Grave Echoes: A Kate Waters Mystery (10 page)

***

Kate sat on an old sofa in the backroom of the PNGS, preparing gear for the climb up to Mt. Hood in the morning. She clipped GPS tracking units onto her and Sean’s coats for emergency location in the event of an avalanche or a fall on the mountain. Since magma rising from within the volcano melted the snow pack above, elevating the risks of an avalanche, they needed to take extra precautions. The tracking devices worked with the Defense Department’s Global Positioning Systems’ satellites and would keep a constant trace of their position on the mountain. But avalanches and volcanic explosions were not Kate’s main concerns. She worried about falling asleep when they took a break, or worse, experiencing cataplexy, a temporary state when her muscles would suddenly weaken, causing her to drop something or fall down—both inviting dangerous scenarios on the face of a steep, icy slope.

Despite health concerns, work provided a temporary break from her emotional ones by redirecting her energies and cooling her thoughts. Although it didn’t appear to have the same effect on Sean. Behind his studious cover, Kate could tell he struggled with something—the subtle glimpses of grief, diminished eye contact, and the brief pauses in conversation, in which the mind wandered back from the nightmare following it. She imagined that his guilt about not making up after his argument with Jev before she died haunted him terribly.

As sometimes happens, Sean left her thoughts and appeared in the physical.

“Hi. What’s up?” Kate said.

“I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“No,” she replied. His timid demeanor seemed unusual.

“I wondered if we could talk?”

“Sure. What about?”

“Well…,” he stalled. Kate guarded herself against what he was about say.

“It’s about Jev,” he said.

She figured as much already. “Okay.”

“I need to know how Jev felt about me,” Sean said.

Obsessing over Jev’s feelings for him left her powerless to help. It seemed no amount of reassurance would make him believe what he desperately wanted to hear. She’d tried to tell him previously on several occasions that Jev liked him. “Sean, I’ve already told you Jev cared a lot for you. I don’t know what else to say.”

“Did she mention that the last time you talked to her?”

Kate nodded. Other than the brief conversation about his temper, which Kate didn’t fully recollect anyway, she knew Jev cared for him. Whether or not she loved him, no one would ever know now, but she doubted so. Kate actually wondered if Jev had ever truly been in love with someone. In lust many times, but love might have been a rare experience for her.

“I loved her,” Sean said. “I want her back so bad.” Sean grimaced and turned away.

Even though she felt bad for him, Kate wasn’t up to comforting him either. Especially when deep down, she questioned if Jev had wrecked her car because of their fight. She couldn’t help but wonder if it weren’t for Sean, Jev would be here today. She knew she shouldn’t place blame, but she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering in that direction.

“I want her back too,” Kate agreed. “But we can’t lose ourselves in the past. We cannot keep second-guessing everything, wishing we’d done things differently. The best thing we can do is move forward with our lives. That is what Jev would have wanted.” Kate spilled the speech to make Sean feel better, but didn’t count on heeding her own advice.

“I don’t want to hurt her by moving on, forgetting her like she didn’t mean anything.”

“Sean, Jev is dead. She can’t be hurt anymore. Only the people she loved, who are still alive can be. Jev wouldn’t want that. Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting.”

“I have some things of hers,” Sean said. “I don’t know if I should keep them or give them back to you.”

Kate realized then that she’d never asked Sean about Jev’s house key. “You can keep whatever she gave you, but I was wondering if you happened to have her house key?”

“No.”

“It’s missing from her key chain.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know where it would be. If it wasn’t on her key chain, how did you get into her place yesterday?”

“She kept a spare outside.”

Sean nodded, twirling a pen around in his hand. “Maybe she gave her key to one of her friends.”

“Do you know who?”

“Probably Thea.” He almost dropped the pen, jerking aside to catch it. “Jev did everything with Thea.”

The element of despair exuding from him moments ago changed into irritability. Kate suspected his feelings for Jev’s friend, Thea, weren’t positive. Or maybe he lied about the house key and trying to cover it up.

Sean tossed the pen onto his desk. “Well, I’ve gotta finish up some stuff before we go…You ready?” He squinted those steel-blue eyes at her.

“Almost,” Kate said.

“Good.” His eyes shifted around the room as he tapped the wall with his thumb and then he slipped out of the back room.

