Chapter 18
GRANT BARELY slept, and when he finally dozed off, his alarm woke him because he had people to meet, a case to solve, and too many open questions.
Mostly he hoped that some answers would be forthcoming today, because he needed them, and he needed them now.
Grant showered quickly, dressed, and fed Dexter before getting him into the SUV.
He drove past the Gunderson house on the way, but it was still closed up tight with no sign that anyone had been there.
Not that he was surprised, but he had to try.
He went on to the cemetery, joining the small party at the entrance. “The folks from the cemetery are here, and they’re opening the grave,” Captain Robards told him when he got out to join the rest. “We can head on over and join the coroner. It won’t take them long to open things up.”
Grant got Dexter and walked through the headstones to where a small digger pulled up the earth. A man stood next to the hole along with the county coroner. She and Grant shook hands. “Can I ask how quickly you’ll be able to identify who is actually in the casket?”
“It depends on the state of the remains, but once I can look inside, I’ll know very quickly if its Bryant or Hansen Gunderson Junior.
I have already gotten copies of dental and medical records.
I’ll need to get everything back to the morgue, though, and we have a vehicle standing by.
” She tipped her head toward the black vehicle, and Grant nodded.
“I know this is important. I have a daughter in school. I’ll be as quick as I can, but I have to be sure.
Give me a card with your cell on it, and I’ll call directly when I have anything. ”
“I understand,” Grant said, handing over the card, and then stepped back as the men digging reached the vault lid and carefully lifted it out.
Then the light brown casket was raised out of the hole.
Grant and the coroner both took photographs.
“That matches what was purchased for the burial, according to cemetery records,” Grant said, and the coroner nodded.
Once it was out, the entire casket was carefully moved to the back of the coroner’s vehicle while the cemetery staff completed their work, covering the dirt with a mat and securing the hole so no one wandered too close.
The coroner drove off, and Grant returned to where the captain waited, Dexter coming along the way he usually did, probably happy to be outside and not in the car. “So that’s it.”
“Yeah. Kind of anticlimactic, I guess.”
“It’s not like on TV, where they dramatically open the casket and someone makes an extraordinary proclamation.” Captain Robards shrugged. “But it won’t take long.”
“That’s what the coroner said too.” Grant stood looking at the hole as though it was going to give him some sort of answer. “I do think we need to have a talk with Hansen Gunderson as soon as possible.”
“Yes. Go by the house. I know it looks locked up tight, but go by anyway. If he’s there, then ask him to come to the station to answer some questions.
If he isn’t, then find out if anyone has been there since we first visited.
Remember that there was literature outside the front door that I tucked inside the storm door.
See if it’s still where I placed it. If it is, then knock and check.
If it’s been moved, call me and I’ll be right there.
” Captain Robards was someone who liked to get out from behind the desk every now and then.
The house still appeared closed up, but Grant checked the front door.
The literature was gone. Someone had indeed been home.
He returned to the SUV and called the captain, who said he was two minutes away with a warrant.
Grant got Dexter out of the back and walked him to the corner, returning as the captain pulled to a stop behind him.
“I’ll take the front. You and Dexter go around to the alley. If someone tries to run, they’ll go that way. I’ll give you a few minutes to get in place.”
Grant nodded and strode down the block before turning the corner.
He was part way down the alley when a back gate opened.
A man peered out and then closed it again.
As Grant got closer, he saw it was a neighbor to the house they wanted.
He peered inside the yard, where a man in his fifties was watering plants.
“Go inside and stay there,” Grant said quietly.
The man set down the hose and strode to the back door, turning off the water before going inside.
Grant continued, radioing the captain that he was in position.
The garage door lifted next to the gate, and a car started.
Grant pulled his gun and entered the garage, pointing it through the back window of the car, ready to squeeze off a shot.
“Turn off the engine,” he said forcefully, and the Honda engine quieted.
“Now, open the door and get out. Show me your hands at all times.” He activated the radio.
