Should Be Dead (The Valkyrie Smith Mystery Series Book 1) (6 page)

Val made her way to the van, moving slowly because she didn’t trust her cane on the slick river stones. She circled around the front of the vehicle, noting the smoky discoloration at the top of the windshield. The officer searching the front of the van moved aside so she could look inside the cab.

The acrid scent of burnt plastic and melted vinyl washed over her, burning her nostrils and making her eyes water. Val didn’t see much of interest. As Nate had said, there were blackened stains and smears of blood on everything. The killer hadn’t given a second thought to cleaning up, maybe because he had been wearing gloves,
and because he had planned on burning the van. She wondered which of them it had been, Odin, or Loki? Or both of them? What was it like when two serial killers worked together? Did they carpool? Did they share an apartment somewhere nearby?

Despite the fire, much of the van’s carpeting and upholstery remained. Valkyrie guessed that after burning whatever accelerant they had used, the fire must have gone out rather quickly. She wondered why the killers hadn’t stuck around long enough to make sure it finished burning. Maybe they’d been scared off by somebody. Maybe they were just too worked up, too emotionally charged to think rationally. That wasn’t hard to imagine, considering how off-kilter their minds were already. But where could they have gone?

She turned in a slow circle, scanning the terrain. Odin and Loki could have gone back up to the highway to hitch a ride. If that were the case, someone would have seen them... Unless they had a second vehicle waiting. In that case, they might have been in and out of the scene in minutes. On the other hand, they might have crossed the river and disappeared into the woods on the other side without leaving a single witness. Nate had said the van was registered to an RV park up the road. The vehicle had probably been stolen, but she decided it was a good place to start. She circled around the back of the van and looked inside the cargo box.

“What do you think?” said the sheriff behind her. “Is this your guy?”

Val glanced at him. “What are you talking about?”

“You know, the other case. The reason the Brooks murders got flagged by the feds.”

Valkyrie pursed her lips. She had almost forgotten about that little white lie. “This case does have a few things in common with another recent murder, but I doubt there’s any connection.”

“I see. I guess that means your work is done here.”

“I could stick around a few more days,” she said, trying not to sound too eager. “I don’t know if it will do any good, considering how little we have to go on, but I’d like to help you solve this thing. If we can, that is.”

“I’m not ready to give up yet. We could definitely use your help.”

“Perfect.” Val took a step back from the van, and glanced at the trail leading into the trees. “Well, it has been quite a hike for me, sheriff. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to excuse myself.”

 “I’ll have Nate help you back to your car.”

“That won’t be necessary. But please, if you wouldn’t mind, keep me apprised of the situation?”

“Of course. I’ll call if we learn anything. If you come up with any theories, do the same.”

“Will do, sheriff.”

As soon as she got back in her car, Val fired up the GPS. Just as Nate had said, the Marigold RV Park was only two miles up the road. While driving there, she dialed Riley’s office number. The phone rang several times before the reporter finally answered.

“Riley, it’s Val.”

“Valkyrie? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like… Umm, what can I do for you?”

“Relax,” Val said, grinning. “I’m just giving you a hard time. I called to give you a heads-up. We found the killer’s van. It’s along the river, west of Forestville.”

“That’s strange. I didn’t hear a thing on the scanner.”

“I think the sheriff is trying to keep it quiet. If you hurry, you might get the scoop before that reporter from the Democrat ever knows it happened.”

“That’s fantastic! Thanks Val, I owe you one.”

“No problem. You can buy me dinner tonight.”

“I can?” There was a moment of silence while he processed that.

“How about eight o’clock?” Val said.

“Of course. Sounds great! I’ll see you then.”

Val tried hard not to laugh. She doubted a woman had ever asked Riley out before. Heck, he’d likely never even
gone
out to dinner with a woman. At least, not one he wasn’t related to.

Val easily found the Marigold RV Park. The entrance was a steep paved incline right off the highway that shot straight down into a redwood grove. A row of RVs and tents stretched out along the river, and the manager’s office appeared directly in front of her. Val parked. She fished her fake ID out of her jacket, which she had thrown on the passenger seat.

