“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 andcause 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’renotin contact with him. Maybe the object implicates them, too. Who knows?”
