and felt good going down.  She drank a few swallows and handed the cup to Kaid.  He took a couple of sips and passed it back to Helm.

Helm’s stomach rumbled. “Too bad I didn’t think to grab some food.”  He seemed to be mulling something in his mind and finally said, “So do you think we should try to get help from anyone else or just try to get home on our own?”

The bodies of the elderly lady and her dog flashed through Tharon’s mind.  “I don’t think anyone would believe us that Burt is a killer.  From what the lady said he must be pretty well known in Fort Wayne.  Besides, I don’t want to be the reason he kills anyone else.”

Helm chewed on his lower lip. “Do you think Carl would still keep Burt from killing us?”

Tharon swallowed the lump in her throat and sighed.  “Carl’s dead.”  The images of Marty streaming blood down his face, Carl with his glassy eyes, the lady and her dog lying dead by the street, the man Burt shot floating down the creek, and Shep lifeless in the woods, all took turns flashing through her mind.  She stood up, took a few steps away from the boys and threw up next to a tree.

When she finished, Helm stood next to her with his palm on her back and handed her a tissue.  “With my allergies, I always keep a small pack of tissues in my back pack.”

She took the tissue and wiped her mouth and nose.  “Thanks.  Sorry about wasting the cocoa.”

Kaid punched her shoulder lightly.  “Don’t worry about it.  Let us know when you feel like you need some more and we’ll take another break.”

The last car of the train passed them heading east.  Together they climbed up out of the trees and kept a wary watch to make certain no one took an interest in them.  Buildings flanked the other side of the track; most were vacant, as evidenced by their boarded and broken windows.  Shadows lengthened around them and Tharon prayed that with the cold weather they wouldn’t run into any vagrants or gangs who might attack them.

Helm held her hand and matched her pace instead of her struggling to keep up with them.  “Come on,” Helm said with an encouraging smile and a squeeze of her hand.  “Let’s go home.”

CHAPTER 8

Max Stephens logged onto the department computer to search for company logos with a rattlesnake.  He punched the keys with his long fingers and the computer made an offensive squeal in protest.

Penni Faulkner, the Sheriff’s office manager, strolled to his side and peered over his shoulder.  “Max, what are you trying to do?”

Max brandished the sketch.  “I’m trying to find out where this logo comes from.  It was on the side of the van we think the kids were snatched in.”

Penni tucked a silver blond strand of hair back behind her ear.  She frowned at the picture.  “You don’t need a search for that.  Here.” She nudged Max to the side.  Her fingertips flew over the keys and pulled up a picture of the used car dealership on Illinois Road in Fort Wayne.  Burt Payne sported a Custer style rim of blond hair under a black cowboy hat with a white band that gave him a pseudo cavalry persona.  Penni turned up the sound.

“I’m Burt Payne and I want to be your last stand for used cars.  So come on in to see us at Payne’s Last Stand Used Cars where we take the bite out of the pain of car buying.  Look for the sign with the golden rattler because we’re shaking up a great deal for you!”

Max raised his eyebrows. “Kind of cheeky to drive your company van to commit a murder, isn’t it?”

The stray lock of hair broke free and flopped down onto Penni’s otherwise perfect fifty-five year old face.  She pursed her lower lip in a futile attempt to blow the strand out of her eyes, then gave up and tucked it behind her ear again.  She sat back with folded arms.  “I don’t imagine he thought anyone would see him out there in the sticks.”

Max mulled that over, “Maybe it wasn’t even him, just someone using his van.”  He picked up his phone and called his counterpart and friend in the Fort Wayne Police Department, Randy Bohman, to request they pick up Burt Payne for questioning in the murder of an unidentified man in rural Whitley County, and the abduction of three children.

Max’s request was met with stone cold silence.

“Randy, are you there?”

“Is this some kind of joke, Max?  Because if it is, it isn’t funny,” Randy said in a flat tone.

Max was confused and more than a little irritated.  “Why would I joke about murder and kidnapping?”

“Burt and Carl Payne are volunteer police officers with the Fort Wayne PD.  They provide security for the Three Rivers Festival and handle drive off complaints from gas stations.  And they put on a banquet and fund raiser every year for the children of police officers killed in the line of duty.  Hell, I play golf with them.  So don’t try to tell me those two are involved in murder and kidnapping, because I don’t believe it.”

Max leaned his elbows on the desk and propped his forehead with his empty hand.  He needed Randy’s help and couldn’t afford to offend him.  “Randy, we have a witness who saw a white van from his dealership.  We have the footprints of three men at the scene.  If they have an alibi, so be it.  But I’ve got three missing children and a dead body.  Can you at least bring him and his brother in for questioning?”

Randy muttered something under his breath.  “Alright.  But I’ve got a murder of my own to deal with.  A little old lady and her dog were gunned down near the Maumee River greenway.  The public’s getting a bit edgy here.”

