Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (21 page)

“Did Dutch kill Elmer Knorr?” he asked.  That rumor was already flying.

“
Ask Police Chief Kincaid your questions,” Man said.  “We turned the case over to him.”

They hurried through the crowd to their horses and mounted.  Chie
f Kincaid came
out of the station and everybody hurried to hear what he had to say.

“So far, Grandmother Gretchen is one for one,” Kate said.

“What next,” she asked.

“It is time to pack it in for the day,” he said.  “Tomorrow, I suggest we talk with Bedford Nail.”

The snow had settled to ankle deep and they found Roy and Dan busy building fence.  Th
ey waved as the two m
arshals rode by.  “You got a lot accomplished today,” Man shouted.  “Good
job.”

The two boys waved acknowledgement.

Chapter 9

Both m
arshals wore their working skins and each cleaned and loaded their Walker Colts and Winchester rifles.  From reports about Nail, they could be needed.

The Pirates Cove was closed when they arrived.  There was no evidence anybody was inside. 
A barn for horses behind the building
was empty.  Man tried all of the doors and found them locked.

“I expect it doesn’t open until mid
-
afternoon,” he said as he walked back to where Kate waited astride Red Bird.  “What do we do now?”

“I wonde
r if we could locate the fisher
men that found Elmer’s body and verify that story
,” she said.
  They rode along a road parallel to the water and stopped at a fish mark
et where men were sorting fish.

The two m
arshals dismounted and walked over to the men.  They all stopped what they were doing and watched the pair approach.

Man made the introductions.  “
We
’d
like to talk to the fishermen that found the body of Elmer Knorr.”

“That would be me,” a burly man said as he stepped forward. 
“
But, I can’t tell you much.  When we pulled in our net, he was in it.  We brought the body in and turned it over to the police.”

“Where did you find it?” Kate asked.

“Out there,” he said as he pointed out on the lake.  Several men chuckled.

“
We’
re investigating a murder,” Man said.  “If you want, we can go into town and you can answer the questions inside the jail.”

The chuckling stopped instantly.  “Hey, I didn’t mean to
rile you none.  It was about a mile
out
, maybe a little less
.  We were on the way in
to here
when we netted it.
”

“Was anything holding it down?” Kate asked.

“Matter of fact, yes,
and a
rope with
a
rock was tied to his ankles.  I expect the body was trying to float and our net went under him.”

“Thank you,” Man said.  “May I have your name and the name of your boat for our report and we’ll let you get back to work.”

“Good, I don’t want no trouble from the law.  I have got to make a living for my wife and
four kids.  My name is Abner Gallagher
.”

“Thank you,” she said and the two
m
arshals went to their horses.

“Who next?” he said.

“
Rosalind
Geyser or her sister Evelyn
Günter
?” she said
.

Man pretended to flip a coin and catch it in the air and put it on his wrist.  “
Rosalind
hea
ds and Evelyn tails,” he said.

She said, “Heads.”

He removed his hand,
looke
d down and said, “Heads. 
Rosalind
first.”

Kate smiled and teased, “Remind m
e
to use my own coin if we’
re
ever
betting.”

Kate knocked on the door of an older home and they heard movement inside.  A woman dressed in a long gray dress with an
apron tied around her neck
opened the door
.  S
he had flour on her nose.  “Yes?
” she said.

Man made the introductions.  Kate said, “May we come in and ask a few
questions about Elmer Knorr. 
We’re investigating his murder.”

She stepped back and allowed them to enter her home.  A little boy of about four
or five
was standing behind her, peeking around his mother.

Rosalind
led them to a couch and she sat on a chair.  “Go play with Spot while we talk
,” she said
. 
“
Put your coat on and stay in the yard.
”

The boy came back with his coat and his mother put it on him and proceeded to button it.
He reached for a cap and put it on his head.
 
He hurried out a d
oor and they heard a dog bark.

Rosalind
turned back to
the marshal
s.  “I will tell you what I know, which isn’t much,” she said.
 
“Elmer dropped by to borrow money again and Theo was here visiting.  Theo tossed him five dollars to get him to leave. 
He had been drinking, but that’
s nothing unusual.  He left and that was it.”

“Did Theo and Elmer have an argument or words?” Kate asked.

“Not really.
Elmer’s timing couldn’
t have been worse.  Since you’
re investi
gating, i
t’s no secret
why Theo was here.
  Elmer has known about Theo and me for years.  Heck, everybody in the Knorr family and
Günter
family are aware of it.  I expect half of the town knows
,
as well. 
Theo parks his buggy in front of the house and that fancy rig and the two horses pulling it
are
well known to belong to Theo.  We stopped trying to hide it a long time ago.
  A
Günter
didn’t murder Elmer.  There’
s no reason.”

“What about Evelyn?” Kate asked.  “Is she jealous of you and Theo?”