Kate wondered if he were telling the truth about Jev’s house key. On the desk across from her workstation, she saw his green burlap bag with a Maltese cross stitched in the center. She retrieved Jev’s spare house key from her purse and peered down the hall, spotting Sean talking with Bruce. Then, sneaking over to his backpack, she searched through the front pocket:  cigarettes, cell phone, lighter…where were his keys? She unbuttoned the top flap and opened up the main contents. At the inside corner of the bag a hook latched onto a key ring.

She hurried through a dozen comparisons of Jev’s house key with those on Sean’s key chain, trying to match the teeth and listening intently for his return. She checked every key on his key chain, but none of them matched Jev’s house key. Either he was telling the truth, or he just hadn’t put it on his key chain. She found another pocket inside the bag and unzipped it when a voice startled her.

“Can I help you with something?”

Kate jerked up to find Sean standing in the doorway, hands in his front pockets, casually limp, and blue eyes blazing like a hot fire. Words abandoned her tongue. He’d caught her in flagrante.

“I, uh…,” she grasped an object in his bag, hoping to make up a story. “I was wondering if I could borrow…your flashlight?”

“Why do you need a flashlight?” he countered.

A good question, which she quickly construed an explanation for. “To look under the hood of my car. I think there’s something wrong with the gasket.”

Sean folded his arms across his chest. “Tell me, what does the gasket look like?” Another good question and one that she had no idea about. “I know what you were doing,” he said.

Kate couldn’t deny the truth. “I’m sorry. I just needed to know that you were telling me the truth about Jev’s house key.”

“Why? So what if I did have her house key?”

Her hands clenched at her sides. “I’ve discovered some things about my sister that I’m not happy about.”

Sean’s chest expanded. “Well, I guarantee you they don’t involve me.” She studied him for a moment.

Then Sean stepped closer to her. “You’re not the only one she kept secrets from, Kate.”

Midday approached as Kate sat on the porch steps of the PNGS building, beneath the drab curtain of clouds drawing across the sodden countryside. The monotone grayness played tricks on her internal clock—morning, afternoon, and early evening blended into one long timeless day, always constant and unending. Contrastingly, there was a fresh new chill in the air from the end of summer’s thick heat, seemingly to heighten the activity of neighborhood animals and trigger an innate drive to prepare for winter’s impending arrival. Survival could not be jeopardized by a mere sunny-less, dull afternoon—life had to move on, which was exactly what Kate knew she must do also.

She needed to find Jev’s cell phone and house key, which surprised Kate to find it hadn’t been on Sean’s key chain. Despite the embarrassment of snooping through his bags, she’d needed to know if he was telling the truth. But if he didn’t have her key, he probably didn’t have her cell either. Then what was he hiding? she wondered.

She decided to go back to Jev’s, look for her cell phone and house key one more time, maybe discover what the strange key from her hallucination belonged to. Probably more secrets she didn’t want to know about. At least Jev excluded Sean from her personal life too; it wasn’t a right thought, but at least she could try not to take Jev’s secrets personally.

Kate called David and asked if he would meet her at Jev’s when she got off work, mostly because she did not want to be alone in the house again. David agreed, and waited for her on the front steps of Jev’s porch when she arrived.

“Thanks for coming,” she said, giving him a kiss.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “I’m glad you called.”

The wind ruffled his almond hair and he reminded Kate of one of the Hardy boys, embarking on another mystery adventure.

“C’mon, let’s get inside,” he said, wrapping his arm around her.

Kate unlocked Jev’s door with the spare key she kept on her key chain. Aside from the drawn curtains, Jev’s house looked as it had three days ago. She imagined it would be different somehow. Last time she was here, she’d doubted her state of mind regarding the intruder, believing her emotions hypersensitive, but last night’s visitor in her backyard validated her instincts. Someone had been in Jev’s house with her that day. Doing what?

“So, what are we looking for?” David said. He turned on the lights in the dining room.

“Her house key and cell phone.” Kate pulled her necklace over her head. “And maybe a box or chest belonging to this key.”

“Do you think those initials stand for someone’s name?”

“I didn’t think of that,” Kate said. “T.C.C. The next door neighbor’s name is Terry.”

“Terry Bowman. I already checked.” David scanned the corners of the living room. Together they searched through end table drawers in the living room, stacks of papers and books on the shelves, and even under the couch.

“I don’t see anything,” David said.

“Me neither.” Kate moved to the middle of the living room, turning around to study the space.

“I’ll check the garage,” David suggested.

