On our way back from the ride, we saw the flashing lights on the road. Blake pointed toward them and we turned on the trail toward Caleb’s house. The sheriff had two cars out front of the cabin and Caleb was standing on the porch. We pulled up on the other side of the cars where Caleb could see us, and before Greg could stop him, Blake jumped out and went to join Caleb on the porch.
“This isn’t good.” Greg took off his helmet. “Do me a favor and go sit with Kathi. I’d rather the two of you sit this one out.”
“That’s a little chauvinistic of you, isn’t it?” I took off my own helmet and surveyed the deputies who all had their hands on their weapon harnesses. It didn’t look like they were here to take Caleb into the station. “On the other hand, Kathi probably needs the support.”
“Thanks.” He climbed out of the vehicle and walked over to the sheriff.
I climbed out and slipped into Blake and Kathi’s side by side, where Kathi was fighting with the helmet. “Calm down and stay here. Greg is getting this under control.”
“They have weapons. You think this is going to end well.” Kathi nodded to the rifle lying on the railing of the post within Caleb’s reach. “He won’t let them take him in.”
“We don’t even know what’s happening.” Right as I said that, another side by side pulled up next to us and Nate and Hilda poured out. I watched as they ran up to stand next to Caleb. “Great, more players.”
Greg nodded to the sheriff and pointed to his men. “What’s going on here?”
“I came up to ask Caleb some follow up questions. When I got here, he had a gun out on the porch.” Sheriff Anderson nodded to the rifle on the porch. “We’re just trying to deescalate the scene.”
“With four deputies? Seriously, is this really an interview?” Greg glanced at the four men now watching the interaction between their sheriff and Greg.
The sheriff smiled and held up his hands. “We weren’t looking for anything but some answers to how that girl wound up mummified and buried in the sand dunes.”
“So it really is Dania?” Caleb’s legs buckled and his father caught him before he sank to the porch floor. “No, no, no. It can’t be. She’s just mad at me. She has to be alive. We were going to get married.”
Blake grabbed a chair and the two of them lowered Caleb into the seat. His sobs echoed in the silence.
“I believe you just made your next of kin notification instead.” Greg pointed to the sobbing man. “Can’t you reinterview him later? When he’s less emotional?”
“You know this isn’t your investigation.” Sheriff Anderson’s eyes went flat and hard. “I’ve been looking for that girl for years and for what it’s worth, only one man had motive and opportunity to kill her. And he’s sitting on that porch.”
“Don’t you say that about my Caleb!” Hilda screamed at the sheriff. “You never believed him. You never looked for the real killer. You just let them get away with killing Dania.”
Blake nodded to Nate who left Caleb’s side and took Hilda’s arm before she went running at the armed sheriff and his deputies.
“Look, I know this isn’t my business, but we really need to get this situation under control. Everyone needs time to calm down. Maybe you could do our interviews down at the cabin now. We were expecting you yesterday.”
I could see the sheriff’s blush. He had a one-track mind on this investigation and that was to prove that Caleb killed Dania. He’d forgotten about telling us about the interviews. Nate was right, the law here was planning on charging Caleb no matter what anyone else said. I got out of the vehicle and walked up to Greg and the sheriff. To his credit, Greg only sighed a little. “So did you find her necklace?”
The sheriff broke his gaze on Caleb and looked at me. “What?”
“Dania’s necklace. The one she always wore.” I glanced toward the porch. “What was it, a Black Hills Gold cross?”
“That’s right.” Hilda nodded. “Dania always wore the cross. It was the last thing her father ever gave her.”
I saw Caleb look up, and cursed myself for putting the hope back in his eyes. “Did you find the necklace?”
The sheriff shook his head. “Maybe she wasn’t wearing it that night.”
“She had it on when we had dinner between her shifts. I told you when I filled the missing person report about it. She never took it off. We’d just replaced the chain because the latch wasn’t closing. She didn’t go anywhere without it.” Caleb’s voice was calmer, resigned. Almost like he was drugged, but I could see the hope of her being alive had vanished. He knew the body was Dania.
“The DNA tests confirmed her identity. I don’t see how a necklace being missing could change that.” But now, even the sheriff was having second thoughts. I could see his hesitation in his face.
