OKAY, I ADMIT that one hit me out of left field,” said Kelly. They were outside in the heat, and he was smoking a cigarette. Decker stood there looking back at the building they’d left a few minutes ago. Jamison was standing a little away from Kelly’s cigarette smoke.
Gunther and Milton Ames had apparently been so taken aback by Susan Ames’s statement that they had quickly ushered Decker and company out of the building, while they “discussed” things among themselves.
“She knew about Cramer’s other life,” noted Decker. “Which begs the question of why she continued to allow her to teach their kids. And there’s something else.”
“What?” Kelly asked as he tossed his spent smoke on the gravel.
“If Susan Ames knew, who else did here?”
“You really think one of the Brothers butchered Cramer like that?”
“Locals can come here. Cramer worked here and she was an outsider. Any other non-Brothers around?”
Kelly looked shrewdly at him. “Yeah, they hire contractors to help with the manufacturing stuff and some of the farming operations.”
“Okay.” Decker glanced toward the dining hall. “If they keep us out here much longer I’m just going to kick the door down before heatstroke fully sets in.”
“They might not like that,” warned Kelly.
“They’re pacifists. So what are they gonna do about it?”
Kelly grinned and then pointed. “Well, you just got your wish.”
Decker looked over to see Peter Gunther standing at the open door and waving for them to rejoin him.
Inside, Susan and Milton Ames were sitting side by side at the center table. He appeared upset and she looked somewhat contrite.
Milton said, “Um, Susan wants to explain her earlier remark.”
“Okay,” said Kelly, sitting down opposite them while Decker and Jamison hovered behind. Kelly said to Susan, “So you knew about Irene?”
Susan wouldn’t look up. “Yes. And . . . it was very cruel what I said before. I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess . . . I suppose I was upset.” Now she did look up and her eyes were watery. “But I did fear for her. And it seems that those fears were unfortunately justified.”
“How did you know about her other life?” asked Decker.
“This past spring our oldest son had gone to visit my sister and her family in Pennsylvania. They’re not part of us. But we do visit and keep in touch. He traveled by bus. I went into town to pick him up at the depot. He was late coming in, it must’ve been after midnight. I was waiting in my truck when I saw her walking down the street with some man.”
“Irene, you mean?” said Kelly.
“I had to look three times before I recognized her. It was more the way she walked, really, and how she would tilt her head. I would see her do that at the school all the time.”
“Then you’re a careful observer,” noted Decker.
Susan glanced nervously at her husband, who still stared down at the table. “I . . . I am someone who notices things. My duties here require that attention to detail.”
“Go on,” prompted Kelly.
“Well, the man was obviously drunk and had his hands all over her. I thought she might be in trouble. So I got out of the truck and called out to her. She was horrified to see me, I could tell. She started trying to get rid of the man who was with her. But he said the name Mindy, which is how I knew about that. Anyway, the man yelled that he’d pay her an extra hundred dollars if she, well, if she performed a certain act on him.” Susan blushed deeply as she said this, and Milton and Gunther looked like they might be ill. She noticed this and hurried on. “That’s when I realized it was more than some date that got out of hand. The man finally left and we sat in my truck and talked. She could tell I was very shocked and she explained at length about what was going on.”
“Take your time and tell us everything you can remember,” said Jamison.
“She said her mother had cancer, had no insurance, and she was sending all the money she made by, well, by being with men—”
Here Gunther made a clucking sound.
“—so as to help her mother,” finished Susan hurriedly.
“So just to be clear, she told you she was selling sex for money?” said Kelly.
“I know nothing about it, of course, but isn’t that the point? To do it for money?”
Kelly glanced at Decker and didn’t answer.
“Did you believe her about her mother?” asked Decker.
“I was so stunned I didn’t know what to believe. But she seemed incredibly sincere, and so, against my better judgment, I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone about what I had seen. She would have been instantly dismissed from working here if I had.”
“Of course she would have,” bellowed Gunther. “And you should have told us, Susan. To think that our children were being taught by someone who . . . who engaged in such immoral behavior.”
Susan glanced up at him defiantly. “And would it be moral to let her mother die?”
“I’m sure there were other ways,” said Gunther. “Do you not agree, Milton?”
Milton looked startled, as though he were a student hiding in the back of the room when the teacher called on him for an answer he didn’t have.
“Yes, yes, of course. I’m sure there were other pathways.” He brightened. “She could have come to us. We would have helped her.”
“Exactly,” said Gunther.
“Maybe she didn’t want anyone’s help,” said Susan dismissively.
“Well, then she alone should be accountable for it,” said Gunther firmly.
“It looks like she was,” said Decker, drawing all their attention back to him. “Someone took her life, very brutally.” He scrutinized Susan. “What else did she tell you? Was she afraid of anyone? Had she received threats of some kind? Was anyone stalking her?”
“Nothing like that.” She paused. “But there was something. Something she said. It was about two weeks ago. She was here working on lesson plans when I popped in.”
“What did she say?” interjected Jamison. “As detailed as you can be, please.”