“All right. I’ll check the kitchen.”

Kate went into the kitchen, opening the drawers and sifting through a junk box. Finding nothing, she headed down the hall toward the spare room. Though she had searched the bedrooms already, she expected the key to open something in the closet where Jev kept her witchcraft supplies. She opened the bi-fold doors and searched the top shelf. David came into the room, half startling her.

“Sorry,” he said. He looked at the chest on the floor. “Is that the trunk?”

“You mean the coffin where my sister keeps her sacrificial tools?” Kate returned.

“Better than dead bodies.”

Kate glanced at him, frowning. “That’s real comforting.”

He smirked. “Well, it could be worse.”

She shook her head and knelt into the closet, checking the sides.

David leaned inside with her. “Does Jev have a Ouija board?”

“Why? So you can make contact with her?” She turned towards him. It was meant as a joke, but his eyes glinted with excitement.

“Have you ever used one?” he asked.

“When I was twelve,” Kate replied. Something red on the floor behind David caught her attention. She walked over to it—a tickle creeping up her spine. She was certain it wasn’t there the other day. A book of matches. Even though it lay upside down, she knew the name inscribed on the other side—Walter Biddy’s. Kate picked it up at the edges and turned it over. Sean had used the same matches the other day. An unlikely coincidence, she thought. They had to be his. There was no evidence of a break in. He had Jev’s key. He was lying.

David came up behind her. “What’s that?”

She held them up for him to see. “Matches that belong to Sean.” He looked puzzled. “They weren’t here last time I was in this room,” she said.

“Sean was here? He must have her key.”

“He told me he didn’t. I even checked his bag.” And got caught doing so, though she didn’t mention this to David.

“Maybe Jev had the same book of matches.”

Kate shook her head. “Still, her cell phone and house key are missing. I think Sean broke into…,” she stopped.

“What?”

“Sean was the one who came into the house the other day…maybe even the one who was outside our house last night.”

“Hold on, Kate. We’re talking about Jev’s boyfriend.”

“It explains everything, David. The stranger outside struck a match and lit a cigarette. Sean smokes. Somebody, with a book of matches just like the ones I saw him use the other day dropped them in Jev’s home. Her cell phone and house key are missing. Sean is hiding something.”

Kate recollected her last conversation with Jev…he has a mean streak. She didn’t take Jev seriously at the time because she’d worked with Sean for over a year and hardly even witnessed him angry.

“You’re leaving town with him tomorrow,” David said, eyes sharp with concern.

Kate had forgotten about the trip. She checked her watch. “I leave in twelve hours.”

“You have to cancel.”

“No. I’ve worked too hard on Hood to let somebody else steal the glory. Besides, I’ll be with other people.”

“Not 24/7. If Sean is spying on you, he could be dangerous, Kate. I think you should call Detective Wells. I still have his card in my wallet.” He rummaged through the folds and pulled out a business card, handing it to Kate.

“Did you find anything in the garage?”

“Maybe.” He took out a crumbled paper from his pocket and handed it to Kate. Written in Jev’s handwriting was, ‘See Donna for herb—protection—binding him.’

Kate reread the last three words aloud, “protection…binding him.” She felt her body shiver, even under her layers of clothing she wore. “You found this in the garage?”

“On the floor next to the garbage cans.”

Kate studied her sister’s hand writing to see if she could sense emotion behind the penmanship, but it slanted in her usual block print. The word protection in her sister’s note brought spins to her stomach. What did you need protection from? Kate questioned.

***

Wells slowed down behind a Subaru, as he watched Sean's black Toyota change lanes. He had been on his way to the Pacific Northwest Geological Survey office when he’d glimpsed Sean driving down the opposite side of the road. After a quick U-turn, he found himself in a position to learn more about Jevanna Waters’ boyfriend than he might care for him to know. The charcoal gray sky darkened, forcing Wells to follow closer than he wanted to, but he imagined Sean wouldn’t notice someone following him today.

Through a maze of bus lanes and train tracks, Sean steered toward the downtown waterfront. He hooked a turn into a dead-end road, paralleling the banks of the Willamette River, and stopped under the enormous piling arches of the I-84 Banfield Bridge—a remote, deserted location.

Sensing he had underestimated Sean’s wit, Wells felt the zing of adrenaline and looked around for pedestrians. He felt comforted by the Glock at his hip, but he would have felt better with more people around.

