Chapter 5
They were almost at the on-ramp to the Northway when Hadley’s phone finally showed some bars. Paul pulled the chief’s truck into the lone gas station in sight and hopped out. “I’ll pick up the coffee. You talk to your deputy chief.”
She went straight to MacAuley’s cell phone, hoping he was at the station. He wasn’t. “Mmph. What? Whosis?”
“It’s Knox, Deputy Chief.”
“Aren’t you off? Whyin the hell’re you calling me at the frigging crack of dawn?”
“It’s after nine o’clock.”
MacAuley made a noise like a teakettle about to explode. “Hang on.” She heard some rustling and a bang and the loud trumpeting of a nose blowing she didn’t even want to imagine. When he came back on, he sounded more human. “Okay, Knox. What’s up?”
She explained the events of the past forty-eight hours as succinctly as she could, but Paul had still gotten back with two go-cups by the time she reached, “So we’re here in North Hudson trying to decide what to do.”
There was a long silence after she finished. Then MacAuley sighed. “Russ went up after these guys without telling me.”
“I think he might have been—”
“He knew I’d talk him out of it, is what that was.” He paused, and she could see him shaking his head. “One officer dead, and Russ maybe held against his will, and God knows what Kevin is up to.”
She put him on speaker so Paul could hear. “Ranger Terrance and I have some ideas, but we’re hoping for a little guidance as to the best way to proceed.”
“Well, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s the logical agency to take this on. It’s not like the sheriff’s office is going to send a couple deputies hiking into the back country for half a day.”
Paul leaned forward. “This is Terrance, sir. I’m going to call my superiors, but we have a manpower problem with this. The Santanoni Preserve was my uncle’s territory, and I’m the next nearest ranger.”
“I thought there were something like fifty of you up there.”
“Yes, sir, but that’s spread over the entire Adirondack Park. It’s a big place.”
MacAuley’s voice was dry. “I know it’s a big place, son.” He sighed again. “I don’t have any jurisdiction. I can’t intervene.”
Hadley glanced at Paul. “I know.”
“Head up to Lewis, talk to the sheriff’s office. I’ll call ahead and grease the wheels for you. Loop in the rangers while you’re there and see if the two agencies can come up with a plan.”
“Should we notify the state police? They’ve got jurisdiction there as well.”
“Oh, everybody’s got jurisdiction in the Park except for the Millers Kill PD, which is why Russ should have stayed the hell out of it.” He sighed again. “Leave the staties till last. Knowing them, they’d likely fly over and drop a bomb on the site. Problem solved.”
“Thanks, Deputy Chief. Will do.”
“Keep me up to date, will you? And if Reverend Clare catches wind of this before we’ve got Russ back, you’re going to be the one to tell her.”
The Essex County Sheriff’s office and jail was right off the Northway, within eyesight of Betty Beavers Fuel Stop and Diner, whose sign featured an improbably busty beaver in a red-white-and-blue bathing suit. Hadley stared as they got out of the truck. “That’s something you don’t see every day.”
“They’ve got good coffee.”
“Oh, I bet they do.”
Inside the sheriff’s office, they announced themselves and showed their IDs—made more necessary than usual because of their “homeless camper” look.
They were ushered into a conference room and within a minute were joined by a short, squared-away man with the dark look typical of French Canadians.
Hadley was unsurprised when he introduced himself as Lieutenant Pelletier.
“You two must be the officers Lyle MacAuley called me about.” He gestured to the chairs. “Tell me what’s going on up there.”
For the second time that morning, Hadley laid out the events since last Thursday. Pelletier took notes on a legal pad. When she had finished, he leaned back. “Do you have anything to add to this account, Ranger?”
“I started hiking out on Saturday, sir, so I didn’t witness Chief Van Alstyne getting captured.”
“It’s actually Mr. Van Alstyne now, isn’t it?”
Hadley glanced at Paul. “Yes, sir, he resigned from the department five or six weeks ago.”
The lieutenant had a look that was halfway between pain and sympathy.
“It can be hard for retired lawmen to let go. But you ought to know, Officer Knox, that it’s not your duty to take orders from him anymore.
In addition, I called Syracuse after talking with your deputy chief.
Your friend Mr. Flynn’s no longer an officer there. ”
Hadley winced.
The lieutenant referred to his notes. “Was Mr. Van Alstyne restrained by the militia group? Were there any weapons threatening him?”
“There were several men with rifles, sir.” Hadley didn’t like the way this was going.
“Which is what you’d expect if you had a group of men hunting deer.” He held up his hand to cut off Paul. “Yeah, I know the season’s over now.”
“Lieutenant, Ranger Pierre Laduc is dead. We saw the gunshot wound and his body had been purposefully hidden.”
“Or he was killed by a stray bullet from some incompetent hunter and his corpse cached by a bear to feed on later.”
“Lieutenant!” Paul slammed his hands on the table and stood. Looking at his face, Hadley understood why the first European settlers had lived in fear of the Mohawks.
Pelletier held up his hands. “Calm down, Ranger, I’m not trying to play ignorant.
I’m just pointing out the real difficulties we have, legally, in pursuing this.
I’m worried—no, I’m more than worried, I’m alarmed by the sort of militia groups and nationalist crackpots we’ve been seeing up here.
But right now we have a report of a death with no body—”
“I can get him down,” Paul insisted.
“Sure, but right now we don’t have even visual evidence to consider homicide instead of accidental death, which, as you know, happens one or two times every season.”
Paul slowly sat down.
“And we’ve got two civilians”—he looked at Hadley—“yes, former law enforcement, but still civilians, fallen in with a militia group hanging out in the Santanoni Preserve. None of that is illegal, except maybe for not having a camping permit, which is the Department of Environmental Conservation’s problem.
” He pressed his pen into the legal pad.
“I could raise the cry that we’ve got one officer dead and two more threatened, and every cop from Albany to Plattsburgh would turn out.
Which makes for a very effective manhunt, and a very crappy investigation. Is that what you want?”
Hadley shook her head.
“Ranger?”
Paul blew out a breath. “No. I want to build a case against whoever killed my uncle and see justice served.”
“That’s how I’d like to proceed as well.
Officer Knox, let’s start with some eyewitness photos and see if you can ID anyone.
You said there’s an assistant state attorney involved with this unauthorized operation; we’ll get in contact with her and see what she’s got.
Ranger Terrance, if you can retrieve Ranger Laduc’s body, we can get the ME on it right away. ”
“What about surveilling the site?”
“We can ask the State Police Aviation Unit to do a flyover. But sending more people on foot into the mountains sounds like a losing proposition at this point.” He looked at Hadley, then at Paul. “Agreed?”
It didn’t feel like enough, but she had been the one worried about an overwhelming armed response, hadn’t she? “Yes, sir.”
Paul nodded. “Agreed.”
The lieutenant stood. “Let’s go, then. Slow and steady builds the case.”