Death's Door Read online

  Paul smiled. “Yes, being found unconscious on the floor of an office that’s been broken into can’t make a good first impression.”

  “Nice. Who’s paying your salary?”

  He laughed. “You do get into some interesting corners. I’d like to follow you around for a year… I could write a book.”

  “Maybe you’ll be unemployed soon and you’ll have a chance to do that.”

  “What’s to do up here on a Sunday night? You guys want to catch a movie?”

  “We sort of have plans.” I told him about the problem in the park. I had called Iverson and offered our services again. He said he’d always take free help. His officers wouldn’t be there… they had a tight budget. I asked if the ranger had told him about the car. He had. It was registered to a Martin Score of Green Bay. They were checking with Mr. Score. A patrol car had driven the road, and the car was gone.

  “You want help with that?” Paul asked.

  “It’d be hard to look romantic with you in the back seat.”

  “I wasn’t planning on chaperoning.”

  “That’s good to know. Sure. Another car would be good. Let’s take a drive over to the agency and then come back for dinner. There’s a great brew pub across the river.” I called Iverson, got one of the officers, and left a message to call me on my car phone.

  ***

  We took the Mustang and drove Paul to the agency. I told him there would be plenty of room to park on the street. Easy job. Then I changed the plans. We decided to drive up to Peninsula Park before dinner so he could get a feel for it. We pulled out of the park at ten after six and ate in Ephraim.

  It was a little after eight when we left the restaurant. I hadn’t heard from Iverson so we made up our own plan. Rosie and I would park again and Paul would roam through the park. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was better than nothing. The ranger gave us radios and told us the police weren’t going to be there tonight, but he’d be out driving the roads at some point.

  The sky had clouded over and there were overnight thunderstorms in the forecast.

  Rosie and I took up our lookout on the seventy-six-foot-tall Eagle Tower overlooking the bay and the Ephraim harbor. We could see six islands over the treetops. The view was spectacular, and it was a popular spot with a view of the road in both directions. The only car that drove by before ten was Paul. At ten minutes after, he called us and reported a suspicious car in the parking area on the west side of the park off of Shore Road. The driver had left the car and, instead of taking the walking path, started to walk toward the water. He was about to the edge of the trees when Paul pulled into the parking area. The man stopped, looked unsure of what to do, turned and walked back to his car, and drove out of the parking area. He turned south on Shore Road, heading toward the ranger station and the west entrance.

  I called and asked if the ranger could stop the car, but he was on the other side of the park. Paul followed but lost him as another car coming out of the tennis courts turned in front of Paul. He had the license number, so Iverson could find the owner.

  We all met back at the ranger’s station at a little before eleven and turned in the radios. The ranger thanked us and said he had reported the car to the police. Paul would drive back to the hotel so he could be at the agency by nine, and we’d stay at the cottage. I told him we’d be back at the hotel in the afternoon and to come to our room when he got back.

  I wanted to check on Stosh when we got back, but his lights were out. I thought they would be. Twenty minutes later ours were too.

  Chapter 23

  We ate breakfast with Stosh on the deck, and I got ahold of Dr. Long as Rosie and Stosh were cleaning up. She had an opening at ten. Her office was just a few blocks north of Al Johnson’s restaurant, so I stopped to show Rosie the goats on the thatched roof, a birthday present to Al from a friend. The goats were a county tourist attraction.

  Dr. Long was chatting with her receptionist when we got there. Her smile was much better than Peters’. She wore a flowery summer dress and sandals. She was shorter than Rosie, and Rosie was shorter than me. Her office was almost all windows and full of sunlight. With her dress and her smile and the sun, it was a pretty cheery place.

  I asked what kind of work she did and if she worked much with the police.

  “Mostly individual counseling, but sometimes I work with families. I don’t know how much you consider to be much, but certainly not as much as you get in Chicago. For one, there are less people up here, and two, they tend to keep their problems to themselves. The schools just started referring cases to me a few years ago.”

  We explained the situation and asked for her opinion about what might be driving Victoria and what she might be capable of doing. Her opinions weren’t comforting.

  “Have either of you done any wilderness camping?” she asked.

  That took me by surprise. “I have,” I said. “I had wilderness training in the army and have been in the back country of several national parks. I’ve asked Rosie to come several times, but she’s turned me down.”

  “Right,” Rosie said with a smile. “My vacations include a soft bed and a hot tub.”

  We all laughed.

  “Why do you ask?” I asked. “Have you?”

  She smiled. “I have.” She sipped her coffee. “What thoughts would go through your head if you were walking along the trail and all of a sudden a couple of bear cubs came out of the forest fifty feet ahead of you?”

  “I’d wonder if my will was in order.”

  She laughed. “Right. Because where there are cubs there’s a mother. And what would she do if she saw you?”

  “Well, not entirely sure, but she wouldn’t be happy.”

  “Right again, because her instincts are to protect her cubs, and you are a threat. She’s not going to stop to see how friendly you are… she’s coming after you.”

  Rosie squirmed in her chair. “I’ve never seen a bear in my hot tubs.”

