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Nick and Tom stood side by side watching as the threesome glided across the lake on Evelyn’s steady and powerful strokes. In the low morning light, the dinghy’s white hull glowed yellow and her oars dripped sparkles as it sliced toward the elongated shadows stretching to meet it. The little girl sat slumped against the hull, watching the water as she held her finger such that it just skimmed the top of the small waves stirred up by the onshore breeze. The woman slouched in the stern with her hands on the seat to either side and her head facing down.
“There’s no good explanation for this, is there?” asked Tom.
“An unidentified child. No missing person’s report. The assault on Matt,” said Nick. “No, not that I can figure.”
“I’ve been thinking about that pack in the trash. We find out who took it and why, might tell us who’s behind all this, where the girl came from or at least who else has been in contact with the woman.”
“It’s a good thought, Tom, but a false lead. Matt took it. He told me this morning.” Both men kept their eyes on the pond.
“Uh. Good to know. Why?” asked Tom.
“I have found that ‘why’ is almost never the right question. Even if people know why and are willing to tell you, the reasons they give often don’t make much sense or tell you what you need to know. Better to focus on the details – who, what, when, how. In this case, timing is critical. Matt said she didn’t have the pack with her when she attacked him. He found it afterward a short distance away. So, what does that tell you?”
“Assuming it’s the truth, your son didn’t get the crap beat out of him trying to steal the lady’s pack.”
Nick snorted. He liked Tom. He was attentive, deferential even, but not obsequious. Confident, comfortable. Mature, realized Nick. “Don’t assume anything. You’ll need to ask Kate about the pack to corroborate Matt’s story.”
Tom looked sharply at Nick. “You doubt him?”
Nick glanced at him and then returned his gaze to the boat. “No, not in the least. What else does the pack tell you?”
“Uh, Kate left it nearby but didn’t go back for it. It wasn’t important to her.”
Nick waited.
“Matt found it,” said Tom, “which means he must have gone after her. Did he find her?”
“No. But you should corroborate that too. What else?” asked Nick.
“We know Matt took it. Not someone else. That’s important. Did he take anything?”
“No. But…”
“I should corroborate. I got it. So he takes it and dumps it. What was he thinking?”
Nick shook his head and grunted. “He wasn’t. That’s the other thing about ‘whys’. The question assumes rational thought and a shared set of facts. Matt reacted to one set of facts. We haven’t heard Kate’s story yet, but we already know she’s responding to a different set of facts. Their reasons are based on incomplete or flawed information and don’t tell us very much. But where their stories overlap, the details are useful. Each detail they can agree on, we glue in place and build off of that. Without corroboration, the piece stays in play.”
“You didn’t tell Matt about the child,” said Tom.
“No.” Matt would not thank him for that omission, and Nick was pretty sure his partner would be outraged that he’d left their son to face questioning alone. Not that there was much he could do. Matt was a grown man after all. But that sort of logic would hold no sway for Pops for whom gesture was as important as action.
After a pause Nick continued. “Matt doesn’t know about the girl and Kate doesn’t know who Matt is and that we have his side of the story. We use that to our advantage. Quickest way to set the pieces firmly in place and build a complete picture.”
Tom looked back across the pond. The boat would be landing shortly. “It may not come to an investigation. A simple explanation we didn’t think of?”
Nick grunted and crossed his arms. Tom was whistling Dixie, hoping for some harmless solution to the mystery of Matt, Kate and Sheera. An optimist, or maybe just naïve. Nick’s instinct, honed by experience, told him the explanation might be simple, but it wouldn’t be harmless, not where the little girl was concerned. There would be a criminal inquiry and with it would come the inevitable collateral damage of the investigation. He’d hurt Matt already. For Kate it would start the moment she stepped ashore. They’d both have to endure painstaking questioning. No matter how innocent, it was impossible to emerge unscathed as every move and motive was repeatedly questioned. Nick knew the process to be completely necessary and utterly ruthless. He could only hope that by the time he returned home, his son and partner would be able to appreciate its necessity too.
