Over Her Dead Body (4 page)

Chapter 3

Spring time in upstate New York. A sparrow sat perched quietly in a tall pine that overlooked a 20 acre field. The morning breeze floated across the treetops and made a swishing sound as the trees swayed gently. The sparrow was watching the house across the highway. A small one story cottage was nestled in on a ten acre wooded lot. The house was white with a large bay window in the front. And ten feet out from the bay window was a bird feeder that had been empty for two seasons now. The birdbath next to it though, had been a regular source of water for a week or two after a good rain. The sparrow launched itself out of the tree and darted down and came to perch on a barbed wire fence at the edge of the field. There were a couple other sparrows and a squirrel drinking from it now. Once the sparrow had felt it was safe, it glided across and joined its companions at the birdbath.

Michael and April pulled into the drive in their green Ford Explorer. There was a sporty looking silver car in the drive and Dawn, their real estate agent stood outside of it waving to them. April hit Michael on the arm, “
L
ook hun, we’ve got squirrels and birds already!” April, an outdoor enthusiast loved gardening and nature. If it were up to her, she would have made the whole state a nature
p
reserve with their house in the middle.

“Well, it is the country dear, there are bound to be some natives out here.” Michael looked at April and smiled.

“Smart ass.” She said hitting him in the arm again. Her dark curly hair fell forward and she brushed it back and looked at him out of her big brown eyes. Michael had dark and curly, short hair and a strong chiseled face. When he smiled back at her, dimples formed on his cheeks that just warmed April’s heart every time she saw them.

The real estate agent waited patiently by her car. Michael and April got out and met up with her. Dawn was an older lady in her fift
ie
s with gr
a
y curly hair and fierce green eyes. Those eyes lit up as the couple approached. “And how are the two of you this morning?”

“We are ready to do some house shopping!” April said with a smile.

“And I’m here to keep her happy and the budget balanced.” Michael said with a smile. April gave him a look that said
watch it buster!

“Well, let’s take a look shall we?” Dawn said while shoving her clipboard under her arm and heading for the door. Dawn stopped on the walkway leading up to the front door. She pointed at some tiny bushes behind some landscape timbers. “Oooh aren’t these adorable? I think these are called Wisconsin Juniper bushes. They don’t get very big but they do bush out a little more. Are either of you into gardening?”

“She is. Me…not so much!” Michael said. April was looking over the bushes and reached out and touched one.

“While we’re here, I’ll also point out that this siding is vinyl and less than three years old. The color is called feathered brown. The windows are also new and were put in at the same time the siding was done. What a beautiful color. Doesn’t if give it almost a log cabin kind of look?”

April nodded and Michael was looking the structure over carefully. “Is this a crawl space?” he asked.

Dawn pulled out her clipboard and flipped through a page or two. “It sure is.” She said. “That should make it easy for you should you ever need to work on plumbing or anything.” Michael nodded agreement and rubbed at his stubble.

“What about the roof?”April asked looking up. They were too close to the house to get a good view. She backed up a bit, stumbled over a brick used in the landscaping and fell backward onto the grass.

Dawn gasped and put her hand to her mouth as Michael stretched out his arm to help her up. “Are you ok?” Dawn asked.

April took Michael’s hand and pulled herself up to a sitting position. For a moment Dawn thought April was going to break out into tears, but she suddenly broke out in laughter. “Of course I would have to be wearing a skirt on top of it all,” she said while still laughing. Michael, still holding her hand, put his other hand on her arm and hoisted her to her feet. April brushed off the back of her skirt with her hands. “Do I have any dirt on me honey?” She asked.

“Nope, you got it all.” Michael said. “Did you get a good look at the roof from down there?”

“Ha ha very funny…” April gave him a look.

Dawn flipped through a couple of pages and traced down with her finger. “It says here that the roof is about five years old.” Dawn looked up. “Wow, new siding, new windows, new roof, you just about have yourselves a new house. You ready to check out the inside?” They both nodded and followed Dawn as she unlocked the door and went inside.

The inside of the house smelled of fresh paint and new carpet. There was a living room directly to their right and straight in front of them was a dining room with a big open sliding glass door. It overlooked a small but cute walk-out deck and a beautiful back yard.

