“It could be that one of the campers escaped and came back and buried the other two. But none of them were ever heard from again. I’m thinking that if someone launched the grenade during a psychotic episode, eventually he may have clicked back into reality and grasped what he had done. When were the students discovered missing?”
“About four days after they went camping.”
“That would have been plenty of time for some misguided vet with PTSD to become rational and bury the bodies.”
“How do you explain the one gunshot to the head?” McAdams asked.
“Maybe he brought a gun as well as grenades. Or maybe it was field mines that he planted around himself for protection. Or perhaps it was none of the above.” Ferdinand shrugged. “Food for thought.”
“A grenade, of all things.” Decker shook hands with the doc. “Thanks for your input.”
“Hope it helped.”
“It helped and it muddled things up.”
“Yeah, sometimes the truth is like that.”
Walking back to the car, McAdams said, “A maniac roaming the woods.” He shook his head. “That’ll sure kill tourism. The stuff of horror movies. Not to mention the stuff of panic.”
“It was ten years ago,” Decker said. “Our so-called maniac could have died. He could have moved on. He could have gotten some therapy and become an upstanding citizen.”
“Or he still could be out there waiting for some other hapless hikers to encounter,” McAdams said. “Have we found any evidence of someone living off the grid?”
“You know as much as I do.”
“On the slight off chance that someone is still sequestered in the hills, we should alert our teams.”
“Right. Give Kev a call.”
McAdams extracted his cell from a pocket and phoned Kevin Butterfield. After updating him, he hung up. “He’d like more people out there. He’d like to redouble his efforts to find Bennett McCrae’s remains, should they be there. And they’re still looking for Lanz.”
“I’ll talk to Mike Radar. Maybe he can round up some volunteers from other agencies.”
“Are you going up there?”
“Yes, but first I have to go back to the station to make a death call.” He turned to McAdams. “It might be worthwhile to take a quick trip to Cleveland. It’s more respectful to deliver the news in person.”
“As soon as you call, the Velasquezes are going to know that it’s bad news, boss. And you have to call. You can’t just pop in on them. What’s the real motivation?”
“I’d also like to go to Saint Louis and interview Harriet McCrae again. But Radar’s more likely to give me the funds if I say I’ll go to Cleveland to talk to the Velasquezes.”
McAdams wagged a finger. “You think Bennett might still be alive.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Am I right?”
“Despite what Ferdinand said, I don’t see a lunatic burying three bodies miles apart.”
“And I don’t see someone like Bennett returning to a scene of carnage to bury bodies. Besides, why would he go into hiding? He didn’t do anything wrong if it was a mercy killing.”
“That’s a very gray area, Harvard. Even if it was a mercy killing, Bennett could have thought that he’d be arrested for first-degree murder. Maybe he was so traumatized by everything that he dropped out. You don’t go through something like that and resume your normal life.”
“I can believe the drop-out part. But I’m skeptical that Bennett would have had the presence of mind to go back and bury the others all the while knowing that there was a maniac on the loose.”
“Maybe he didn’t go back right away. Or maybe I’m totally wrong.” Decker shrugged. “My main concern is finding out what happened to Bennett. I just want to talk to Harriet McCrae. Once she finds out about Velasquez, she’ll want to know the details anyway.”
“It can be done by phone.”
“It can. But I always found interviews in person more productive.”
“You’re on thin ice, boss. You don’t want to imply her boy may still be alive and then get a call from Kev that they found his remains.”
“You are absolutely right about that.” Decker exhaled. “Let’s go back to the station house. It’s possible that Radar won’t fund the trips.”
“I can pay for them.”
“I can pay, too, but I don’t want to.”
“You want company? You haven’t asked.”
“Sure, I’d love company.” Decker smiled. “Someone has to carry the luggage.”
“I don’t understand why this can’t be done with a phone call.” Radar was looking at Decker from across his desk.
Decker said, “I can’t tease out information over the phone.”
“Then you’re going on a fishing expedition.”
“Sometimes you get a bite.”
“And sometimes you get bitten in the ass. I don’t want a distraught mother calling me up and complaining about you.”
“I can be subtle.”
“How much are we talking about?”
“Economy round trip: two hundred sixty-five dollars if I book with an online service.”
“There goes the bake-sale money.”
“I promise Rina will make more cookies next year.”
“It was the rugelach that sold out. Man, that was good stuff.”
“It’s the cream cheese in the recipe,” Decker said. “Yes or no?”
“Go.”
“Can I take McAdams with me?”
“Why?”
“I took him with me the first time. I like consistency.”
“It’s not worth two hundred sixty-five dollars for consistency.”
“He’ll pay his own way.”
“That’s not the point.”
“He wants to come. I want him to come. If you wouldn’t have given me the cash, I was going to pay my own way. If you won’t give him the cash, I’ll split the fare with him.”
“Making me look like a cheap son of a bitch. Especially since the kid took a bullet in the line of service.”
“Two bullets actually.”
“The second was just a graze wound.” Radar scowled. “Yes, I’ll give you both the airfare and car rentals. You use your own cash for meals and incidentals . . . oh the hell with it. I’ll give you an extra fifty for meals. You go over that amount, you pay yourself.”
“That’ll go a long way in the Midwest. Thank you.”
“You’ve done a good job with this case.”
“Thanks, Mike, but we haven’t done anything other than discovering remains, and that was by accident.”
“Yeah, you really have done squat.” The captain smiled. “Where are you at with Bertram Lanz?”
“Not very far with that one either.”
“What about the parents? Have they contacted you?”
“No, and it’s been almost two weeks. I don’t believe they’re out of phone contact. They obviously don’t want to contact us or speak to us.”