The Corpse Wore Cashmere (25 page)

“Never mind, just mark the tree.” Wesley studied the map. “We still have time to check out the next grid. There should be an abandoned camp about fifty yards ahead, but I can’t see anything from here. Can you?”

Charlie shook his head.

They climbed back on the ATVs and Wesley led the way, pushing through the thick undergrowth with the four-wheeler. Moss hung like gray sheets from low-lying limbs and formed a barrier that obscured anything farther than a few feet. Nature proved to be a formidable foe. They never would have made much headway on foot. More than once, he and Charlie had to stop and free their wheels from vines that wrapped around them like ropes.

Finally, they reached a small clearing and what remained of a camp. The badly weathered structure rested atop two-foot high concrete piers. Sections of the tin roof were missing, most of the windows had broken panes, and the front steps lay upside down a few feet from the narrow front porch. The door stood open to the elements. Wesley wondered if it was because someone had left in a hurry.

“Didn’t anyone search these woods?” Charlie asked.

“This area wasn’t considered because it’s a long way from where the abduction took place, and no witnesses came forward to say they saw anything suspicious in this area. We couldn’t very well search the entire state.”

The men climbed off their vehicles and approached the cabin.

“Be careful—the floorboards are probably rotten, and look out for snakes,” Wesley said as he gingerly stepped onto the porch.

“Whoa,” Charlie shouted as a bird flew out the cabin door and nearly clipped him in the head.

“Uh, look out for birds, too,” Wesley said with a chuckle.

Wesley entered the house wary of what he might find. He certainly didn’t want to stumble upon Edith’s remains. The cabin consisted of two rooms—a living and kitchen area rolled into one, and a separate bedroom. Kicking aside a pile of rusted tin cans, Wesley said, “I’ll search in here. You take the bedroom.”

Minutes after Charlie entered the room, he called out to Wesley. “Uh-oh, bones.”

A hot flush crawled up Wesley’s neck and stung his cheeks as he crossed the bedroom.

“Looks like something got the best of a rabbit,” Charlie said.

Parts of the skeleton lay scattered on the floor, but it was obvious the remains belonged to a rabbit or a very big rat. Wesley wiped the perspiration from his forehead. “Next time, start by saying they’re not human. There’s a stack of newspapers in the kitchen. They’re five years old, around the time of Edith’s disappearance. Coincidence or was the abductor wanting to find out what the police knew and whether they were getting close? If the two were here at one time, it wasn’t yesterday. My guess is whoever took her stayed on the move for a while, but once things settled down, and he was sure no one was searching this area, he picked a spot and hunkered down.

“Odds are the abductor had a place staked out and stocked. Once he had his victim imprisoned, he probably drugged her. That way, he could slip back into the population, buy what he needed, and no one would be the wiser. At least, I hope it might increase Edith’s chances of still being alive.”

Charlie took off his hat and scratched his head. “I don’t know about that. Five years is a long time.”

Wesley didn’t like hearing that, and he growled at Charlie. “One way or the other, I’m going to find her.”

The two finished the search of that area and came up empty.

“Maybe tomorrow,” Wesley said. “It’s time we head back.”

Charlie nodded, and they climbed on the ATVs.

When they arrived at the maintenance barn, Charlie asked Wesley if he was married.

“No, but I have someone special. Her name’s Susan Griffin. I’d like for you to meet her.”

“Thanks. Since I don’t know anyone here, do you think you could show me the local hangouts, introduce me to a few people?”

“You’d probably find my choice of night spots boring. Tell you what. I need to stop by her place of business. I’ll introduce you to Susan and her employees. I’m sure Debbie or Sheila will be glad to show you around.”

“Maybe we ought to clean up first and change clothes,” Charlie said.

“Nah, we won’t be there long. You can impress the girls later when you get all duded up.”

Wesley entered the Bawdy Boutique with Charlie right behind him. “Hello, ladies,” he said to Debbie and Melanie. “I want you to meet my new partner, Charlie Morgan.”

The women welcomed Charlie, but Wesley could see disappointment on their faces. “I know you were hoping Dylan would change his mind, but he’s set on staying in Gulfport. He has a good chance of getting his dad’s job as sheriff.”