“Because the killer might have taken it as a keepsake.” Greg’s words shook me. He stepped closer to Sheriff Anderson. “Have you noticed how much Kathi looks like Dania?”
The sheriff’s gaze flicked to Kathi and back to Greg. “Being blonde and beautiful isn’t unusual.”
“But have you also noticed how much they both look like that Idaho girl who disappeared outside of Reedsport a few years before?” Greg added.
I saw the reaction. Anderson’s jaw tightened. He’d known about the other missing girl.
“Doesn’t mean that this one,” he pointed toward Caleb, “isn’t responsible for both.”
“I’d like to talk to you about another suspect. One that I believe you’ve considered as well. And, if you charge Caleb, one that the defense will most definitely bring up. Especially since Kathi has already had a run in with the guy.”
Sheriff Anderson turned toward the other police car. “You all go back to the station. I’ll handle the interviews up here.”
“But Sheriff,” one deputy pointed to the porch. “We have a suspect.”
“Do what I say, John.” The tone in his voice made the other three move toward the vehicle. Finally, the deputy who’d spoken, looking puzzled, climbed inside the car and drove away. Anderson looked to Greg. “I’ll meet you at the cabin. We need to talk.”
As he drove away, Greg looked down on me. “I thought you were going to stay with Kathi?”
“I remembered the necklace. That should help in the investigation, right?” I put my arm around him as we walked up to the cabin.
“Unless it just fell out in the sand.” Greg kissed my head. “I think I can breathe now. You always make things interesting.”
“We’re always in interesting situations. I could be home in South Cove making pies.”
Greg chuckled. “You’d be reading after ordering the pies from Sadie.”
What can I say, the man knew me well. We paused at the bottom step of the porch.
“We’re meeting Sheriff Anderson back at the cabin. Do you want to stay here for a while, Blake?” Greg leaned on the railing.
Blake looked at Nate who shook his head. “No, I’ll come with you. That way Caleb and his family can grieve in peace.”
Caleb lifted his head from his hands and stared at me. “You believe me.”
“I do. And the sheriff needed to see another side of the issue.” I let my lips curve into a small and I hoped encouraging smile. “It might not help, but at least he’s listening now.”
“And for that, we’re grateful.” Nate said, his arm around a softly sobbing Hilda. “I’m so sorry your vacation got ruined in the middle of this.”
“Not ruined, we’re only on day two.” I walked back to the side by side and climbed in, strapping on my helmet and seat belts. Greg joined me a few minutes later.
“Don’t think we’re not going to talk about your impulsiveness back there.” He leaned close so that I could hear him.
I just patted the helmet and shrugged. Sometimes it was good not to be able to hear.
At the cabin, the sheriff sat on the porch, a file on his lap. He watched as we walked up. “I’d forgotten about the necklace. It’s right here. Caleb told me and I verified it with Mae. Dania was wearing it when she left the bar that night.”
Greg sat on a rocking chair next to him. “I know it doesn’t prove Caleb’s innocence, but I don’t like loose threads in an investigation.”
“We searched Caleb’s house a day after he reported her missing. Probably overkill, but I was so sure he was our man. The necklace wasn’t there. He could have thrown it away, or had a hidey hole somewhere, but the guy was a wreck. I don’t think he could find his keys by then.” Sheriff Anderson closed the file. “How did you find out about the other missing girl?”
“Researching Dania on the internet.” Greg pulled me closer. “This girl has a bad habit of poking her nose into things that she doesn’t understand. Like how long it would take a body to be mummified.”
“At least a year,” I added. “But I don’t understand why whoever killed her buried her so shallow.”
“When she was buried, it probably wasn’t shallow. Remember, those dunes move about three feet in a year. And with the storm, that probably made it faster. We had a CNN guy here filming that night when we had to close the road. By the next morning, there was a new disaster somewhere else for him to report on. It’s like that nowadays. Nothing stays news for long. Not even a missing girl.” The sheriff shook his head.
“So what now?” I asked.
“Now, I do my job without any preconceived notions. I need to investigate Dania’s death, which means I need to interview you all.” He glanced at the four of us. “Who wants to go first?”
