The drainage ditch was a concrete V that ran the length of Polk Street, a busy thoroughfare in town that reached far out past Food Truck Alley and out into what could be called “the country.” Trees scattered around the area, and off to the east was a vast grassy field. No houses or buildings were around for a couple of miles. The place was perfectly secluded but still out in the open.
Polk Street turned off and merged with other busy streets that had stoplights and three lanes of traffic. What remained and continued was a gravel road that was not heavily traveled except by city workers and the occasional kids looking to get away from authority figures.
When Dan finally parked the car just a few feet in front of rows of yellow tape, Amelia was surprised at how desolate and alone she felt out there. Carefully, she stepped out of the car and into the glare of the headlights.
“The bodies were found in this vicinity.” Dan pointed with his flashlight while handing her a smaller one that could fit in her pocket. He snapped off the headlights, and for a second, complete darkness covered them. The night was clear. Amelia hadn’t seen so many stars in a long time, and they made her feel small and vulnerable.
Dan turned on his flashlight and began to walk toward the yellow tape. Amelia stayed by the car. She watched as Dan shined the light all along the ditch. Back and forth he walked, like he’d lost a wedding ring or something just as tiny in the dirt.
When Dan stopped walking, she watched him. His shoulders slumped, and his head fell down so far that his chin nearly touched his chest.
“Missy, give Dan a sign,” Amelia whispered as she snapped on her own flashlight. “He’ll find it, and he’ll get the bad guy. Just show him where to look.” She kneaded the shaft of the light in her hand and shifted from her right leg to her left. Then she heard something behind her.
She turned away from Dan and looked into the darkness. Quickly, she brought up the beam of light and swept it toward the back of the car. The crickets chirped, and a breeze barely rippled the leaves on the trees. But she heard something else. There was a step. Then another. Somewhere, behind her, in the darkness, someone or something was coming toward them.
Dan was still over by the tape and deep in thought.
Don’t panic. It’s probably a squirrel or chipmunk. She tried to soothe herself as she squinted into the blackness. The sounds stopped. She held her breath and listened. There was no sound now except Dan’s footsteps along the gravel edge of the ditch as he paced and tried to get a better look down along the concrete edge.
Not until Amelia decided to walk up to Dan did she hear another sound. Not a footstep this time. It was someone’s voice. A low whisper.
“Come on,” it said. It hissed.
Amelia’s body froze. It was like Dan was a mile away. Amelia didn’t know whether she should run to him or just get back in the car.
Before she could do anything, a man appeared from behind the car and lunged at her.
“Dan!” she screamed as she shined her flashlight right in the man’s face. He wore an old-fashioned ski mask. His eyes bulged wildly from the two holes, and his mouth was in a sneer. He held something that Amelia’s flashlight shined off of. A knife.
The masked man raised the weapon high over his head as he darted toward Amelia, who defensively raised her arms up in front of her. Thinking quickly, she opened the car door, putting it between herself and the man.
Dan shouted her name and ran up from the ditch just in time to catch the blade of the weapon as the man clumsily brought it down the length of his arm.
All Amelia had in her possession was her flashlight. Without risking the masked man grabbing hold of her, she threw the flashlight at him, making contact with the side of his head.
He yelped as the flashlight cracked his temple then fell helplessly to the ground, where it shined on his and Dan’s feet as they scuffled. Amelia saw it for only a second—for just a split second the pattern caught her eye before leaving, consumed in the darkness again.
Amelia could hardly see the quick exchange as Dan swung and tried to dodge the blade while grabbing hold of the man’s wrists, but the knife was on the ground and the man ran off into the darkness before Dan could subdue him.
He was gone. Just like that, he blended into the darkness and was gone.
“Are you okay?” Dan asked and grabbed Amelia by the shoulders, almost shaking her. She could feel his hands trembling as he held her.
“Yes. I’m okay. Are you?” She scurried to where her flashlight was and shined it on him. “My gosh, Dan, you’re bleeding,” she cried. The tear in the arm of his suit coat was turning red.
