The Whisperers

Outside. That word gave me pause. If the threat was outside, why had Proctor been firing at the walls of the room? He was ex-military, so poor shooting couldn’t have been the excuse. But the room was sealed up from the inside, so the threat couldn’t have been in there with him.

Could it?

I kept those thoughts to myself, and contented myself with: ‘So far.’

‘How old was the Patchett boy?’

‘Twenty-seven.’

‘And Proctor?’

‘Fifties, I’d say. Early fifties. He served in the first Iraq war.’

‘He a sociable man, would you have said?’

‘I never had the pleasure.’

‘But he lived up here, and Patchett lived in Portland?’

‘Scarborough.’

‘Lot of miles between here and there.’

‘I suppose. Is this an interrogation, detective?’

‘Interrogations involve bright lights, and sweaty men in shirtsleeves, and people trying to lawyer up. This is a conversation. My point is: how did Proctor and Patchett come to be acquainted?’

‘Does it matter so much?’

‘It matters because you’re here, and because they’re both dead. Come on, Parker, give a guy a break.’

There wasn’t much point in holding back all that I knew, but I decided to keep some of it, for luck.

‘At first, I thought Proctor might have been one of the veterans assigned to meet soldiers when they return from active duty, and he and Patchett might have met up that way, but now I think Patchett and Proctor may have been involved in a business venture together.’

‘Patchett and Proctor. Sounds like a firm of lawyers. What kind of business venture?’

‘I don’t know for sure, but this place is near the border, and it’s been used for storage recently. There are wood shavings and foam pellets in the room next to the body, and marks on the floor that look like they could have been left by packing cases. Might be worth getting a sniffer dog in there.’

‘You figure drugs?’

‘It’s possible.’

‘You take a look inside his cabin?’

‘Just to see if he was there.’

‘You search it?’

‘That would be illegal.’

‘That’s not answering the question, but I’ll assume that you did. I would have, and you’re at least as unscrupulous as I am. And since you’re good at what you do, you’d have found an envelope filled with cash under the mattress.’

‘Would I? How interesting.’

Walsh leaned against my car and looked from the trailer to the truck, then to the motel and back again. His face grew serious.

‘So he’s got cash, food in the refrigerator, enough booze and candy to stock a convenience store, and his truck appears to be ru

‘His phone, TV, and radio were all broken up,’ I said.

‘I saw that. By him, or by someone else?’

‘The trailer wasn’t trashed. All of the books were on the shelves, his clothes were still in his closet, and the mattress was still on the bed. If someone was serious about taking the place apart, then they’d have found the money.’

‘Assuming they wanted it to begin with.’

‘I spoke to a man named Stunden down in Langdon. He’s the taxidermist, but he also runs the local bar.’

‘You gotta love small towns,’ said Walsh. ‘If he could add undertaker to his list of accomplishments, he’d be indispensable.’

‘Stunden told me that Proctor was troubled. He felt that he was being haunted.’

‘Haunted?’

‘That was the word he used to Stunden, but Stunden seemed to think that it might be a symptom of post-traumatic stress as a consequence of his time in Iraq. He wouldn’t be the first soldier to come back with mental as well as physical scars.’

‘Like your client’s son? Two suicides, each known to the other. That strike you as odd?’

I didn’t reply. I wondered how long it would take Walsh to co

Four soldiers, three from the same squad and one peripherally co

Increasingly, I was starting to believe that something very bad had occurred over in Iraq, an experience that the men of Stryker C had shared and brought back with them, even if Carrie Saunders had nixed that idea. I still couldn’t grasp how it might tie in with what Jimmy Jewel suspected of Joel Tobias: that he was ru

Soames called to Walsh, and he left me to my thoughts. I wondered what was happening over in Bangor. If Bobby Jandreau didn’t see the wisdom of talking soon, it would be time at last to put significant pressure on Joel Tobias.

Darkness closed in, but the air did not cool. Insects bit, and I heard movements in the undergrowth of the forest as the night creatures came out to feed, and to hunt. The medical examiner arrived, and Klieg lights illuminated the motel as Harold Proctor’s body was removed, ready to be taken to the Maine Medical Examiner’s office down in Augusta. His would be the sole body down there, but not for long. Soon, he would have plenty of company.

26

They came at nightfall. A soft breeze brought movement to the woods, hiding their approach, but Angel and Louis had been waiting for them, knowing that they would come. They had exchanged positions every hour to keep each other alert, and it was Angel who was watching the Mustang when the figures appeared, his sharp eyes picking up the slight change in the shadows cast by the swaying trees. He touched his partner’s sleeve, and Louis turned his attention from the house to the car. Silently, they watched the two men descend, their arms u

They were good: that was Louis’s first thought. There must be a vehicle nearby, but he hadn’t heard it, and Angel hadn’t picked them up until they were almost on top of the car. Anyone in the Mustang would have been dead before he realized what was happening. The two men melted back into the shadows again as they realized the Mustang was unoccupied, and even Louis had to strain to follow their progress. They wore no masks, which meant that they weren’t concerned about witnesses, because they would only be seen by whomever was in the house, and then for only as long as it took their victims to die.

Victims: that was the other matter. The situation at Bobby Jandreau’s house had been complicated by the arrival of Mel Nelson, his estranged girlfriend, two hours earlier. Incredible as it seemed, the spontaneous relationship advice offered that afternoon seemed to have made an impression. Louis had regarded the couple impassively as they talked in the living room for a time before Mel walked slowly over to Bobby, then knelt before him and embraced him. After that, they had retired to what Louis presumed was the bedroom, and they had not been seen since.