April immediately headed to the back door. “Gosh this is nice hun. Look at the back yard!” April was excited and her voice was getting high pitched. “Just look at all the birds and squirrels!”

“Honey there’s like three birds and one squirrel.” Michael corrected. He had told her not to act excited around the realtor so they could negotiate a better deal.
Too late for that
. He thought.

“Ya but they’re really cute and they’re soo close! Look at the woods out there.” April made an arc motion with her hand indicating the woods surrounding the property. “I’ll bet deer
come through there all the time
!”

Nice
…Michael thought.
She’s going to do all the work for the realtor
. Michael smiled and nodded his head. He was happy to see her so excited anyway.

“Are you a deer hunter Mr. Bander?” The realtor asked.

Great…two against one
. “I do a little hunting from time to time.” Michael answered.
Now she’s going to tell me there are deer everywhere out here
.

“Well you are in luck. I have it on good authority that there are deer everywhere out here.” Dawn was watching them. She wasn’t sure he was on board, but the woman had sold written all over her face. “Would you guys like to see the other rooms?”

April smiled and grabbed Michael’s arm and put hers through the crook of his elbow so they would be arm
in
arm. And then she dr
agged
him around the house that way.

It was a cute little house. The realtor took them from room to room and throwing in the
'
Wow look at that’s!
'
And the
'
did you see this?
'
And the
'
Oh isn’t this adorables
'
and so on. Michael put up the best fight he could to try and negotiate a better price. He was sold on the house just like April, only he knew to control himself when negotiating a
deal
that could cut five thousand or more off the price. If the realtor knows you’re sold, they won’t push for a better price. The more money it sells for, the more they all get.

After showing the place thoroughly, the realtor finally grew silent. “So, what do you guys think?” She asked.

There it was. The test close. April looked up at Michael with her eyes beaming and a big smile stretched out across her face.

“Well what do you think honey?” She asked.

Michael looked at her and then at the realtor. The realtor was smiling too. “It’s a nice little house, I admit. But I think the price is way too high. I think we should look around a bit more.” Michael threw out phase two of his negotiating. Phase one, don’t look excited even if you are. Phase two, act like the price is too high and like you’re not interested.

The realtor was experienced and savvy. She knew they were going to buy this house. And she knew he knew. But she followed through with her phase two of closing the sale.
P
hase one, point out all the good things and leave out most
of the bad. (She always tried
to point out at least a couple of bad things that were minor to get the clients arguing against the bad and for the house. They would say “Oh I can fix that” or “that’s no big deal” and then she could gauge how interested they were. If they argued in favor of the house, she knew they liked it. If they just agreed, she knew to move on to a different house.) These two were sold on this one. But phase two, give them some urgency, was about to begin. “I understand. Prices always seem hig
h when times are tough. I have
some other houses I would be glad to show you but we better get moving along because there’s two other couples coming to look at this place before noon.”

The smile disappeared off April
'
s face right away. She turned her big brown eyes and sad little expression up to Michael. “They’re coming to look at our house.” She said.

Oh crap
. Michael thought.
So much for negotiating a better price
. Michael looked at the realtor who quickly looked away like she had found something else worth checking out. He knew she must be exploding on the inside. Easy sale. “Can we have a moment alone?” He asked her.

“Sure, take your time.” Dawn said and stepped into the next room but didn’t stray too far out of hearing distance. If there were objections, she wanted to know what they were so she could tackle them head-on.

April watched the realtor leave and then looked up smiling at Michael. Michael just looked into her eyes and his heart melted at the happiness he saw there. April threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. After a moment she pulled back a little and looked into his brown eyes. “What do you think hun?” she said.

“You’re sure this is what you want? We haven’t really looked at that many places. This place is cozy, but it’s not
that
great. We could do better is all I’m saying.”

“I like it here. I can’t really explain it, but I feel like a piece of me belongs here. I kind of feel drawn to it. Is that weird?” April was holding his hands in hers and looking up at him.

“No. I mean yes it is weird, but I’ve been having a sensation of something. It’s almost like I’ve been here before. I guess something draws me to the place too. It appears that we are both weird.” He said with a laugh.

