Marcie's Murder (48 page)

“They figure he went up the ridge,” Branham said.

Hank nodded. “Shed doors were found open with fresh tire tracks leading out and up that way.” He pointed
south
toward the ridge.
“
Muncy’s theory is he was blocked by Rachel, ran out of gas in the car
while they argued
, knew he couldn’t
escape pursuit on the highway
in that little thing of hers, and decided to get to higher ground.”

Branham took a few steps across the lawn, shielding his eyes with his hand as he stared at the ridge behind them. “If he went all the way
to the top
, he could conceivably
follow the trails right over the other side to Route 61. Maybe he’s thinking he could flag down a car over there.”

“
Is that
possible
?
” Hank
asked
.

Branham turned to look at him. “Depends on whether he
’s
decide
d
to run or turn and fight.”

“He might have quite an arsenal with him,” Karen
told Hank
. “Definitely a long-range hunting rifle with big game rounds. Maybe other long guns as well
, a
nd handguns. He’s packing.”

“Sounds like he might hole up and try to fight it out, at least short term.” Hank put his hands in his pocket
s
.
“
The
s
tate
p
olice have a Cessna flying up from Abington that
’s
going to do a recon, and they also have a helicopter that’ll get here in a couple of hours. No expense spared on this one.”

They watched
the Forest Service
ATV back out of the
trailer.

“They’re fixing to go up there after him,” Karen observed.

Muncy rounded the house with the dog handler and dog and
a
s
tate police detective. While the others headed toward the command post, Muncy veered over to Branham.

“We were concentrating on Rachel Meese,” he said, hands on his hips. “The dog showed some interest up to the shed behind the house, then nothing else. It’s a poured cement floor, several years old, no signs of having been disturbed. We went all over the back around there and no sign of her, no sign
s
of digging, nothing. We figure she’s
still alive and
with him.”

“Voluntarily?” Branham asked.

“That’s the five
-
dollar question.” Muncy
folded his arms
. “We have to treat it as a potential hostage situation
unless something tells us otherwise.”

“Sounds like the best way to play it,” Hank said.

“Two empty gas cans in the shed,” Muncy said.

“You’d figure he’d have put it into the car,” Hank said.

“I checked and both
cans are dry
,” Muncy said.
“
It probably would have been a good idea to keep
a supply on hand
, you know, f
or emergencies.”

Karen shook her head.
“What a tool
.
”

Muncy introduced
them
to
the crowd around the table
, which included
Forest Service
o
fficers Ann Taylor and Jim Billings,
Team Leader Kevin Stanley of the
s
tate
p
olice
t
actical
o
perations
t
eam,
state
Tactical Officer Bill White, a counter-sniper,
and
s
tate
p
olice
Detective Justin Savage.

“We’re going to recon up the slope a bit,” Stanley said. He
thumped his finger on
the
topographical map spread out on the table and weighted down at
opposite
corners with
fluorescent yellow portable radios
.
“There’s a trail
running
up this gully that we think he may have
used
. We’re going to take one of the ATVs and see if we can
find
his tracks. Then we can
spot the
a
viation
u
nit for their fly-over.
”

“I’ll drive,” Jim Billings said. “I can take one of your guys with me.”

“That’s okay,” Stanley replied. “If he sets an illegal fire we’ll let you know. Otherwise it’s a police matter and we
’ll
handle it.”

Billings looked at him. “What the hell kind of an attitude is that?”

“Tell Jackson to bring the ATV over,” Stanley said to Bill White
, ignoring Billings
.

Muncy held up his hand. “Wait a minute. It wouldn’t hurt to have Billings make the first run up there, since he knows the trails and
can
help figure out where
Morris is
go
ing
.”

“
I’m going to have Jackson and White do the recon
,” Stanley said calmly, “because that’s what they’re trained to do.”

Muncy rolled his eyes. “We
’ve
already had this conversation. Your captain agreed that the
s
heriff’s
o
ffice had jurisdiction, and Sheriff Steele has placed me in operational command. Once we’ve got him located, I agree that
your team
will
take
point, but right now I don’t see the problem with the Forest Service
guy
driving a goddamned fucking ATV up to the foot of that gully for a look around. Which one of your
men will
ride with him?”

Stanley turned away. “Jackson!”

One of the uniformed men standing around a
s
tate
p
olice SUV trotted across the lawn. He
had a Colt M4 rifle slung over
his
shoulder. He was a tall, slender African-American in his mid
-
twenties with a trimmed mustache and an expectant expression.