The dinghy glided to a standstill against the shore and Evelyn shipped the oars along the sides. The little girl stood, tossed the line to Nick and then scooted past Evelyn to squeeze in next to Kate in the stern. Evelyn passed the pack up to Nick who recognized it as his son’s. While Nick set the pack on the ground, Tom offered his hand to Kate to help her step from the rocking boat and then essentially caught her as she more or less fell out. Tom next reached with both hands to lift the little girl from the boat, but she ducked and darted away, putting Evelyn between herself and the ranger and then practically leapt off the boat toward Kate. It happened so quickly Tom was still standing with his hands outstretched by the time the girl had crashed into Kate, almost knocking her over. As soon as Kate regained her footing, the child was pulling Kate with all her might away from the men and toward the road.
“Shy?” said Tom, eyebrows raised. As a ranger he’d had plenty of interactions with children. Usually they were drawn to him like a magnet.
“Not everyone likes to be manhandled,” said Evelyn.
Tom gaped then frowned but by then Evelyn had turned her attention to securing the boat. She pulled the dinghy to rest three quarters of the way out of the water and carried the oars back up to her truck. Nick and Tom walked over to join the woman and child who were now standing half way between the pond and road. Sheera, who still wore the oversized life jacket, hid behind Kate and stole peeks at the approaching men. Wobbling on her bad ankle, Kate reached behind to hold onto Sheera with both hands.
“Welcome ashore. My name is Nick Timmons,” said Nick holding out his hand to Kate.
“Hi. I’m Kate Brown and this is Sheera.” Instead of shaking Nick’s hand, she kept them on the girl, giving her an encouraging squeeze when she introduced her by name. Nick smoothly dropped his hand to his hip and Kate continued. “Evelyn said you used to be with the police. You should know there’s a dangerous man in the woods.” She nodded her head down and back toward the child. “He… he’s done terrible things.”
“Yes, Evelyn said you are anxious to speak with the police,” said Nick. “The sheriff’s been notified but it’ll be an hour or so before anyone gets here. In the meantime, the park ranger and I can get the ball rolling. This is Tom Bollis, by the way.”
Tom, who had remained a little off to the side and behind Nick, stepped forward at the mention of his name. The child jerked out of sight, clutching at Kate’s clothes tightly enough to make her teeter.
“The ranger,” repeated Kate. She’d been so focused on Nick and telling the police her story she’d hardly noticed him until that moment. He was handsome in a clean-cut sort of way, with short brown hair, green eyes, wide jaw and broad shoulders. Tan, strong and fit, he wore the standard NPS uniform: grey shirt, green pants, green jacket and backcountry boots. The NPS issued green ball cap rather than the usual wide brimmed Stratton completed the look. Rugged came to mind. Republican, she guessed. He would call her Ma’am, she was sure of it.
“Ma’am,” said Tom, tilting his head, his fingers to his cap as if to tip it.
The child stood locked against her, trembling. Kate didn’t know why the little girl was so distressed, but she wouldn’t ignore it. Not this time.
“I. I’m surprised you’re here,” said Kate to Tom.
“Most folks don’t realize some park rangers are federal law enforcement agents,” said Tom.
“Oh, well, neither did I,” said Kate, just then noticing the gun holstered on his hip. “But that’s not what I meant. I’m surprised you’re here already. Everything’s happening so quickly.”
Tom and Nick glanced at one another with raised eyebrows.
“Look, I’m grateful you’re taking me so seriously, but…”
“Kate,” interrupted Nick, bringing her attention back to him. “You came to the island alone, disappeared overnight and are now in the company of little Sheera here, talking about a dangerous man. That’s just about as serious as it gets.”
Kate glanced back at Tom and his gun. She hated guns. “Right. Of course. Sorry. It’s just, she’s really, really frightened. I think it’s him,” said Kate, indicating Tom with a jut of her chin. Tom caught her eye and Kate quickly looked back to Nick. “Or his gun. I don’t know. But I think it would be better If he could just, you know, go away,” said Kate. She held her head high but turned bright red. “For Sheera’s sake.”
Nick snorted his response and Tom remained rooted in place, his expression blank and unreadable.
“Maybe you should let Kate and Sheera have a seat,” called Evelyn from the open tailgate of her pickup. “You could offer them some water or something to eat.”
Kate looked to the ground, relieved by the interruption, and suppressed a smile.