“Have Gunderson Senior out back.” He waited as the elder Gunderson got out of his car, moving slowly, and stood to face him. “Where were you going?”
“To visit my son,” he answered shakily.
“Would that be the son who died or the one impersonating him?” Grant asked.
Gunderson looked like he was going to yell or try to cover it up, but he sighed and his shoulders slumped.
Grant didn’t relax until Captain Robards joined him.
“I think you need to come to the station and tell us everything,” Grant said.
“Including which son is actually in the casket we have down at the morgue.” He knew they had him, and any fight went out of him, especially with Dexter next to him ready to attack at any moment.
The captain took charge of Gunderson, with Grant and Dexter following through the garage and out to the cars.
As soon as the man was in the squad car, Grant praised Dexter and got him back in the SUV before heading to the station.
The captain was already heading inside with Hansen Gunderson Senior, and got him to a conference room before calling Grant to his office.
“Let him sit in there for a while. Let him scare himself regarding what we do and don’t know. In the meantime, the coroner may have some information for us.”
Grant’s phone chimed with a message. “The remains in the casket are definitely not Bryant Gunderson. Working to confirm actual identity now.” Grant smiled and showed the message to Captain Robards.
“Then let him stew a bit longer before you question him. Be sure to take Dexter in with you. Sometimes I swear that dog can smell a lie.”
“Thank you. I’ll keep you updated,” Grant said.
He figured the captain would watch the questioning either on the cameras or from the next room, but he didn’t want to think about that.
It only added pressure, and he didn’t need that.
He and Dexter left the office, and Grant went to his desk to prepare all the materials he needed to break any story Hansen Gunderson Senior might try to concoct.
HE OPENED the door and sat at that table in the small conference room.
“I’m Officer Grant Webster, and this is Dexter,” he said before sitting down.
“I want to let you know that you are not under arrest, but we have a number of questions. You can refuse to answer them, but that is not going to bode well for you.” He met the older man’s worried gaze.
“This morning we exhumed the body that was in the grave marked as Bryant Gunderson, and we already know that Bryant’s body was not in that casket.
The coroner has confirmed it. So who is it in that casket?
” There was no need to beat around the bush.
It was clear from the older man’s expression that he knew what had happened, and that it pained him.
“His older brother, Hansen Junior. He and his brother Bryant were on a road trip. Bryant was driving, and the car was hit on the passenger side. Hansen died almost instantly, and Bryant walked away. He simply switched identification with the body, and no one looked any closer. Hansen was always the good son. Bryant was a hellion, and when he came home, he told me what he’d done and said that he wanted to make a fresh start.
Bryant was always in trouble, and he said that this way he could leave his past behind.
I love my sons, and….” He lowered his head, shoulders shaking.
“It was a way to give Bryant a chance to start over and let his past go.”
“But he didn’t, did he?” Grant asked.
Gunderson sighed “No. Things got worse after that. Bryant seemed to think that he was anonymous now, that he had some facade to hide behind, and his behavior became stranger. I had hoped that he would channel his brother and become more like him, but instead it was like Bryant became a worse version of himself.”
“You are confirming that your sons switched identities, and that Hansen Junior is the one in the casket?” Grant asked, and Gunderson nodded slowly.
“I know I should have come forward, but I thought Bryant would use this as a chance to make a better life.”
Grant wondered just how much he should push, but he figured they needed to know as much as possible. “Where is Bryant now? Has he been staying with you?”
“No. I kicked him out almost a year ago. He started behaving strangely, and he wasn’t coming home for days at a time, and when he did I thought he’d been on drugs.
I told him that he needed to behave the way his brother would, and he packed up and left.
I know he’s around town because I see him sometimes.
Then, a few weeks ago, he said he had a good job and was going to be leaving for a while.
I thought that he was finally going to get his life on track. ”
“I’m afraid he hasn’t left town, and in fact he has been seen around here. We’ve been after him for almost a month or more.”