Secret Hollows (23 page)

“Oh, yes,” Mary agreed pleasantly. “I was shaking in my heels.”

“She was about to spill,” he said. “Tell me all of your dirty secrets.”

Bradley shrugged.
“Wouldn’t be admissible in court.”

Sitting back, Alex was surprised.
“Why not?”

Walking over to stand behind her chair, Bradley leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek.
“Because a wife can’t testify against her husband.”

“You two?
The two of you?
Both of you?
Are getting married?” he asked.

“See, darling, I told you he had a brilliant legal mind,” Mary teased.

Grinning, Alex leaned forward. “So, do I get to kiss the bride?”

“Sure, if you want your face broken,” Bradley said calmly.

“He’s a little jealous,” Mary quipped and then she stood up and gave Alex a hug. “You’re coming, of course.”

He kissed her on the cheek. “Of course I am,” he said. “When is it?”

“June,” Mary said.

“Early June,” Bradley added.

“I’m happy for both of you,” he said. “Well, actually I’m really jealous, but I’ll pretend to be happy to ensure good working relationships.”

“Big of you,
Boettch
, real big of you,” Bradley said, taking the chair next to Mary. “Has Mary told you why we wanted to meet with you?”

Alex moved back around his desk and sat down. “I’m guessing it wasn’t to issue a wedding invitation, right?”

Mary pulled the shopping bag and folder from her briefcase and laid it on his desk. “Have you ever heard of Emil Forrest?” she asked.

“Sure, the child killer from Lena,” Alex said. “I’ve had to review all of the cases our county has on death row.”

Mary opened the folder and held out the information. “Look at this,” she said.

Alex scanned the document. “What the hell? Why wasn’t this brought out in the original case?”

“We also believe there is another victim of the killer,” Bradley added.
“A young boy who was reported missing about a year before the other murders.
Ronny Goodridge.
He’s still considered a missing person.”

“You have evidence he was murdered?” he asked.

“We believe we’ve located his body,” she answered. “It’s in the middle of Lake Le-Aqua-Na.”

“This was primarily a case out of Lena,” he said. “Have you reported your findings to them?”

Bradley shook his head. “We’re concerned there might be a leak in that office. A couple of pieces of less sensitive information were leaked from Dixon to Lena, and we believe someone tried to cover up additional evidence by setting fire to Emil’s home.”

Alex sat back in his chair. “Was the evidence destroyed?”

Mary handed him the bag. “Emil told us that on the day he was arrested, he found a pair of Timmy Beck’s swim trunks lying alongside the road. He believed that Timmy had merely dropped them when he rode by and he was going to take them to Timmy’s house. They’ve been in the house all this time.”

Alex leaned forward, took the bag and opened it, but didn’t touch the trunks. “You’re thinking the trunks might have DNA on them?”

“If he was wearing them at the time of the murder, there’s a chance they could,” Mary said.

“So, we’ll fast track the testing,” Alex said. “That will give us results within 24 hours. In the meantime what else do you want me to do?”

“Move Forrest to solitary for the time being,” Bradley said. “I think the killer is getting a little nervous and he might be planning to get rid of him.”

“Could you get a forensic dive team out to the lake, as soon as possible, without alerting any other local law enforcement?” Mary asked. “We can give them a pretty specific site to search.”

“Okay, a forensic dive team,” he said, “anything else?”

“Well, there’s some more evidence in the hollow of a tree in the park,” Mary said. “We didn’t want to touch it and be accused of tampering with it. But we are concerned about the local law enforcement and their prejudicial handling of the case. It would be great to have someone you designated to help us retrieve it.”

Alex sat back in his seat and studied the two of them. “You’re not going to tell me how you got all of this information, are you?” he said.

Mary shook her head. “Alex, you really don’t want to know.”

“Was it legal?”

Bradley looked him in the eyes. “Alex, I swear to you it was legal,” he said. “But pretty unorthodox and it would just be better if you didn’t know any more about it.”

He paused for a moment and shrugged, “Works for me,” he said. “I’ll see what I can do about expediting Emil’s release and I’ll put him in protective custody until all the dust has settled.”

“And you’ll get in touch with Ronny’s parents?” Mary asked. “He’d like…I mean…it would be nice if they could come up here to claim the remains.”

He tilted his head and studied her for a moment. “You know, Mary O’Reilly, I’m not as dumb as I look.”

She blushed. “I never thought you were dumb, Alex. And, someday, if you really want to know, I’ll share my secrets with you.”

“Yeah, I think that could be interesting,” he said.

Ian drove down the country roads between Freeport and Lena, with Mike sitting in the passenger seat. “We have two choices,” Ian said. “We can try and find the ghosts of the boys who were murdered, or we can go through this list and interview the other men who were originally selected as people of interest.”

Mike turned and looked out the window at the countryside around them, still covered with a blanket of snow. “Since we have no idea where those murders took place, we could be searching for those boys for months,” he said. “I think the best bet is to talk to the people on the list first. At least we can get an idea if they act nervous or do something stupid after you leave.”

“While you stay behind and follow them,” Ian finished.

“Exactly.”

“Okay, who’s number one?” Ian asked.

“George Dittmer, the Little League coach and owner of the local hardware store,” Mike said.

Ian nodded. “Let’s go.”