“Are you making fun of me?” She said.

“Would I do that?”

April punched him lightly in the chest. “You better stop it.” She said playfully. “So what are we going to do?” 

“Well, if you are set on this pl
ace, and I can see that you are, t
hen we should put an offer in. We’ll shoot for ten thousand below the asking price and hope they counter offer with five below. Would that suit you?”

“I don’t want it if you don’t. I want us both to be happy. We can look at some more places…” April’s face had a sad look.

Michael’s heart was warmed by what she said. He could see that she really wanted this house and he was moved by the fact she would give it up for him. “You know, I would be happy anywhere with you. As long as I have a place to put my recliner, a garage to work in, and a backyard to barbe
c
ue in, I’m in heaven. Besides, as you pointed out, there are woods to hunt in, and plenty of gardening space and wildlife. The price already isn’t bad. I say we go for it.”

April’s face lit up and she hugged him again and then started jumping up and down. In the next room a smile spread across the realtor’s lips. Three down and the month’s just beginning.

Chapter 4

It had only taken about three months to close on the property and get moved in. April’s sister and Michael’s parents all showed up to help move the boxes into and out of the moving truck. There was a barbecue and it became a fun event. Two weeks after that, the boxes were unpacked and everything seemed to have a place. April had made the house into a home. Michael had put up shelves, hung pictures, and made a mancave out in the garage. April had painted, decorated, and added the personal touch that only a woman can
,
to give the home a cozy cottage feel. April had put bird food out and had regular attendance from blue jays, cardinals, and squirrels. Michael had walked the woods and found signs of deer tracks. They were both settling in very happily. Until the fourth Tuesday night.

Sheriff James Watley, was out for a late drive on the back roads. He was feeling restless and cooped up. He wanted some country air. There was a bridge out this way that had been getting vandalized most likely by some rowdy teenagers and he was hoping to catch them in action so he could get them started on getting the graffiti cleaned off. There were words stenciled in like Asshole and Fuck. That was typical of bridges out in the country, but they got him involved when one of them
wrote: for a good time call Ma
ry B. and then added a phone number. I’m sure they though
t this was a funny joke, but Ma
ry Beaton’s mother did not and made sure the sheriff knew it when she called in to complain. “Don’t you guys ever stop any crime?” She had said, “get off your lazy asses and patrol something for God’s sake. Maybe… I don’t know, you might actually prevent some crime? My daughter’s getting calls from perverts. If you don’t do something, then I will!” And with that, Sherriff Watley figured he better get it cleaned up. He’d picked up a can of black spray paint to blot out the name and number, but would prefer to catch the perpetrators in action so they didn’t continue doing it.

Up ahead in the road,
S
heriff Watley could see a reflection of metal almost like a vehicle in the middle of the road. There were no lights on.
It’s probably some tractor.
The sheriff
thought as he
slowed down and approached slowly. It was a truck, stopped in the road with no lights on and the driver side door open. The sheriff reached over and grabbed his flashlight and directed it toward the cabin of the vehicle. Nobody home. At that, the sheriff pulled up ahead and did a three point turn and came around behind the truck so he could call in the plates.

“Base.”

“Go ahead.” Came the sweet voice of Leah Ashley. Leah was a heavy set gal with long brown hair and pretty brown eyes. It was always nice to hear her voice come across the radio because she was always in a good mood.

“Got a Ford pickup abandoned on Cherry Blossom Road by the old Danken house.” Charles Danken had passed away about a year ago. Jenice Danken had held onto the house for a while, but was unable to keep up with all the work on her own. She had finally succumbed to family requests for her to move into a retirement home. Last Watley had heard she had moved into Wondering Garden’s Retirement Home in town and was doing well. He had also heard the Danken house was sold not too long ago, but wasn’t sure who had moved in.

“James, you gonna call the plates or keep me in suspense the whole night.” Leah said across the radio.

“Ya, ya…don’t get your drawers in a bunch.” The sheriff peered ahead at the plates.

“You can’t bunch whatcha ain’t wearin sweetie.” Leah retorted. James made a face.

“Too much information Leah. You ready?” He asked.

