Devil's Touch Part 32

"Vince!"

"Hmm."

"When this is over you owe me a beer."

"All right. Just stay where you are. You never know with those guys from the city."

"OK, Vince."

"Maybe you could ask them when they'll be here."

"Yeah, I guess I could do that."

Vince grabs his radio while he watches a small dust devil forming and dissolving again.

"Really?!"

Fredericsson looks at his GPS and then at the trees in front of him.

"That's not a road, that's a path."

Fredericsson frowns as the gravel is still crunching under his wheels. The trees rise above him and finally he can see the lake between them. Fredericsson sees the police car and pulls up behind it. He gets out and looks around. Then he sees the black car and the man lying on the ground next to it. Finally, he looks at the man who's sitting on the ground not far from the car. He shakes his head and looks around again. Vince stops in front of him and Fredericsson examines the marked features in the face below the grey hair. Without wanting to, he looks down at himself. "I'm at least 30 pounds bigger than him and I'm sure I'm not even close to being in half the shape he is. I need to pull myself together!"

"There's a..."

He looks around.

"A lot of fresh air out here."

He looks at Vince and forces out a smile. Vince frowns a bit. He leans over toward Fredericsson and speaks calmly while looking over at the shop owner.

"Are you even with the police or are you one of those reporters?"

Fredericsson looks at him for a while and then slides his hand down over his face.

"Yeah, I just need a shave."

"ID, please."

Fredericsson gropes around his pockets before holding out his badge, while Vince has calmly walked back to his car and put his hand on his gun which is lying on the dashboard.

"We've been waiting for over two hours. Don't you city guys think we have better things to do?"

Fredericsson looks at him for a while and then he walks over toward Nathan.

"Stop!"

The shop owner gets up fast.

"I've been sitting here for three hours so I wouldn't destroy any evidence and now you're just going to walk all over the place?"

Fredericsson looks at him.

"All right."

He squats down and looks along the ground.

"Not quite three hours,"

Vince adds carefully. Fredericsson looks at him and then back at the shop owner.

"Show me your soles."

The shop owner lifts his leg and shows Fredericsson his sole.

"And the other one."

The shop owner repeats the movement. Fredericsson looks over at Vince and shakes his head.

"The ground is too hard for sneakers to make any marks. It looks like it hasn't rained for a long time... And that fine dust."

Another gust of wind hits them and Fredericsson looks around.

"It looks like the wind is getting stronger. It'll move the dust around, if it hasn't already done so."

He shakes his head.

"I can't see any other marks than those from his sneakers."

Fredericsson looks over at Nathan's well-polished shoes and tilts his head to see the soles. Then he nods at the shop owner.

"There's no traces from anyone else."

"Can I move now?"

The shop owner sounds surprised. Fredericsson looks at him and down over the ground again.

"Knock yourself out. There's no traces of anything except you opening the door."

The shop owner's voice is low when he walks past Fredericsson.

"You need a shower more than you need a shave."

Fredericsson looks at him as he walks over to Vince.

"Yeah, well, a shower would be nice."

Fredericsson's voice, on the other hand, is loud and clear, so he's sure they both hear him. Vince is angry and stares at the shop owner and walks over to stand next to him. Fredericsson looks at Nathan and then at the piece of clothing that was covering the crack so the air couldn't escape from the car. He gets up and follows the tube to the exhaust pipe. Then he squats down again and looks carefully at the tape around the tube and the pipe.

"Do you know who that is?"

Fredericsson is talking to them both as he looks at Nathan. They both nod at the same time. Fredericsson looks from one to the other, but his eyes stay on Vince who nods again.

"OK. Who is he then?"

"Nathan Wilkins."

"Is that his cabin?"

Vince nods again.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

Fredericsson turns to look at Nathan.

"Alive."

Vince's voice is a little hesitant.

"A couple of months ago."

The shop owner shifts his weight to the other feet and coughs a little.

"Yesterday."

"Hmm."

Fredericsson bends forward a little more so he can see the bottom of the car better. Then he gets up again.

"Where did you see him?"

The shop owner shifts his weight again.

"When was it? I mean at what time?"

"Nathan came into the shop and bought some things. It was in the early evening."

"What things?"

The shop owner shifts his weight again and Vince looks at him carefully.

"Tell him."

Vince's voice sounds tense and Fredericsson turns to look at the shop owner.

"Just some groceries. I was supposed to deliver them to the cabin this morning. That's when I found him."

The shop owner speaks fast and Fredericsson notices how he stumbles over the words.

"But he also bought..."

He nods at the car. Fredericsson looks in the same direction, but quickly looks back at the shop owner again.

"The tube and the duct tape."

"The rag in the door?"

He shakes his head.

"That's the sweater Nathan always wore when he was up here. I think he kept it in the car."

The shop owner looks down, and Vince continues.

"Denize bought it for him. We have a market here every fall and lots of different people put up stalls. There's also a lot of tourists..."

Fredericsson sighs deeply and raises his hand. Vince slowly stops.

"Hmm."

The nap Fredericsson took earlier hasn't really helped and he's so tired he can't think clearly.

"Please call the crime scene investigators if you haven't already."

He walks over to his car but stops on the way and looks into the back of the shop owner's pickup truck.

"The groceries for Nathan?"

The shop owner nods and Fredericsson looks in the bags before he walks over to his car.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yes."

He turns to face them.

"As you have been so kind to point out, I need a shave, a bath and some sleep. So that's what I intend to get now."

He opens the door and gets in.

"You have just confirmed the ident.i.ty of the deceased and nothing suggests that it's a murder unless the investigators find something that isn't visible to the naked eye."

He closes the door and puts the key in the ignition. Then he stops and rolls down the window.

"When did you find him?"

"Around ten."

Fredericsson nods.