“Thank you, Evelyn,” Nick called out, keeping his eyes on Kate and Sheera. “We were just getting to that.”
“Sheera?” said Nick, smiling when she stole a peek. “Do you think you could go over to Evelyn while we have a talk with Kate?” When Sheera’s only response was to disappear back behind Kate, he let it drop. As agitated as she was, it would do more harm than good to try and separate them.
Instead Nick directed the pair to the rear of the ranger’s truck while Tom headed to the front. He retrieved a first aid kit, blanket, a couple water bottles and some cereal bars, items he always kept stowed behind the seat for emergencies. He glanced toward the back of the truck and decided to remove his gun, securing it in the lock box beneath the seat. He gathered up the supplies and joined the others.
Nick had folded down the tailgate and gently held Kate’s elbow as she planted her hands behind her and hopped her butt up and onto the tailgate. Nick then hoisted Sheera high to stand beside her. The child didn’t object until she turned around and saw that Tom had rejoined them. Despite the fact he wore his most light-hearted, kid-friendly expression, she dropped to a crouch and cowered against Kate.
Tom kept his distance and passed the food and water to Nick to hand to Kate. While Nick helped arrange the blanket across their shoulders, Tom noticed Kate’s glance at his empty holster but couldn’t catch her eye. He asked if they needed anything else and waggled the first aid kit, beaming an encouraging smile. Kate declined with a shake of her head. Nick noticed Tom’s attempts to establish rapport and Kate’s lukewarm reception. He’d play the good cop.
“So Kate, why don’t you start with Sheera. How’d you two meet?” asked Nick. He smiled and kept his tone light and conversational. The child burrowed into Kate’s side, prompting her to draw Sheera in so that both arms wrapped around her loosely. She rested a hand lightly across the side of Sheera’s face and hair like a shield.
“I found her, in the woods, off the path.” Kate spoke calmly and quietly, stroking the child’s hair. “She was tied up. With duct tape. Her wrists were taped behind her back. And there was tape covering her mouth.” She lifted her hand out of the way for a moment and the child looked up. “You can see there, where it was, where her skin’s irritated.” The child turned away and Kate settled her hand back in place. “She was asleep. Unconscious really. I think she was drugged or something. When she woke up, she seemed really dizzy. I saw the man who did it to her. I didn’t realize right away but as soon as I did I, um…, kicked him and sort of tied him up so we could get away. We hid overnight and then came down here, looking for help. We saw Evelyn and the rest you know.”
As she spoke, Nick maintained a relaxed and attentive demeanor while rapidly processing the information. He now knew the threat Kate perceived and the mistake she’d made thinking Matt was responsible. Child abduction. Drugs. If true, the situation reached way beyond park boundaries and Tom’s expertise. His mind raced ahead, formulating first steps. They needed to lock down the island and launch a manhunt, secure the site for the crime scene investigators, take samples from both Kate and Sheera, their clothing, and obtain toxicology screens. Possibly a rape kit and a specialist in forensic interview of a child. The NPS didn’t have the resources, not here. Local law enforcement had to be notified. Marine patrol and the state police would be looped in. The list went on.
Like Nick, Tom also relied on his training to stay outwardly calm and focused. Unlike Nick, he got stuck at the part where Kate accused Matt Timmons, the son of the man next to him, a giant in the law enforcement world not to mention his mentor and friend, of being the perpetrator of a heinous crime against a child. He didn’t doubt the crime but felt in his gut that she was mistaken about Matt. However, a second key difference between Nick and Tom was that Tom had the authority and responsibility to take the accusation seriously whereas Nick had a personal interest not to. Still, Nick was known for his uncompromising integrity and Tom hoped to God his reputation held true because the third difference, the most important difference between himself and Nick, was that Nick had a career’s worth of experience in criminal investigation and Tom had next to none.
Nick gestured for Tom to take the lead. By the book, it was the correct thing to do. More importantly, it showed Tom that Nick wouldn’t assume control of the investigation to protect his son. That was all the reassurance Tom needed to ask for Nick’s help. He didn’t even know where to start. He gestured for Nick to go first.