As she approached the office, which was little more than a one-room shack with a cash register and an old computer, a pretty blonde girl in her early twenties appeared behind the counter. She smiled as Val arrived.

“I’m Leann. How can I help you?”

Val showed her badge. “I’m looking for someone who owns a white van.”

“Space number B-7,” she said without hesitation. “Joe Glenn. See that ratty old trailer and that piece of crap old Ford truck? That’s his. You’ll probably have to wake him up, the worthless dirtbag. Just look for the redneck with a shaved head and a black eye.”

Val cocked an eyebrow. “A black eye?”

“Ask him how he got it,” Leann said with a mean smile.

“I think I already know,” Val said.

The dirt road leading back to the campsite was thick with fine dust that puffed up in the air with every footfall or touch of her cane. There was no breeze in the sheltered grove. The dust just hung suspended in a low cloud, like a fog drifting along the ground behind her. Up ahead, the road wound back and forth through the trees, and Valkyrie realized that the park was much larger than it had initially appeared.

Val found Glenn sleeping in a hammock that he had tied between the trunk of a redwood and the back bumper of his trailer. A straw cowboy hat covered his face, and a half-empty case of Budweiser rested on the ground within easy reach. An old blue-heeler yawned lazily as she approached.

“Mr. Glenn?” she said. He stretched his arms and tilted the brim of his hat up so he could see her.

“I know you?”

“No, my name is Val Smith.” She went for her badge, but he bolted out of the hammock and stood facing her. Suddenly, the dog was alert. Its hackles stood straight up and a low growl rumbled out of its chest. Val hesitated, wondering if she should forget the badge and go for her gun.

“You a lawyer?” Joe said. “‘Cause I ain’t talkin’ to no lawyer. What did Leann tell you anyway? I didn’t touch that slut!”

“Relax, Mr. Glenn. I’m with the FBI.” She flashed her badge. “I need to ask about your van.”

“Van?” he echoed. He took off his hat and rubbed the beads of sweat from his smooth head.

“Yes, your white van.”

“Oh that ol’ piece of crap,” he said with a laugh. “I sold it.” The dog instantly sensed the change in Joe’s attitude. It turned a few circles and sank into its previous napping spot, but kept a wary eye on the situation as it settled down.

“The DMV still shows you as the owner of record.”

“Sorry, I can’t help with that. I filled out the papers and sent them in, just like you’re supposed to. It’s not my fault if Bob didn’t ever go get his new title.”

“Bob? Who’s Bob?”

“The guy I sold it to. He lives over there.” Joe pointed at an RV in a space across the park.

The instant Val turned, the motor home’s engine roared to life. The driver gunned the accelerator and the RV lurched forward, dragging a sewer pipe and electrical cable along with it. The satellite dish on the roof struck a low hanging tree branch and fell to the ground with a crash. A cloud of dust went up as the RV hit the road and went barreling towards the exit.

Val made a dash for her car. She was surprisingly fast for a woman with a cane and a fused spine.

Chapter 9

Loki was in the motor home making a mayo and ketchup sandwich when Val drove into the Marigold RV Park. Not a sandwich
with
ketchup and mayo of course, but
of them
. Meat would have been nice, or at least some cheese, but Odin still refused to let him go to the store.

“The fridge is empty,” Loki had said. “If you keep us cooped up in here much longer, I’ll starve!”

“Find something,” Odin grumbled. “We’re gonna lay low for a few more days. That’s final.”

“Why?” Loki demanded. “Why do we have to stay here? What are we waiting for?”

“A phone call.” Odin’s gaze remained permanently fixed on the TV screen.

“I knew I should have kept something,” Loki snarled, squeezing a splotch of mayonnaise out of the plastic jar. “A heart maybe, or at least a few fingers… I heard human flesh tastes just like pork roast.”

“What are you talking about? We’re not cannibals.”

Speak for yourself,
Loki thought.

Loki never tasted human flesh before. He didn’t know of anyone who had, except for those settlers who’d met their grisly end on the slopes of Donner Pass, or that girl in elementary school who used to pick the peeling sunburn off her arms and eat it.