“She was looking upset. I asked her why. She told me she had gotten a note or letter that had disturbed her.”
“But you said she hadn’t been threatened,” noted Kelly.
“Well, she didn’t say that the note was threatening. Just that it had disturbed her.”
“Did she say who it was from?” asked Decker.
“No. But it was shortly thereafter that she mentioned taking a trip.” She eyed her husband. “You were there, too, when she asked for permission to miss a week of school.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. She said she was going to visit her mother.”
“And where did her mother live?”
“She never said,” replied Susan. “In fact, I know little about her background.”
“But surely if she was teaching here you needed to know about her background,” said Jamison. “She had to have appropriate credentials and experience and all that. Kelly said he learned from you that she had graduated from Amherst?”
Milton chimed in, “Oh, yes. She brought her credentials and teaching certificate with her when she interviewed for the job.”
“Do you have copies of those documents?” asked Decker.
Milton said, “No, I looked at them but didn’t make copies.”
“Did you do a background check on her?” asked Jamison.
Milton shook his head. “No, we . . . no, we didn’t do that. She didn’t seem like a person who would have a criminal record. She was a young woman, nice, presentable with a college degree from an excellent school.” He glanced at Gunther. “It didn’t occur to us that there might be a problem in her past. She worked here for a year without any issues at all.”
“And she was a very good teacher,” added Susan. “She was lively and engaging, and her curriculum was interesting and never crossed the bounds of what, well, what we value here. And the children loved her. They’re going to be devastated by this.”
“We’ll find another teacher,” said Gunther firmly.
“I’m sure you will,” said Decker. “And let’s hope nothing happens to that person.”
“This has absolutely nothing to do with us,” said Gunther indignantly. “This woman was a prostitute. I can only imagine the unsavory and dangerous people she would run into doing that sort of thing. I’m sure one of them is responsible for her death.”
“I wish I was as sure as you are,” replied Decker before looking over at Susan. “When was the last time you saw Cramer?”
She considered this question, her lips moving as though she were counting off days in her head. “Eight days ago.”
“Here, at the school?” asked Jamison.
Susan shook her head. “I was in town. We needed some . . . supplies. There’s a shop we use. They normally deliver out here, but they had two people out sick, so I drove into town.”
“So where did you see her?” asked Decker.
“She was coming out of a building.”
“Did you talk to her?” asked Kelly.
“I asked her when she was leaving on her trip to see her mother. I thought she would have already left, actually. She said she had been delayed but that she was leaving the next day, and she would be back to teach when she had originally said she would.”
Decker asked, “Did she say how she was getting to wherever she was going?”
“She had a car. An old Honda. I know that because she drove it to our school. But she didn’t tell me how she would be traveling to her mother’s.”
Jamison said, “How did she look? Nervous? Happy?”
Susan thought about this for a moment. “Resigned. Yes, she seemed . . . resigned.”
Decker said, “As though her fate was already decided, you mean?”
“Well, I didn’t think that at the time, because I didn’t know she was going to be murdered. But now that I know, I would say yes.”
Kelly said, “So maybe she saw her own death coming?”
Decker glanced at him. “Well, she saw right, didn’t she?”
DO YOU HAPPEN TO KNOW a guy named Stan Baker?” Decker asked Kelly on the drive back.
Kelly said, “Stan Baker? Name doesn’t ring a bell. Should I know him?”
“He works for a fracking company. He’s, um, he’s my brother-in-law.”
“Brother-in-law? So you knew he was here, then?”
“No, it was a surprise. He’s a big guy, almost as big as me. Reddish hair, with the same color beard. Rugged in appearance. Ring any bells now?”
Kelly smiled. “Hell, you just described half the guys here, Decker.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” said Decker absently.
Jamison said, “We didn’t find any note or letter at Cramer’s apartment. She might have taken it with her, or she might have destroyed it.”
“At least it shows she was concerned about something,” said Decker. “And it might also account for the air of resignation Susan Ames alluded to.”
“What can you tell us about Caroline Dawson?” asked Jamison suddenly as she glanced briefly at Decker.
“Caroline?” said Kelly. “Why? Did you meet her?”
“Just for a minute. She’s apparently dating Decker’s brother-in-law.”
Kelly looked at her oddly. “Really? Okay. Well, she’s Hugh Dawson’s only child. Well, his only living child.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jamison.
“There was a brother, Hugh Jr. He was older than Caroline.”
“What happened to him?”
“He, uh, he killed himself. This was a number of years ago.”
“My God. Do you know why?”
“His father and him didn’t see eye to eye on some things and it just got out of hand. I guess depression set in and that . . . was that.”
“Care to elaborate?” asked Decker.
“Not really, no. I don’t like telling stories out of school, and it has nothing to do with the case.”
“And Dawson’s wife?”
“She died a few years ago. In an accident.”
“Caroline mentioned being involved in her father’s businesses,” said Jamison.
He nodded. “Hugh’s training her to take over one day. She’s really smart. Went to college out of state. And then came back here to begin her ‘apprenticeship.’ ”
“She seemed more of a party girl when we met her,” noted Jamison.