Max tried to bridle his sarcasm.  “You might want to see if the Payne brothers have any property in the vicinity—our criminals killed a dog, too.”

The silence on the other end told Max he’d probably gone too far.  After a long moment Randy said, “I’ll get back to you after I have a talk with Burt and Carl.”  He hung up without waiting for Max to say goodbye.

CHAPTER 9

Shep was shot twice.  Dana waited at the Veterinary Hospital until the bullets were removed from the dog.  She bagged them for evidence and knew she should leave, but felt tied to the dog’s side.

Dr. Roth tied off a stitch behind Shep’s ear.  She glanced at Dana and said, “Is there something else you need, Deputy?”

Dana pulled a card from her pocket.  “The family doesn’t know Shep is still alive.  I don’t want to get their hopes up.  Can you call and let me know how he is and if he makes it?”

The vet motioned with her head for Dana to put the card on the counter.  “Of course.  Now get out of here and find those kids.”

Dana couldn’t help but pat Shep one last time for luck.  “You hang in there, Shep.  I’m counting on you.”

She got in her car and for some reason was a bundle of nerves.  She had that itching feeling like something ominous was about to happen and she had no clue what.  Her mother used to call it woman’s intuition but to Dana it felt more like an itch she couldn’t scratch.

She drove to the Sheriff’s department in Columbia City and dropped the bullets off at forensics before she checked in with Max Stephens.  “Any luck tracking our killer?”

Max grumbled, “I’m pretty sure I know who it is.  Burt and Carl Payne have a used car lot in Fort Wayne.”  He opened the website for her to see then flipped screens to show pictures of the brothers.  “The Fort Wayne PD wants to drag their feet.  Turns out the brothers are volunteer cops—real upstanding pillars of the community.  But guess what, there was a random killing today on the River Greenway of an old lady and her dog.  Somebody doesn’t seem to like dogs any more than he likes people.”

The hair stood up on the back of Dana’s neck and a chill ran down her spine.  “Do they own any property in the area of the killing?”

“Little lady, you’re gonna make detective one of these days.  I checked and there’s an old office building on Lake Avenue.  Part of it has been converted to an auto shop.  The Payne brothers store extra inventory there.  I was thinking of driving over in my civilian clothes and have a look-see.  Care to slip into something more comfortable and join me?”

“Absolutely.”  She felt like her heart was doing somersaults in her chest.  Yep, time to scratch an itch.  “How would you feel about taking Tom Trace along?  He has quite an eye for tracking.  He can recognize the children’s footprints and might be able to pick up something that we’d miss.”

Max paused.  “That’s a good idea, but you’d better run it past the Sheriff.”

Dana paused and then asked, “Why don’t
you
run it past the Sheriff?”

Max’s eyes twinkled, “Because we want him to say yes.”

CHAPTER 10

Tharon felt like every car that passed was watching them.  What if Burt had other people out looking for them?  She feared they didn’t dare talk to any strangers.  From what she’d heard before their escape, even the police couldn’t be trusted.

She left trail markings wherever they changed directions but she was slowing them down. By the time they came to a series of elevated tracks over streets, darkness enveloped them.  While waiting in the shadows to cross an intersection, Tharon recognized the street, “I think I know where we are.  This is Spy Run Avenue.  In the pioneer days spies kept watch for enemies approaching in the rivers and ran along this route to warn the settlers in the fort.  The old fort is just north of here.  We visited it for a school field trip in September.”

“I guess after what we heard today, we’re the spies now,” Kaid said.

Tharon shivered as she thought of what they’d heard.  “Why would anyone want me?  I’m nobody.”

Helm moved closer to her, “You’re not nobody, but I don’t understand why they want you either.”

When the traffic cleared Tharon ran across the road with the boys.  She shoved her fears deep within her heart.  The only thing that mattered was getting home.  Knowing that her father would be the only one to recognize her markings, she knew he’d have realized she was following the tracks so she stopped making as many marks and picked up the pace.  She had to get home.  Her dad would protect her.  Maybe he had some idea why someone was after her too.

She led the way following the tracks.  When they were elevated, they walked below them.  Whenever brush or trees clustered close to the tracks, they secreted themselves to travel deeply in the brush to hide from passersby.

The dark colors of the boy’s coats helped them escape notice and for the first time, Tharon was grateful for the puffy black coat that was two sizes too big.  Her mother found it in the resale shop and had paid next to nothing for it.  She had replaced the zipper and planned to ornament it with white embroidery stitches and sequins on the collar and pockets.  Tharon was glad her mom hadn’t found time to do it yet; the white contrast moving along the dark streets might have sparked curiosity.

