The Lost Bones by Kendra Elliot
8
Cate had never met Special Agent Isla Ross. The agent was young and had only two years on the job, but after an hour in the car with her, Cate knew she was sharp and intelligent.
Cate had taken the first early ferry to the mainland that morning, and the two of them were now driving to Birch Bay on the coast of Washington to interview Rich’s old buddy, Greg Ledford. Isla had been assigned after Kori Causey had rejected the male FBI agent’s phone call, so she’d quickly familiarized herself with the case. When Cate had called Phillip about conducting an in-person interview with Greg Ledford, he had connected her with Isla.
“My mother loved the ocean,” Isla said when Cate complimented her name. “I was lucky to get the halfway normal name. My sisters are Aqua and Mer.”
Isla parked in front of a ranch-style home, and Cate was surprised to see a few cows and other animals in a small fenced pasture adjacent to the house. It felt like a residential neighborhood, even though the lots were large and spread out. “Is that a llama?” asked Isla, shifting in her seat to see past Cate. The animal had stopped grazing and lifted its head to look at them. It had an incredibly long neck.
“I think it’s an alpaca. It’s got a little puffy head.”
They got out of the car, and several of the animals approached them at the fence. The women scratched a few ears and then walked up the driveway to the home, the animals following parallel behind their fence.
Seven years ago, Greg Ledford had told Cate that he’d never tell her where Rich Causey had gone because Rich had every right to do as he pleased with his own daughter. Cate had gotten into a verbal spat with the man over the child’s need for medical care. She could still see Greg rolling his eyes and waving off her concerns. Greg had claimed Kori was overreacting. Children got sick. They got over it.
Cate hoped he knew what had happened to Jade and had trouble sleeping at night.
According to Isla’s research, Greg Ledford was single and rented the home. He worked in home construction: the same job—but different employer—he’d had when Cate interviewed him seven years ago. Construction was where Greg had originally met Rich. They’d become fast friends. Both enjoyed dirt biking and bowhunting.
The front door of the home opened and Greg stepped out, his arms crossed on his chest. Cate’s stomach turned over. She always felt uneasy when she left Widow’s, and the tension of seeing Greg Ledford again wasn’t helping. He’d been unhappy to hear from the FBI but had agreed to give them a few minutes of his time after a buttering-up call from Isla. Isla had told Cate she sometimes “slipped” into a faint southern accent—her mother had been from Georgia—and had found she got better cooperation on phone calls when she used it.
Clearly it had worked with Greg.
Greg looked exactly the same to Cate. He was short and wiry with black hair and a goatee. He wore a tank top that had armholes cut so far down the sides Cate could see all his ribs.
“Mr. Ledford,” Isla started. “I’m Special Agent Ross, and I think you already know Special Agent Wilde.”
Cate and her ex-boss had had a long discussion about how Cate was to be introduced. Phillip had won, making Cate agree to use her old title.
“You’re still hounding Rich,” Greg stated, his gaze hidden behind dark wraparound sunglasses. Stubbornness rolled off him in waves.
“Have you heard from him?” Cate asked politely.
“Nah.”
There was a long moment of silence. The morning sun was hot on the back of Cate’s blazer. She hadn’t worn “work clothes” in a long time. She didn’t remember the jacket feeling so constraining and itchy against the back of her neck.
“Can you blame him?” asked Greg. “His wife sicced the cops on him.” He shook his head in disgust. “She was nuts. Who does that to their husband?”
Someone in fear for their daughter’s life.
Cate bit her tongue.
A woman appeared behind him. She wore the same style tank top as Greg but with a tube top underneath. She had out-of-control frizzy blonde curls and looked to be barely in her twenties. She eyed the two agents’ slacks and blazers with suspicion. “You church people?”
Isla whipped out her ID. “No. We’re asking Greg about a friend of his that may have murdered his daughter.”
Shock crossed the woman’s face.
“Get lost, Tammy! This doesn’t concern you.” Greg didn’t even glance behind him.
Cate wanted to punch him.
Tammy vanished.
“Why are you here in person this time?” asked Greg. “Usually I get a phone call.”
Cate smiled sweetly and threw a bomb into the discussion. “We have new evidence indicating that Jade died in Rich’s care.”
Greg didn’t flinch.
He already knew that.
“What evidence?” he blurted out.
“It’s not available to the public,” said Isla. “Rich may be facing murder charges in addition to kidnapping.”