“She works hard and she’s ambitious. She was a right little hellion in her teens. But she knows she has the golden egg in front of her and she’s not about to screw that up. Then again, Hugh’s only sixty and in good health, far as I know. He won’t be retiring anytime soon.”
“It sounds like you know her well,” observed Decker.
Kelly looked thoughtful. “We grew up together, were pretty close all the way through high school. But I don’t think anyone really knows Caroline. She can be fun on the outside, but most never get to see her inner core. At least that’s my observation.”
“And her father?” asked Jamison.
“Hugh Dawson is a big, gregarious man who likes to come across as just a regular guy despite his wealth. He’ll make you laugh. But if you cross him he’ll make you cry instead. Not a man you want to get on the wrong side of.”
“So what’s the deal with this military complex?” interjected Decker. “Who works there?”
“It used to be a mix of folks. Military and contractors. But a year or so ago the military outsourced all the operations to a contractor. They have their own fire station, bowling alley, and even a bar. An Air Force colonel still commands the installation—Mark Sumter.”
“Ever had any problems over there?”
“Nothing serious.”
“You know this Sumter guy?”
“Yeah. He’s been here about a year. But why all the questions about that place?”
“Woman gets butchered and there’s a sensitive government facility nearby? It’s at least worth a look.” He glanced at Jamison, who said, “And it might explain why the FBI got called in.”
“And Cramer came here about a year ago, too, same as this Colonel Sumter,” added Decker.
Kelly nodded slowly. “Okay, yeah, I can see that. Maybe.”
“So maybe you can arrange an interview and visit,” said Decker.
“I’ll make a call, sure.”
They dropped Kelly off, and Decker and Jamison returned to their hotel. As they walked in, Decker’s phone buzzed. He looked spooked as he stared at the screen.
“Who is it?” asked Jamison, noting his expression. “Bogart?”
“No, it’s my sister, Renee.”
When Decker made no move to answer the call Jamison said, “Well? You wanted to talk to her. Here’s your chance.”
Decker moved over to a corner of the room and put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Renee.”
“Stan called me, Amos.”
“Yeah, I figured. Look, he told me about . . . you two.”
“We’re getting divorced. We’re not terminally ill. So don’t sound so morbid. It’s not the end of the world. And it’s not like you kept in touch. You’ve never even visited me here.”
“Well, it’s a long way.”
“And it was a long way every time I came to visit you. But I didn’t call to argue.”
“Why did you call then?”
“I wanted to just let you know that despite Stan and I going our separate ways, we’re doing okay. The kids understand. They’re fine with it.”
“Why didn’t you call and tell me?”
“I left two messages for you. And what would you have done? I figured that you’d find out at some point. Diane knows, of course. She’s already been down to see me.”
“Stan said you tried to work it out.”
“And I imagine you think we didn’t try hard enough. But we did, Amos. We just couldn’t make it work. I’m not getting any younger and I’ve got two kids still at home, and one in college. And Danny just graduated from college and he’s moving back here. I didn’t have time for endless counseling when it became clear it was going nowhere.”
“Are you going to be okay financially?”
“Stan makes good money, and he’s helping with all of the kids’ expenses. And we had college funds set up. And I’ve got a good job that pays well and has excellent health benefits.”
“So what happened? You both seemed so happy.”
“How would you know? I haven’t seen you since the funerals. And if you call more than once a year, well, you called the wrong number. I almost had a heart attack when you picked up just now.”
“I . . . I guess I have been sort of AWOL lately.”
“I invited you to live with us after Cassie and Molly died. When you turned that down, I offered to move the whole family to Ohio to be close to you.”
“I couldn’t let you do that, Renee. That would have disrupted all of your lives.”
“I would’ve done it in a heartbeat. You are my only brother, after all.”
“I got through it. I’m okay.”
“I know you found the person who did it, though you never talked to me about it. I read it in the newspaper,” she added in a hurt tone.
“Yeah, well, it’s not something I really wanted to talk about.”
“But it must’ve offered you some closure.”
“Not as much as you might think.”
She didn’t say anything for a long moment. “So how was Stan?”
“He looked okay. He . . . when I saw him, he . . .” Decker could not bring himself to tell her.
“It’s okay, Amos. I know he’s seeing someone. It’s okay. We are divorcing.”
Relieved, he said, “So are you seeing anyone?”
“Yeah, my four kids. Motherhood is sort of a full-time gig. But once I have some time getting to know myself again, and actually taking care of some of my needs, I intend to find some companionship. Don’t know if I’ll ever take the plunge again. How about you?”
“How about me what?”
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“I keep pretty busy, too. Look, I gotta go. Something’s come up.”
“Good talking to you, little brother,” said Renee sarcastically.
Decker clicked off and rejoined Jamison.
“How’d it go?” she asked anxiously.
Decker started to say something but then shut his mouth, turned, and walked off.
Jamison watched him go and then said under her breath, “That good, huh?”