Conspiracy of Blood, page 2
A cool gust blew against her body, and her hair whipped around her face, shielding her view of the bay and she closed her eyes. The wind picked up over the water and pushed up the steep edge of the rock before it swirled around her legs, threatening to knock her off balance. Few places had the topography that reminded her of home, and Lake Pines was one of them. The ruggedness of the landscape and the purity of the surrounding nature forced recollections of family vacations that made her homesick.
Marlow had insisted that they move to Lake Pines six months ago, but his death that followed soon after left her alone in a strange town with no friends or family to rely upon. Now she was standing alone on the apex of Birch Leaf Island, faced with an overwhelming decision. Her trembling hand wiped away the cold tears coating her cheeks, and her nervous apprehension returned. She wondered if she should have even come. It was her sixth sense that was telling her she’d made a mistake, and she ruefully ignored it.
When she initially lost her hearing, Hope’s doctor promised that her remaining senses would heighten in strength, offering her a keener view of the world that everyone else would be lacking. Her taste buds would be more refined than before. She would see colors she never would have noticed otherwise, and her sense of smell would be sharper. She counted on them more over the last few years.
It was the fragrance that forced her eyes open. Her implant, which had been failing intermittently, left her ears silent to the sounds around her for the last few days. She didn’t have the advantage of hearing the crunch of loose rocks beneath the approaching steps, or the panting that was caused by the exertion of the climb. Both would have signaled a warning of what was to come.
By the time she turned around, it was too late. The push came with such force that Hope didn’t have time to react. Desperately, she swung her arms, grazing the sleeve of her attacker seconds before she tumbled backward, failing to prevent her fall.
The crevice was one of the widest and deepest on the island. It was where Marlow honed his cave diving skills and where he learned to free climb against the sharp edge of the rock face. However, it also made for the perfect place to conceal a murder, and she feared, would become her final grave.
Chapter 2
It was the bright yellow tape that Kerry could see off in the distance that confirmed she was going in the right direction. The day began with the promise of warmth under a soft blue sky and although there was no trace of heat in the air, the sun at least had offered some hope. It was at this point in the day where the sun should be at its brightest, but Kerry found herself shrouded in steely grayness and taking the full brunt of the cold northerly wind that blew across the lake. The palette of color that brushed across the landscape was a blend of muted grays and browns that blended seamlessly from the sky into the rocky islands. The only break in the extended hue was the minor sweeps of green from the swaying pine trees on the surrounding islands.
A chill settled into her body and she shivered under the layers of cotton and fleece that she wore under her raincoat, which worked well at keeping her dry but did little to prevent the wind from getting through. When Simon called, he had warned her that the only dock on the island had limited space along the one good side where she could secure her boat. He suggested she call him down or flag the officer who would be waiting near the shore to give her some help.
She had decided she would do neither.
It had been almost three months since she returned to work and both Simon and Wayne were treating her like she had just learned to walk only days earlier. They were doing everything from getting her morning coffee from Lisa’s café to carrying her mail packages to her desk. All in their effort to ensure she didn’t exert herself.
Although their actions were well-intentioned, she was growing tired of being made to feel like she couldn’t make her way through the day on her own. It was also what led to the fight that she and Simon had when she left for work in the morning.
He had been prompting Kerry to scale back and to not worry about jumping into work again, afraid of the emotional drain it would have on her. That’s when she yelled that she knew what she was doing, and then stormed out of the house, and she hadn’t heard from him all morning.
Dr. Jamieson Goodwin had done an acceptable job as her replacement while she was on leave. His fifteen years of experience gave him the required qualification for the position. Unfortunately, from what Kerry could tell, he was a little less keen on completing paperwork and more interested in working just the required number of days in the province so he could deduct his cottage expenses on his taxes. Since she returned to work, she’d spent most of her time reassessing his cases. The excess paperwork made her eager to find something to focus on that wasn’t on her computer. If it wasn’t for the interesting segment of her job coming at the demise of someone’s life, she’d be excited at receiving a new case.
The call from Simon came more out of desperation than out of a genuine interest in having Kerry involved with the extraction of a body at the scene of an accident.
A pair of weekend rock climbers had found the body of a woman who had fallen to her death in the deep crevice on an island. The isolated location was popular for freestyle climbers because of the rugged terrain and unrestricted access. Kerry needed to determine the best way to remove the woman’s body without causing further damage, and Simon was eager to identify the victim so the next of kin could be notified as soon as possible. Although Birch Leaf Island had a cabin, a dock, and a shed, it had been unoccupied for more than a decade, making it difficult to know why the woman was there.
It wasn’t uncommon for cottages to quickly fall into disrepair once the original owners died. Family members inherited properties they often had little interest in owning and some lived a plane ride away and rarely visited. The cost of maintaining a property, plus the wear and tear that the change of seasons and the unforgiving climate brought upon them, meant it was cheaper to leave a cottage to fall apart than to care for it.