“Tom, if it’s okay with you, I’m just going to step away for a minute and call this in. Kate, maybe you could give the ranger here a detailed description of where you were hiking so he can figure out exactly where you found Sheera and the man.”
“Couldn’t you…” said Kate.
Nick cut her off. “He’s the best man for the job.” He turned his back and went to his own truck still equipped with a radio he could use to call dispatch.
Tom excused himself, walked around the side of the truck, tapping his hand against his leg, trying to clear his head. He couldn’t mess up, not now, and not where the little girl was concerned. Why was she so frightened of him? Usually the uniform was enough, or, failing that, his easy manner and offer of assistance sufficed. Not this time. He opened the door to the cab and pulled out the tube of topographic maps from behind the seat. He had Nick’s endorsement. Now it was up to Tom to find a way to win them over. Maps in hand, he took two deep breaths, exhaling long and forcefully. He slammed the door closed with a loud thunk. Just like Nick said, focus on the details; who, what, where, when. Tom walked back to Kate and Sheera, rolled the charts out flat in the truck bed, secured the corners with stones and turned on the charm.
Nick knew he would have to engage in his own campaign of winning hearts and minds if he wanted to stay involved in the investigation. Tom wanted his help, needed it, but the Knox County Sheriff’s Department would have to agree. They had the necessary resources, would be making the decisions and orchestrating the response. His best bet was his long-time friend and colleague Justine Tibbett, the Knox County sheriff and person in charge. Nick knew her to be as shrewd and principled as Abraham Lincoln and every bit as imposing despite being a stout, middle aged woman who reached no more than 5 feet 5 inches tall in her duty boots. She’s the one he needed to convince and the only charm she was susceptible to was due respect and sound logic.
Thanks to his lingering cachet in the world of mid-coast law enforcement, Nick managed in short order to get Justine herself on the radio. He gave her a concise summary of the situation, including the hiker’s attack on his son yesterday and her accusation today, and politely asked her how he could help. It was a loaded question. As a seasoned investigator in familiar territory he could do more than help, he could run the show. Retired and father of the accused, he shouldn’t even be present.
“You think the hiker’s story is credible?” asked the sheriff.
“Yes. Sheera doesn’t belong here or with Kate. She appears traumatized.”
“And the part about your son?”
“No.” There was nothing for Nick to add; no proof one way or the other.
“Can’t have it both ways, Nick. You should go home,” said Justine.
“First priority is the child. It’ll be an hour or two before the first of your deputies can get here. I’m boots on the ground.”
“So is the ranger. The one thing we know for sure, Matt’s assault happened within the park. Until we know more, it’s his jurisdiction.”
“We know the little girl wasn’t camping in the park. Half the island is under your jurisdiction. If a major crime’s been committed it’ll be everyone’s jurisdiction.”
“Not yours. Not anymore.”
“Come on, Justine, it’s been at least 18 hours for that girl. County, state and maritime can only mobilize so fast. I’m right here. We need to get ahead of this.”
“Not at the risk of compromising the investigation.” After a pause, the sheriff continued. “What aren’t you saying, Nick? Is it the ranger? Tell me about him.”
“Tom Bollis. Seasonal law enforcement ranger. The NPS must think he’s cream of the crop to station him here. I’d agree. He’s solid: capable, independent, perceptive.”
“High praise coming from you. So?”
“He has no experience in something like this. He needs help. Wants it. I’m here. I know the drill as well as you do.”
“This isn’t about your resume and you know it.”
“You need me too.”
“Going for the hard sell? ‘Cause I’m not sure I’m buying.”
“Simple fact. Isle au Haut’s an isolated outpost. Folks here rely on themselves and their neighbors. You, your team, Tom; you’re all outsiders. They don’t need you and have no reason to trust you. You’ll need their cooperation. I’m a part of this community. I’m on the inside.”
“You’re on the inside, all right.”
“Come on, Justine, I’m telling you…”
“No. I’m telling. You’re listening.”
She was right. She knew what was at stake: for herself, the investigation and for the child. And she bore all the responsibility. If their roles were reversed, he’d only trust her if she respected him and his authority. Nick remained silent.
“If you’re going to help at all, you have to be in the company of an investigator at all times.”
