dawned on Osborne that the killer may have miscalculated when he was deciding where to hide his victim.
Looking around to find Lew, he saw her observing the EMTs as they slipped protective bags over Kathy Beltner’s hands in order to preserve any debris under her fingernails that might indicate a struggle. Next they lifted the body with care and laid it on white sheets, which they folded over and around. Once they had strapped it onto the emergency toboggan, Osborne said, “Chief, do you have a minute?” He waved for her to join him.
“Be right there,” she said as she climbed up the snow bank and walked his way. “I’m pooped, Doc. Ray’s got all the photos I need so we can head back shortly. How you doing?”
“I’m fine but I think I know why we found our victim tucked under here.”
“Because whoever it is thought they could hide the body under the lake ice only to discover it’s so shallow along the shoreline that there was no way they could hide it there?” asked Lew.
“I don’t think they realized that the stream starts at the lake and runs north into the swamp. I’ll bet you anything they expected the water to be run under the bridge and out into the lake —strong enough to carry a body out, even if it took a while.”
“You may be right, Doc. Ray and I were just saying it appears that some tools were carried in here, too. An axe and a saw at least.”
“No ice auger?”
“Not that we can see.”
“In that case, we’re not looking for an ice fisherman who might have thought to drill a hole ten or twenty feet out from shore and drop the body into the lake …”
“Or someone who didn’t want to risk being seen by skiers out here. Quite a few folks cross-country ski in the dark these days—especially these trails because they are so level and they run around this lake.
“Doc, Ray said you two are parked in the lot at the trailhead so I am going to have Terry drive you two out the snowshoe trail here so he can cordon it off at the trailhead. I’ve told Rob that he can drive his car but he has to leave his wife’s in the parking lot until I can get the Wausau boys up to take a good look at it.”
She shook her head, “I just can’t figure out how Kathy Beltner got down here since we don’t see any sign of someone snowshoeing in to this area. At this point it appears that she was carried in by the individual who walked in from the access road—but how did she get there ? We have boot prints but no sign of snowshoes.”
As she spoke, Ray walked over to the ATV with his gear and set it down. “All set, Chief, I’ll load these into the computer tonight and send them your way.”
“Ray, I’m trying to figure out one thing,” said Lew, and repeated her mystification over the lack of snowshoe tracks. “I know it’s late but will you keep an eye out in case you see something as you drive back with Terry?”
Minutes later as Terry maneuvered the ATV down the trail through the overhanging branches loaded with fresh snow, Ray raised a hand for him to stop. “Hold on, let me check something.” He got out of the ATV and walked along the trail a few feet, then came back. “Nothing, just a deer trail is all.”
As he got back into the ATV, Osborne asked Terry, “how much snow have we gotten anyway?”
“I was told it’s been falling at the rate of two inches an hour,” said Terry.
“So between four this afternoon and right now, we’ve gotten anywhere from ten to sixteen inches of new snow?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s a bitch,” said Ray. “Only saving grace might be that precip we got earlier. If that stays frozen, I might be able to scout tomorrow in the daylight.”
“I know Lew is hoping you’ll find the snowshoes. Locating where they were dropped might tell us more about what happened out here.”
“Unless the killer kept them—as a trophy.”
Osborne stared at Ray as the ATV bounced along the trail. “That’s an unpleasant thought.”
As
Looking around to find Lew, he saw her observing the EMTs as they slipped protective bags over Kathy Beltner’s hands in order to preserve any debris under her fingernails that might indicate a struggle. Next they lifted the body with care and laid it on white sheets, which they folded over and around. Once they had strapped it onto the emergency toboggan, Osborne said, “Chief, do you have a minute?” He waved for her to join him.
“Be right there,” she said as she climbed up the snow bank and walked his way. “I’m pooped, Doc. Ray’s got all the photos I need so we can head back shortly. How you doing?”
“I’m fine but I think I know why we found our victim tucked under here.”
“Because whoever it is thought they could hide the body under the lake ice only to discover it’s so shallow along the shoreline that there was no way they could hide it there?” asked Lew.
“I don’t think they realized that the stream starts at the lake and runs north into the swamp. I’ll bet you anything they expected the water to be run under the bridge and out into the lake —strong enough to carry a body out, even if it took a while.”
“You may be right, Doc. Ray and I were just saying it appears that some tools were carried in here, too. An axe and a saw at least.”
“No ice auger?”
“Not that we can see.”
“In that case, we’re not looking for an ice fisherman who might have thought to drill a hole ten or twenty feet out from shore and drop the body into the lake …”
“Or someone who didn’t want to risk being seen by skiers out here. Quite a few folks cross-country ski in the dark these days—especially these trails because they are so level and they run around this lake.
“Doc, Ray said you two are parked in the lot at the trailhead so I am going to have Terry drive you two out the snowshoe trail here so he can cordon it off at the trailhead. I’ve told Rob that he can drive his car but he has to leave his wife’s in the parking lot until I can get the Wausau boys up to take a good look at it.”
She shook her head, “I just can’t figure out how Kathy Beltner got down here since we don’t see any sign of someone snowshoeing in to this area. At this point it appears that she was carried in by the individual who walked in from the access road—but how did she get there ? We have boot prints but no sign of snowshoes.”
As she spoke, Ray walked over to the ATV with his gear and set it down. “All set, Chief, I’ll load these into the computer tonight and send them your way.”
“Ray, I’m trying to figure out one thing,” said Lew, and repeated her mystification over the lack of snowshoe tracks. “I know it’s late but will you keep an eye out in case you see something as you drive back with Terry?”
Minutes later as Terry maneuvered the ATV down the trail through the overhanging branches loaded with fresh snow, Ray raised a hand for him to stop. “Hold on, let me check something.” He got out of the ATV and walked along the trail a few feet, then came back. “Nothing, just a deer trail is all.”
As he got back into the ATV, Osborne asked Terry, “how much snow have we gotten anyway?”
“I was told it’s been falling at the rate of two inches an hour,” said Terry.
“So between four this afternoon and right now, we’ve gotten anywhere from ten to sixteen inches of new snow?”
“Something like that.”
“That’s a bitch,” said Ray. “Only saving grace might be that precip we got earlier. If that stays frozen, I might be able to scout tomorrow in the daylight.”
“I know Lew is hoping you’ll find the snowshoes. Locating where they were dropped might tell us more about what happened out here.”
“Unless the killer kept them—as a trophy.”
Osborne stared at Ray as the ATV bounced along the trail. “That’s an unpleasant thought.”
As
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