“I will.” Kathi stepped forward.
Blake put his hand on her shoulder. “Kathi, you don’t have to do this first.”
“I want to. I want to help find Dania’s killer. Besides, I don’t want to be scared anymore. I’m tired of being afraid.” She squeezed Blake’s hand. “Why don’t you all go inside and make dinner. I’m starving.”
Greg was the last one to talk with Sheriff Anderson. When he came in, we had dinner on the table but none of us had started eating yet. I stepped toward him and offered him the beer I held in my hand. He shook his head. “I’m staying clear headed for tonight’s festivities. I told Anderson what we were doing and he told me he’d have someone nearby, just in case we needed him.”
“Did he put Russell on the suspect list?” I handed him a soda instead.
Greg shook his head. “He doesn’t see how the kid could be the killer. He says he just doesn’t have it in him. That he’s always telling on the Devil Riders when they break a law. He thinks he’s Anderson’s undercover agent.”
“They break laws?” Blake looked hopeful. “Maybe this could be over now.”
“Mostly traffic violations. A few petty thief charges, but no one wants to follow through with the charge.” Greg sank into a chair at the table. He pushed around the vegetables with a fork. “This looks good.”
“Blake and I typically have brown rice, chicken, and frozen vegetables when he comes home from a tour. He needs to keep his body in shape.” Kathi grinned at Greg. “Now if we could get you drinking water instead of soda, you’d be fine.”
“Except for the pies and cakes that Sadie drops off at the station.” I cut a piece of my chicken and popped it in my mouth. It wasn’t bad, but I already missed my fish and fry basket from Diamond Lille’s.
“I don’t eat those.” Greg kept his head down. “Mostly that goes to Toby and Tim.”
“And your nose just grew a bit.” I laughed as he turned a little pink. “So what’s the plan for tonight?”
As Greg went through the schedule, I wondered if we’d even be able to find out anything that would help the sheriff solve the case. It was a long shot, I knew.
When Greg finished, I added more. “And then we’ll unmask the killer and find out he was the grumpy janitor at the school.”
“That’s a Scooby Doo episode.” Blake shook his head.
I grabbed our dishes off the table. “Is it?”
This time Kathi insisted she had to dress me because she said I had nothing suitable for a bonfire. I was going to wear Greg’s flannel shirt with a puffy vest over the top. Instead, I had on skin tight jeans, a way too low-cut, purple silk blouse tucked in, with several strands of silver chains around my neck. She did let me wear my puffy vest—only because of the weather forecast. Even with the Kathi touch, the girl still outshone me when she came downstairs.
“You look…” Greg studied my new look, “different.”
“Different better, or different worse?” I was thinking about running upstairs and washing the makeup off my face.
He pulled me into a hug, then kissed me. “I love you like this or like you are. This is just different.”
“Remind me not to play dress up with Kathi again.” I laughed as I lay my head on his chest. “I might wind up dressed as a cheerleader or something.”
“Did I mention I tried out for the Dallas squad?” Kathi pulled on her boots and tucked her jeans inside. Since my boots were ankle length, the jeans disappeared into my footwear. “It was the same year I won Miss Texas. So obviously, I couldn’t do both.”
“Figures,” I muttered. But that was Kathi. If she told me she spent a summer modeling in Europe, I wouldn’t doubt it. I was starting to warm up to her. She couldn’t help it if she’d had more adventures than most people did in their lifetime.
When Blake came downstairs, he paused. “We don’t have to do this. Caleb can get a good lawyer if he’s charged. We already found a reasonable doubt suspect.”
Kathi went up to him and kissed him on the cheek, then wiped away the lip dye left on his cheek. “I want to help. Caleb just seems so lost. He shouldn’t be facing murder charges if he’s innocent.”
“There’s nothing saying we’ll find anything, but it’s a shot. And I want to make sure there aren’t any issues here when the rest of the group arrives. We might just cut the vacation short.” Greg leaned his elbows on his knees. “If we’re doing this, no one goes anywhere alone. Even the bathroom.”
“Got it.” I figured that comment was aimed at me since I had a habit of disappearing to find the closest restroom when we went off on weekend jaunts.
