They could have walked to the park, but it was cold and a wind had kicked up to make it feel even colder, so Harriet drove.
“Let’s follow this path to the left,” Harriet suggested as she wrapped her knitted scarf more tightly around her neck. “There are several picnic areas along the river, and if we’re going to find any homeless people out in this weather, it will be in one of them.”
Luke stuffed his gloved hands into his vest pockets and cocked his head, listening.
“I don’t hear anyone talking.”
“I’m not sure you would over the sound of the river.”
No one was in the first picnic area, or anywhere else. They continued along the path as it curved toward the river and the next set of tables, set on a small bluff overlooking a parallel bend in the river.
Luke went to stand on the edge of the bluff.
“Wow, this spot has a great view of the river.”
Harriet went over to stand beside him.
“It is nice, especially on a sunny day when the winds are calm. In the summer, the water is so clear you can see all the way to the bottom.”
Luke leaned forward and pointed.
“Wait, what’s that white thing at the bottom of that area of rapids?”
“Where?”
He moved behind her and rested an arm on her shoulder so he could guide her line of sight.
“It kinda looks like a person.”
Harriet trained her eyes on the spot he was pointing at.
“It does look like a person. Let’s go to the next picnic area—I think we’ll have a better angle.”
They hurried back to the path and jogged to the next picnic area, crossing past the tables to stand on the edge of the steep river bank. This vantage point was closer to the river and a good ten feet lower. From here, they could see a human shape clad in a white shirt. The legs were underwater and appeared to be wedged between two large rocks.
Harriet pulled the phone from her pocket and dialed 911.
“There’s a body in the river just below the rapids,” she reported when she’d given her particulars to the operator. She paused and listened. “We’re not close enough to see anything else.”
After listening to admonitions to stay where she was until the police arrived, she hung up and put her phone back in her pocket.
“We’ll have to wait until someone arrives.”
“I wonder why they were outside without a coat,” Luke said. “I mean, it looks like they’re just wearing a shirt.”
“We can’t assume they went into the water without a coat on. If they went in above the rapids, and then went over the rocky area before getting hung up at the end, their coat could have come off and been swept down the river.”
“You’d think they’d have it zipped up tight in this weather, though.”
Harriet smiled at him. She liked his analytical reaction to what was clearly a disturbing situation. His questions were good. She had a thought he would make a great detective, but she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about his putting himself in harm’s way. This parenting business was tougher than it looked.
A uniformed officer joined them near the picnic tables ten minutes later. Harriet was thankful that, for once, it wasn’t Officer Nguyen. This guy’s name tag said Smith. He looked to be in his thirties, with dark hair and a muscular build.
“Are you the woman who thinks she saw a body in the river?” he asked her as he pulled a notebook from his pocket.
Luke didn’t wait for Harriet to answer. He pointed to where the body bobbed at the base of the rapids. Officer Smith scanned where Luke pointed until he found it.
“Oh, geez, it really is a body.”
Harriet put her hands on her hips.
“What did you think it was going to be when we called in and said we saw a body in the river?”
Smith’s face flushed.
“I’m sorry, but you can’t imagine how many dead-body-in-the-river reports we get that turn out to be bags of garbage, large stuffed animals, dead real animals, and all sorts of other stuff.”
Harriet sighed and shook her head.
“You’re right, though,” he went on. “You do have a reputation around the station for finding dead people.”
“Not on purpose,” she protested.
“Still, most people never see a dead body outside a funeral home, and you’ve found more than one or two, according to the talk at the station.” He pushed a button on the radio clipped to his shoulder and began his report.
“Sorry about all this,” she told Luke.
“Hey, it’s not your fault. And we were looking for a guy.”
“We didn’t find our guy, though. If Smokey Joe wore a white shirt in the winter, jacket over it or not, I’m sure Joyce would have mentioned it. White shirts aren’t something you see among the homeless, given their lack of laundry facilities in the camps.”
“Is there any reason I should keep the two people who spotted the body?” she heard Smith say into his radio. “No, we’re quite a distance away. The kid spotted the body from the lower picnic area in the park.”
They couldn’t hear the reply, but Smith listened, then turned the volume down.
“You two are free to go, but depending on what they find, someone might want to talk to you again later.”
“Do you need my contact info?” she asked.
“We know where to find you,” he said with a smirk.
Down below, people in wetsuits had arrived on the opposite bank of the river and were preparing to go into the frigid water.
“Is there any way we could be notified about the identity of the person?” Harriet asked.
“Why? Are you missing someone?”
“As a matter of fact, we are. Or rather Joyce from the homeless camp in Fogg Park is missing someone. She asked us to look for him in town. It’s a guy they call Smokey Joe. That’s what we were here doing.”
“You can call the station tomorrow. Depending on how long the vic’s been in the river and how far the body traveled, it could take a while to identify.”
“Thanks, we’ll do that. Come on, Luke, I think we’re done here.”
She spun on her heel and headed for the car; Luke mimicked her motion and followed her.