William Krueger - Copper River

Hodder stepped in to make the connections: Charlie and Sara Wolf and Providence House, Providence House and Delmar Bell, Bell and Calvin Stokely, Calvin Stokely and the cabin on the Copper River. And finally the speculation about Stokely, Bell, and the dead girl twenty years ago.

The detective put his notepad to his forehead and closed his eyes a moment. “Okay,” he said. “If these men killed the Wolf girl, and if they were willing to kill these other kids who saw the body in the river, why dump the body there in the first place? Why not just bury it?”

Cork asked, “Has the autopsy been done? Do you know the cause of death?”

“I haven’t had a chance to look at the report.” Then Olafsson added defensively, “I’ve been busy. A lot’s been going on.”

“Any way you can find out?”

“What difference does it make?”

“Maybe they didn’t dump her body. Maybe she wasn’t dead when she went into the river,” Cork explained.

The blond feathers that were Olafsson’s eyebrows dipped toward each other. “You think she went into the river on her own? What, tried to run or something? Drowned?”

“It’s a possibility.”

“Huh.” Olafsson pulled a cell from inside his jacket and punched in a number. “This is Terry Olafsson. Give me Wayne Peterson… page him then. I’ll wait.” He kept the phone to his ear and eyed Charlie. “One thing nobody’s told me is where you went after you found your father dead. Did somebody hide you?”

Charlie stubbornly maintained her silence.

Olafsson spoke to Ren. “Do you know?”

“She didn’t tell me,” he replied quickly.

“Right,” Olafsson said. Then he spoke into the phone. “Yeah, Wayne, it’s Terry. Say, I haven’t had a chance to look at your preliminary autopsy report on the Wolf girl’s death. What’s your initial finding for cause of death? Uh-huh… Uh-huh… When will the analysis be complete? Uh-huh… Okay. Thanks, Wayne. ‘Preciate it.” He ended the call and slipped the phone back into his jacket. “Drowning, he says. Which would be consistent with falling into Lake Superior. We won’t know where she died until they’ve finished analyzing the water in her lungs.”

“Jesus, Terry,” Hodder said, rising from his chair. “You think all of these odd things are coincidental? Maybe in a city like Marquette, but not up here.”

“What do you want me to do?” Olafsson said.

Dina spoke up for the first time. “It would be interesting to talk to Calvin Stokely, don’t you think?”

Olafsson lifted his hands as if quieting a restless mob. “Everything you’ve told me that you believe connects Stokely to the girl’s death is pure speculation. I’m more than a little reluctant to barge into the Copper River Club without something a lot stronger.”

Olafsson’s cell phone rang, the ring tone playing a snippet of a tune vaguely familiar to Cork. As Olafsson pulled his phone from his jacket pocket, Hodder, who’d noticed Cork’s slightly furrowed brow, leaned over and whispered, “The Wolverine fight song.”

“Yeah?” Olafsson answered. He listened. “I see. I’d be interested in knowing if you find anything that we can trace to Sara Wolf… All right. Keep me posted. Oh, Earl, have you got a TOD on Bell yet?” He looked up at the ceiling. “Killed between three-thirty and four? Thanks.” He put the phone away. “State police. I asked them to keep me informed during their investigation of Bell’s murder. They’ve been going through his place. They found Rohypnol. A lot of it.”

Rohypnol. The date rape drug.

“All right. I’ll go up there, talk to this Stokely.” Olafsson pointed to Hodder. “I want you with me.” To the deputy who’d come with him he said, “Stay here until I get back, Flo. I’d appreciate you folks sticking around, too. And, Ms. Miller,” he said to Charlie, “as of right now, you are in protective custody.”

“Meaning?” Jewell said.

“While I’m gone, Deputy Baylor here will make arrangements for Charlene to stay with the juvenile authorities in Marquette.”

“Is that really necessary?” Jewell shot back.

“Look, she’s a material witness to a murder, Ms. DuBois. In addition, if what you’re all telling me is true, then her safety’s an issue. What would you do if you were me?”

“I’m not going to juvie,” Charlie said.

“Charlene, I’m not giving you a choice here. Flo,” he said to the deputy, “she’s your responsibility.”

“Understood,” Baylor responded.

Dina said, “We couldn’t get past the front gate at the Copper River Club.”

“You didn’t have jurisdiction,” Olafsson replied.

“They’ve got money,” Dina said. “My experience is that money usually trumps everything but a court order.”

“We’ll try it friendly first.”

Dina shrugged. “Your call.”

F or a little while after that, the constable’s office felt like a tomb, with Charlie buried in it.

The look on Charlie’s face-a twisting of fear, anger, and betrayal-hurt Jewell deeply. She felt responsible, as if she’d guided the girl unwisely. How could she make Charlie understand that Detective Olafsson was right? Safety was the most important concern, and Charlie was far better off in the custody of the Marquette authorities than open to the threats posed by the dark woods that isolated the old resort. In those woods, anything could hide.

Poor Ren looked pathetic, studying Charlie with such concern. Maybe he felt guilty, too, because he’d been the one who told her story. Maybe he saw that as betraying her to the enemy. But he’d had no choice.

“I’m not going,” Charlie said, talking to the floor.

“It would only be for a short time, isn’t that right, Officer?” Jewell said.

“I don’t know, ma’am.”

Charlie lifted her head and pointed her chin at Jewell. “Why can’t I stay with you?”

“You wouldn’t be safe.”

Charlie turned to Dina. “Would you be there?”

“I’d be there,” Dina assured her.

“Then I’d be safe.”

A warm smile touched Dina’s lips. “I’d make sure of it.”

Charlie looked at Jewell again, accusing. “See?”

“That may be good enough for us,” Cork put in gently. “But I don’t think Detective Sergeant Olafsson will see it the same way.”

“I didn’t want to come here,” Charlie said. “I didn’t want to tell him anything. I didn’t want to tell anybody.”

Jewell got up from her chair and knelt beside Charlie. She laid her hand on the girl’s shoulder and looked into her stubborn, frightened eyes. Oh, how many times had she seen this look over the years? How many times had she spoken to Charlie like a mother?

“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to, and we do them because we know they’re the right things to do. If you kept quiet and the men who killed Sara walked away free, how would you feel, Charlie? Especially if they’re the same men who killed your father?”

Charlie didn’t answer, but her eyes glossed with tears, and Jewell held her.

“Are you hungry?” Jewell said quietly. “Sometimes a full stomach can brighten a pretty dour prospect.”

The girl nodded.

“I’m hungry, too,” Ren said.

Jewell stood up. “Who else?”

“I’d eat,” Cork said.

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Dina threw in.

“How about a slew of cheeseburgers from Kitty’s?” Jewell suggested.

“And fries?” Ren said.

“All right, fries.”

“And a milkshake?”

“A milkshake it is. Chocolate?”

“Awesome.”

“How about you, Charlie?”

The girl gave her slender shoulders a shrug, then nodded.

“Officer?” Jewell said to the deputy.