He smiled as he thought of her. He wondered what
she
would taste like.

That was when Val’s Packard came idling into the park, right up to the front office. Loki heard the noise of the engine and glanced through the window. When he saw the car, he did a double take.

“That’s her, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“The car! Isn’t that the car?”

Odin’s eyes didn’t even flicker away from the television. “Shutup. This kid on American Starpower is about to sing a country song he wrote himself.”

Loki slammed the ketchup bottle down on the counter. “You said they wouldn’t find us here!” he shouted. “I knew I shouldn’t trust you. I’m getting out of here.”

Loki pushed toward the door, but the larger man leapt up and caught him by the collar. It was the first time since the previous morning that Loki had seen Odin leave the couch. They glared at each other for a second, and then Odin leaned around his companion to gaze out the windshield.

“I’ll be,” he mumbled.

“Is it her?”

“It’s her.”

“Should we follow her?”

Odin glanced at his partner and then back at Val, who was still talking to Leann. “What is she doing here?” he mumbled. “There’s no way she tracked us down to this place.”

“Where’s she going?” Loki said nervously.

They watched as Val started walking down the road, towards one of the trailers.

“Get out of the way,” Odin said, shoving Loki aside. He crawled into the driver’s seat and reached up, fumbling with the sun visor. The keys tumbled onto his lap.

“What are you doing?” Loki said.

Odin glared at him. “Think about it, moron. What brought her here? How could she possibly have found us?”

Loki considered it for a few seconds. “The van?”

“The guy who sold you that van lives right there, doesn’t he?”

“But we burned it up. We hid it!”

“Not good enough. They must have tracked it back to him.”

Odin seemed worried, and Loki didn’t like that at all. Loki had never seen Odin that way. The older man was an experienced killer, a predator. He was usually brimming with confidence.

Odin fussed with the keys a moment, trying to find the right one. Once he had it, he shoved it into the ignition and turned the switch halfway. The glow-plug light on the dash came on, warning him to wait thirty seconds before starting the old diesel engine.

“I have an idea,” said Loki. “Why don’t we just kill her?”

Odin snorted and shook his head. “You truly are an idiot. Look around you. Look at how many people are in this park. She just talked to Leann for Christ’s sake! If we do anything now, we’ll have fifty witnesses to the whole thing. Then what will we do? Kill them all?”

Loki considered the possibility. Odin called him an idiot again. They both leaned forward, watching intently as Val approached the trailer and began speaking to Joe. After a few moments, Joe raised his arm and pointed straight at them. That was when Odin started the engine and shoved it into drive. He stomped on the accelerator.

As the RV flew out of the camping spot, the cabinet doors flew open, hurling plastic dishes and paper cups onto the already trash-covered floor. Instantaneously, the satellite dish ripped out of the roof with a horrendous grinding noise and the power line ripped out of the post next to the trailer. A cloud of dust enveloped the RV as it roared up the embankment towards the main road.

“Why did you do that?” Loki shouted. “Now she knows it’s us for sure!”

“She already knew, you idiot. Look out the back and see if she’s following us.”

Loki scooted down the aisle to the back bedroom. He drew back the curtains just in time to see Val’s black sedan coming out of the RV park. “She’s following us!” he shouted.

Odin cursed. It was the first time Loki had ever seen him do that. Until this moment, Odin had always been in control, always cool and collected; completely professional. So this was what Odin was like when he
wasn’t
in control. It was fascinating.

“She’s probably calling the cops,” Odin yelled over his shoulder. “We have to get her off our trail. Do something.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know… try to block the road. Throw something at her.”

Loki rushed forward and scooped up the ketchup and mayo bottles that had fallen on the floor. He went racing to the back window. He returned a few seconds later.

“I need something bigger!” His eyes fell on the TV.

Odin heard the raucous sound of Loki ripping the television off the wall and glanced back over his shoulder just in time to see Loki running down the hall with his TV.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

There was a crash as Loki shattered the window, making room for the TV to fit through. Another crash immediately followed, and Odin felt a sick twisting in his gut. Loki let out a cheer and hurried back to the front.