Weaving The Web: A Cold Hollow Mystery (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 2) (12 page)

The chief rubbed his chin and said in a low tone, “I’ll be dipped in shit. You think it’s her? You think it’s a body?”

“I am getting a strange odor now and then, so it’s something. I just don’t know what. Maybe it’s a bloated moose or deer. What do you think, Hugo?” She handed him the branch, and he poked the cocoon roughly to see a wrap of sorts loosen and a lock of grey hair float to the surface. Myrna gasped, and he stood erect in a flash. He pointed at it with the stick. “This is not a moose or deer, no way, no how!”

The chief took his radio, lowered the volume, and hailed one of his officers who was on walking patrol.

“I’m gonna say this once, son, so don’t make me repeat my order. After this, it’s radio silence until I come back on. I want you to contact the coroner. He is to take the back road into the beach near the tree line. He is not to be seen by anyone, you understand me?”

He heard: “Got it, Chief. I’m on it. I’ll escort him out there.”

“Good man.” He clicked it off and radio silence was maintained. He patted Myrna’s back. “Go and spend time with your family and try to enjoy yourself. I know it’ll be hard in front of the commissioners, but this will all remain our secret until they get the hell out of here tomorrow morning. Hugo will go with you.” He eyed Hugo, whose complexion had paled from glancing at the cocoon. Hugo wore a deep frown.

Hugo wrapped an arm around Myrna’s shoulder as she took a deep breath, exhaled, and nodded. The chief watched her walk away with her shoulders straight and her chin in the air. He turned back to the water where the body was, sat back down on a rock, and put his head in his hands as he waited.

As they walked back to the beach, Myrna spoke in barely a whisper to Hugo as she watched the swimmers enjoying themselves, “You don’t suppose what we found in the water will effect any of these people swimming in the water, do you?”

He shrugged. “I doubt it. There’s probably a pile of dead and rotting stuff at the bottom of this lake. I don’t think it’s ever been dredged.”

Her upper lip curled and she surmised Tom would tell her if some of the swimmers began showing up at the hospital emergency room with rashes or any other common illness.  She mumbled to Hugo, “Tell no one what was found. We dredge this lake at the end of summer.”

He let her go after leading her to Tom and Liam and said, “You got it, Myrna.”

Liam ran to her. “Did Ranger Hugo know what it was?”

Myrna leaned down and said, “He said it was the biggest, bloated white fish he ever saw! He said it must have lived a long, happy life and ate so much it grew to three times its normal size. He said it must have been ancient and just ran out of steam.”

“Oh! So it means it lived a good fish life?”

“Yes, honey.” She glanced at Tom, who wore an expression of concern. They went back on some rides with Liam, and somehow Myrna managed to have a somewhat pleasant day. They played games of chance, ate supper at Robert Collins’s food station, and swam a little more.

At sunset, Carla Macy sent Robert to watch the fireworks with her daughters as she finished packing the rest of his equipment for him. She said she would only be a minute and be right behind them. She gave her daughter Sarah her folding chair.

As she went to close the back of Robert’s pickup truck, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and felt a cloth press over her mouth and nose. It smelled sweet, and Carla Macy’s world went dark as the band began playing their music for the fireworks display.

The townsfolk placed their folding chairs on the beach and watched a beautiful fireworks display as the band played the national anthem. The display lasted well over an hour. The people were cheering, and there were screams of excitement from the children as well as adults. The sound was deafening, but those in attendance were enthralled as the explosions of color in the sky were mirrored on the water’s surface. It was a dancing display of lights, sounds, and beauty. Myrna looked around and noticed smiles on many faces. She leaned into Tom and squeezed Liam to her as she continued to watch the show.

As people began to leave the beach and the carnival packed up for the night, Myrna noticed Becky, Sarah, and Robert Collins looking around. She approached them and asked, “Did you lose someone?”