Nick was a little surprised and a lot relieved but didn’t dare say how much lest she change her mind.
“Agreed. Bollis is primary.”
“Not just primary. Only. You’re strictly a passenger. You can keep him awake, hand him a sandwich. You may not, under any circumstance, take the wheel. Is that clear? No independent action.”
“Justine,” said Nick.
“I mean it Nick, I don’t even want you getting out of the car. As far as I’m concerned, Tom is babysitting you as much as you are him.”
“Come again?” He was retired, not senile.
“Matt is a suspect. I don’t want you talking to him until my team gets a crack at him. Kate is also a suspect which means I don’t want you to be alone with her. I don’t want you in a position to manipulate Sheera. And I don’t want you wandering around alone in the woods.”
Nick hadn’t considered that Justine might stick him with Tom as much to keep the enemy close as to reap the benefit of his experience. Insulting as it was, it was smart and practical. Nick grunted his assent.
“Say the words, Nick,” said Justine.
Nick silenced the growl before it could leave his throat. He said the words.
“One more thing. I want Kate and Sheera supervised at all times. She’s already assaulted your son. We need to be sure she’s not a threat to the girl.”
Nick agreed. He wouldn’t risk it either.
“Okay, tell me what you and the ranger can do for me until I can get my team out there.”
Another few minutes conversation and an initial plan was in place. Nick and Tom would immediately arrange for Anne the EMT to examine Kate and Sheera and otherwise continue with their interview. The sheriff’s team would search the National Crime Information Center’s databases for missing persons and for criminal records on Kate and Matt as well as start to assemble the personnel and resources needed for an island-based major crime investigation, assuming Kate’s story was credible. The sheriff wanted a call back in 15 minutes, Tom included.
His call with the sheriff completed, Nick noticed that Evelyn had already reloaded the dinghy onto the bed of her pickup. She now sat in the cab, with the engine off and the window rolled down, unabashedly listening in. Dialing Anne with one hand, he shooed Evelyn off with the other, however she chose to misunderstand the gesture and waved back at him smiling. Stubborn mule.
While speaking with Anne, Nick watched Tom take up the stones he’d used to hold down the topo maps and juggle them. His first attempt earned a wary, one-eyed peek from Sheera and a raised eyebrow from Nick. Tom kept trying to draw her out, but the harder he tried the more he missed. It was painful to watch. Perhaps if Tom had been more adept, Sheera’s curiosity could have held her fear at bay, but he wasn’t, and it didn’t. Sheera hid herself away. Kate shrugged and let her attention drift.
Nick completed his call; Anne would bring her kit and meet them by the pond. He called Tom over to fill him in on the sheriff’s conditions and instructions. As they returned to the rear of the pickup where Kate and Sheera sat waiting, Nick leaned into Tom and said with a nudge, “If I was you, I’d drop the circus act and stick to your day job.”
Tom grimaced and shook his head. Great. Just great.
Since the child seemed more comfortable with Nick, they agreed he’d be the one to try and draw her out. Interviewing children was not a skill Nick had been specifically trained for although he’d observed the process often enough to get the basic gist. Ask open ended questions. Leave plenty of time for response. Back at the pickup, Tom stood off to the side giving Nick center stage. Despite stiff knees Nick slowly squatted in front of Kate and Sheera, resting one knee to the ground to hold steady. Below eye level, he’d be less threatening.
“Sheera? We’ll talk with Kate some more in a minute, but is there anything you’d like to tell us?”
She kept quiet and glanced at Tom who carefully avoided eye contact.
“It doesn’t have to be about yesterday or today or anything that’s happened,” said Nick. “Maybe you could tell me something about yourself, Sheera?”
No response.
“Or your family? Can you tell me something about your family, Sheera?”
Again, no response.
“Where you live?”
Still nothing.
Nick knew that asking too specific a question might compel a child to make something up. At the moment he would be fine with just about anything: her favorite color, unicorns, something. He’d try a focused question.
“How about your last name? What’s your last name, Sheera?”
Nick waited.
As the silence lengthened, Kate fidgeted, spinning the ring on her finger and tugging at her clothes. Kate broke the silence with a huff. “Listen, you should know. Her name isn’t Sheera. I don’t know what her name is. I made it up.”
