Bodies Out Back

Chapter 3-2

The state troopers came by boat and car. The first to arrive by boat was the sergeant in charge of the investigation. Not long afterwards, an ambulance accompanied by two patrol cars arrived. Soon, there were police and medical units throughout the woods, searching for any other signs of foul play.

“How long have you owned this property, Ms. Andrews?” the police detective asked calmly. They had already identified themselves and were doing whatever they could to help with the investigation. He had introduced himself as Sergeant Chuck Carver.

“Just over a month,” Cam answered. They had returned to Cam’s living room after Michael had shown them where the bodies were.

“This is the first time you walked back there?” he asked.

Cam nodded. “The time and the weather haven’t been right to go walking through the woods. I had aerial photos and topographical maps that outlined the land. That’s what I paid for.”

“This place previously belonged to Mr. and Mrs. George Whitburn,” he said, going through his stack of notes. “Do you happen to know where they are now?”

“I believe Mrs. Whitburn passed away and Mr. Whitburn moved to South Carolina to be with his son,” Michael answered. “The realtor should know or my brother should have his address. He will be here in a little while.”

“And your brother is?” he asked.

“Senior Sergeant Jean-René Gauchet of the Coaticook RCMP Detachment,” she stated.

The police inspector looked at her, eyes wide.

“Senior Sergeant Gauchet is your brother? Then, Chief Superintendent Claude Gauchet is…”

“My father. And Superintendent Guy Gauchet, Division C in Montreal is also my brother,” Michael explained. She held the rank of sergeant in the office of Human Resources: Physical Training. “I also report at Division C headquarters. We’re an RCMP family.” Michael was responsible for all the martial arts training that the forces received.

The officer shook his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry to have to ask so many questions, Sergeant. I hope you understand.”

“I do. I wouldn’t expect any less.” Michael smiled at him. “We’ve always had very good relations with US law agencies.”

“And you’re the one that actually found the remains,” he said as he checked his notes again.

“Yes, it was rather gruesome.” She looked at Cam with a nauseous expression.

Then, another inspector was at the back door. “Chuck, can I see you for a moment?”

“You can come right in, Inspector,” Cam called through the screen door.

“It’s all right, John. Both these ladies are law enforcement,” Chuck Carver called out the door.

The screen door opened as the inspector entered.

“Inspector John Adams,” Chuck introduced him, “Sergeant Michelle Gauchet of the RCMP and Agent Cameron Andrews of the CIA.”

John was impressed. He reached out to shake hands.

“All this on property owned by a CIA agent?” he gasped.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Cam said, shaking her head. “I’ve only owned it a month.” She stopped. “But I’d like you to keep my identity to yourselves, please. I do a lot of undercover work and I’d rather a lot of people didn’t know me. “

“That’s not a problem at all. I totally understand,” Carver assured her.

“Thanks. I’d like to keep a low profile here. I’m out of the country so often, I don’t want anyone to suspect.”

Both Carver and his partner nodded. “No one will hear it from us.”

“And which of you found the bodies?” Adams asked.

Michael shook her head. “I did. We were exploring the property to see what was back there.”

Adams was amazed.

“She was only given aerial photos and topographical maps,” Carver explained for Cam. “What did you find out there?”

“The bodies didn’t have any identification. It looked like two males. That’s about all I could tell. They were pretty decomposed. We’re sending everything back to the Newport Medical Examiner’s.” He took a deep breath. “We also found quite a bit of other stuff nestled back in the woods. There was a whole meth lab set up and quite an array of m*******a plants under a plastic tarp.”

Definitely drug murders, thought Cam. It was clear.

“Those two must have come upon the drug makers and got a surprise,” Carver suggested.

“Or made some bad meth and got taken out because of it. Or…it could have been rival meth makers. Any idea how long they’ve been there?” Cam asked.

“Can’t say. It could be a couple months, or if it happened last year, they might have been frozen there all winter. The M.E. will have to determine that.” Adams turned to his partner. “I’ve got the boys picking up all the paraphernalia. They should be ready to head out in a few minutes.”

