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Mason repeated the knock on the back door, but the place appeared empty. While he yelled his name again, Annie wandered up the far side where a few dusty windows opened up in the metal siding. Standing on tiptoes, she managed to peer past the fly-speckled glass into the dark interior. It was too dim to see much, but she thought it seemed empty. She’d need a flashlight and a ladder to see better.
She returned to find Mason on the phone. When he ended the call, she lifted a brow his direction. “What’s up?”
“I called for a warrant for this property and his house in Houghton.”
She glanced at her watch. Just past four thirty. “Are we waiting on them to arrive?”
“Yeah, I want to see what they find.” He fished out his keys. “You can go on back, and I’ll catch a ride with Montgomery.” He flipped on his flashlight and shined it into the window. At his height Mason was able to examine the interior from a better angle. “Nothing in this main room. I see some doors to other rooms though. We’ll check them out. Get on back for your date,” he said. “I’ll wait on my team.”
From the knowing glint in his eye, he must have seen hersurreptitious glance at her watch. She wanted time to get dressed up a little, and if she left in the next fifteen minutes, she’d get home a little after five. She’d have enough time to do her hair and makeup. It was adequate time, but just barely.
She nodded toward the back of the lot. “I want to check out the shed first. Maybe it’s unlocked.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She and Mason went to the weathered utility shed that crouched along a back alley. It was as dilapidated as the other building, and it stood ajar, giving them probable cause. She glanced at the sheriff.
“Be my guest,” Mason said.
She nudged the door open the rest of the way with her foot and stepped inside, pausing a few seconds to let her eyes adjust. The place smelled of grass and dirt. An old lawn mower was in the back corner. Hooks holding yard tools lined one wall. Another wall held fishing poles and nets. It was surprisingly well organized considering the building’s disrepair.
Before she started to examine anything, she pulled out a pair of Nitrile gloves and handed some to Mason as well. She spotted an old metal chest under the window and stepped over to open it. It wasn’t locked, and the rusty lid squeaked as she forced it open. Inside she found charcoal sketches. Had West been an artist? He had to have drawn these.
Mason squatted beside her to peer into the chest too. “Maybe he commemorated his trophies this way. Nice buck.” He removed the sketch of a twelve-pointer and stared at it. “Looks like the Porkies in the background.”
She spotted the Lake of the Clouds and nodded. The sketchhad been framed in cardboard, and as she started to lay it aside, a piece of paper fell from between the edges of the cardboard. It was a black-and-white photo of a man lying on the sand near what appeared to be Lake Superior. He was on his stomach with his face turned away from the camera. Dead?
She flipped it over and gasped before showing it to Mason.I took my turn.“The back of the picture in Glenn’s house was a little different.”
Mason nodded. “It wasYour turn next. I’ll have this picture examined to see if there is any way to identify the victim.”
“You think he’s dead?”
He nodded and touched the picture. “Might be blood at the back of his head.”
Annie had thought he’d been in the water and his hair was wet, but Mason was probably right.
“Yo, Sheriff.”
Mason turned at the call from outside. “Coming. I think the search warrant has arrived. You get out of here and enjoy your evening.”
She nodded and went to her truck. A teenager on a skateboard stopped and glanced her way. “Hi,” she said to him. “Do you know Joel West, who owns this property?”
“Sure. He’s basic, but he hangs out sometimes.” He glanced toward the basketball court. “Takes us to play basketball.”
“Have you seen him around lately?”
“Couple days ago. Came here with some fam and took away most everything.”
“Did you speak to him?”
“Nah, he was in a hurry.”
“Did you overhear him say where he was going?”
“Getting some other dude and heading for Canada. Least that’s what one of them said.”
Another dude. Glenn?