Sarah’s voice quivered as she answered, “We’ve searched everywhere, and we can’t find my mom. She was supposed to sit with us for the fireworks, but never showed up.”

CHAPTER 15

Myrna’s eyes went wide, and she stared at Robert, who just shook his head. She directed the three of them to stay put near his truck. “Robert, can you bring the girls home later? I’ll contact the chief. He’ll want to search for evidence and ask you some questions before you leave.”

“If we can’t find their mom, I’m sure as hell not leaving them alone at the nursery. It’s too far from town, and they’re too damn young.”

Myrna put her hands on her hips and said, “Then where do you propose they sleep for the night?”

He glanced at the girls and sighed. “They can either go to your house or mine. I don’t trust anyone in this town enough to allow them to spend the night anywhere else.”

Becky spoke up. “In case anyone has not noticed, I’m not a baby. I am eighteen and can make up my own mind!”

Myrna turned to her and said, “We are not implying you’re not capable, Becky. We are thinking of your safety. It’s not a joke when someone like your mother goes missing. She is a responsible person.”

Becky looked at the ground and kicked a bit of dirt around. “I know.”

“So where do you prefer to spend the night? Do you want to stay at Robert’s or my house?”

Becky peeked at Sarah, and they both pointed at Robert. She spoke once more: “No offense, Mayor, but he’s a guy no one would mess with. He can protect us. You seem to have your hands full tonight.” Myrna smiled and nodded as she walked a short distance away and hailed the chief.

When he picked up, she said, “We’ve got another missing person. It’s Carla Macy. I’ve got her girls and Robert Collins here for questioning.”

“Be there in one minute after I’m done screaming into a goddamn bucket.”

“Thank you.” She shut the radio down and walked to Liam and Tom. She handed Tom the keys to her car. “I’m so sorry, men, but you’ll have to go home without me. I’ll have the chief drive me home.” She kissed Tom and leaned into Liam, who was in Tom’s arms, tuckered out. She kissed him and said, “I will see you in the morning, and we’ll do something fun. Maybe we can all go fishing?”

He yawned and patted the top of her head. “Okay, Mama. It sounds fun.”

She watched Tom walk down the road and turn toward the town hall before returning to Robert Collins and the girls. They waited perhaps five minutes before cruisers came down the road. They were mounted with spotlights glaring in different directions where the fairground had been. Myrna was frightened for the girls, but they were holding it together and clinging somewhat to Robert.

***

The chief, with dark circles under his eyes, sat in front of Myrna. She knew he hadn’t managed to get much sleep the previous night. “How do you do it?”

Myrna frowned. “How do I do what?’

“Look so damn refreshed? You work two jobs and take care of a family. How do you do it?”

She shrugged. “Tom makes us Sleepytime tea each night at bedtime. It knocks us out. A bomb could go off, and we would keep snoring. Liam and I always had difficulty sleeping soundly after his family’s accident. Tom told me about it. I bought it at the market, we agreed to try it, and voila!”

“Does Tom have difficulty sleeping?”

She shook her head. “He has never required any more than four to five hours. It comes with the profession. I’m a little jealous because I require more.”

The chief shrugged. “I’ll have to get some at the market. In the meantime, tell me about silk fabric.”

She answered, “There are two kinds of silk: cultivated and wild. The quality of silk is measured in momme, pronounced MOE-me. It’s a unit of measurement. The heavier the silk, the better. Cultivated silk is best. It has an almost glassy look, and the translucent appearance creates a prismatic rainbow effect. It’s beautiful and often referred to as bridal silk. The best comes out of France and Italy. Wild silk is not as durable and is cheap. I don’t like it.”

He finished his morning muffin and said, “The rehabilitation facility taught you well. Did you ever use silk when you worked as a master seamstress?”

Her head tilted to one side as she replied, “I sure did. One of the prison guards was engaged and asked me to make her gown for her. We designed it together, and it came out gorgeous.”

“What about since you lived here? Did anyone commission you to make their gown?”