“You can’t kidnap your own kid!” Greg shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched against the doorjamb.
“He withheld medical care that resulted in her death,” added Isla.
Greg moved his glasses to the top of his head and rubbed his chin, his focus beyond the agents.
He’s uncomfortable. Good.
“I haven’t heard from him since he left,” Greg said. “He knows how to live off the land, you know. And he’s as stubborn as all hell. If you haven’t found him in seven years, you might as well give it up.”
“We’re stubborn too,” answered Cate. “Especially when children are involved. We aren’t anywhere near giving up.”
“Well, I said my piece. Now get off my property.” He stepped back and moved to shut the door.
“It’s a rental,” Isla snapped just before the door slammed in their faces.
She and Cate moved down the concrete steps. “Think we poked him enough?” asked Isla.
“I think so. The wireless carrier will let the FBI know if he makes any phone calls in the next hour.”
“He might use the girlfriend’s phone,” said Isla, tapping on her cell phone as they walked. “Tammy, right? I’ll find her last name and get her wireless information.”
Cate stopped to rub the foreheads of two very curious cows who had watched the entire conversation with Greg. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move. Turning slightly, she saw Tammy watching them from a window.
Hmm.
Cate dug in the inner pocket of her blazer. She’d discovered old business cards when she’d put on the jacket that morning and stared for a long moment at her name in crisp letters under the FBI logo, a mix of emotions flooding her. The agency had been part of her identity for a long time. It’d been hard to cut away that piece of herself.
She still had an empty hole that hadn’t healed over.
But it was much smaller than it had been.
Cate scribbled her cell number on a card and shoved it into a crack in the fence and looked at Tammy again. The woman was still watching.
Isla noticed the woman. “Maybe she’ll call,” Isla said under her breath.
“Worth a shot,” said Cate. “Having a boyfriend who’s a nonstop asshole tends to wear on a person.”
“Agreed.”
“Let’s go,” said Cate. “I want to get back to the island. My stomach feels loopy.”
“Do you need something for it?” asked Isla.
“Nope. I just need to go home.” Cate exhaled, and a small part of her tension started to fade.
Stepping onto the island would take care of the rest.
Cate waited for Tessa outside the Cascade Café and seriously considered getting one of their dutch baby pancakes to go, even though it was almost dinnertime. Or maybe two pancakes. But she knew they wouldn’t taste nearly as good by the time she got them home. They were best fresh out of the café’s ovens, with plenty of butter, powdered sugar, and lemon. The smell of a freshly baked one teased her again, and she moved away a few steps.
I’m not the only one who likes breakfast for dinner.
She’d just returned from the interview with Greg Ledford when Tessa called, asking her to meet at the café. Tessa was now inside taking a report regarding a large group of young men who had dined and dashed. Cate could see the deputy talking with a young waitress. Tessa had told her the waitress was annoyed that the group had constantly made her run back and forth for stupid complaints and then not paid.
Tessa finally came out, bringing a fresh wave smelling of burgers, pancakes, and coffee.
“Was it tourists who dined and dashed?” asked Cate.
“Nope. It was the Wilkins boys and a group of friends.” She shook her head. “Did they really think no one would recognize them?”
“I don’t think ‘boys’ is the right term,” said Cate. “They’ve got to be in their early twenties by now.”
“They acted like boys.”
“True.”
“Their mom isn’t going to let them get away with it,” said Tessa. “Even if they don’t live at home anymore. I don’t envy them facing Debbie’s wrath after I tell her about it.”
“You’re going to report it to their mom?” Cate grinned.
“Yep. I have every faith that Debbie will take care of it.”
“I have no doubt.” The two women started to walk up the small hill in Bishopton. The town was adjacent to the ferry port and was often more crowded with tourists than North Sound. Bishopton was laid out so people could walk off the ferry and immediately find plenty of restaurants and little shops. It’d been a convenient place to meet upon Cate’s return. Both women were ready to update the other on their mornings.
“What did you find about the person who sold Marsha the jewelry?” asked Cate.
“Marsha said she’s bought jewelry from him three times and that it always sells well. Each time she’s bought some, she’s paid him more and also increased the price in her store.”
“It’s not a consignment?”
“No. She buys it outright.”
“That’s a little risky.”
“She says she knows what will sell in her store. She charges more than double what she pays for jewelry and rarely has to mark it down.”