The aisles in the hardware store were narrow and the shelves were filled with every possible gadget and contraption imaginable. Ian was overwhelmed at the variety, from old-fashioned horse liniment to the newest product in ultra-sonic pest control. He continued up the aisle until he reached the counter at the back of the store.

“This place is amazing,” he whispered to Mike.

“Yeah, I used to love coming here with my dad,” Mike said. “George used to have penny candy in barrels up by the register. I could always talk my dad into at least ten cents worth.”

“Hi, can I help you with something?” George Dittmer asked, walking up to Ian.

He was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a protruding waistline, not an uncommon combination. “Hello,” Ian replied. “My name is Ian MacDougal and I’m working on an investigation with the Freeport Police Department. I was wondering if I could ask you some
questions?
”

George shrugged. “Sure, if I can help?”

“It’s about the case involving the murder of a group of boys, about twenty years ago,” Ian said, watching the man’s face for any reaction.

“Yeah, I remember, one of those boys was on my Little League team,” he said. “Good thing they caught the bastard who killed them.”

“Well, as it turns out, some new information has recently come to light,” Ian said. “And it looks like Emil Forrest wasn’t guilty.”

“What?” George said, clearly surprised. “But they found all of their belongings…”

“Aye, it seems it might have been a set-up,” Ian said. “And now, well, we’re back to step one, trying to find the killer.”

“I can’t believe that,” George said, shaking his head. “We were all so sure it was Emil and now… Really, he was set up?”

“Ask him if he’d been questioned by the police,” Mike said. “Ask him if he’d ever been considered a suspect.”

“Do you know who else in town was interviewed by the police during the investigation?” Ian said.

George shrugged. “Well, I was,” he said. “You know, being the Little League coach I had access to one of those boys.
Didn’t know the other ones.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Ian continued, “why weren’t you considered a suspect?”

“Well, except for the times I’d take off for Little League, I was always here at the store,” George said. “That’s the problem with owning a store, it actually owns you. I was always here when those boys went missing.”

“They could pin down when the boys went missing?” Ian asked. “I hadn’t realized things were so exact.”

Shaking his head, George explained. “No, they basically took the times the boys left their homes and the times they were supposed to have returned and figured the crime took place sometime between those two points of time,” he said. “Yeah, it could have happened later, and one of the boys could have been running late. But, for the most part, the police figured it happened then.”

“That makes sense,” Ian said. “Were most of these times during the day?”

“Yeah, that was the weird thing,” George replied. “All of the boys went missing in the middle of the day. No early morning or late night disappearances. They were all snatched right out from under our noses.”

“Did you have any ideas about suspects?” Ian asked, “
back
when it was happening?”

George shook his head. “No, I might have had some thoughts,” he said. “But that was a long time ago and I sure don’t want to name any names.”

“Aye, well that’s understandable,” he replied. “Thank you for your time.”

Ian left the hardware store and walked up the street toward the butcher shop, the workplace of the next suspect. He took his time, looking at the windows of the other quaint downtown shops.

Finally, Mike appeared next to him. “So, what did you learn?” Ian asked.

“Well, he called Uncle Chuck and asked him what he knew about an ongoing investigation,” Mike said. “I have a feeling we’re going to have company soon.”

Ian smiled and increased his pace. “Well, then, I suppose we ought to hurry.”

Mary and Bradley took the stairs down to the first floor of the County Building.

“I need to stop in and see Linda,” she said. “How about dinner at my place and we can all compare notes?”

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “You plan the most romantic evenings,” he said. “I’ll be over about six.”

“Perfect.”

Mary walked down to the end of the hall and the County Clerk’s Office. Linda was in her office going through some paperwork. Mary knocked on her door and Linda motioned for her to come in.

“Hi, how
are the wedding
plans coming along?” she asked, sitting in the chair across from Linda.

Linda shook her head. “I had no idea there was so much to do,” she said. “I am so grateful for Rosie. She is simply amazing.”

Nodding, Mary laughed. “Yes, she is and a little overwhelming.”

“I agree,” Linda said. “I don’t think I ever made so many decisions in my life.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“Well, now that you volunteered,” Linda said with a smile. “I really need some help tomorrow putting together some centerpieces and silk bouquets. Rosie is bringing all of the materials.”

“I’m going with Bradley to Sycamore tomorrow morning,” Mary said, referring to Jeannine’s memorial service. “But we should be home in the afternoon.”

“That will be fine,” Linda replied. “We can use all the help we can get.”

Mary looked down at her hands and laughed. “Well, these hands are generally better suited at holding a gun and applying handcuffs, but if you show me what to do, I can try.”

Linda paused, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. “Would you mind if we met at your place?” she asked.

Mary thought about it for a moment and reluctantly shook her head. “I’m sorry, Linda,” she said. “Bradley, Ian and I are working on a case, and I know they’re going to have sensitive information spread out all over the place. It just won’t work.”

Linda took a deep breath. “Well, you know, this is my wedding and it’s my house,” she said with determination. “There is no reason I should be afraid of using my house to prepare for my wedding. My parents are just going to have to get used to the idea.”

“Are you sure?” Mary asked. “I suppose we could use my office.”

Linda shook her head. “No, Mary, I was wrong to ask to use your house. I need to stand up to my stepfather. Let’s meet at my house at one, okay?”

“That will be great,” Mary said.

She stood up, walked around the desk and gave Linda a hug. “Good for you,” she whispered.