With a hand on the tailgate, Nick slowly rose back to a stand. Tom moved to stand beside him forming a wall. Sheera burrowed under Kate’s arm.
“Sorry,” said Kate although she wasn’t particularly. She felt, under the circumstance, it had been a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Unlike Matt, who she only thought of as ‘the man’, there was nothing abstract or impersonal about the little girl tucked against her. Not since she’d found her, the second time, after she’d left her and lost her and then found her again. She needed a name. Sheera couldn’t tell her. It was perfectly reasonable.
Nick and Tom stared at her silently.
Kate huffed again. “You have noticed? She doesn’t talk. You thought she wore a nametag or something?”
It didn’t take their reaction for Kate to know that this had been a spectacularly stupid thing to say. Of course they’d assumed the child had told her. Why wouldn’t they? Just because she was quiet now didn’t mean she had been all along. Arms crossed, jaws set, their eyes drilled into her. This was no longer a conversation, if ever it had been. It was an interrogation.
Kate ducked, palms up, and waved her hands in front of her face as if to erase the words. “Sorry. That was… I don’t know what that was.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to compose herself. Opening her eyes, she looked at them frankly. “She doesn’t. Talk. Not yet.”
Sheera squirmed drawing Kate’s complete attention. She gathered her up and hugged her tightly. She kissed the top of her head, and then, breaking the hug, she held Sheera’s face and looked into her eyes. “It’s okay, you know. Whenever you’re ready is okay.”
The little girl raised her smalls hands to hold Kate’s face like Kate held hers. It was just like in the woods when Kate had found her the second time. They stayed like that for a few moments, in a universe unto themselves. Kate then leaned forward, gave her a light kiss on the forehead and tweaked her nose. The girl climbed onto her knees and duplicated the gesture. Kate laughed, grasped the life jacket and gave Sheera’s whole body a wiggle.
The spell broken, Kate turned her attention back to the men. Sheera snuggled in by her side. Nick and Tom waited, silenced by the intimacy of the moment they’d just witnessed.
Kate spoke first. “Last night I tried to guess her name, but, you know, there are a lot of choices. We made one up instead.”
“Why Sheera?” asked Tom, genuinely curious.
“Sounds like She-Ra?” prompted Kate.
“And He-Man? From TV,” said Tom. Nick looked at them both in confusion.
“Exactly. Except she’s the real thing,” said Kate, pointing to the girl proudly. “She-Ra, the Princess of Power. Sheera Pop.” Kate and the girl fist bumped, pulling their hands away fingers wide like fireworks. “It’s her code name. Less conspicuous.”
Tom rubbed his chin and barked a single laugh. He got it. It made perfect sense. In fact, he thought it was brilliant and his expression showed it. The child looked back and forth between them as Kate beamed her smile at Tom.
Nick saw that Tom had finally made a connection. Good. Tom was primary and needed to lead the questioning. Besides, gruff came more easily to him than gregarious; Nick knew he’d always been better at being the bad cop. Which was, at that moment, what the situation called for. Kate needed to understand exactly what was expected of her. He cleared his throat.
“Kate, is there anything else that you need to clear up before we continue?” asked Nick. He waited a full 30 seconds for Kate to respond. “This is important, Kate. Don’t make anything up. Don’t guess and don’t lie. It just slows us down and gets you in trouble. It’s called obstruction. Is that clear?”
Kate looked stricken. She hadn’t thought of it as a lie; hadn’t considered the ramification. Now she did. She nodded her agreement, wide-eyed and chastened.
“Tom, radio the Sheriff’s department,” said Nick. “Tell them Kate lied. They need to stop scouring the database for the name ‘Sheera’.” Nick stood feet planted and arms crossed. A uniform would have been superfluous.
Tom sympathized with Kate. Her mistake, if you could call it that, had been to focus on Sheera, not on solving a mystery. The questioning wouldn’t be easy for her. She’d want an ally. Which, Tom realized, was precisely what Nick had set him up to be. He smiled reassuringly at Kate, then walked around the truck to make the call. Loud enough for Kate to hear, he conveyed the information about the false name. He called it a misunderstanding instead of a lie.