36
Julia and Paul sat side by side at the desk in the motel room, surrounded by the debris of Wawa cheese hoagies, Diet Cokes, and Herr’s potato chips. The air smelled like saturated fats.
“Begin at the beginning, right?” Julia typed “William McKenna Buckley PA” into Google on her laptop. A slew of entries piled on to the screen, and she clicked the oldest first:
MCKENNA RE-UPS SPONSORSHIP
“So he was a realtor.” Julia thought a minute. “That had to be a tough gig, with the mine fire on the way.”
“But don’t forget, people were selling to the government. I’ve talked to Kay about how it was then. She told me that people were rushing to get the best deal and realtors jumped on the opportunity, bundling houses for sale. Kay told me she got a ton of phone calls from realtors.”
“Hmm. Oh, here he is.” Julia scrolled to a color photo captioned William McKenna, and he was an attractive man with dark eyes, a largish nose, and a broad grin. His hair was thick and black, his hairline receding.
“He looks in his forties, and the piece is from 1996. So he’d be in his late sixties or early seventies now.” Paul cocked his head. “When was the Shoemaker murder?”
“1999.” Julia clicked the next article, noting that it was also older, as if McKenna got a lot of publicity back then:
BUCKLEY FIREHOUSE #1 OPENS TODAY
Today the Buckley Fire Department hosted a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the renovation of Firehouse #1 on Grove Street.
The renovation, which took three years and cost $2 million, includes safety upgrades.
Present was Mayor Gus Jablonsky, Fire Commissioner Bob McCloskey, Asst. Police Chief Pete Glushenko, Public Property Commissioner Joanne Rumanoff, and major contributors Cal Cooley of Buckley Bank and Bill McKenna of McKenna Realty.
“Wow, so McKenna knew Glushenko.” Julia clicked through the next few entries, and they were of McKenna hosting a first-time home buyer seminar, sponsoring a community welcome wagon, and setting up a local collection for the food bank, coats, and school supplies.
“McKenna was a veritable pillar of the community.”
“Yeah, right. I want to know about the murder.”
“Me, too.” Julia typed “William McKenna murder Buckley” and hit Enter. A few entries appeared, and she picked the first, a newspaper account dated April 22, 1999:
SEARCH FOR LOCAL MAN ENDED
Authorities have ended the search for William McKenna, 42, of Buckley, after seven days.
McKenna was sought by authorities as a person of interest in connection with the murder of James Shoemaker, 40, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Shoemaker was found dead on McKenna’s property at 75 Crowley Rd.
on April 15. The county coroner has ruled the death suspicious and the cause of death as blunt force trauma.
Authorities cited limited manpower as the reason for discontinuing the search.
“Blunt force trauma, so he wasn’t shot.” Julia mulled it over. “It’s hard to see the connection to Kay except that it’s next door.”
“So to speak, but the farms are so big.”
“The murder was on April 15, and they stopped the search after seven days. Why? A state trooper told us that they searched for Cavalcante for two weeks and Eric Frein for forty-eight days.”
“Seven days is enough to keep up appearances.”
“Right.” Julia clicked the next few entries, accounts about the lack of progress on the manhunt for McKenna, then went back in time to the original account of the murder, which contained no new information. “Damn.”
“Can we fast-forward to the house fire? I’m curious.”
“Okay.” Julia searched “William McKenna Fire Buckley,” and onto the screen popped an article from a local online newspaper, dated April 30, 1999:
FIRE DESTROYS MCKENNA PROPERTY
The abandoned farmhouse and garage belonging to William McKenna, the Buckley man missing since April 15, was destroyed by fire last night.
The property is located at 75 Crowley Rd.
Authorities report that the suspected cause was vandalism.
Chief of Police Peter Glushenko commented, “Hay bales were unattended after the property was vacated. Teenage vandals set fire to one, and it spread to the house and outbuildings. Buckley residents should remain vigilant against random acts of destruction.”
Julia clucked. “Glushenko again. He won’t say the cause is arson. I’m telling you, this is a cover-up. Did McKenna get a free murder because he knows Glushenko? Did they get away with murder?”
“It’s fishy.” Paul eyed the screen. “You know, I’m in the fire suppression business. If a house burns to the ground, there’s a lot more investigation than this, mostly for arson. It has legal, insurance, and tax implications. It doesn’t make sense that this is the last word.”
“Let me double-check.” Julia plugged “fire McKenna Buckley PA” into the search engine, but nothing else came up. “So there’s nothing else.”
“There has to be something in public records, especially here, because fire is such a big deal. There’s usually reporting from the local fire department.”
“Let me check.” Julia plugged in “Buckley Fire Station.” The screen filled with the no-frills website and a banner reading Buckley Station #1 above a red firetruck. On the left side was a list that read “Home, About, Contact, Responses, Fund Raising.”
“Click Responses.” Paul pointed. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Julia clicked, and onto the screen came a current list with the heading Responses, in reverse chronological order:
April 7—Working Structure Fire—812 Chestnut Street—Manpower from 723 and 726 responded and assisted with suppression, overhaul, and salvage on the fire that destroyed three rowhomes and damaged several others. Cause and origin under investigation.
April 4—Possible MVA with Injuries—262 Doe Rd.—Upon arrival 726 and 725 found MVA Toyota Tercel w/ 2 Occupants self-extricated and ambulating about the location. Both PTS transported to regional trauma center by ground. Also responding was Buckley PD. Cause under investigation.
Julia got the gist. “So this is a reporting of every call that comes in.”