“No
,”
Rosalind
sa
id.  “From what Theo says, she’
s happy with the situation.  All she wants is the fancy house and money to spend.  Theo says she hasn’t been, well, a wife, to him
,
in years.  They sleep in different bedrooms.  Evelyn and
I
are not enemies.  We’re
not close
, either, but there’
s no problem between us.  We are at family gatherings and there are no harsh words between us.  Grandmother Gretchen would never allow any trouble in the family.”

“Who do you think murdered your brother?” Man asked.

“I have no idea, but it was not family related.
  That’
s all I know.   After Elmer left that day, Theo said that Elmer was in trouble over gambling.  You might look into that.”

Rosalind
closed th
e door behind them and the two m
arshals went to their horses.  “Evelyn next,” Man said.

Theo
Günter
lived in a home that was not equivalent to Grandmother Gretchen
’s
, but it was well above the normal homes in Coeur d’Alene.  A
housekeeper
opened the door
at
their knock.  “We’re here to see Evelyn
Günter
,” Kate said.

“Who are you?” she asked.  Both of
the marshal
s pulled their coats open to show their badges as Man made the introductions
,
as usual.

She gestured for them to enter and said, “Wait in the parlor while I get her.”

The home was plush with expensive furniture and the floor was covered with a thick rug.  They stood waiting instead of sitting on the fancy couch.

An elegantly attired
woman
came into the room and said, “I’m Evelyn
Günter
.  I know who you are.  What do you want to know?”

“What can you tell us about
your brother,
Elmer Knorr?” Kate said.

“A drunken bum
is all I know.  He’
s several years younger than me and I was never around him at home.  We don’t run in the same circles and I see him a few times a year at family gatherings.  I know he bums money off of Theo.  I have told him to stop, but Theo doesn’t want any trouble.
  If you’
re going to ask if I knew
my husband was with my sister
and Elmer went there,
then
yes, I knew.  And, I am not going into private family matter
s.  Y
ou know Theo has been sleeping with her for years and they have a son.”

Kate nodded.

“Then you know that wasn’t a motive for murder by my family.  Do you have any other questions?  I have an outing planned.”

“Who do you think kil
led your brother?” Kate
asked.

“I don’t have a clue.  That’
s your job.”

She turned and walked toward the stairs.  The maid hurried in and led them to the front door.

“I don’t like her,” Kate said.

“Neither do I,” Man agreed,
“
but she isn’t involved.
”

Kate agreed with a nod of her head.  “So far, there is not one person we have interviewed that caused
the hair on the back of my neck
to tingle. 
We haven’t found the culprit
yet.”

Man led the way toward town.  “I’m hungry and we need to drop by the telegraph office and
then
touch base with Kincaid and Dunlap.
”

The café was full, so they went to the telegraph office first.  Man sent a detailed
report to Chief Marshal
Meek about the investigation into the murder of Elmer Knorr.  There was one wire waiting.  Man carried it out so Kate could read it with him.  She
read aloud, “Unconfirmed report.
Engledow and Valdez seen near Boise.
Fu
rther informa
tion forthcoming when available.  S
igned Meek.”

“That will give us more time to find the
killer,” she said
. 
“I think we’
re getting closer to solving it by narrowing down the suspects one by one.”

They rode to the police station and found Chief Kincaid and Assistant Chief Dunlap in Kincaid’s office.  They both stood when Kate tapped on the doorframe and said, “Hello.”

“You are dressed for action,” Dunlap said.  “Every time I see those Walker Colts I drool.”

“We are prepared for anything,” Kate said.  “We went to the Pirates Cove, but there was nobody there.  It was too early in the day.  But, we do have other information to share.”

“Come sit at the table,” Kincaid said as he pointed toward two chairs.

Man glanced at Kate when they were seated.  She understood he wanted her to take the lead.
  “We located the fisherman who
found the body.  It was a mile or less offshore directly away from the fish market.  He was on the way in.  He said there was a rock tied to
Elmer’s legs. 
We also interviewed
Rosalind
and Evelyn and are convinced the murder had nothing to do with the family matter.  We think it may have been due to hi
s gambling.   After we eat, we’
re going back to the Pirates Cove and interview Bedford Nail.”

“If you get that accomplished,” C
hief Kincaid said, “your Walker
s may play an important part of that interview.  He’s not going to talk to you willingly.”

“Do you want backups?” Dunlap asked.  “He may have a few of his
men with him and they’ll kill you in a blink of the eye
if Nail nods his head
.  Unless a fisherman finds your bodies, you’ll be reported as missing persons, never to be seen or heard from again.”

“Thanks for your offer,” Man said, “but if we go riding in together and they see policemen, it may start a war and somebody would get hurt or killed.  I’ll go in and Kate will have my back.  If that fails, we’ll ask for help and take the whole bunch into custody and bring them in and talk to them separately.”

“There is one
of Nail’s men
who
always
carries
a Greener
shotgun with double O
buckshot,” Dunlap said.
 
“
He
may be anywhere in the Cove.  At
times,
h
e sits on a perch up high to survey the floor below to prevent trouble.  You’ll see several holes in the floor and dark stains due to that shotgun.
  He’s a big burl
y red-faced man with awful
pockmarks
.  He goes by the name of Irish.”