She wondered how long it had been since they were taken from the woods?  What time was it?  From the darkness, Tharon figured it had to be between six and seven o’clock.  In the back of her mind was the nagging suspicion that there had to be something about her that made her unique, but as she racked her brain to think of anything that would cause anyone to want to kidnap her, she came up with a big fat nothing.

After leaving the downtown area they came to a railroad bridge that spanned another river.  The light from the streetlights on the nearby bridge over Main Street barely touched the railroad bridge.  Hidden in the thick dried brush next to the river, Tharon’s shoulders slumped as she peered at the double tracks over the water and felt her insides turn to putty.  She couldn’t make out a walkway and the muddy current looked as frightening as the other river.  She moaned, “How many rivers does Fort Wayne have?”

She tried to swallow but her mouth felt like she’d been sucking on cotton balls.  She looked wistfully at the sturdier Main Street Bridge.  If they hurried across they might be lucky and Burt wouldn’t find them.  She pointed to the concrete bridge.  “Can we cross over there instead?”

Kaid teased her, trying to lighten the tension they all felt. “Why?  Are you afraid of the water?”

She was too tired and too scared to pretend to be brave about anything else.  “I’m afraid of bridges over water.  That bridge that goes to the Miller farm scares the crap out of me when the water is high.  And this river looks a lot worse than the creek back home.”

Kaid nudged her with his elbow. “You mean to say you can climb to the top of a tree but you’re afraid to cross a river?”

Helm took the thermos out of his backpack.  “Leave her alone, Kaid.  You were just as scared as I was in that tree.  Besides most of the girls we know would be crying their eyes out this whole time.”  He poured some cocoa and handed it to Tharon.

She took the cup and said, “Thanks,” hoping Helm knew she was grateful for more than just the cocoa.  She took a few sips and passed the cup to Kaid.

Kaid mumbled, “I didn’t mean anything by it.”  He took the cup and without drinking passed it back to Helm.  “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Tharon.  I’d never want to do that.”  He thought a moment. “If you’re afraid of water, how come you crossed the footbridge when the water was high all those times?”

Normally she hated letting them or anyone know her weaknesses, but all the barriers she’d built around her heart came crashing down.  “You never saw me cross it over high water.”

Kaid tilted his head in thought. “Sure we did, lots of times.”

Helm furrowed his brow.  A slow grin crept over his face. “No, we didn’t.”  His face lit with realization.  “That’s why you always wanted to race us and go through the woods?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I usually won too.”  She sighed as she looked at the trestle.  “I keep having dreams that I’m in a car and it falls off a bridge into a river.  The car is filling with water and I wake up when my head goes under.”  She shivered. “It’s the scariest dream I ever had.”

A freight train sped west over the bridge, causing it to creak and groan.  Tharon’s eye’s opened wide and she looked down at the muddy water.  “And I can’t swim.”

A loud crack and pop from the bridge made them jump.  “Me either,” said Kaid.

Helm looked at the roiling river. “I can swim, but not that good.”

Without another word, Helm stowed the thermos and rushed to the concrete bridge on Main Street.  Tharon ran hard to keep up with him and heard Kaid close behind her.  The boys seemed to have an unspoken understanding that they kept Tharon between them.

Tharon paused at the edge of the bridge to scratch a mark but the hard concrete would not yield to the blade.  She glanced at the sandy dirt next to the side walk and scratched an arrow with her heel.  She prayed if her father got this far he could follow her tracks.

They were halfway across the bridge when a light green car slowed next to them.  A pretty woman with skin the color of dark chocolate and hair graying at her temples rolled down her window.  She wore a black dress covered in glowing blue-green sequins and had the same color of glitter dusted across her cheeks.  Her wide bright smile captivated Tharon who sensed in her heart this was someone she could trust.  The lady asked, “Are you kids in trouble?  Are you the kids who were kidnapped from Whitley County?”

Tharon took a step toward the car but Kaid grabbed her coat and pulled her away.  He said, “No.  Our dad is waiting for us on the other side of the bridge.”

The lady raised an eyebrow and followed slowly.  “Are you sure?  You can trust me.  I’ll help you get somewhere safe.”  In a tone that brooked no argument she said, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Tharon believed the lady and trusted her kind face.  She wanted to get in the car with her.

Kaid kept looking back down the street and urging the other two forward.  “No, Ma’am.  We’re fine.  You need to leave.  You need to leave now!”

Tharon glanced past Kaid’s shoulder and saw a black sedan several blocks away heading toward them.  She broke into a run so fast the boys struggled to keep up with her.

On the other side of the bridge she saw a man with a hard hat walking across a dimly lit gravel parking area.  He carried a lunchbox and walked toward a woman with bleached blond hair and dark roots who leaned against a dark blue minivan.

The lady from the bridge pulled into the parking lot behind them.

Terrified that Burt might be near and would kill them all, Tharon called out, “Daddy!  Daddy!”  The boys followed her lead as they clustered around the man, hugging him, and then ran to the side of the van as if they were getting into it.