  “I imagine not,” Lynn said. “The point is, the motherly instinct is the same no matter the species. Imagine the state of that bear if she had lost her cubs and was looking for them. Victoria is no different.”

  I didn’t quite agree. “Not entirely the same. Victoria gave up her baby... voluntarily.”

  “Yes, but the whole adoption process is really fraught with trouble. A mother is giving up a baby because there’s a problem—money, drugs, family pressure, the father split, stigma… whatever the reason, it was strong enough to overcome that maternal instinct. But that doesn’t go away, and some change their minds.”

  Rosie was holding her cup in both hands. “Obviously Victoria was one of those. Sarah overheard that argument between Victoria and Peters. She wants her baby back, which raises another point. The baby is now about ten years old… so no longer a baby.”

  Lynn nodded and picked up a pencil. “Yes, but she may not be thinking that. In her mind, she’s trying to find her baby. I’d have to talk to her, but I’d say she’s suffering from some psychological disorder.”

  “And that makes her dangerous?” I asked.

  “Hard to say. It could be that she just wants to know her child is okay. Some mothers would be satisfied just knowing that their baby was well taken care of. But she also could be looking for a real baby. She could be stuck at ten years ago. If that’s the case, there’s no telling what she’ll do.”

  “If they were yelling loud enough for Sarah to hear, I’m guessing she’s not just wanting to know her child is okay.” I said. “And Peters isn’t exactly the kind and caring person that’s going to handle that well.”

  “No, it doesn’t sound like it. Doesn’t sound like her personality fits the business she’s in,” Lynn said. “It would be against protocol to tell a mother who adopted her baby, but it certainly should be handled without anger.”

  “Hard to do if the mother is upset. And even harder if Peters is involved,” Rosie said. “We also know someone broke in. I think it’s a pretty good assumption that was
Victoria looking for information.”

  Lynn nodded. “I agree. Surprising that she still had a key.”

  “Peters isn’t a good manager,” I said. A female cardinal landed on the bush outside the picture window to the left side of the doctor’s desk. “It’s also surprising to me that she employed a birth mother. Something seems wrong about that... maybe unethical. Would you agree, Doctor?”

  “I wouldn’t go as far as unethical. But even working with someone you know could be problematic. And someone who worked for you would be even more so. But if there was a close relationship, Mrs. Peters may have wanted to help Victoria.”

  “My guess is it was all about money,” I said.

  “I agree. Just suggesting the possibility.”

  I stood and walked to the window and looked out over a yard with several gardens, a curving path, and two sitting areas that blended into a forested area behind the property. If I ever needed a psychiatrist I was coming back here. But then I had Moonlight Bay. Maybe she’d make house calls.

  As I watched a squirrel, I said, “It’s obvious Victoria was upset and willing to illegally enter the agency looking for information. So, given her behavior, what do you think she’s capable of? Despite what the evidence seems to show, I find it a bit of a stretch to go from looking for her baby to killing someone.”

  “Hard to say, Spencer. When you’re dealing with emotions, especially the emotions of a distraught mother, there are no rules… except that there are no rules. The books and journals only give guidance. If she’s unstable, it’s very possible that she wants the people involved to suffer as much as she has.”

  I turned back to her. “So you don’t have an opinion?”

  She smiled. “I’m not paid to have opinions, but of course I do. They’re just usually guided by what I’ve been taught and experienced. My personal opinions I usually keep to myself.”

  “Since we’re not paying you…” I smiled. So did she. “I’d like your opinions, the personal one and the doctor one.”

  “They’re both the same. Back to the mother bear. If she’s lost her cubs she’s going to be increasingly upset and angry. Whoever or whatever gets in her way is going to be in trouble. There is no logical thought. She doesn’t stop to realize the person coming up the path doesn’t have her cubs… she just attacks.”

  “Sure, but Victoria didn’t encounter someone coming up the path. She sought them out and killed in cold blood. It was premeditated.”

  “Yes, seems to be more of a human thing. We are a violent species.”

  “So?”

  She took a deep breath. “So, she could be capable of anything. Probably all of us could if pushed far enough and under the right conditions. You’ve notified the other names on the folder?”

  “All but one. We’re going to see them this morning.”

  She nodded as I sat. “You need to find her. I assume the police are looking.”

  “Yes, in two states. Ironically, the last place she was seen was here.”

  “By here you mean…?”

  “You heard about the fire in Egg Harbor?”

  “Sure. Up here everyone hears about everything.”

  “Veronica was registered at the Brew Pub. But she was gone when the fire started.”

  “Interesting.”

  “Does that tell you anything?” Rosie asked.

  “No, I’m sorry. If I had a crystal ball I could make a lot more money.”

  “She registered under her own name,” I said. “If she killed someone that seems odd.”

  “You have to think from her viewpoint, Spencer. It’s all about trying to find her baby. She doesn’t think she’s done anything wrong, so why hide? There’s only one goal… find her baby... or child.”

  I thought for a second. “That raises another question. I’ve thought that if we could find the child and reunite the two Victoria would stop the rampage. But if she’s looking for a baby and we showed her a ten-year-old girl, would she believe it was hers?”