Giving plenty of distance between the two cars, he pulled up behind the black truck. Sean stepped out and leaned against the back bumper, smacking a fresh pack of cigarettes against his palm. Wells approached. Sean watched.

“Good evening,” Wells started. “My name is Detective Orwin Wells. I wanted to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind?”

“About what?”

Sean tore open the pack and Wells noticed the brand of cigarettes: American Spirits. The cigarette filters found at the accident scene were Marlboro. Contemplating the discrepancy between Sean’s cigarettes and those found at the scene, Wells looked up at the arch of the bridge way, lit up by street lamps. Compared to the massive freeway structure, he felt like an ant on the sidewalk. Except, right now, he needed to play the spider and trap information from Sean. A change in cigarette brands didn’t mean he wasn’t at the scene, he deduced.

“Jevanna Waters,” Wells returned, his voice resonating into the concrete. Sean’s shoulders stiffened back, a common gesture of guilt Wells knew.

Sean lit his smoke and blew a stream of pollutants into the air. “What about her?”

Wells didn’t appreciate his tone or his disrespect toward the recently deceased woman he’d just seen cold dead on a metal slab. He decided to get to the point. “That’s a spendy brand of cigarettes. Do you always smoke that kind?”

Sean took another drag, piercing him with a hot look. “I thought you wanted to talk about Jev?” He exhaled smoke at him.

“We found cigarette filters at the scene of your girlfriend’s fatal car accident,” Wells said. “Since they were dry in the middle of a rainstorm, it’s accurate to conclude someone happened on the scene before police arrived.”

Sean thought for a moment. “Could have been someone driving by just before the accident happened.”

“Perhaps,” Wells said. “But there were also prints found on the carotid artery of Ms. Waters’ neck, the place where most people would take a pulse.” He waited for a response, but Sean took another drag from his cigarette, so Wells continued. “We’ll be testing the cigarette filters for prints and running a comparison with those found on your girlfriend’s neck.”

Sean stepped closer to him. Wells watched his movements for signs of an injury, in case Sean had been in the car with the girl. But Sean glided toward him effortlessly and the only real discomfort he could see was the irritation in his eyes. Though Sean was taller and younger than him, Wells still trusted his years of experience and training with the force to provide him the upper hand should Sean try to get physical with him.

“You think I was in the car with her, right?” Sean stopped a few inches in front of him.

“The thought crossed my mind.”

Sean pointed his lit cigarette at the detective. “I loved Jev,” he said, slow and forceful.

“Accidents happen,” Wells replied.

“That’s right detective, and one did.”

Wells strolled around Sean, examining the tires on his pickup. “Because of the incongruities regarding Jev’s accident, I’m conducting a thorough investigation. Cooperation from you is advisable.”

Sean tossed his head back with a grin.

Wells leaned in closer, examining the tread of the back wheels. “Maybe you could tell me a little bit about the fight that occurred between you and Jev.”

Sean rolled his eyes and dug for another cigarette.

Something clearly bothered him, Wells thought, but he couldn’t tell if it was grief, being questioned by the police, or something else entirely.

“Just a typical argument, officer,” Sean said.

“What about?”

“Jev was headed to a friend’s house. I thought she’d planned on staying with me.”

“This friend a male?”

“No.”

“What’s her name?”

“Thea Wright.” Wells detected a faint smile tugging at his eyes when he said it.

“Did she like you?”

“Why does that matter?”

Wells crossed his arms, standing Sean down.

“She didn’t like me,” Sean continued. “I thought she was a bad influence on Jev.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she is dark, vindictive, secretive…tell me when to stop.”

“You familiar with witchcraft?” Though he didn’t think Sean looked the type, he still wanted to see his reaction.

“No. That was Jev’s thing.” Sean flicked ash from his smoke.

“Did her witchcraft bother you?”

“The only thing I’m bothered about, Detective, is that my girlfriend is dead.”

Wells backed off. If he pushed him much further, he knew Sean would clam up. “Fair enough,” he said. He withdrew a card and handed it to Sean. “Call me if you remember anything about the night your girlfriend died.”

Sean took the card but failed to reciprocate his good-bye. In the rearview mirror, Wells noticed Sean watching him drive away. Though it was difficult to tell if he were telling the truth, Wells doubted he had been at the accident scene—no details or cover-up story slipped from him. But Sean was guilty of something. That much, he could read.