“Ride with Billings, here,” Stanley
ordered
, “and do a recon up toward that gully. We want to pick up his trail and figure out where he’s headed. We’ll have a fly-over shortly and then we’ll have a better idea if he’s holed up or what the fuck.
If you see him, do
not
engage.
Understood?
Just report in and we’ll take it from there.
”

Jackson nodded.

Billings picked up one of the fluorescent yellow portable radios and handed it to Jackson. “Use this. More reliable than yours.” He looked meaningfully at the portable radio that Jackson wore on his left hip.

Jackson looked at Stanley.

“Take the fucking radio and get moving,” Stanley snapped.

Hank caught Karen’s eye and
nodded
in the direction of the
driveway.
Detective Hall was sitting sideways
in the front seat
of the
Harmony police
cruiser, his feet outside and his elbow resting on the steering wheel. He was chatting through the cage with Jane Morley, who was still confined in the back seat.

Karen rolled her eyes.

They left the mob gathered around the table and strolled across the lawn. Hall l
ooked up without expression as they stopped in front of him.

“What’s her take on it?” Hank asked.

Hall slid out of the driver’s seat and quietly closed the door. “She says there’s a cabin or shack up there that he uses occasionally during hunting season. Been there a long time, apparently abandoned. Morris fixed it up for his own use. It’s sitting on the edge of a clearing looking down into the gully.
He took her up there once.
H
e keeps supplies and stuff in a footlocker
inside the cabin
.”

“Does she think he might try to cross the ridge and hit the highway on the other side?”

“She doesn’t know. She says he
i
sn’t the kind of guy you fe
el
comfortable asking a lot of questions. He was quick with his hand if she said something he didn’t like.”

They looked up at the sound of a light aircraft passing over the house in the direction of the ridge.

“Cessna 182,” Hall said, shielding his eyes to follow it into the distance. “The state aviation unit has four of them, last I heard. Four-seater, maximum speed of 150 knots, a ceiling of about 18,000 feet
,
and a range of over a thousand miles.
”

“It’s like hanging out with Mr. Spock,” Karen said.

“He told her about it,” Hall said casually, his eyes slowly
meeting hers
.

She stared at him. “You mean
Morris? H
e confessed to her? When?”

“When she called him
.
”

They waited, but Hall continued to look at Karen without expression.

“Come on, Hall,” Hank urged
.

“You think I’m such a screw-up,” Hall said to Karen
.
“I couldn’t possibly detect like a big-city pro like you.”

Karen snorted. “What the fuck?”

“Hall,” Hank said, stepping between them, “she’s an equal
-
opportunity misanthrope. Don’t take it personally. What’d he tell her?”

Hall shrugged. “He went there Saturday night after
Marcie
called and wanted to meet him. He had a beer,
like
you said, expecting her to show up inside.
When she didn’t
,
h
e went out and
found her around
the back.
I assume s
he’d gone back there to avoid being seen by anyone else
after deciding
Brother Charles was going to be a no-show.”

“And?”

“She told him she’d decided to have the baby.”

“So he already knew she was pregnant,” Karen said.

“
Yeah
. He insisted she have an abortion, she refused, they argued. She started to get loud and, according to Dr. Morley, Morris just want
ed
to keep her quiet. Then she hit him
,
and he lost his temper.
”

“Some temper,” Hank
said
.

“Yeah, consistent with his pattern of abuse.” Hall leaned back against the cruiser. “He claimed to Morley it was accidental, that she scratched and fought him
,
and he was just trying to subdue her.”

“Bullshit,” Karen said.

“
Yeah.
I agree.”

They wandered back across the lawn toward Muncy, who
took a portable radio from Stanley
. He
raised it to
his ear as he stared at the Cessna
, which was
inching across the horizon above the ridge
.

“Tell him to look for a cabin or shack,” Hank said.

Muncy frowned at him. “What?”

“Hall was talking to Morley,” Hank explained. “She told him there’s a
cabin
or something up there that Morris is known to use.” He turned to Hall. “About how far up do you think it is?”

Hall shrugged. “Hard to say.
She
said it took about twenty minutes to get there
on the ATV
. Climbing up like that you wouldn’t be going
very
fast. It’s just hard to say for sure.”

Muncy turned away and relayed the information to the Cessna. He received a reply and stepped over to the table.
“Taylor, you know of anything up there that would fit the bill?”

“Where
are we talking?” Taylor asked. “It’s a big
mountain
.”

Hall shook his head. “She couldn’t give me specifics.
About
twenty minutes
from here on the ATV, that’s the best she could do. The edge of a clearing looking down into the gully.”

“Not much help. That could be anywhere.” She started to pore over the map, Stanley on one side and a
s
tate
p
olice detective on the other.