“Go ahead Darlin.”

“5, 4, Echo, Delta, 7, 6, Frank.” The sheriff called out the plates into the radio.

“The truck is registered to one Michael Bander. 3274 Cherry Blossom Road. Yep, the old Danken house.” Leah said.

“Bander…” Watley said. “Is that Larry’s kid?”

“I believe so. I think I heard he had a boy named Michael.”

“Huh.”

“Is the truck off the road?”

“No. It’s right plumb in the middle of the lane. With the door open.” The sheriff looked down at his watch. 11:58, almost midnight.

“That’s just weird. Well, watch your six cowboy.”

“Will do. Out.”

The
s
heriff got out of his car, put his hat on and grabbed his flashlight. He left his lights on so nobody would hit the car from behind. He walked around the blue Ford pickup looking it over carefully. There was nothing to indicate an accident.
Probably got out to take a leak and hid when he seen me coming.
The sheriff thought. Would make sense if he’d been drinking. He wouldn’t have wanted a DWI charge. The sheriff pointed his flashlight down the road past his car. The Danken house was no more than
fifty
yards south of here. These woods are probably part of the property. Who would get out and take a leak
fifty
yards from their home? It just didn’t make any sense. Sheriff Watley moved his flashlight over the woods looking for somebody. Nothing.
Maybe he saw an animal and went to investigate.
Hell it wasn’t a mile up the road a few weeks back that the
s
heriff had come across farmer Dirby rounding up some cattle that had gotten loose late at night. There must be some logical explanation. The sheriff reflected that law enforcement such as himself often jump right into worse case scenarios. It often blew things out of proportion, but it kept him alive for the times when it was the worse case scenario. With that in mind, he walked toward the woods slowly with his left hand holding the flashlight and his right hand unsnapping his gun and resting his hand snugly on the grip. 

What was it about woods in the night? Sheriff Watley was contemplating the question as he felt a small breeze and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He had the heeby jeebies. As an avid hunter, he had spent many mornings and many nights in the woods and it never ceased to amaze him how you never quite get use
d
to how it makes you feel. All your senses are on alert. You can feel the presence of the world as if the whole forest itself were alive. You didn’t just feel like a predator, but like prey as well. That’s how he felt now anyway. Vulnerable. Sneaking up on some unknown situation at midnight in the middle of the damn woods.
Should have stayed in town
. He thought as he forged deeper into the woods.

A brush of wind whipped across Sheriff Watley’s neck sending a cascade of goosebumps from his neck on down to his arms as he ventured a little further into the woods. His Maglite was bright and he used it to look around. The problem with looking for trouble in the dark was that you have no peripheral vision. A person could see more in the daytime with one eye than you could at night with two eyes and a flashlight. But he had been through this before. Nine out of ten times you find a car or truck running on the road, the person just got out to take a piss or crap. Or puke. Or all three. So, he really expected to find this guy just doing his business and that he just couldn’t hold it. Some officers wrote citations for public indecency. He just couldn’t understand that. Who the hell hasn’t had to stop their car on a long trip occasionally to either get out and take a piss or let your kid out to go? What kind of idiot moron officer could really write a citation for that? An asshole kind that’s what. And there were plenty of them out there. The worst of it is now these poor folk just trying not to piss themselves are considered by law to be sexual predators and have to inform neighbors, schools, and law inforcement every time they move. They become humiliated, alienated, and victims of hate crimes all for pissing on the side of the road. Good grief. What’s wrong with the world anyway?

He was about to give up on this side of the road and search the other side when he heard something up ahead. It sounded like leaves crinkling and maybe a soft thudding like something hitting the earth. He pointed his Maglite up ahead. He could just barely make out something. He crept forward carefully keeping his right hand on the butt of his gun. “Hello, who’s out there? This is the Sheriff.” He spoke loud and confident despite his tingly guts. He could definitely make out something up ahead. It almost looked like bare feet. It looked as though somebody was bent over on their knees with their feet tucked under them.
Looks like another puking case after all.
He thought.
Probably another drunk
. He moved a little closer.