Once out of sight of the street, Tharon peeked through the windows of the minivan and sighed with relief when the lady in the green car turned around and headed back onto the street.  The black sedan drove past also.  As it passed under the streetlamp she made out the outline of a cowboy hat.

The woman in the parking lot yelled at the man.  “You have three kids?  We’ve been married fifteen years you lying, cheating scum.  Who have you been sleeping with?”

The man took the woman by the shoulders. “Baby, I swear to you, I’ve never seen those kids before in my life.  There’s nobody but you.  I love you, baby.”

Her face turned red and she punched him in the nose so hard it sent his hard hat flying.

Kaid called out, “Sorry, mister, we thought you were our dad.  Our mistake.”

Helm grabbed Tharon’s hand and pulled her to the alley at the back of the parking lot and around the corner of an empty garage with a sagging roof.  At the corner of the next block they stopped behind a service station to catch their breath.  Tharon peeked around the edge of the building.  “I’m going to use the restroom,” she announced and slipped around the corner.

In the weak light of the single CFL bulb Tharon studied herself in the mirror.  Her brown eyes looked tired and her hair straggled around her face where it stuck out from her striped knit hat.  Sticky blood covered the back of her right hand and she had a smudge of mud on her face and a stain of Marty’s blood on her jeans and right shoe.

She washed her hands repeatedly, unable to remove the sensation of sticky blood.  With a damp wad of paper towels loaded with soap, she dabbed, blotted and scrubbed her jeans, her shoe and the inside of her pocket to rid herself of Marty’s blood.  When she finished, her hand felt as stained as before.  She scrubbed everything again before saturating some fresh paper towels with soap and tucking them in her pocket.

Next she opened all the blades of the knife and washed them, flushing the inside with hot soapy water.  She dried it carefully and hoped she hadn’t ruined it.

After she refastened her jackets, she shook her head at her image in the mirror.  As grateful as she was to have both coats, the puffy one made her look enormous.  She smoothed her hands down the front of the jacket, accepting that it was better to be warm than look thin.  Her hand hit a bulge in the contour of her puffy coat.

She unzipped the coat and dug a thick wad of folded money from the inside pocket.  She clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from squealing in delight.  With a smile on her lips, she recounted her Christmas money which she had hidden in the inner zippered pocket to be ready for her annual Secret Santa shopping trip with her father.

A surge of hope coursed through her as she slipped out the door and met the boys behind the building again.  She bounced on her toes and grabbed their sleeves.  “I have money.  I’ve got over forty dollars.”

Kaid shook his head. “I don’t know what good that will do us.  We can’t exactly go into a store without being recognized and someone calling the cops.  That policeman is probably waiting for someone to call in a tip.  He’ll grab us and we’ll be back in the same trouble we were before—maybe worse.”

“Not if we’re smart.”  Tharon tucked her pigtails up inside her hat and pulled it down low over her eyebrows.  “Helm and I can go in the store.  We might be able to find enough supplies to make a shelter and build a fire.  And we can get some food.  I’m sure they’ll have stuff like beef jerky and bottled water.”

Helm warmed to her enthusiasm. “Maybe we can find a lighter or some matches.”

Kaid shoved his hands in his pockets. “How come you guys are going instead of me?”

Tharon blushed and was grateful to be in the shadows, “Because you’re too good looking.  Everyone always looks at you and yours is the face people will remember.”

Helm’s mouth dropped open. “Hey, what’s wrong with my face?”

“Nothing’s wrong with your face.”  She nudged Helm’s arm with her shoulder. “But you and I are more average looking than Kaid.  We’ll blend in better.  We just need to wait for a bunch of kids or a bus to stop before we go into the store.”

“Fine.”  Kaid slumped against the wall. “Can you at least get some candy too?”

Tharon grinned. “Do you still like peanut butter cups?”

“Yeah, or licorice or crackers or chocolate or potato chips—oh, man, what I wouldn’t give for a burger and some fries.”

Helm touched both their arms. “Shh.  Do you hear that?”

A bus of cheering students pulled into the gas station chanting, “We are the Lions, the mighty, mighty Lions!”

Tharon grabbed Helm’s hand. “This is our chance, come on.”

They eased around the corner and casually sidestepped around teenagers racing each other to the restrooms.  She glanced at the bus driver who pulled a cable from the front of the bus and plugged it into the charging pump to flash charge the bus batteries.  Inside the convenience store, she grabbed a plastic basket and handed it to Helm. “You get the water and some food while I check this side of the store.”

She meandered down the aisle containing windshield wiper fluid, motor oil, bags of salt.  Halfway down the aisle she found one rain poncho and three silver emergency blankets.  A little further on she found flashlights and selected a multi-pack that promised bright light and included batteries.