mental note to check into that. “So what you’re telling me is that all three of these women have been seeing the same doctor?” said Osborne. Pauline nodded. “Isn’t that rather unusual?”
“Not really,” said Pauline. “Everyone at Thunder Bay knows Dr. Forsyth. I think he sends brochures to all the clubs where they got strippers. That’s what he does—breast implants, and anything else a girl might need to keep her job. A few of those gals have some years on ‘em, doncha know.”
The phone on Lew’s desk rang. She raised a hand to quiet everyone as she answered, then said she would take the call in a nearby room. “Keep going, Doc, I’ll be right back.” She hurried out the door.
“So we know how they met. Do you have any idea why they were all three together?” said Osborne.
Ralph shrugged but Pauline gave an eager nod. “Sure—it was karaoke night. Every other Wednesday for the last six months those three been driving down to Wausau to have dinner and go to this bar where they do karaoke.”
“Every other Wednesday? Never any other night of the week?”
“Wednesday was Patsy and Donna’s night off.”
Lew came back into the room and took her seat at the desk. “What did I miss?” At the mention of Wausau and karaoke, she said, “Do we know which club?”
“Oh, they had their favorite—Chucky D’s,” said Pauline. “And doncha know they had the best time every time. Patsy would tell me… .”
Sadness crept across Pauline’s rough features as she said, “I hope to hell it wasn’t someone from there that killed them. I don’t think I could stand knowing that someone who saw my Patsy so happy would—”
“Pauline,” said Lew, “from what you’ve just told us, can we assume that as of Wednesday night, they were alive and on their way to Wausau?”
“On their way back,” said Pauline. “Patsy always called me as they left so I would unlock the door for her. When you run a business like mine, you don’t leave no doors unlocked y’know.”
“So what time would that have been?”
“Same as always—one in the morning.”
“And then they would drive straight back.”
“Yep, one pit stop for gas, have one last drink together—then home.”
Osborne looked over at Lew as he said, “And where was that last stop?”
“Oh …” Pauline paused and grimaced, “That I don’t know. Never asked.”
“Jeez,” said Ralph. “Must be a hundred places ‘tween here and Wausau where you can get gas and a beer at one-thirty in the morning.”
“Not if we’re lucky,” said Lew, standing up.
ten
Within you there is afire / Within the fire / An expanse of water.
—DoDo Jin Ming, contemporary artist
The wooden sign at the top of the driveway off Wolf Lake Road made Peg Garmin’s cottage easy to find. Hung from a wrought-iron pole, it was painted with a lavender and lemon yellow iris whose green tendrils twisted around four words etched in a delicate script: babe in the woods.
Osborne pulled his car in behind Lew’s cruiser and walked down the asphalt drive. The cottage was situated on the kind of real estate difficult to come by in northern Wisconsin: a level site with a western exposure blessed with sunsets. Tonight the view was spectacular—the lake sparkling with diamonds and promising one of those long, clear summer evenings when the sun refuses to go down.
He paused for a moment to appreciate the quiet loveliness of water and sky. No neighboring homes or cabins invaded the view, which meant that Peg’s property had to include a good five hundred feet of shoreline. Five hundred feet on Wolf Lake would sell for thousands of dollars per foot. Osborne gave a silent whistle. Whatever else Peg Garmin may have left behind, this land alone had to be worth close to a million.
He found Lew on the porch, about to push open the front door. “Ray was right,” she said as she pressed down on the handle and the door swung open. “The place is unlocked.” After
“Not really,” said Pauline. “Everyone at Thunder Bay knows Dr. Forsyth. I think he sends brochures to all the clubs where they got strippers. That’s what he does—breast implants, and anything else a girl might need to keep her job. A few of those gals have some years on ‘em, doncha know.”
The phone on Lew’s desk rang. She raised a hand to quiet everyone as she answered, then said she would take the call in a nearby room. “Keep going, Doc, I’ll be right back.” She hurried out the door.
“So we know how they met. Do you have any idea why they were all three together?” said Osborne.
Ralph shrugged but Pauline gave an eager nod. “Sure—it was karaoke night. Every other Wednesday for the last six months those three been driving down to Wausau to have dinner and go to this bar where they do karaoke.”
“Every other Wednesday? Never any other night of the week?”
“Wednesday was Patsy and Donna’s night off.”
Lew came back into the room and took her seat at the desk. “What did I miss?” At the mention of Wausau and karaoke, she said, “Do we know which club?”
“Oh, they had their favorite—Chucky D’s,” said Pauline. “And doncha know they had the best time every time. Patsy would tell me… .”
Sadness crept across Pauline’s rough features as she said, “I hope to hell it wasn’t someone from there that killed them. I don’t think I could stand knowing that someone who saw my Patsy so happy would—”
“Pauline,” said Lew, “from what you’ve just told us, can we assume that as of Wednesday night, they were alive and on their way to Wausau?”
“On their way back,” said Pauline. “Patsy always called me as they left so I would unlock the door for her. When you run a business like mine, you don’t leave no doors unlocked y’know.”
“So what time would that have been?”
“Same as always—one in the morning.”
“And then they would drive straight back.”
“Yep, one pit stop for gas, have one last drink together—then home.”
Osborne looked over at Lew as he said, “And where was that last stop?”
“Oh …” Pauline paused and grimaced, “That I don’t know. Never asked.”
“Jeez,” said Ralph. “Must be a hundred places ‘tween here and Wausau where you can get gas and a beer at one-thirty in the morning.”
“Not if we’re lucky,” said Lew, standing up.
ten
Within you there is afire / Within the fire / An expanse of water.
—DoDo Jin Ming, contemporary artist
The wooden sign at the top of the driveway off Wolf Lake Road made Peg Garmin’s cottage easy to find. Hung from a wrought-iron pole, it was painted with a lavender and lemon yellow iris whose green tendrils twisted around four words etched in a delicate script: babe in the woods.
Osborne pulled his car in behind Lew’s cruiser and walked down the asphalt drive. The cottage was situated on the kind of real estate difficult to come by in northern Wisconsin: a level site with a western exposure blessed with sunsets. Tonight the view was spectacular—the lake sparkling with diamonds and promising one of those long, clear summer evenings when the sun refuses to go down.
He paused for a moment to appreciate the quiet loveliness of water and sky. No neighboring homes or cabins invaded the view, which meant that Peg’s property had to include a good five hundred feet of shoreline. Five hundred feet on Wolf Lake would sell for thousands of dollars per foot. Osborne gave a silent whistle. Whatever else Peg Garmin may have left behind, this land alone had to be worth close to a million.
He found Lew on the porch, about to push open the front door. “Ray was right,” she said as she pressed down on the handle and the door swung open. “The place is unlocked.” After
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