Secret Hollows Part 22

"You got issues?" he asked.

She nodded. "The case I've been working on," she said. "The creep left the little boy tied to a rope at the bottom of the lake. And I think he set fire to Emil's house, with me in it."

"You were in a fire?"

She nodded. "Yeah, got some pretty colorful bruises to show for it."

"Are you sure you should be boxing this morning?" he asked.

She started dancing back and forth again, her arms in a boxing stance. "Yeah, I'm good," she said. "And, I've got to admit, it's a little addicting."

He grinned, displaying the wide gap between his teeth. "Now, you're talking, sister," he said. "Now you're talking."

Two hours later she was dressed in a business suit and heels, carrying a briefcase and walking down the hallway to the State's Attorney's office. She paused in front of a large oak door and knocked. Then she opened the door and peeked in.

"Good morning, State's Attorney Boettcher," she said, as she entered the large, formal office. "Do you have a few minutes for me this morning?"

State's Attorney Alex Boettcher looked like he had just stepped down from the pages of GQ magazine. He was dressed in a tailored suit and blue silk tie that matched his eyes. He wore his hair a little longer than his conservative colleagues, and Mary was sure it was to distract female prosecutors, as they imagined themselves running their fingers through it.

"Miss O'Reilly," he said, rising from his chair and motioning to the leather chair on the other side of his desk. "I always have time for you."

She sat comfortably in the overstuffed leather and smiled at him. "So, Alex, how have you been?"

"More to the point," he said, sitting down across from her. "I'm hearing some nasty rumors coming out of the police department."

Mary sat forward. "Really? Tell me!"

Laughing, he shook his head. "No, you're supposed to confirm if they are rumors or not," he explained.

Leaning back against the chair, she shrugged slightly. "Well, I haven't heard anything."

He templed his fingers and met her eyes. "I've heard the Chief's intercom system has been malfunctioning," he said, raising his eyebrows pointedly. "Know anything about that?"

She bit her lower lip and shook her head. "Nope, can't say I do."

"So you deny that you and he were engaged in...," he paused and grinned at her. "... relations.h.i.+p building exercises, when his intercom malfunctioned. I understand there was some conversation about you, a little black dress and silk stockings."

"Oh...," she paused for a moment and looked at him, concern on her face. "You don't know... they didn't tell you?"

"What?" he asked.

"Well, I'm sure they must have merely overlooked... but, you're the State's Attorney," she said, shaking her head. "Surely, they trusted..."

She looked up suddenly and clapped her hand over her mouth. "Never mind," she said. "Just ignore what I said."

"What did you say?" he asked, standing up and walking over to her side of the desk.

"Exactly," she answered. "Perfect."

He sat on the corner of his desk. "What is this all about?"

She looked slowly around the room. "Are we alone?" she asked.

He looked around the room too. "I think so."

She nodded. "It was a code. A secret code."

"Secret code?" he asked, leaning towards Mary. "And just what did it mean?"

"If we told you we'd have to kill you," Bradley said from the doorway.

Alex sat up and looked at Bradley. "She was almost ready to break and tell me the truth."

"Oh, yes," Mary agreed pleasantly. "I was shaking in my heels."

"She was about to spill," he said. "Tell me all of your dirty secrets."

Bradley shrugged. "Wouldn't be admissible in court."

Sitting back, Alex was surprised. "Why not?"

Walking over to stand behind her chair, Bradley leaned over and kissed Mary on the cheek. "Because a wife can't testify against her husband."

"You two? The two of you? Both of you? Are getting married?" he asked.

"See, darling, I told you he had a brilliant legal mind," Mary teased.

Grinning, Alex leaned forward. "So, do I get to kiss the bride?"

"Sure, if you want your face broken," Bradley said calmly.

"He's a little jealous," Mary quipped and then she stood up and gave Alex a hug. "You're coming, of course."

He kissed her on the cheek. "Of course I am," he said. "When is it?"

"June," Mary said.

"Early June," Bradley added.

"I'm happy for both of you," he said. "Well, actually I'm really jealous, but I'll pretend to be happy to ensure good working relations.h.i.+ps."

"Big of you, Boettch, real big of you," Bradley said, taking the chair next to Mary. "Has Mary told you why we wanted to meet with you?"

Alex moved back around his desk and sat down. "I'm guessing it wasn't to issue a wedding invitation, right?"

Mary pulled the shopping bag and folder from her briefcase and laid it on his desk. "Have you ever heard of Emil Forrest?" she asked.

"Sure, the child killer from Lena," Alex said. "I've had to review all of the cases our county has on death row."

Mary opened the folder and held out the information. "Look at this," she said.

Alex scanned the doc.u.ment. "What the h.e.l.l? Why wasn't this brought out in the original case?"

"We also believe there is another victim of the killer," Bradley added. "A young boy who was reported missing about a year before the other murders. Ronny Goodridge. He's still considered a missing person."

