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First Edition Design Publishing - Mike Smitley

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221 pages

English

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Description

A sequel to IMPLIED CONTRACT, GHOST HUNT continues to illustrate the complexity of homicide investigation with a deeper look inside a serial murder investigation.

Sujets

Thriller

Informations

Publié par	First Edition Design Publishing
Date de parution	10 octobre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781937520298
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

GHOST HUNT
The Sequel

Mike Smitley
Copyright © 2011 Mike Smitley

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ISBN 978-1-937520-29-8
Published by First Edition Design eBook Publishing
October 2011
www.firsteditiondesignpublishing.com

Thanks to my wife, Jana, for her patience and support.
The author, Mike Smitley, can be contacted at: www.fatherspress.com. or mike@fatherspress.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1

EVELYN LABORED AS she shuffled through the knee-deep snow. She scooted on the surface with her snowshoes and struggled under the weight of her easel, camp chair, backpack and art box. She had driven for an hour to Redberry Lake, northwest of Saskatoon. This was a major waterfowl refuge where she loved to paint landscapes and wildlife.
After an exhausting fifteen minute trek from her car, she panted heavily as she scanned her surroundings. She dropped her camp chair and art box in the snow on a plateau overlooking the lake, then set up her easel beside them. She removed her backpack and set it beside the art box, then scooped the snow away with the inside of her foot to make a small clearing where she could sit. She unfolded her camp chair and set it up in front of her easel.
She reached into her backpack and pulled out her thermos. After pouring a cup of hot chocolate, she studied the landscape for several minutes before she’d mentally framed the portion of the lake that she wanted to paint. With her finished painting vividly burned into her mind, she eagerly went to work laying down a thin, light-gray winter sky across the top of her canvass.
The cold was tolerable beneath the layers of winter clothing and the gentle north wind nibbled at the exposed skin on Evelyn’s face. She put down her brush and pulled her facemask over her face, then went back to painting.
Evelyn loved the crisp air and sounds of nature. Just over the embankment by the lake were some trees. Anxious ravens hopped around the branches and chastised something in the lake. After several minutes of chaos, Evelyn decided to see what the ravens were so excited about.
She put her brush in a cup of thinner and refilled her thermos cup. She didn’t want to alarm the ravens, so she eased cautiously to the edge of the embankment as she sipped her hot chocolate.
The ravens paid her little attention. They were aware of her close proximity, but felt safe in the branches. To Evelyn’s shock, she discovered that the ravens were harassing a pack of wolves in the shallow water of the lakeshore.
She stopped abruptly and cautiously pulled her facemask up over her forehead as she studied the wolves. She had never known them to be aggressive toward man, so she felt safe watching them from a distance.
One stopped and lowered its head menacingly as it fixed its attention on her. When it was sure that she had no intention of taking its food, it returned to dismembering the carcass.
Evelyn was a native Canadian and quite familiar with the brutality of nature, so the sight of wolves feeding on a kill didn’t repulse her. She was, however, aware of the unpredictability of wild carnivores and didn’t want to push her luck.
One of the wolves had grown tired of the snarling, nipping and posturing associated with the jockeying for position in the hierarchal feeding order. It had rolled over on its back and exposed its throat submissively to the dominant members several times before it had managed to maneuver close enough to feed. It hurriedly ripped off a large piece of the carcass and carried it away to feed on it alone. Evelyn gasped when she saw that the piece was a section of ribcage and neck. Since it was not covered in fur, she knew it was not a deer, bear or moose.
The ashy-grey color of the carcass baffled her. When another subordinate member of the pack ripped off a piece and ran, Evelyn could see the arm and hand of a human dangling from the wolf’s mouth.
Overwhelming shock made her weak. She dropped her cup and covered her mouth as she screamed and back-peddled a few feet, tripping over a log and falling backward. She had always believed that wolves weren’t predatory on humans, but now she wasn’t so sure. They had obviously killed this one.
Panic overtook her as she realized that she might be next. She scrambled to her feet and shuffled as fast as she could through the snow. As she reached her easel she cried hysterically and clumsily tried to gather her art equipment, then realized that she could move faster without the extra weight. She abandoned her equipment and knocked over the chair and easel as she ran toward her car.
As exhaustion drained her strength she looked over her shoulder expecting to see a pack of snarling man-eaters in hot pursuit. To her great relief she was alone on the trail. The wolves were apparently not willing to abandon the kill to the ravens just to chase her. She ripped her face-mask off her head and cried uncontrollably as she staggered to her car.
Chapter 2