There was the sound of another boat pulling up to the dock. Two sets of footsteps ran up the dock, the front yard, and onto the front porch.

“Michael?” Guy called just before he hit the porch.

“Ici!” Michael called to him, as they heard the screen door slam shut.

Guy and Jean-René came in the door. Michael’s two brothers looked alike. Both were over six-feet-four with trimmed light brown hair. Both were well-muscled and stood as straight-backed as could be. Only a wisp of gray around the temples betrayed that Guy was older.

“Êtes-vous bien?” Jean-René asked, looking at his sister, then at Cam.

Michael nodded, “Yes, we’re all right.” Then she turned and introduced her brothers to the two Vermont State Patrol Officers.

Cam turned back to the state troopers. “Is there any way to determine how long ago that road was used?” Cam asked. “I doubt it will be used again very soon if they knew the bodies were there.”

“We’ll have to check that out, too. But I agree,” Carver concurred. “We’ll keep an eye on it. I didn’t even know it existed,” Carver told them. “We don’t want you to have any unexpected guests. I wouldn’t go back there, if I were you, Ms. Andrews,” he said, “at least until we can scour the area. No telling what else is back there. You seem to have bought yourself a real viper’s nest.”

“Thank you for being so prompt on this, Sergeant.” Cam stood up, hoping it would urge the state troopers to leave.

“I’ll go back and see if the boys are finished. I’ll meet you back in town,” Adams told his partner.

“Mind if I walk out with you?” Guy asked.

“Sure. Come on.” Adams and Guy started toward the back door. “It was nice to meet you two ladies, and Senior Sergeant,” Adams called back. They walked across the street and disappeared into the woods.

Then Sergeant Carver turned to Jean-René. “I understand you know where the previous owner is living now.”

“Yes, I have that information at my office. Are you stationed in Newport? If you have a card, I can call it in to you.”

Carver nodded and reached into his wallet for a card. Jean-René put it into his shirt pocket and reached to shake hands with Carver.

They shook and Carver immediately walked toward the front door.

“Thank you for your patience, ladies. Have a good rest of the day,” he called back as he went outside and walked toward the dock where his boat was moored.

Michael looked at Jean-René, then at Cam. “Does anyone else need a drink?” she asked. “I know it’s not yet noon, but I feel like I need a really stiff one.” She went to the kitchen cabinet where bottles of Scotch and Canadian Whisky were kept. She returned with three glasses and the two bottles. She handed Cam the scotch and the whisky to her brother, who poured a bit for himself, then handed the bottle back to her.

After taking a long quaff of the dark amber liquid, Michael sat down at the table.

“What a day.” She sighed.

“What exactly happened?” Jean-René asked. “Guy only told me you had found a body in the woods.”

“Two bodies,” said Michael, looking down at the table as she set her glass there. She wiped up and down her face with both hands. “They’d been there for quite a while.”

“It seems drug related. There were remnants of a meth lab back there, too,” Cam added.

“A meth lab, eh?” Jean-René perked up. “I wonder. There’s been a lot of meth and molly going around in Magog and Coaticook. We never could pinpoint where it came from.”

“Meth labs are easy to set up. It could be coming from almost anywhere,” Cam told him.

“I know. Anywhere and everywhere, eh?” He sighed and took a gulp of his whisky. “I don’t know why people want that stuff.”

“That’s what always makes my job harder,” Cam added, agreeing with him. “It’s the folks who have lost faith that the world can be what they want who turn to drugs to make everything seem better. It’s like we’ve abandoned them.”

“It’s not only young people, either,” Michael added.

Jean-René and Cam nodded in agreement.

“I think we need to search the whole of this property. If there was stuff near the stream, no telling what there is further into the woods.” Cam decided.

“We can start tomorrow morning,” Michael agreed.

“I thought Officer Carver told you to stay out of there,” Jean-René reminded them.

“If I remember correctly, he said if he was me, he wouldn’t go back there, but he isn’t me. I own it and I want to see what’s out there,” Cam stated with determination.

Michael and Jean-René glanced at each other. They knew there was no way to stop her.