Page 46 of Once Hidden
“We think he might be responsible for the murders near Talomaska Crossing and Bundydale, and also the attempt on Corey McLaughlin’s life.”
Something flickered across Autrey’s face – sadness, perhaps.“Let’s talk in my office,” he said, gesturing for them to follow.
The chief’s office was spartan but personal – citations on the walls, a few family photos, a well-worn leather chair behind a desk stacked with manila folders.He closed the door behind them and gestured to the chairs.
“The Bartlett twins,” he said, settling into his seat.“Yeah, I knew them.They lived in Bundydale for about two years while they were in middle school.Their dad worked for the Department of Transportation – Carl Bartlett.Good man, worked hard.The boys were...unusual.”
“Unusual how?”Ann Marie asked.
Autrey leaned back in his chair.“Smart.Too smart, maybe.Always finishing each other’s sentences, always with their heads together like they were planning something.They weren’t bad kids, mind you.Just...intense.Always testing boundaries, seeing what they could get away with.”
Riley studied Autrey’s face.“Did you stay in touch with them after they moved away?”
“No, but I heard things.Carl Bartlett died while the boys were in college.Cancer, I think.Then Jay died in that climbing accident.”He shook his head.“Damn shame.”
“Do you have any idea what happened to Tony after his brother’s death?”Ann Marie asked.
“No idea at all.”
Riley decided to take a chance on asking about the location she’d gotten from Timothy Lancaster.“Chief Autrey, were the twins at all connected with a place near here called Quayle Hill?”
“Yes, the Bartlett boys liked that place,” Autrey said, his voice taking on a new edge of concern.“There’s an old fire lookout tower on the summit.Been abandoned for decades.County keeps talking about tearing it down, but never gets around to it.”He paused, eyes narrowing.“The Bartlett twins used to hike out there all the time.They’d climb the tower, even though it wasn’t safe.We caught them a few times, warned them off.They always went back.”
The connection was forming – a significant place from Tony’s youth, somewhere he shared with his dead twin.Somewhere he might want to return to as part of twisted ritual.
“Now that you’re here, how can I help you?”Autrey asked.“I can take you all up to the site where Corey McLaughlin was attacked.It’s about fifteen minutes from here, just off Route 221.”
Hodge leaned forward.“I think that can wait for morning.”
“Right now,” Riley added, “I’d like to check out Quayle Hill before we lose all daylight.”
“And I’d prefer to speak with McLaughlin tonight, if possible,” Hodge added.“Strike while his memory’s fresh.”
“I can take you to McLaughlin,” Autrey told Hodge.“He lives out on Crestview Drive.Good man, still pretty shaken up.”
He turned to Riley and Ann Marie, then pulled out a county map from his desk drawer.He spread it on the desk surface, tracing a thin line up the side of a green-shaded area.
“Here’s Quayle Hill,” he said, tapping the map.“There’s an access road – not much more than a dirt track, really – that maintenance vehicles use to get up to the tower.You can drive most of the way, but it gets rough near the top.”He looked up at Riley with serious eyes.“Be careful up there.The tower itself isn’t stable anymore.And keep in mind, it will soon be really dark out there.”
“We’ll be careful,” Riley assured him.
“Also, I take it the three of you will be spending the night here in Westminster” Autrey said, scribbling an address on a sticky note.“Here’s a motel about a mile from here – the Pineview.Nothing fancy, but it’s clean.I’ve already called ahead, they’re expecting you.”
“Appreciate that,” Hodge said.
As they wrapped up, Autrey pulled on his jacket.“Ready to head out?”he asked Hodge.
Hodge turned to Riley.“I’ll meet you back at the motel, fill you in on whatever McLaughlin has to say.”
Riley watched as Hodge and Autrey headed out, leaving her and Ann Marie alone in the office.She folded Autrey’s map and tucked it into her pocket.
“Ready to climb a hill?”she asked Ann Marie.
“Why not?”Ann Marie replied.
*
The access road to Quayle Hill was exactly as Autrey had described it—little more than a dirt track carved into the hillside, rutted and overgrown in places where nature was reclaiming what humans had abandoned.Riley’s sedan handled the terrain well enough, even though the road was rougher as they climbed higher.