Debbie gave an audible sigh then looked Charlie over from head to toe and nodded her approval, much like she had when she first met Dylan. “I’m going to miss Dylan, but I’m sure you’ll fit right in, Charlie. I’m Debbie. Are you from around here?”

“My parents live in Springfield. Until recently, I was with the Baton Rouge Police Department. Haven’t had the opportunity to visit your town.”

“I told Charlie you would be the one to show him all the hot spots,” Wesley said. “That is, if he can keep up with you.”

“Oh, I bet he can. I’ll be glad to,” Debbie said.

“Charlie, I’m Melanie.” She stepped forward and shook his hand. “I readily admit I can’t keep up with Debbie, but I want to welcome you. My late husband was Wesley’s partner before Dylan.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Melanie.” Charlie gave Wesley a questioning look.

“I’ll explain later,” Wesley said.

Melanie pointed to the back of the boutique. “I think Susan’s trying to get your attention, Wesley. Charlie, I look forward to seeing more of you.”

Wesley and Charlie walked to the back of the shop and stepped into Susan’s office. She gave Charlie a long, hard look. “I gather Dylan definitely isn’t coming back, is he?”

Wesley shook his head. “He thinks he can win as sheriff, and you know that’ll help him with what he has to face. He’s already had deputies confide in him with reports of all sorts of corruption in Gulfport.”

“I’m glad the other deputies are supporting Dylan. Then you must be Wesley’s new partner.”

“Charlie Morgan, ma’am. Glad to meet you.”

“What’s with the casual clothes?” she asked Wesley. “I’m used to seeing you in a suit.”

“I figured we’d do better if we dressed for the occasion. Charlie and I have been in the woods looking for any more clues on Edith’s disappearance. We still have a large area to search. Since our other cases take priority, we’ll be doing a quick-change routine for a while. That reminds me, Charlie. We’ve arranged to interview witnesses this evening, so we’d better get back and clean up.”

Susan watched as the two left the boutique, but before they could get into their vehicle, A. K. flagged them down. The three huddled together for a while then parted ways.

A. K. entered the boutique and pranced to the office. “So, we have a new guy in our midst. I always liked the name Charlie.”

“He seems nice enough. I just hope he’s good, and that he’ll always have Wesley’s back.”

“What’s with their get-up?”

“They were searching a wooded area for leads in that missing girl’s case from a few years back—Edith Nelson.”

“I remember hearing about that. She went missing after a football game or some sporting event. I don’t recall reading where they ever found a body.”

“They didn’t.”

“So why is Wesley looking into it? He works homicide.”

“The original investigators hit a brick wall. I think they gave up on it, but not Wesley. Don’t ask me why the man seems obsessed with finding out what happened to her, but he is. Since the sheriff’s office here is rather small, the chief agreed that Wesley could look into it when he had some downtime.”

A. K. plopped her purse on Susan’s desk and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Okay, enough talk about police work. Look what I found.”

Susan saw in big, red letters the word
Extravaganza
. “Hold on. I know where you’re going. Whatever you’ve found, it had better be at least a month away.”

“How about a year? But I’m sure I can find something in between.”

Susan gathered up the papers and stuck them in her top desk drawer. “Tell you what. Give me a couple of days to regroup, and I’ll take a look.”

A. K. moaned her disappointment but agreed. “I guess we both could use a little time to regroup. In the meantime, I’ll see if I can talk the dealership into reducing the price of the van.”

“You never stop, do you? Sit down a minute and tell me about you and Jack. I know you two are in love. That’s obvious. What I don’t know is if you plan to make your relationship permanent. He’s a great catch, A. K. What are you waiting for?”

Susan stared at her friend. Her normally happy face was now stoic. A slight twitch was evident in the tiny lines at the corners of her mouth.

“You’re afraid, aren’t you?” Susan asked.

“Everything’s perfect. Why take a chance on messing up a good thing?”

Susan smiled. “That’s exactly how I feel about Wesley. What are we going to do?”

“Take it one day at a time, sister. We’ll know when it’s time to take the next step.”

Palmetto, Louisiana

Six Months Later

Susan positioned the mannequin in the display window so it would face incoming customers. She had dressed the model in a red and black plaid skirt and a crimson turtleneck sweater, but it was the suede boots and a matching purse that really caught the eye. They were to die for.