She nodded and sipped her own cup of coffee. “Yes, about five or six years ago. The woman ordered far too much and gave me whatever was left over. She had no idea what she was giving me. The stuff costs, at the least, five grand a bolt.”

“So you still have it?”

“Yes, it’s in my closet in the spare room at home. I plan on making my own wedding gown.” She wiggled her engagement ring in his face.

“Does the woman still live here?”

Myrna shook her head. “She and her husband are dead. They disappeared when Nazar was still in charge of the town. I guess they couldn’t pay the till.” She shrugged.

“How strong is silk?”

“It’s probably the strongest fabric known to man, according to the studies.”

“When you were in the program at the rehabilitation facility, were you allowed to take remnants or leftover fabric with you when paroled?”

“Yes, they have you pay for it up front.”

“I need you to check the files in your office to see if the new parolees took the course, particularly Warren Measly.”

“I will, but why all these questions about silk?”

He slid the coroner’s report to her, and she read it as she nibbled on her morning croissant. She read that Bernadette Carlisle had been wrapped like a mummy with suffocating layers of high-end silk, her internal organs liquified and her eyes had sunken into her skull. She dropped the croissant. He watched her push the coroner’s report to one side and say, “It’s not hard to find or to order silk. Anyone in this town could have some.”

“I’ll check the seamstress’s shop and ask her if she recently has had some stolen or ordered some for anyone in town.”

“Good idea. I’ll also let you know if I hear anything. This town is rife with gossip.”

He placed his hat back on his head and added, “I also checked the town’s GPS trackers. Even though Warren Measly has a car, it has never left his barn. No one except you has left city limits in months.” He went out the back door as Myrna got to work. Yes, she had left the city limits, but he had already known. Carla Macy had been complaining she needed things the town just did not provide, so they had made plans for a “girls’ day out.” She drove them to the neighboring state and they shopped the outlets, got manicures, went out to eat, and even caught a matinee. It had been a wonderful day. The once-beautiful memory would be marred now if anything happened to Carla Macy. As she turned back toward the prep table, she noticed the chief had left the coroner’s report behind for her to continue reading.

She moaned and plopped back on the stool with a fresh cup of coffee. There was evidence from the internal wraps of silk proving Bernadette had been kept somewhere dark and moist—perhaps a basement or a cave. Myrna frowned. She sipped her coffee as thoughts swirled in her mind of all the times Bernadette had given her trouble and it had begun as far back as the rehabilitation institute.

***

Carla Macy woke to find she had been wrapped like a mummy, with only her face left exposed. She was suspended upright on some type of strange, elaborate web. She blinked and tried to clear her mind of the drug that had been used on her and saw a familiar man sitting in a folding chair in front of her, grinning. His legs were crossed, and his hands were clasped before him on his lap. He appeared relaxed, which she found odd.

He stood, picked up a single camping lantern, left the room, and shut the door behind him. She heard a lock slide into place and tears rolled down her cheeks. She knew she was naked beneath the wraps; she had seen her clothes piled in a corner before he took the only source of light from the room. She was left in darkness, and the wraps were so restrictive she had no hope of freeing herself without dying from the struggle. She prayed her daughters had reported her missing to the police. She also prayed they were being cared for and protected and hoped Robert Collins was the one watching over them. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she peered around the room and found it a dismal abyss, with no hope of ever seeing the light of day. It had the stale odor of a basement, so she knew exactly where she was. If only the police did.

