The next morning after the trail head concession opened Dan and I signed the sheet and headed into the walking trail. I had even gone off the trail on previous walks to check for signs that a biker could’ve used the woods to enter and leave the area near where my brother and the other two victims had died. We’d agreed he’d stay about 100 meters behind me but we’d stay in contact via cell phones as we walked. I was glad of this communication since only a couple bikers had passed me while I walked. Otherwise I hadn’t met or spoken to no one. And it was the same during the whole 10 mile walk. This wasn’t the first time I had walked the trails to no avail and I suspected it wouldn’t be the last. But on that day, I decided I’d walk it daily and not wait days between each walk through. The same night after I’d done a security check on all the streets of Karos where I was now police chief I headed south to travel to the Morris College where my brother taught a few classes. I needed to load all his possessions and bring them to my home. The college had contacted me several times about them. They had emptied his office and packed up his house. The house was off campus, but was college property and furnished. They had offered me his class in criminal psychology since I, too, had a degree, but I had yet to take them up on the offer. He wasn’t that interested in the class because his first love was archeology. I already taught a couple classes in the evening at Brownsville College in criminal psychology and didn’t know if I wanted to take on more.
With all Silas’s personal belongings from his office already packed, his desk cleaned out and his possessions at the home neatly crated by a moving company, I made good time loading the small trailer I’d brought with me. Ruth, his new bride , had popped over to help me, bringing with her a stack of books. She was a nice young lady, praising Silas and damning the person who’d killed him. I related with her feelings, wanting the scum dead but knowing the best I’d get was possible justice of life without parole. I liked her. She asked me if I’d checked his files for the emails he’d received from former students. Three of them had sent rather threatening emails. “Yes, I did but we’ve been unable to find one of the students, a female named Rae. Can you tell me what you know of her.”
“Rae wasn’t one of my favorite students but Silas had confidence in her ability. He had tried to talk with her about the email and her grades dropping. She pleaded with him to forgive her for the email sent to him; she claimed she wasn’t the one who sent it, her boyfriend had done so after she made a C on her paper. She said he became hostile and accusatory because he was jealous of her success and didn’t want her to get the degree so he wrote the email to try and get her thrown out of class. She told Silas she was scared of him and had demanded he leave her home but he refused, calling her his woman. Rae assured Silas they weren’t engaged and that her brother, who lived in her home too, hadn’t stood up to him either. She told Silas that she had left and was staying in a motel and that she wanted to continue with the class. We haven’t seen her since. I thought she was a pretty enough person but wondered why she chose the more masculine name to use. Although she was well built, it didn’t take away from her feminine appearance. I think she worked out and it seemed Rebecca would’ve been the more feminine name. For a long time I thought her name was Craft but it was Croft. That was the name of one of the victims too, wasn’t it?”
“Yes it was. Thank you for the information. Hopefully we find her soon. May I ask you a personal question”
“Sure.”
“That bracelet you’re wearing, did you and Silas say your vows to each other under the stars before he gave it to you?”
Ruth’s eyes enlarged, “Yes we did. We recorded ourselves saying them and he put the bracelet on my wrist.” She became solemn, “Look, I know I should return the bracelet and ring since they are family heirlooms but please give me time to adjust to being without him.” Her hand went to her stomach.
“Are you carrying his child?”
“Yes, I told him that night and he insisted we say the vows under the stars.”
“Did he tell you that doing so was also part of the family heritage? The male always gives his bride-to-be a gift, jewelry, and they voice the vows under the stars a few days before the wedding?”
“He laughed and said it’s a family thing but for him it was more, it was an acclimatization of his future.”
I smiled. “You are a Thatchenhouse as you child will be too. You are family and the ring and bracelet are yours to keep. You need not worry about your future. You will be cared for generously.”
“I’m not asking for money. I’m just not ready to let him go.”
“No, I wasn’t saying that; I just wanted to reassure you.
She smiled. and hugged me. “Thank you Amos.”
“I intend to keep his promise to his students and take them on that archaeological dig. It’s at our ancestral home. If you are able, I hope you come along too.”
After getting assurance that she didn’t need the books and advising all she needed to do was call if she found she was in need of them or any others, I said my goodbyes.
I pulled into a well-lit convenience store to gas up on the way back home. Customers had to go inside to pay before pumping their gas so I pulled up to the pump and headed inside. As I handed the woman behind the counter my card I heard my name. I turned to see John Blackwell, an old college buddy walking up to me. “Amos, how is the investigation going? Do the police have a suspect?”
“Not yet, John, but they are working hard to find the killer.”
“Well, I hope when they do they find a reason the shoot that piece of trash. Why anyone could kill Silas is beyond my comprehension. Do they think it’s someone with a gripe for Matheson and that is the reason for these killings?”
“We don’t know the reason the scum is killing on the trails, John. I’m just glad there hasn’t been another family torn apart; the way mine and the families of those other two men were is heart wrenching to deal with.” I smiled at the cashier holding out my gas receipt and credit card. She was a young and very lovely lady.
“Shell this is Amos Thatchenhouse, the brother of one victim on Shadow Trails. Amos, meet Shelley Goodwin, the best and most beautiful cashier in the state.”
I said nice to meet you then thanked her and began walking toward the door. “I noticed the trailer, are you moving?”
“No, I had to pick up Silas’s possessions. Fortunately, the college had everything from his office and home crated. They made my job much easier; I didn’t relish going through his things. So are you dating her? I asked and motioned toward the store.
“I’ve asked and she did agree to dinner once. You should have seen her, looked like a million bucks, turned all the heads in the restaurant.”
I smiled. “Where is she from?”
“DC, I think. She has moved a couple times the last few years.”
“Why? A nomad”
“No, neighbor troubles apparently. Women think she’s after their husbands and husbands go after her. And if that isn’t bad enough, she has to deal with thugs here who harass her. I don’t know where she lives now. Seems she moved again a couple months ago.”
We chatted while I continued to gas up then after a promise to stay in touch said our goodbyes.
I backed my truck into my drive, unhitched the trailer, and unloaded the back so I could use my own vehicle tomorrow morning. Over the next few days I talked with Lt. David Greene, the investigator in charge of these murders, Dan and me both felt the killer was a woman and we tried convincing him. I couldn’t explain how I knew this, just that I did. Only a woman could’ve fooled Silas into relaxing his guard. And the other two victims were strong able-bodied men. They’d have fought for their life, but none had defensive wounds that would suggest they did fight back; they all did have severe bruising about their arms from deflecting blows to their heads. I received a call from Lt Greene a few hours after our meeting advising they’d located Rebecca Rae Croft.
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