“Melanie, can you believe September is already here? Seems we just finished promoting our summer line, and now we’re putting out the fall arrivals.”

Susan wasn’t complaining. In fact, she was enjoying every minute of it. Things couldn’t be better. The last few months had been wonderful—no new murders in Palmetto and no visions since she’d left Biloxi. However much longer that might last, she didn’t know.

“I agree,” Melanie said. “No sooner had school let out for summer vacation than I found myself buying supplies again.” She stopped and tilted her head to one side as she studied their handiwork. “Do you think we should give our lady friend a hat of some kind?”

Susan stepped back and assessed the display. Red and gold artificial leaves covered the ground area. The back prop was painted blue to represent the sky. “No, less is better. I want her outfit to be the center of attention.”

A. K. tapped on the window from the outside and gave a thumbs-up before coming into the boutique.

“Any suggestions?” Susan asked.

“Nope. It looks great. Can I borrow Nadine for a while? I could use her help with my Halloween decorations.”

“Sure. Melanie, Debbie, and I can handle the boutique.”

“Go ahead, Nadine,” A. K. said. “Sheila can get you started. I’ll be right there.” She turned to Susan. “How long has it been since you’ve been to a movie?”

“Egads, I can’t remember.”

“Then why don’t we take one in tonight?”

“Let me see if Wesley has something planned first. Call me before closing.”

“Hmm, that’s a possible no,” A. K. mumbled.

As A. K. left the boutique for the Purple Pickle, Wesley’s car pulled into the parking lot. Susan watched Wesley exit the vehicle and call out to A. K. He and Charlie talked briefly with her, and then Wesley took A. K.’s arm and escorted her back into the Bawdy Boutique.

“Wesley says he has something to tell us,” A. K. said to Susan.

Wesley turned to Charlie. “You’ve heard what I’m going to say, so if you’d rather visit with Melanie and Debbie, I’ll understand.”

“I’d like that. I have a few questions I want to ask Debbie, anyway.”

Susan had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her first thought was that something had happened to Dylan. She was afraid he was no match against Kerry, a liar and a murderer. Before they went into the office, she stopped Wesley. “Is Dylan okay?”

“Dylan’s doing just fine. That’s what I’m here to tell you.”

Both Susan and A. K. gave a sigh of relief.

“So what’s happening with him?” Susan asked.

“To begin with, the mayor appointed him Chief of Police.”

“Way to go, Dylan!” A. K said. “Sheriff Dylan Powell—that has a nice ring to it.”

Susan took a seat and motioned for the others to do the same. “I’m happy for him. I know his daddy would have been proud.”

“We all know what he’s facing. It won’t be easy, but he’s wasting no time investigating certain parties. You both know what I mean. Are you ready for some
really
good news? Kerry is under arrest, charged with the murder of Randy Harper.”

Susan sprang to her feet. “How did Dylan manage that?”

“One of his deputies was moonlighting as a security guard at a car lot next door to the motel where they found Randy’s body. He recognized Kerry and saw him enter the victim’s room. A few seconds later, he heard gunfire. After that, Kerry hurried out of the room and got into a tan sedan. The deputy abandoned his post and followed Kerry, making note of the license plate. Kerry drove inland a few miles, stopped the car on a low bridge that crossed a small inlet river.

“The deputy doused his lights and turned off on a side road. All the while, he kept Kerry in his view. Kerry had something in his hand, which he tossed into the water. He returned to his car and waited a good twenty minutes before he backtracked to the car lot.”

“Why didn’t he go straight away to the sheriff with that information?” Susan asked.

“The sheriff was in the hospital and in no condition to do anything, and Kerry was the highest ranking deputy. That same deputy told Dylan that Kerry was not only a killer, he was a thief, that Kerry had amassed a fortune in prime property. No way could Kerry purchase such property on his salary.”

“Well, did Dylan ever check the conveyance records?” A. K. asked.

“Yep, and that led to warrants for his bank records. Kerry couldn’t explain the large deposits to his account that precipitated the purchase of said properties.”

“Did they search for whatever Kerry threw off the bridge?”

“Dylan had deputies in scuba gear search the area around the bridge. They recovered a gun. That was confusing at first. If the gun used in Randy’s suicide was found beside his body, why was Kerry tossing another gun?”