“Hello? This is the Sheriff. Identify yourself.” As he got closer, he could see that there was definitely somebody on their knees but it almost looked as though they were digging in the dirt. Their body would make reaching motions forward and then dragging motions back and dirt was being flung backward. They were definitely digging. The sheriff moved closer still. He was nearly up behind the guy now and moved to his right about ten feet out to get a better look. As he moved around the side, he could see the guy didn’t have any pants on. He was a dark haired man maybe in his thirties with a white t-shirt and grey briefs on. He was pawing frantically at the ground. Sheriff Watley drew his gun.

When an officer pulls his gun, either his life or someone else’s is usually in danger. Maybe it was the dark. Maybe it was the wind. Or maybe it was the half naked guy clawing at the ground in the middle of the woods at midnight, but Sheriff Watley wasn’t convinced that he was safe. He just kind of stood there and watched for a moment. His legs were positioned with his front leg slightly bent and his back leg straightened. He was positioned for stability and braced to dart in any direction if the situation called for it.

The man on the ground acted unaware that anyone was in his presence. He continued on pawing at the ground and flinging dirt. He was mumbling something. It was almost a sob really. Sheriff Watley couldn’t be sure but it sounded like “Mayuh” and then he would dig even harder. The man seemed relatively clean cut. He had dark curly hair and  dark but short stubble on his face. He just kept digging absentmindedly as if the sheriff w
as
n’t even there. “Excuse me.” The sheriff said sternly. There was no reaction.

“Sir I need you to stop what you are doing and stand up slowly.” Still no reaction. The man continued to dig at the ground. Shit. He thought. This guy is either drunk or has completely gone nuts. Either way, that still made him dangerous. The sheriff tried again. “Sir. I need you to stop digging and stand up slowly.” Still no reaction. The sheriff moved in closer and pushed the guy over by pushing his foot against his shoulder. It wasn’t a kick, just a push. The guy fell over still making digging motions while lying on his side. He mumbled something again that sounded like “Mayuh” and righted himself and went back to digging. He didn’t even take one glance at Sheriff Watley and the sheriff had a pretty good suspicion that the man was unaware of his presence. “Sir!”
The s
heriff said louder this time. No reaction. The sheriff pointed his gun in the air and fired. The shot that rang out was deafening. The man stopped digging.

The man looked straight up and then toward the sheriff. The light appeared to blind him and he tried to shield the light with his hand. “What the…where am I? Who are you?” The man said and looked down to see that his hands were deep in soil.

“Sir, you need to stand up slowly and keep your hands where I can see them.” The sheriff said sternly.

“I don’t understand. How did I get here? Where am I and who the hell are you?” The man began to stand up while keeping his hands visible. “And can you not shine that damn thing in my face please?”

The sheriff lowered the light a little so it wasn’t blinding the man, but allowed enough to still see his face. “I’m
S
heriff Watley and you are clearly intoxicated. You’re truck is parked on the road and running. I found you here without your clothes clawing at the dirt. Can you tell me how you got here sir?”

The man looked around a little trying to evaluate his surroundings. He didn’t recognize them. It was pitch black and hard to see. “I don’t know how I got here. Where am I?” he said again.

“What’s your name sir?” The sheriff said shortly.

“Michael. Michael Bander.” A gust of wind pushed past and Michael shivered in it. He couldn’t understand how he had gotten in the woods with his clothes off.

“And what is your address Michael?” The sheriff asked.

Michael looked around again and then back toward the light. He couldn’t even see the guy except to make out a silhouette. “I live on Cherry Blossom Road.” He said.

“Where at on Cherry Blossom?” The sheriff continued gathering the information.

“I live at 3274 Cherry Blossom Road. Now wh
ere am I and how did I get here?
It’s cold and I need some clothes.” Michael was becoming agitated.

“You’re in the woods about fifty yards from your house. As I was saying, your truck is parked on the road with the door open. Let’s get back to my car and I’m sure we can sort this all out. Just start walking that direction and keep your hands above your head where I can see them. Understand?”

“Ya, I got it. I didn’t do anything wrong though. I really don’t know how I got here.” Michael sounded a little whiny. He was hurt by the idea that somebody was treating him like a criminal.
Like he would really harm anybody
. Who was this guy?