“Sounds like she knows what she’s doing.”
“Anyway, I asked her to describe the seller. She guessed that he was around thirty-five. Said he’s very quiet and has a thick beard. She’s never seen anyone else come in with him, and she’s one hundred percent convinced that he makes the jewelry.”
“Hmm.” Cate didn’t know what to think about that. The age sounded too young for Rich, and he definitely wasn’t quiet, from Kori’s and his friends’ descriptions. Cate had a hard time picturing him as the quiet man talking to Marsha about his jewelry.
“She doesn’t have contact information for him. He claims he doesn’t have a phone. She said he insists on being paid in cash and told her that when he has more pieces to sell, he’ll simply show up. She said she wouldn’t be surprised if he was one of the survivor island types.” Tessa wrinkled her nose. “She said he was rather fragrant.”
“That fits what we know of Rich,” said Cate.
The closest “survivor island,” Elias Island, was not far off the southwest tip of Widow’s Island. Named for the founder of Widow’s Island—who was an ancestor of Cate’s—Elias Island attracted people who wanted to be left alone or small groups of survivalists, which was how it had earned the “survivor island” name. There were a few other islands in the area with the same types of populations. The survivor islands didn’t have power or plumbing and weren’t meant to be inhabited, but people lived on them anyway. The county sheriff looked the other way as long as they behaved. True problems on the islands were rare; the few residents preferred to avoid each other.
“What’s her seller’s name?”
“John Wayne.”
“No, it’s not.”
Tessa laughed. “That’s what I said. He told Marsha his parents had been fans. She had decided his name didn’t matter.”
“Do we need to check out the survivor islands?” Cate asked.
“I think this guy Marsha met is too young,” said Tessa. “But it wouldn’t hurt to find out for certain, I guess.”
“Rich is a survivalist,” said Cate. “It makes sense that he would seek out a place like that.”
“I agree.”
Cate’s phone rang, and she didn’t recognize the number. “This is Cate.”
“Umm . . . you were at my place today,” said a woman very quietly. “You and another woman.”
“You live with Greg Ledford?” asked Cate. She tapped Tessa on the arm and excitedly pointed at the phone, mouthing Tammy.
“Yeah.”
A long silence followed.
“You got the card I left,” said Cate. “You must have something you need to share with me.”
“I don’t know.” Uncertainty rang in Tammy’s voice.
“You heard we were looking for Rich Causey. Did you know he’s a friend of Greg’s?”
“I’ve never heard that name before,” said Tammy. “I was more curious about what you said about someone murdering a little girl. Did that really happen?”
“We are almost positive,” said Cate, trying to remember what exactly she’d said about Jade Causey to Greg. “The father refused to take the child for medical care and then disappeared with her. We have new evidence that she didn’t survive, and we want to talk to her father about it.”
Tammy was silent.
“Did you overhear something about a little girl?” Cate softened her tone. “Her name was Jade. She was only three.”
“Maybe . . . I’m not sure.”
“Tell me what you heard. Even the smallest thing might make a difference in finding this man.”
“What if it wasn’t his fault?”
Cate closed her eyes. Tammy knew something. “Then he won’t be in trouble, will he?”
The woman went quiet again.
“Tammy,” Cate began. “I think you have something you need to get off your chest. You’ve made a step in the right direction by calling me.”
“Will he know it was me?”
Cate didn’t know if Tammy meant Greg or Rich, but it didn’t matter. “No. Not at all.”
The woman sighed loudly over the phone. “I heard Greg talking with his friends one time . . . it was probably a year ago. Maybe longer. They were talking about another guy who was hiding out from the police. They didn’t say exactly why, but I could tell these guys all thought it was pretty funny that the police couldn’t find him.”
Now that Tammy had decided to tell Cate her story, she wasn’t holding back. The words came fast.
“I was cleaning up in the kitchen. Greg had two other guys over for a barbecue and beers. I wasn’t paying much attention because they talk so much shit all the time, but I heard one of them say, ‘Too bad about the little girl. She was a cutie.’ And they all went quiet. That got my attention. Usually they never shut up.”
They knew. And no one said anything.
“After that they went on to talk about how this friend had been traveling around from state to state for a while. How he almost got caught a few times.”
Cate waited for more, but Tammy went quiet. “Anything else about where this guy could be?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Did Greg know you overheard their conversation?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Did he question you today after we left?”