IRA LANE WAS a senior detective with the Saskatoon Police Department and had just arrived back at the station after conducting a series of neighborhood canvases in an attempt to locate witnesses to a homicide that had occurred the week before. He had just removed his coat and collapsed in his chair when the captain entered his office. “Afternoon, Ira, any luck with the canvass?”
Ira shook his head as he rubbed his fatigued eyes. “Nah, Virg, it was cold and everyone had their doors and windows closed at the time of the killing. I didn’t expect to find anyone who had seen anything this time of year. It was just one of those low-percentage hoops that we have to jump through.”
“ I know, Ira. Listen, I just got a call from Millie in dispatch. She monitors the R.C.M.P. frequency. They’ve just dispatched a Mountie to Redberry Lake to investigate a dead body. Apparently it’s been there for a while. That’s close enough to us that it may be one of our missing persons. Why don’t you run up there and see who it is? Maybe we can clear up one of our old cases.”
Ira looked at his watch and rubbed his chin. “It’s almost quitting time; you willing to pay overtime, boss?”
“ No, but there’s not much going on this week. If it’s not one of ours, trade out your time and take the day off tomorrow. That’ll give you a long weekend.”
Ira called the R.C.M.P. headquarters and asked the dispatcher which Mountie had been sent to Redberry Lake. After receiving directions to the body, he headed north.
He drove down a long, desolate road and pulled up behind the Mountie’s cruiser. He opened his trunk and put on his winter boots, then followed the Mountie’s footprints to the lake.
As he crested the embankment above the lake, he saw the Mountie down on the shore. He yelled, “Hey, Larry, you thinking of taking a swim or just admiring the scenery?”
Larry looked up the embankment and yelled, “Oh hell, Ira, it’s too cold for a swim. I’m just wondering how the hell I’m going to get this body out without getting my feet wet. I’m glad you showed up; looks like my problem is solved.”
Ira laughed as he cautiously scooted through the snow and down the embankment. Once on the shore he said, “Not hardly, Larry, if I fell down in cold water at my age, my heart would stop, then you’d have two bodies to fish out of the lake.”
Larry didn’t respond as he studied the remains. Ira stood quietly beside him, then mumbled, “Not much left, Larry. The animals have made pretty quick work of it. Who found it?”
“ A young girl from Saskatoon, Evelyn Steele. She’s an art student there. She said she comes here often to paint. I found her equipment up on the embankment there. She said wolves had killed the victim and were tearing the body apart when she found it. It gave her a pretty good scare. I think she’s mistaken. I think the person was already dead and the wolves were feeding on it.” Ira nodded without answering.
Larry looked around the shore and sighed heavily as he pulled up the collar of his duty-parka. “Well, looks like it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. I’ll have to get some people up here to search the area for the rest of the body. I’ll get the medical examiner up here tonight to recover what’s left. I wonder where the head is.”
Ira spent the rest of the evening helping Larry photograph and diagram the scene. When the medical examiner arrived, he wadded out into the lake and recovered the rest of the body. As he was walking back to shore with the pelvis and legs, he stumbled over something in the water and fell to one knee. He put his face close to the water and studied the bottom carefully. He then reached into the water and picked up the victim’s head by the hair.
Ira nudged Larry and said, “That’s a break, Larry. At least you’ll have the head so you can use the dental records for identification.”
“ Good, Ira, judging from what’s left of the pelvis, looks like it was a female. I wish I had all the other parts so we could determine a cause of death.”
“ You’ll find them, Larry. I’ll be back out here in the morning. The other parts won’t be far. Wolves only carry them off far enough to feed on them without having them taken away by the more dominant pack members.” Ira looked around the area and shuttered from the cold. “Hell, Larry, all we have to do is follow the wolf tracks. I’ll bet all the parts are no more than a hundred yards from here.”

*****

As the winter wind howled around the windows, Ira sat in front of his T.V. and sipped his beer. He hadn’t touched his supper and opted for a second beer instead.
There hadn’t been many missing women in the area over the years and deep in his heart he had a strong suspicion that Larry’s dismembered body was Vera Post.
Vera had been reported missing by her family the previous fall. Ira had tried to reassure them th