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“Where’d he take her? Have the hospitals around the area reported any broken legs?”
Annie decided to ignore that question since Mason wouldn’t have checked it out yet. “We found a wrecked ATV titled in your name.”
Fraser scowled. “She wrecked it? It was a gift from my dad.”
“Did you give her permission to take it?”
“Nope. It was in a summer storage barn at one of the mines,and an employee found it missing the summer she disappeared. I never did figure out why she took it.”
“Do you have a pickup truck, Mr.Fraser?”
His hazel eyes narrowed. “What kind of question is that? Most households in the U.P. have a pickup. I’ve got a Dodge Ram 3500.”
Annie wasn’t all that knowledgeable about pickups, but she knew a 3500 was a one-ton pickup. Unfortunately, he was also right about the many trucks up here. It would make sense he’d need a heavy-duty one in his line of work.
“Would you mind if we checked it out for evidence?”
He held up the phone. “What, you think this is me? I haven’t seen Michelle in over a year. I wouldn’t hurt her.”
“I know you injured her with a knife.”
His face tightened. “I suppose her mother told you that. It was an accident. I was cutting up steaks, and she was arguing with me. She fell onto the knife.”
That was the most ridiculous excuse Annie had ever heard. “I saw how much blood her injury caused. That seems very unlikely. You’ve made no secret of your hatred of her. That puts you high on the suspect list.”
He threw his hands up. “Fine. Look at the truck all you like. It’s new, bought six months ago. You won’t find even one of Michelle’s hairs or DNA. She’s never been in the truck.”
“I’ll call for a forensic tech. Thank you for your cooperation.” She rose, and Jon did the same.
They hadn’t learned much, but at least his truck could be ruled out if he was innocent.
***
The rain pounded against the hood of the truck as Annie drove to see Michelle’s mom in Munising. Though it had to be done, she suspected it would be a dead end. The photo simply didn’t show enough.
Jon looked at the photo again as Annie drove. “The more I study this picture of Michelle’s leg, the more I think the tibia is severely displaced.”
She spared him a quick look as she turned onto Mary’s street. “What’s that mean?”
“A displaced fracture damages more soft tissue along with the joint. It’s a very unstable fracture, and she’ll be unable to put weight on it.”
Annie’s phone rang as she parked in Mary’s drive. She answered it, then put it on speaker. “Hey, Mason, did you get my text?”
“Yeah, I found the truck in the DMV database. Listen, I’ve got information breaking all over the place. Brandon’s truck tires don’t match the imprint forensics took. My tech got into Michelle’s phone. There’s a picture of Grace in the woods on it. She looks terrified and exhausted. The two women were clearly together at some point. And I got a quick turnaround on the autopsy. It’s Grace. She suffered a broken neck, likely from the ATV crash.”
“And it was clearly a bad crash,” Annie said. “Jon told you he thought Michelle’s leg was broken. He’s looked at the photo more closely and thinks it’s a severe break that will require surgery. Did you hear from any hospitals?”
“Our inquiry came up empty. The reported fractures were other verified people. No unknown woman or anyone with aname close to Michelle’s reported to an ER or doctor’s office. I checked orthopedic clinics as well.”
The dead-end news wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “I’m at her mother’s now. I’ll see if she has any idea about the abductor’s identity.”
“Marquette police have a forensic tech en route to the Fraser house. I’ll let you know what I hear.”
“Thanks, Mason.” Annie ended the call and opened her door into the rain. “Okay, let’s see if we have better luck here.”
Jon jumped out, too, and they dashed through the puddles and downpour to the porch, and Annie pressed the doorbell.
Mary opened the door almost immediately. “I saw you pull up. You have news?” Her brown eyes held a hopeful shine.
