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TEE TURNED UP THE SOUND on her phone to better hear the computerized voice directing her to Mount Pleasant Cemetery. She didn’t know exactly where to look for September. “That’s where you come in, honey-girl.”
Karma wriggled in the back seat, clearly up for anything. The dog’s broad black brow wrinkled with interest, and she cocked her head with an endearing expression that never failed to make Tee smile.
Detective Steele had other priorities. She got that. Two suspicious deaths and the slaughter of a whole family demanded a team to collect and process evidence, interview witnesses, and put together each case. He’d said it’d be a couple of hours before anyone could check, and that dismissal of September’s possible danger rankled.
The phone app led Tee directly to the cemetery entrance and the commemorative sign. Mount Pleasant, established in 1876, was an historic cemetery. She’d arrived via Lincoln Way West, but figured driving the perimeter—East Drive, to Edison Road, to Charles Street—offered the best chance of spotting September’s car. Tee drove slowly, scanning the area, but only saw the top third of the tallest monuments poking out of the snow. After one circuit, she turned downside roads, back and forth, that divided sections of the old cemetery. Her tires squeaked as they passed over fresh, untouched snow. Clearly, September hadn’t been here.
With frustration, Tee stopped her car, and called up Google on her phone for a map of the place. Even better, she located FindAGrave.com. Tee plugged in the Mount Pleasant name, Christopher Day’s name, and his death date, and learned he’d been buried in the newer section. Within minutes, Tee found the proper area.
She got out, squinting in the dim light. Sunrise streaked the sky, but still revealed no car. The unplowed snowy roadway, though, showed multiple tracks, unlike the other sections she’d traveled. September had already come and gone. Tee dialed September’s phone again.
Karma barked a sharp alarm.
Tee turned, surprised, still holding the ringing phone in one hand. The dog had been unusually quiet, although alert and interested in the view from the window. “What is it, honey-girl? Do you see something?”
Karma scratched at the back window, and whined. Tee unlatched the door, and before she could attach the tracking lead the big Rottweiler took off, dashing through the gravestones.
She chased after Karma, slowed by the nearly two feet of snow. Tee kept her phone to one ear, hoping September would answer. As they reached the mid-point of the large section, Karma slowed near one massive monument. Disturbed snow surrounded the granite marker. Someone had brushed clean the face to reveal Christopher Day’s name.
Ready to disconnect the still-ringing phone, Tee paused, hearing the weird echo outside of her cell. Karma stuck her face neck-deep into the drifted white. She rooted beneath the snow, and came out with a ringing cell phone in her mouth. Tee disconnected her own line, and it stopped ringing.
Taking the phone from Karma’s gentle grip, Tee wiped its face clean. No damage she could see. That explained September’s silence. She might be on her way back to Teddy’s place, unaware he’d been attacked. Tee attached the lead to Karma’s collar, not wanting to risk losing the dog.
Karma continued to snuffle around the grave. The dog’s hackles bristled, and a low growl bubbled from deep in her chest. Shoulders hunching, Tee scanned the area, and spied a dark object atop the monument. She reached gingerly for the gun, her heart skipping a beat. Did it belong to September or someone else? She didn’t know if the woman carried, but wasn’t surprised. Losing her phone in the snow made sense, but nobody brought protection and left it behind. Had she been surprised, and run?
She paid closer attention to Karma’s behavior. Still learning to read the big dog’s meaning, Tee recognized the police dog’s arousal. The gloves Teddy gave her at the hospital would settle once and for all where September went from here. Tee pulled one of the gloves from her pocket, and called the dog to her, offering it to scent. Then Tee gave the German search command. “Karma such.”
Karma sniffed deeply, and without hesitation, whirled and set off across the large cemetery. She had to bulldoze through deeper drifts, occasionally leaping over snowbanks. Tee stumbled after the dog, clinging to the tracking line, struggling to keep up and not slow Karma down. The blowing snow had only partially filled footprints. That made the trek easier. But without Karma, Tee wouldn’t have seen September’s path.
What made September leave her gun and phone behind? Why travel to another section of the cemetery, unless chased?
Karma stopped near a freshly-dug grave. The mound of dark earth, dusted with snow, contrasted against the white landscape. Tee caught her breath, reluctant to examine the hole. She used her phone’s flashlight app for a better view, and breathed again to find it empty. Her brow furrowed when she saw the disturbance in the bottom of the pit. Karma’s excitement continued, and she jumped into the hole, and back out again, all the while wagging her short tail.