“No. He just went out in the garage and fooled around with his motorcycle for an hour.”
“Did he call anyone?” Cate hadn’t heard back from Isla about any phone calls. “Did he ask to borrow your phone?”
“He didn’t. And I don’t know if he called anyone or not.”
“Where is he now?”
“Not sure. I heard him take off on his bike. He usually doesn’t tell me when he’s leaving. But that’s when I got your card and made up my mind to call.”
“You’ve been a big help, Tammy.”
“I don’t think I told you anything helpful.”
“How long have you been together?” Cate asked as she tried to think of other questions to keep the woman talking.
“Two years.”
“Has Greg ever brought home new-to-you friends? Maybe someone from out of town who stayed overnight a few days? The man we’re looking for is in his midfifties.”
“A single guy?”
“He might have a girlfriend or wife.”
“We had a guy and his girlfriend stay one night last winter. Not sure exactly when, but I know it was after Christmas. I’d say he was around fifty. Greg said they used to work together.”
Bingo.
“Do you remember his name? Or his girlfriend’s name?”
“I don’t remember his, but her name was Leigh.”
Ashlee?
“Was she a lot younger than him?”
“Oh, totally. I wanted to ask her why she was with a guy so much older than her, but I thought that’d be rude. I swear she was barely out of high school.”
“Tammy.” Cate tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. “That sounds like the man we’re looking for. Can you remember anything about where they were going?”
“I’m not sure, but I know Leigh was really excited because they were in the process of moving. She said they were going to have natural lives. I asked what she meant by that, and she said grow their own food, build their own home, and not pollute the planet. Sorta sounded like a bunch of hippie bullshit to me. I don’t think I could live without my TV or internet.”
“Where were they going to find a life like this?” Cate asked.
“Not sure. But Leigh must have said a dozen times how excited she was that they were taking a long ferry ride to get there.”
Cate tried a few more questions but couldn’t pry any more relevant information out of Tammy. Cate thanked her and asked her to call if she thought of anything else.
After ending the connection, she turned to Tessa, who’d been listening with interest to Cate’s side of the conversation.
“I think Tammy just confirmed that Ashlee is with Rich Causey,” said Cate. She gave Tessa a brief rundown of the conversation. “A long ferry ride would definitely put Ashlee and Rich in our area.”
“They could be right here on Widow’s,” said Tessa.
“I don’t think so,” said Cate. “I think Marsha would have known if her seller lived on the island. I think the survivor islands are the right places to start looking, especially knowing what I know about Rich. They’re small. Not many people live on them. We should be able to rapidly cross them off our list.”
“They’re also populated by people who shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Then we’ll be careful. Logan would be ideal to take with us to the islands. He understands these people.” Cate’s brother had encountered the type several times in his job as a park ranger.
“He does.”
“Can you think of anyone else who would be helpful? We can cover multiple islands if we split up.”
“I know one other person.”
Cate looked at her expectantly. Tessa looked away, avoiding her gaze.
“Well? Who?” asked Cate.
“Adam Jacobs.”
Cate rolled her eyes. The young man could handle a boat or seaplane as if he’d been born to it, but his social graces were greatly lacking. Cate had experienced several awkward encounters with Adam since her return to the island last year. “What makes you say that?”
“I know he’s spent some time on a few of the islands. His dad told me Adam had believed he was meant for the lifestyle, but instead he found he appreciates standard plumbing too much. I guess he’s tried a few times. For some reason he thought it would be an adventure every day.”
Cate snorted. “At least he’d know where to find the people on the islands.”
“I think so.”
“I’ll contact him. You check with Logan and see if he can take you to Elias Island tomorrow morning.” She paused. “I’ll even partner with Adam. We can fly to one of the ones that’s farther away,” she said reluctantly.
“Good idea,” agreed Tessa. “I can send Kurt or Bruce along with you. That should help keep Adam from hitting on you and sticking his foot in his mouth.”
“I’m engaged.”
Tessa shot her a side-eye. “You could hold your engagement ring in front of his face and have Henry stand between you, and Adam would still give it a shot.”
“True. I’ll let you know later what I hear from Adam. But let’s plan to leave by six a.m. tomorrow.”
“Done.”
The women parted ways, and Cate headed to her vehicle in the ferry parking lot. She was excited to start searching tomorrow.
Will I finally get Kori some closure?