Islands were large and difficult to maintain, and many of the properties in the area came with an enormous price tag that was out of reach for many potential buyers. Those that could afford the steep prices wanted newly built cottages with hot tub decks, game rooms, and multi-slip boathouses. The long drives and physically draining effort required to prep, maintain, and enjoy a summer cottage was not for the faint at heart and, subsequently, many family-owned properties were in poor shape.
Buying a small cabin on the lake was something Kerry and Simon talked about when she first found out she was pregnant. It could be a place to spend weekends, vacations, and extended holidays with their growing family, creating lifelong memories. But their initial excitement wore off, and they hadn’t talked about it in several months. As she thought back to this morning’s argument, she wondered if it was time to revisit the idea.
Kerry looked out into the open bay and forced a calming breath. The water rolled toward the surrounding island shores, thrust by the force of the wind. Waves crashed against the rocks, concealed under the shadow of the craggy ice shelves that clung to the shore. Each wave shattered and almost seemed to sink below the surface. Moments like this on the lake, alone and cold, reminded Kerry of the day she fell through the ice while on the back of Simon’s snowmobile. Even though it was in the dead of winter, she was investigating a death just like she was today, and it was hard to hold back the memory. She fought the tightness in her chest as it threatened to slow her breathing, and instead, focused her attention on the path ahead of the boat.
Navigation still wasn’t one of Kerry’s strong skills, and when Simon offered to pick her up, she insisted on finding her own way there. It was her means of trying to prove she was okay on her own, but as the boat bounced over the rough waves and fought against the heavy wind, she was regretting her stubborn insistence. Everyone, especially Simon, had been coddling her since she returned to work and she was feeling smothered by their well-meaning, but obtrusive, attention. It had been several months since she had been to a crime scene and, in fact, she was growing bored with the case files on her desk.
She pulled up alongside Simon’s boat and secured her ropes to his bumpers and then climbed over his seats and then up onto the dock. The size of the forty horsepower she drove paled in comparison to the extended police vessel. But she preferred the small boat, finding it easier to maneuver around obstacles and through channels. Plus, she found it easier to secure the ropes when she was on her own.
A young officer ran down to the dock, holding out his hand when he saw Kerry climb over the police boat.
“I’m good,” Kerry said as she waved off his offer of help. “Is Simon just over that ridge?”
The officer nodded and offered to guide Kerry the rest of the way to where he and the other officers were waiting. Kerry dismissed his offer as nicely as she could, knowing he was just following Simon’s instructions and not trying to be a pest.
Kerry had resumed her regular running schedule six months ago and was feeling as strong, if not stronger, than before she went on leave. The added incentive to use her runs as a form of private time encouraged Kerry to extend her path and add in some workout routines before she returned home. Raven had also grown thick during her time off, and the additional treats and tosses of food had slowed him down.
Now both Kerry and Raven were back in their trim fighting form and ready to return to their life before her six-month leave.
Kerry ran up the steep hill, leaping over the mossy patches that covered the depressions in the rocks. The snow had receded off the surface of the island and the ground was dry and clear from patches of ice. The only obstacles that remained were the loose rocks on the ground and the wind that threatened to push her off balance.
Simon rushed toward her with his arm held out and Kerry reluctantly grabbed it when she saw Wayne running up behind him.
“What did you guys find?” Kerry asked.
The wind was stronger at the top of the hill, where a group of officers stood beside a roped-off area next to a wide crevice. Kerry tugged at the knit hat that was hanging partway out of her pocket and pulled it over her head and then tucked her hands up into her sleeves.
“A couple of climbers were testing out some gear and found her when they were about fifty feet down,” Simon explained as he neared the edge of the crevice that both the climbers and the dead woman went down.
“I didn’t think there were any cliffs steep enough to do any rock climbing?” Kerry leaned forward to peer over the edge, and Simon suddenly grabbed the back of her jacket, almost knocking her over.
Kerry swung around and swatted Simon’s hand away. “Damn it, Simon, what are you doing?”
“Sorry, I was just trying to make sure you didn’t fall.”
The other officers turned away, pretending not to witness Kerry’s rebuke of Simon’s grasp, although it would’ve been easy to hear her yell from across the bay. Simon shoved his hands in his pocket and reddened at the sudden burst of anger Kerry had just leveled at him.
Kerry took a step toward him, “Simon, I’m sorry, it’s just that you are always half a step behind me, hovering over my shadow.”
Wayne had suddenly appeared next to them and leaned forward as he whispered, “Kerry, we’re worried about you, that’s all. We just want to make sure you don’t get hurt.”
Kerry clasped both of her hands against the side of her head and shook it back and forth in frustration. “What do you think is going to happen to me?” Kerry yelled at them, unable to hold in her anger any longer.
Simon and Wayne exchanged glances, but neither of them spoke.
“I’ve already lost the baby,” Kerry snapped. “It was an accident, a horrible one, but just an accident and there was nothing either of you could’ve done to prevent it.”