“Good job, Karma.” Tee put a hand on the dog’s head, still examining the scene. She switched on the camera flash, and took several pictures with her phone. She recognized there’d been a struggle of some kind.
Karma whined, and walked away from the empty grave, tugging against the line. Tee called her back, still gathering evidence. “Let’s go, Karma. Now, Karma, mahalo.” She gave the release word, when Karma resisted. “That’s enough. I need to see if Teddy’s heard from September.”
As they hurried back to her car, Tee’s phone rang. She grimaced at the caller I.D., and let it ring several more times before answering. She opened the back door, waited for Karma to leap inside, and climbed into the driver’s seat.
“This is Teves.” She started the car, and switched on the heater. “I planned to call you in a couple of hours. Didn’t figure you’d be back in the station yet.”
“Yeah, well you should’ve checked in last night.” Redford’s voice growled with aggravation. “Instead, right in the middle of Zach’s party, I gotta hear from Detective Steele about you inserting yourself into his investigation.”
“Wait, that’s not what—”
“I don’t want to hear it. You’re done there, Teves. Pack up your kit and come back to Chicago. Let the locals handle their end, and we’ll take care of the Detweiller case from Chicago. The departments will share anything pertinent. The way everything has blown up, Steele says South Bend has asked the FBI to take the lead with a multi-state task force. Just peachy.” His voice dripped with sarcasm.
She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth. She tried again. “But September Day—she’s one of the witnesses in this mess—”
“I know who she is. Hell, half the police agencies from Chicago to Texas know that name.” He sighed. “Steele put a BOLO on her car, and they found it at the airport. Looks like she cut and ran back to Texas.”
Tee stiffened. “But her stuff is still in my hotel room, and I found her phone and gun near her husband’s grave. Looks like a struggle. Something else went down here, and—”
“What? I should look in my crystal ball?” He snorted. “Steele doesn’t need your help. I expect you back here on duty ASAP. Don’t disappoint me again, Officer, Teves.” He hung up.
Tee clenched her phone in one hand and pounded the steering wheel with the other. It made no sense. Why would September leave her car at the airport? Hell, she left her cat behind. No, she would find a way to let Tee know. Or call Teddy Williams.
She didn’t have his number. Quickly, she dialed the hospital. In the back seat, Karma whined and paced, still nosing the window and pawing to get out. “Settle down, Karma. Mahalo, just chill.” The dog continued to react to Tee’s tension. “Yes, please connect me with Theodore Williams. Room 432.” She waited, until a groggy Teddy answered.
“They gave me good drugs, and I just got to sleep. Who the hell is this?”
“Sorry to wake you. This is Officer Teves, September’s friend.”
“Did you find her?” He came suddenly awake. Worry shook his voice.
“No, but Karma found her cell phone. And her gun.” She rubbed her eyes. “I saw signs of a struggle, and her car isn’t here.” She paused. “I guess that means she didn’t call you?”
“Don’t be stupid.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, that’s the drugs talking. But seriously, she has no phone, no gun, and how the hell should she call me? You’ve told the police, though, right?”
Tee paused. “Did you send the electronic files to Detective Steele?”
“Right after you left. Their team should be teasing out all the good stuff. You told him about September. Right? Officer Teves?”
She put the car in gear and headed out of the cemetery. “I’ve been called back to Chicago. And someone found September’s car at the airport. Looks like she’s gone home to Texas.”
“What? Without telling me?” He chewed his words, and sounded furious.
Tee had to smile. “That’s what I thought. It makes no sense. Steele hadn’t even got her official statement. He should be spitting nails.”
Teddy grunted, and then hissed as if he’d hurt himself. “Dammit, I got no time for an injury. You drive that car of yours back over to the hospital and pick me up.”
“Mr. Williams, I don’t think—”
“That’s right, you don’t think for me. I’m not gonna ask, I’m just discharging myself. Something’s not right, and I’m not gonna lay around in the lap of luxury,” he snorted again, “while September’s in trouble. Now, I know you’re a good cop, Officer Teves, like all law enforcement professionals I’ve worked with. But something stinks if Steele spun that bit of hogwash.”
She agreed. But disobeying Redford’s direct order locked the door on any chance to becoming a detective. “I understand the FBI will soon take the lead.”
“Good. So you’re gonna run back to Chicago and leave it all to me? Fine. I’ll call an Uber.”
“Wait!” She yelled, afraid he’d hang up, and Karma barked in answer. “I’ll be at the hospital in fifteen minutes.”