“I would go back to 1999 and see what they say about the McKenna fire.”
“If they have it.” Julia scrolled backward for a time, then started skimming entries to 1999 and stopped when she got to April 29:
April 29—Structure Fire (Abandoned Farmhouse and Outbuildings)—75 Crowley Rd.
—Upon arrival 725 and 726 staged out and crew was immediately put to work.
The crew provided primary search and suppression operations.
All searches were negative for Occupants.
Fire was found throughout two floors and outbuildings.
Crews worked on suppression and then overhaul prior to being released.
Also responding Buckley PD and PSP. Origin of the fire abandoned hay bales. Cause was vandalism.
Julia blinked. “Interesting. It says the origin and cause of the fire was ‘hay bales’ and ‘vandalism.’ The other entries say the origin and cause is ‘under investigation.’ For this one fire, they added origin and cause later.”
“And it’s ‘vandalism,’ the same thing that Glushenko said in the article. They buttoned up the loose ends.”
“So it confirms our suspicions, but we didn’t learn anything new.” Julia thought a minute. “You know what, we’re forgetting the victim. Shoemaker was the one who was killed that day.”
“Good point.”
“Shame on me.” Julia thought of her late husband Mike.
She’d just made the same mistake the press did.
The media coverage was all about the killers, but never the victim.
She plugged in “James Shoemaker Buckley PA 1999 murder,” and a few listings appeared on the screen.
She skimmed them, but they were the same entries as before.
“Nothing new. Wonder why everybody calls him a drifter?”
“I guess if you’re not from here, you’re a drifter.
Let me try another way.” Julia typed “James Shoemaker Tallahassee,” and there were a lot of James Shoemakers in the Tallahassee area.
She read through them, eliminating those that were too young, too old, or had died of natural causes.
There was only one entry she couldn’t eliminate because this James Shoemaker was the right age:
James M. Shoemaker; Caucasian Male, Age 38, ARRESTED; Assault; Battery; Culpable Negligence, 3/2/1999 Tallahassee, FLA, Pursuant To Florida Statute, Title XLVI, Chap. 784, Sec. 0493 (4). CHARGE DISMISSED 4/10/1999.
Underneath was a mugshot, showing Shoemaker’s hair color, brown, his height, 5′10″, and his weight, 160 pounds. He had a heavy brow, wide-set brown eyes, and a large mouth with prominent front teeth.
“Whoa,” Julia said, surprised. “So he was arrested for assault in Tallahassee.”
“The charge is dismissed less than a week before he gets murdered in Buckley.”
“I wonder what the assault was in Florida. Let me see.” Julia copied and searched the Florida statute, then read: “He was charged with ‘harassment or intimidation based on religious or ethnic heritage.’”
Paul frowned. “It’s a hate-crime statute.”
“Yikes.” Julia recoiled.
“Strange. Shoemaker’s a thug, hanging with an apparently upstanding citizen like McKenna.”
“McKenna was upstanding until he committed a murder.” Julia sensed something beginning to gel.
“Hear me out. We know that the government bought a lot of houses after the mine fire spread through Centralia. So McKenna, as the local realtor, would’ve been negotiating with the government.
We also know that the government missed opportunities to put out the fire, so that ruined everybody’s housing values, and there’s anti-government sentiment here because of the mismanagement.
” Julia mulled it over. “Do you think McKenna was anti-government? Like, could he have been a white supremacist, too?”
“I have no idea. I know Kay never felt super comfortable being Black here, but it never occurred to her there were white supremacists next door.” Paul frowned. “So are you thinking McKenna killed Kay? What about Shoemaker? You think McKenna killed them both?”
“I don’t know, I can’t put the puzzle together yet.” Julia looked away from the laptop, thinking. “But what if whatever Kay found at the clean-up links McKenna to Shoemaker’s murder? And McKenna resurfaces to get it from her?”
“But if McKenna’s gone, why would he resurface? It’s risky. And how would he know about the missing piece, if he’s on the run?”
“What if he’s not really on the run? He could still be here, hiding. Glushenko could be protecting him.”
“It’s a stretch, but it’s possible.”
“There’s a lot of secluded places to hide here, that’s what the trooper told us.
Caves, woods, abandoned outbuildings. There’s more abandoned places as people keep leaving.
” Julia felt more intrigued as she spoke.
“Or somebody could’ve found out about whatever Kay found at the clean-up and told McKenna.
We don’t know that they’re not in contact with him.
Maybe the object implicates them, too. Who knows? ”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“They could have killed Samuel and made it look like suicide.”
“Why?”
Julia realized Paul hadn’t been here for that part. “Because Samuel knew what the object was. Kay probably told him. They were friends and used to talk during the clean-ups. She didn’t know he was stalking her.”
Paul leaned back. “You could be right, but we don’t know enough and I don’t know where else to look.”
“I have an idea. Let’s try Kay’s friends Susan and Mona.” Julia reached for her phone. “I hope they’re up this late.” She called Susan, and the call went to voicemail. She tried Mona, and the call was answered after one ring. “Mona, hi.”
“Julia? What are you doing up so late?”
Julia smiled inwardly. “I’m trying to learn as much as I can about Bill McKenna and James Shoemaker, who was found murdered in McKenna’s well. Did you know McKenna or Shoemaker?”
“I know of McKenna, but I never met him. I never heard of Shoemaker until the murder.” Mona paused. “But I know a woman who might be able to help you.”
“Great. I’d like to speak to her tonight. Can you give me her name and number?”
“I can do better than that.”