  “Good question, Spencer.”

  “Do you have a good answer?”

  “I wish I did. The mind can be stranger than you can imagine.”

  “So she’s not trying to hide?” Rosie asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

  “Well, there are a lot of people looking, and we can’t find her.”

  “But that’s not because she’s hiding—you’re just not looking in the right spots. Remember, she registered under her own name.”

  “So she’s acting on emotions? There’s no logical thought process here?”

  “Correct on the emotions. But there is one path that ties her actions together.”

  “Yes,” I said. “The names on the file folder.”

  “Right. And two of them are dead.”

  “So the logical place to look for her is where the other two names are.”

  She raised her hands. “So far that’s your only path.”

  I agreed.

  “But a word of warning.”

  I waited expectantly.

  “So far all you have is a good theory. You have no real evidence. It may not be her.”

  “I’ve considered that,” I said. “We don’t know what Peters is doing, but I have a feeling it’s not all kosher. And where things aren’t kosher, who knows how far not kosher can go.”

  Lynn smiled. “Interesting way of stating it.”

  “Yeah,” said Rosie. “You give a guy a degree in English and you never know what’s going to come out.”

  My look didn’t wipe the smile off her face.

  “Thanks for your time, Doctor. Is it okay if we call if there is anything further?”

  “Certainly.” She jotted a number on a note paper. “Here’s my home phone. Call anytime. And I’d appreciate knowing what happens.”

  “Thanks. We’ll let you know.”

  On the drive back to Green Bay we talked about what Lynn had said. Our only hope was that someone found Victoria before she struck again. One thing on our side—it sure helped knowing where that might be.

  We stopped for lunch in Sturgeon Bay and then headed to the Bell’s house.

  Chapter 24

  It was a little after one when we drove slowly by the Bell’s house. The same woman we had seen driving away in the car was working on the flowers along the sidewalk. She had on gloves and wore a wide-brimmed hat. I parked on the street two houses down, and we watched for a few minutes. We had decided that we would both approach her but that Rosie would do the talking. She was the one with the badge. Mrs. Bell didn’t look up until we turned into her walk and headed toward the house. She’d probably be wondering who we were and what we wanted. She could rule out Jehova’s Witnesses—we weren’t dressed well enough. She stopped weeding and stood, the trowel in her hand.

  “Mrs. Bell?” Rosie asked.

  “Yes,” she said hesitantly.

  Rosie held out her badge. “I’m Detective Lonnigan with the Chicago police.” She didn’t introduce me. We had decided to leave me out of it as much as possible unless Mrs. Bell asked who I was. “We’re working with the Green Bay police and looking into an incident in Chicago. Your name came up as part of the case.”

  She looked worried. “I can’t imagine. Are you saying I’m in some sort of trouble?”

  “Not at all, ma’am. We’re looking for some help.”

  “Well, I’d be glad to help if I can. What’s this all about?”

  Rosie put her badge back in her pocket. “Can we go inside?”

  “Oh, certainly.” She led the way to the side door and into the kitchen. “Give me a minute to wash my hands. Please have a seat. She joined us after time at the sink. The worried look was gone, replaced by a stern attitude that reminded me of my high school algebra teacher who never appreciated my humor. And, unfortunately, while she was washing her hands she had time to think.

  “Why are the Green Bay police involved in something in Chicago?”

  I had found it never went w
ell when the person I was questioning was the one asking the questions. But then I could just sit back and watch… Rosie was the one doing the talking.

  “The cases overlap. That led us up here.”

  She was back on track, at least for a couple of sentences.

  “And who is this with you? Can I see his badge?”

  It had fallen off the track again, but I wasn’t worried. We weren’t here because she was a suspect… we were here to help her. I pulled out my wallet and got out my ID card.

  “Mr. Manning is a private detective who works with us from time to time. He’s the one who discovered this… issue.”

  She had taken on a stern look with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes. “And what issue would that be?”

  Trying to look relaxed, Rosie covered her left hand with her right on top of the table. “It involves the From Us to You Adoption Agency. We understand you’ve been working with them.”

  The stern look got even more stern than my algebra teacher. “And how would you know that? That’s supposed to be confidential.”

  That was a real good question, one that Rosie couldn’t really answer except for the standard evasion.

  “I can’t discuss details of a case. We—”

  “So your details are confidential but mine aren’t?”

  “It’s a police matter, Mrs. Bell… or may I call you Claudia?”

  It was a nice try.

  “You may not. Perhaps I should make a call to the Green Bay police.”

  “Please do. Ask for Chief Snark. But he’ll just tell you the same things we are.” Then she tried to make a dent in the Bell wall. “I want to say again that you’re not in any trouble… we’re here to protect you.”

  “From what?”

  Rosie and I had talked about how to explain the problem and had wondered how to downplay the murders. With only supposition, we were walking a thin line. But Mrs. Bell wasn’t giving Rosie much choice.

  “Two people have been murdered, and both were trying to adopt a baby from the agency. As a matter of fact, both were in line to adopt the same baby. And there were two others, one being you and Mr. Bell.”

  That got her attention, and some of the stern look disappeared.