Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (18 page)

“Do you have anything to add?” Chief Kincaid
asked
Dunlap.

“I might throw in one thing,” Dunlap said.
 
“
The
Günter
s
and
Knorrs
have been at odds since I
’
ve known them.  I suspect jealousy.  I was told that when Theo and Evelyn married there was a problem.  That was from the two old men of the
families
, so this is
nothing new
.  B
ut it
has
escalated.”

“Since you know both families, what do you recommend?” Kate asked.  “Is it feasible
or possible
to get the leaders of both sides in one room and get it all out on the table so they can deal with it?”

“Possibly,” Kincaid
said.  “It’s worth a try and it would be a start, but I doubt it would have any serious effect on either side.  But,
as I said,
it would be a start
and
it would
let the public know we’
re trying
.
  Something
this
big will be leaked and by noon today, everybody with ears will know what’s brewing.
”

“It’s already out,” Dunlap said.  “My wife heard about it a
t a
meeting last night.
 
I would recommend a thorough search of both
everyone in attendance if you manage to get them all in one room. 
It could evolv
e into a shooting war
.  Evelyn and her sister
Rosalind
might go at each other
,
as well.
  They have never acted like sisters.
”

“So far
,
nobody knows that
Elmer
Knorr was murdered
,” Kincaid said
.

“
We have kept that under wraps until you were on the case.  That could be the fuse that starts the
real
shooting,
” Dunlap
threw in.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Man
said.  “Unless either of you have
more information we need, we’ll go visit with both sides.”

When neither spoke,
Kate and Man walked to the
front
door with every policeman in the building
looking at them, but it was deadly silent.  It appeared everybody knew what was going on.

Man and Kate went to their horses and mounted
.
Man turned toward the telegraph office.  “I’m going to send a carefully worded wire to Chief Meek telling him we’re on the case.”

She nodded agreement.

He came
out, stepped up on Arabian,
and turned down the street.  “Nothing new on the whereabouts of Valdez and Engledow,” he said.

“What now?” Kate asked.  “Do we s
tart with Theo?”

Man nodded. 
“I’
ve seen a sign on an office building.
  We can drop in and see if he’
s there and will see us.”

The two m
arshals walked into the building and saw a woman seated
at a desk.  Kate took the lead.
“I’m Deputy Marshal Kate and this is Marshal Man
chester
,” she said.

“I knew who you were the moment yo
u walked in,” the woman replied.
 
“
In fact, Mr.
Günter
is expecting you.  He told me you two were
meeting with Kincaid
this morning and to expect you.
 
I’l
l go back and let him know you’
re here.”

When she w
as out of sight, Kate whispered,
“Theo does have an ear in the police station and maybe more than one.”

Man nodded agreement.  “Of course
,
it probably wasn’t a secret we were meeting with them since a policeman came out to invite us to come in.  The informer they cau
ght could have passed that word before we got here.
”

“The woman came out of an office and gestured for Kate and Man to come to where she waited.  They walked in and were greeted by a man in his mid-forties.  His pleasant smile seemed genuine.  However, they both knew that polished politicians
were
good actors and c
ould
lie with skill.  Theo fit that description.

“Have a seat,” he said as he gestured toward two chairs in front of his desk.

Man and Kate sat and waited for Theo to open the conversation.  He met their
gazes
without
expression and played the waiting game.

Man spoke first.  “Your man at the police station advised
you
we were coming here and why.  So let’s bypass that stage.
”

Only a hint of surprise crossed Theo’s face and
then was gone.

Kate was the next to speak.  “A policeman was caught eavesdropping outside Chief Kincaid’s door.  Assistant Chief Dunlap took him to a cell.  You may want to post bail and up his ante to keep his mouth shut.”

“Who do you think you are talking to?” he shouted.  “I’m the Mayor of Coeur d’Alene.”

“
We know who you are. 
We
came to you in good faith, hoping
to stop the feud
brewing between the
Günter’s
and
Knorrs
,” Man quickly put in.
 
“You’ll find out today
that Elmer Knorr
was found in the lake
and
was murdered before his body was tossed in the water.”

That information didn’t send any signal of alarm across Theo’s face.

Kate picked it up and said,
“Apparentl
y
,
you were already aware that Elmer
was murdered which means you know who did it or your informer got to you before we did.”

“We
’
re doing our best to keep any more murders from happening,” Man said.

“We came here first in respect for your position,” Kate added quickly.
  She was hoping to keep this conversa
tion going as long as possible.

“I had nothing to do with it,” Theo said.  “I got the word this morning
that Elmer was murdered
.”