“It’s not so bad.” He shook his head. “You. You’re sure you’re all right? What was I thinking to bring you with? What’s wrong with me?” he growled as he flopped into the driver’s seat and radioed for back-up.
Within minutes, the place was lit up with red and blue rolling lights and a dozen headlights, along with the paramedics who looked carefully at Dan’s wound as he complained.
“It was him. It had to be him.” He shook his head.
“Please relax, Dan,” Amelia soothed.
“Yeah, Detective. This isn’t a bad cut. It could have been a lot worse,” the paramedic, a short guy who reminded Amelia of a male version of Beatrice, said with authority. “Had your assailant gotten you in the armpit, you’d have lost a lot of blood before we got here. That would have been worse.”
Dan grumbled something that Amelia couldn’t make out. She took his other hand in hers and squeezed it. He squeezed back but didn’t look at her. Instead he watched the uniformed officers scouring the area, putting up more yellow tape, and combing the ground. Then one man called out.
“We got a present for you, Detective!”
Amelia knew the officer who shouted. His name was Connor, and in his blue latex-covered hand, he held up what looked like a box cutter.
Amelia gave Dan and Officer Connor a description of everything she could remember about the man. She gave his height and his build, and she was sure that his eyes were blue or green, not brown. But as she was remembering the event and the sudden hysteria and madness of the situation, she remembered one more thing. Her words caught in her throat as she took hold of Dan’s hand and held it tightly.
“Amelia?” he said gently. “Oh no. I think she’s going into shock.”
“No, Dan,” Amelia murmured. “I’m not going into shock. I’m all right. But…”
“But what, honey?” He stroked her hair.
“I saw his shoes.” She described the tussle and throwing her flashlight, which hit him in the head and fell to the ground. “When the flashlight hit the ground, all I could see were your shoes. Yours and his.”
Amelia didn’t want to say it. Not in front of Officer Connor or the paramedics. She barely wanted to tell Dan, but she had to. The look on Dan’s face was graver than she’d ever seen, telling her that he already knew what she was going to say.
“Dan.” She gulped and folded her arms across her chest. Tears filled her eyes. “They were Lars’s shoes.”
Dan blinked and took a deep breath. He rubbed his head and shook off the paramedic, who was just finishing taping gauze over his wound. His jacket sleeve hung open raggedly. He took a few steps ahead and pointed.
“Get in the car. I’ll take you home,” he muttered.
Amelia felt her heart sink. He was mad at her. She should have waited. She shouldn’t have mentioned Lars’s name in mixed company. What was she thinking? This was a delicate matter, and she knew that, but she blabbed like a horse auctioneer, letting everyone know that she saw Lars’s shoes. How many people were named Lars around here? Who else would wear those awful things? They were hideous green and brown designs. Why would he wear them? He was a cop who should have known they were distinct enough to be identified. Unless he was confident there wouldn’t be anyone alive to point them out. The thought made her shiver.
“Home?” she whispered. “But, Dan, he could be packing his bags right now, getting ready to head to Canada.”
Just then Dan’s cell phone went off.
“Walishovsky,” he grumbled. “Yeah. Yeah. Did you check the I-Pass? Good. I’ve got a hunch.”
As soon as he hung up, he grabbed Officer Connor and began rattling off instructions Amelia barely understood.
“Consider him armed and dangerous,” she heard Dan say. He said it like he was ordering an iced tea. Her heart started pounding, and when he looked at her, he gave her that smirk. Now? How could he smile at a time like this? What was going on in his head? “Get in the car, and when I say stay down, you stay down.”
She nodded obediently and hopped in the passenger’s seat, slamming the door shut and quickly fastening her seat belt. Within seconds, Dan and two squad cars began speeding down the expressway. Amelia thought they should be heading to Lars’s home. Wasn’t that where he’d go? Wouldn’t he want to set up an alibi with his wife? Or perhaps she didn’t know he even went out.
Amelia’s mind raced with possibilities. But as they hurried away from Portland to a small stretch of nothing but trees and hills, she lost hope of trying to read Dan’s mind. He had a plan, and she was literally just along for the ride.