“And no one drinks anything but what we bring. I’ll drink one beer, then refill it with the water I’ve stashed in the cooler. You’re all welcome to do the same.” He rubbed Emma’s head. “But no shots or bottles from any of the Devil Riders, even if you think they might be safe.”
“Got it.” Blake put his arm around Kathi. “Let’s do this.”
As we walked out of the cabin, Greg locked the door with Emma inside. “I’m calling it no later than eleven. So if someone’s talking, get the story fast. We only have two hours.”
Greg and I followed Blake and Kathi down the trail in the side-by-sides. They had regular headlights as well as a light bar on the top. And on the back, were colored whips that moved back and forth as we drove. It was beautiful to watch. Or would have been if we were just out for a night ride.
When we arrived at the bonfire, we parked near the edge so we could get out easier. The party was in full force and when we arrived, Denny stood up to meet us. “Hey guys, I wasn’t sure you’d have the balls to come.”
“Got caught up at the cabin. Sheriff Anderson needed to finish our interviews.” Greg nodded to the fire. “Mind if we set up over there? We brought our own drinks. The girls are both on diets so they have to have specific stuff. You know women.”
“Sounds like a pain, but yeah, set up your chairs. The tunes are running and we’re just getting started with the tall tales. They’re actually a bad bunch of liars, but some of the stories are pretty funny.” He glanced over toward a blond woman coming out of the cabin with two beers. “There’s my girl. I better get over there before one of these jerks tries to mess with her.”
We were alone. Several of the crew watched us, but no one but Denny talked to us. And he mostly wanted to talk about the Woodses’ side-by-sides. After an hour, Greg glanced at Blake. “Time to leave?”
“I guess.” He stretched his arms and yawned. Then he winked at me. “I’m beat anyway.”
I started to fold up my chair, but as soon as we stood, Russell was at Kathi’s side. He pointed to the side-by-side.
“Don’t worry, I found it and put it in your rig. He shouldn’t have taken it.” Russell glanced in the direction of Denny. “It wasn’t right, him taking it. It belonged to you.”
“What belonged to me?” Kathi reached out a hand, but Russell stepped away and back into the gloom.
A few seconds later, Denny was by her side. “He didn’t bother you again, did he? Man, I tried to keep him inside tonight. I’d hoped he’d get over this infatuation.”
“I’m fine. He didn’t scare me.” Kathi leaned into Blake. “Let’s go, baby. I’m ready for bed.”
Denny watched the two of them, a gleam in his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re leaving so soon. We haven’t even set off the fireworks.” He held out a beer to Blake. “And you didn’t let me buy the first round.”
Blake waved the offered drink away. “I’m done for the night, but thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks for inviting us. You all have a great setup here. I was telling Jill that when we get home, we’re buying a place on the coast just so we can spend nights out by the fire.” Greg held out a hand and took my arm. “Come on honey, you’re a little tipsy. Let me help you.”
As we walked away, I glanced back at the fire and Denny.
“Is he watching us?” Greg whispered.
“Like a hawk.” I giggled, playing my role and upped the volume on my voice. “Why can’t I drive?”
“Because you’re drunk.” He responded and helped me into the seat. When Blake and Kathi reached their vehicle, I heard Kathi gasp.
“You guys okay?” Greg went to get the cooler from Blake to strap in the back of our rig.
Kathi nodded, her face white in the moonlight. “Let’s get out of here. Russell left me a gift.”
When we got back to the cabin, we were inside before Kathi sank into the couch. “Tell me the doors are all locked.”
“The front one is. Blake, run upstairs and make sure we’re alone. I’ll check the back door. Jill, sit here with Kathi.” Greg didn’t wait to see if anyone followed his directions before he moved into the kitchen. I sat on the other couch.
“Are you okay?” I asked Kathi. “Do you need something to drink?”
“I wouldn’t mind a whiskey straight, but I’ll settle for some hot cocoa. But not yet. I need to get this over with.” Kathi took something out of her pants pocket. And when Greg and Blake returned, she held it out, dangling from her fingers. A Black Hills Gold cross.
“I’ll call Anderson.” Greg grabbed his phone.