He didn’t add w
here that information
had come
from, but that didn’t matter
.  Kate and Man knew the source -
the plant
or plants
in the police station.

“We would like to get both sides in one room and discuss this situation intelligently rather than
have
it
escalate
into something more serious,” Man said.  “If you can keep it as only a domestic
problem that
would be the sensible
approach.  H
owever, we’re going to investigate the murder
of Elmer Knorr
and bring the culprit to justice.”

“A divorce or even two would be better than several murders,” Kate added.  “If the Günter’s and
Knorrs
start
shooting at each other
it will cause more trouble than
you or Coeur d’Alene need
s
.  After the miners war, things need more time to settle down.  Please be sensible about this situation and work it out peacefully
.  That’s
what we’re asking.”

Theo stood and said, “This meeting has ended.
Get out of my office.”

Man and Kate stood and walked toward the door.  Man stopped and turned back to
ward
Theo.  “We’re going to talk to the Knorr
family
now.  H
opefully
,
they have more sense than you and will recognize the chaos that will be brought down on both families if a war breaks out.”

“Out,” he shouted.

Man and Kate went by
the
empty desk
up front. 
They wondered where
the secretary had gone
, but then she might
have simply been on an errand, or even in the
co
ffee room
.

“Where do we go next?” Man asked.

“I don’t know.
I wonder if
Cliff
would know them and give us a starting point.   I see his store in front of us.”

Cliff
had a customer when they entered, but he waved.  Man returned it and he and Kate went to a counter to look at the merchandise until he was free.

As soon as the customer paid for his purchase,
Cliff
hurried to where they waited.  “Thank you for bringing Lucille home.  I was so excited to see her the other night I may have forgotten to thank you.”

“
We were happy to find her
,” Kate said.  “But, we came in to see you on a more serious matter.”

“Has something happened to Lucille?” he a
sked in an alarmed tone
.

“No,” Kate replied.  “Do you know the Knorr and
Günter
families
?”

“Of course I know them,”
Cliff
replied.  “E
very native knows both families.  They’ve
been here since the beginning of Coeur d’Alene.  What do you want to know?”

“Have you heard about the trouble brewing between them?” Man asked.

Cliff
looked at the door to see if a customer was coming inside before replying.  “I heard that Theo was caught in the sack with
Rosalind
b
y Elmer Knorr and a big stink may be
brewing.”

“It’s more than a big stink now,” Man said. 
“
Elmer was murdered and somebody took a shot at a
Günter
.  T
hankfully
,
the bullet only clipped his leg.  But, it looks like a shooting feud could develop.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me at all,”
Cliff
said.  “There has been bad blood between the
Knorrs
and
Günter
s
since day one.
  However, it never got violent.  I think mo
st of it was jealousy or maybe
competition on which family could outdo the other.
 
I remember when Theo and Evelyn ran off and got married.  We expected
trouble
, but it
only
turned into a shouting match.”

“
Cliff
, what we ask you and tell you must remain between us, and only us, including Lucille,” Kate said.  “We’re doing our best to stop any more killings and we don’t want you or
Lucille pulled into it.”

Cliff
gulped a couple of times.  “I can keep my mouth shut.  What do you want to know?”

Man took the lead.  “We talked to Theo and he ordered us out of his office.  He got very belligerent.”

“That I
understand,”
Cliff
said.  “That’
s his nature.  Why Evelyn married him is beyond
me
, but the rumor had it that she was pregnant.  But, if that was so, she lost the baby.  They have no children.”

Cliff
again looked at the front door to make sure it was clear. 
“
The rumor mill also said that the son of
Rosalind
belongs to Theo, but you know how things get started with just an off-handed comment.  I know Hans,
Rosalind
’s husb
and.  He’s a hardworking man.  Hans is n
ot over
ly
bright, but the salt of the earth kind of man. 
He’s
honest to a fault and always polite and likeable.”

Kate glanced at Man and then took the lead.  “We may need to talk to him next.  Where could we find him this time of day?”

“If he went to work today, he would be at the sawmill.  He’s one of the supervisors
.  He may have gotten that job
because his family has an interest in
the mill.  I know that’s being rude, but it could be
the truth.”

“We need to talk to somebody in the Knorr family that has influence on the others,” Kate said.  “Which one would you recommend?”

Cliff
thought for a few moments as he rubbed his chin.  “I think that if you could get to see Grandmother Gretchen, she would be your best bet.  She’s old, but she’s still shar
p witted and if anybody has
control of the you
nger ones, she would be the one
.”