***

Artie Lavoie picked the Monday after the Fourth of July celebration to have his surgery. His reason was thus: “In case the surgery makes me blind, at least I will have had fun with my girlfriend and her kids one last time at the festival.” Myrna had grabbed his arm and yanked him into the hospital. The specialist had arrived, and Tom was with him in the pre-op room. Artie had to check into the hospital, and Myrna helped him with the forms because Amanda was working at the town hall. Once he signed his name, Myrna dragged a hesitant Artie to the pre-op room. Tom met them and escorted both of them to the procedure room, just down the hall. Artie was a nervous wreck, so Tom had the nurse give him a small cup of water and ten milligrams of Valium. After waiting a few minutes, Artie was calm as he could be. Myrna was asked to wear a mask, gloves, and gown because Artie declared he was not going through with the procedure without her in the room. The specialist entered and introduced himself, and Myrna was escorted to a chair in the corner as Tom and the specialist got to work. The instrument the specialist used was delicate and interesting. Tom was there to observe and learn how to use it, as well as to take notes. Artie would not stop babbling, forcing both doctors to hesitate and glare at her.

She growled, “Artie, shut your mouth or I’m going to operate on you!”

The doctors watched his mouth slam shut and proceeded with the LASIK surgery.

It didn’t take long at all, perhaps an hour. When it was completed, Myrna stood and went to Artie’s bedside. He gazed at her with a drugged smile and said, “Pretty as a monarch butterfly, our mayor is.”

Myrna rolled her eyes and replied, “All right, Yoda. I’ll go relieve Amanda so she can come and pick you up. I’ll tell her Prince Valium is awaiting her arrival.”

The doctors and Artie chuckled as Myrna leaned up and kissed Tom good-bye and left the hospital. She ruminated about how long Artie had needlessly suffered from poor eyesight and was so relieved he’d finally gone through with the procedure. He would also look a lot better without having to wear those glasses with the thick lenses. She was so lost in concentration she bumped into someone on her way out of the hospital doors. She back stepped and noticed it was Warren Measly.

“I’m sorry, Warren. What are you doing here? I hope you’re all right.”

He smiled and ran his hands down his puffed chest. “I’m quite well. Actually, I am positively stellar! Thank you for asking.” He waved his appointment card for the psychiatrist at her and zipped inside the hospital.

Myrna groaned as she made her way to her vehicle. There was something off about Warren. She worried he had eaten far too much glue paste when he was a child in kindergarten, or he had baked his brain with all of the courses he had taken while incarcerated.

***

Myrna had relieved Amanda Borges to go and pick up Artie at the hospital, and she retrieved Liam from Mrs. Dumont at the day care. They went up to her office, where Myrna had been smart enough to leave a few of his toys so he could occupy himself as she flew through some forms needing her signature. When she was done, she looked up to see the chief come in with bags of food. Her face showed her confusion, and he laughed. “I brought lunch from Robert’s new restaurant. It’s just a taste of what he’s making for the grand opening tonight. The poor sap says he has to keep busy or he’ll go nuts worrying about Carla. I think he likes her more than he lets on.”

He plopped the bags on her desk as Liam came running over and sat in one of the chairs opposite her. The chief took the other. He pulled out the food in take-out containers, as Myrna went to a small refrigerator in her office and took out three bottles of water. She knew he was here to report new findings, but it would be done on a full stomach.

As they ate, the chief said, “Don’t worry about the Macy girls. Robert is keeping an eye on them and keeping them busy. The nursery is all set for the day, and he now has Becky at his restaurant working with him while Sarah works at your bakery with Donnie and Daryl. He keeps checking on her.”

Myrna breathed a sigh of relief. When she told him about her run-in with Warren at the hospital, he avowed, “The crazy little munchkin. One day I’ll get him, Myrna, mark my words. I’ve got men out today scouring the town.” He glanced at Liam, who was too busy smacking his lips over his lunch to notice much of anything. He continued, “What were you doing at the hospital?”

“I had to go into the procedure room with Artie Lavoie so he would sit still long enough to have the procedure done on his eyes.”

The chief chuckled and slapped his own thigh. “Thank God I don’t have to look at his bug eyes anymore!”

“I’m just glad he got it done. The best part of the morning was the commissioners left here early with no complaints. They were thrilled. Commissioner Jones’ parting words were ‘See you next year, Myrna. I hope we have just as much fun as we had this time!’ I wanted to gag.”