She turned away, afraid she was going to cry again. The day she lost the baby, Wayne and Simon were both with her and had seen her fall apart at the hospital.
Emergency crews had called Wayne to a roadside accident just outside of Lake Pines and he radioed Simon to see if he could lend a hand. There were three cars and nine victims. The officers with Wayne were finding the sight of the young victims too difficult to deal with and were becoming more of an impediment than a help.
It was a sunny afternoon and Simon and Kerry were planning a boat ride and a picnic to celebrate the completion of her first trimester when Wayne called. Instead of having Simon turn around and drive her home, Kerry offered to go with him and see if she could offer some help.
Everything happened so quickly and no matter how many times Kerry replayed the scene in her mind, she still wasn’t sure she could’ve avoided what happened. The explosion came from an overturned car and the blast sent roadside debris toward them and the force loosened the rock face at the side of the road.
On the nights when Kerry was shocked awake by nightmares, she could still hear the rumbling sound of the Canadian Shield as it shifted and cascaded over the cars and toward the crew of first responders. The rust scent of the rock and the dust that clouded the road were still fresh in her mind and she would sometimes feel like she was still standing on the road. The smell of leaking gasoline and the odor of burning rubber and metal were impossible to erase from her memory.
The force of the blast threw Kerry into a ditch, and Simon was the first one to reach her. The resounding ringing in her ear failed to mask his panic as he repeatedly shouted her name. They rushed her to the hospital, but the trauma of being thrown against the ground caused too much bleeding and she lost the baby.
She pushed the memory of that day and the recent outburst with Simon from her mind and returned her focus to the body at the base of the crevice and how to best remove it. Kerry leaned over the edge of the gap and held her breath. If she could get through today, she just might be alright.
Chapter 3
It was difficult to determine just how deep the crevice was. The opening on the top of the cliff gradually narrowed into a V-shape, and the blackness of the space obscured the bottom. One officer balanced a high-powered light atop a tripod and guided Kerry’s gaze toward the woman in the crevice. A light shone against the victim’s upper body, catching the brightness of her yellow coat, stark against the surrounding black rock. The victim’s contorted body lay on a small rock shelf, her brutal landing the only thing that kept her from falling any further.
Ten feet below the jagged opening, the walls of the crevice were murky and glistened against the artificial light. Except for the outcrop where the body lay, there were several small notches in the rock, making this an unlikely location for a novice climber. Shadows from the light highlighted the minor distortions on the rock’s surface, but revealed no simple path down to where the victim had fallen.
Kerry pushed herself up and brushed the gravel from her hands. “How exactly was the victim found? There doesn’t seem to be an easy way down.”
“I got a call from two guys who were freestyle climbing here this morning,” Simon took a step closer to where Kerry stood. “It was sunnier earlier in the day and they thought they’d get in some practice climbing before their trip out west this summer.”
Simon opened his notebook. “Declan Henry and Shane Brady were the two guys who found our victim.”
“Did either of them try to move her?” Kerry tucked her hands in the fold of her arms.
“No. After Declan checked for a pulse, he realized she was dead and thought it would be best if they didn’t move her. There isn’t much room down there.”
Kerry turned her head toward an officer standing next to the light and shouted over the sound of the generator, “How much rope do you guys have here?”
“You’re not thinking of going down there, are you?” Simon asked.
“Do you have a better idea of how to figure out the best way to remove her body from the crevice?”
Simon shrugged. “I guess not, it’s just,” he let his words trail off. Neither he nor Kerry needed him to explain his concern. Kerry rested her hand on his forearm and smiled, silently letting him know she was going to be alright. He took a deep breath and the right side of his mouth curled up.
Simon turned his head away from Kerry and called out to Wayne, “Help me hold the rope so we can lower Kerry down.”
Wayne nodded his head and lifted the coiled rope off the ground.
“The harness is already attached to the rope. Once you’re secured, we can lower you down,” Wayne held the bands of leather steady as Kerry stepped through the leg loops and then secured the belt around her waist. “We used this same harness on Joe last week, so it’ll hold your weight with no problems.”
Simon handed Kerry a pair of leather gloves, “These are a little big, but they’ll make it easier to grip the rope.”
Kerry slipped her hands into the gloves, and although they were a size too large, they took the sting of the rope from her skin and shielded her frozen fingertips from the cold.
“We don’t have a rappel anchor, but both Wayne and I can distribute the weight and lower you down smoothly.”
Kerry took the headlamp from an officer and pulled the strap tight over her hat.
The first few steps over the edge were the worst. Kerry’s stomach tightened against her nervous fear, and her breathing quickened. Descending a steep cliff was scary enough for Kerry, who was never comfortable with heights. However, walking in a backward motion made it somewhat less intimidating.
About six inches from the edge, Kerry noticed traces of blood on the underside of the ledge. Marks that would have been impossible to see from above.