"You have evidence he was murdered?" he asked.

"We believe we've located his body," she answered. "It's in the middle of Lake Le-Aqua-Na."

"This was primarily a case out of Lena," he said. "Have you reported your findings to them?"

Bradley shook his head. "We're concerned there might be a leak in that office. A couple of pieces of less sensitive information were leaked from Dixon to Lena, and we believe someone tried to cover up additional evidence by setting fire to Emil's home."

Alex sat back in his chair. "Was the evidence destroyed?"

Mary handed him the bag. "Emil told us that on the day he was arrested, he found a pair of Timmy Beck's swim trunks lying alongside the road. He believed that Timmy had merely dropped them when he rode by and he was going to take them to Timmy's house. They've been in the house all this time."

Alex leaned forward, took the bag and opened it, but didn't touch the trunks. "You're thinking the trunks might have DNA on them?"

"If he was wearing them at the time of the murder, there's a chance they could," Mary said.

"So, we'll fast track the testing," Alex said. "That will give us results within 24 hours. In the meantime what else do you want me to do?"

"Move Forrest to solitary for the time being," Bradley said. "I think the killer is getting a little nervous and he might be planning to get rid of him."

"Could you get a forensic dive team out to the lake, as soon as possible, without alerting any other local law enforcement?" Mary asked. "We can give them a pretty specific site to search."

"Okay, a forensic dive team," he said, "anything else?"

"Well, there's some more evidence in the hollow of a tree in the park," Mary said. "We didn't want to touch it and be accused of tampering with it. But we are concerned about the local law enforcement and their prejudicial handling of the case. It would be great to have someone you designated to help us retrieve it."

Alex sat back in his seat and studied the two of them. "You're not going to tell me how you got all of this information, are you?" he said.

Mary shook her head. "Alex, you really don't want to know."

"Was it legal?"

Bradley looked him in the eyes. "Alex, I swear to you it was legal," he said. "But pretty unorthodox and it would just be better if you didn't know any more about it."

He paused for a moment and shrugged, "Works for me," he said. "I'll see what I can do about expediting Emil's release and I'll put him in protective custody until all the dust has settled."

"And you'll get in touch with Ronny's parents?" Mary asked. "He'd like...I mean...it would be nice if they could come up here to claim the remains."

He tilted his head and studied her for a moment. "You know, Mary O'Reilly, I'm not as dumb as I look."

She blushed. "I never thought you were dumb, Alex. And, someday, if you really want to know, I'll share my secrets with you."

"Yeah, I think that could be interesting," he said.

Mary looked behind Alex's desk to where his grandfather's translucent form watched over his grandson. The older man looked at Mary and winked. Mary smiled. "Yes, more interesting than you could imagine."

Chapter Thirty-eight.

Ian drove down the country roads between Freeport and Lena, with Mike sitting in the pa.s.senger seat. "We have two choices," Ian said. "We can try and find the ghosts of the boys who were murdered, or we can go through this list and interview the other men who were originally selected as people of interest."

Mike turned and looked out the window at the countryside around them, still covered with a blanket of snow. "Since we have no idea where those murders took place, we could be searching for those boys for months," he said. "I think the best bet is to talk to the people on the list first. At least we can get an idea if they act nervous or do something stupid after you leave."

"While you stay behind and follow them," Ian finished.

"Exactly."

"Okay, who's number one?" Ian asked.

"George Dittmer, the Little League coach and owner of the local hardware store," Mike said.

Ian nodded. "Let's go."

The aisles in the hardware store were narrow and the shelves were filled with every possible gadget and contraption imaginable. Ian was overwhelmed at the variety, from old-fas.h.i.+oned horse liniment to the newest product in ultra-sonic pest control. He continued up the aisle until he reached the counter at the back of the store.

"This place is amazing," he whispered to Mike.

"Yeah, I used to love coming here with my dad," Mike said. "George used to have penny candy in barrels up by the register. I could always talk my dad into at least ten cents worth."

"Hi, can I help you with something?" George Dittmer asked, walking up to Ian.

He was a middle-aged man with a receding hairline and a protruding waistline, not an uncommon combination. "h.e.l.lo," Ian replied. "My name is Ian MacDougal and I'm working on an investigation with the Freeport Police Department. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?"

George shrugged. "Sure, if I can help?"

"It's about the case involving the murder of a group of boys, about twenty years ago," Ian said, watching the man's face for any reaction.

"Yeah, I remember, one of those boys was on my Little League team," he said. "Good thing they caught the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who killed them."

"Well, as it turns out, some new information has recently come to light," Ian said. "And it looks like Emil Forrest wasn't guilty."

"What?" George said, clearly surprised. "But they found all of their belongings..."

"Aye, it seems it might have been a set-up," Ian said. "And now, well, we're back to step one, trying to find the killer."

"I can't believe that," George said, shaking his head. "We were all so sure it was Emil and now... Really, he was set up?"