Frank asked, "Why the large size of the yards?"
"This is not one of the really large mills. They don't have the huge drying kilns of the major logging companies. They dry their lumber by letting it season a few months in the sunlight and that takes a lot of room. They had only about a hundred acres up to fifteen years ago until Borgquist bought old man Holgren's farm when he retired. Borgquist had been crowded when he started his mill, so when he got the Holgren farm, he spread out his yards so he would have plenty of room."
"Do we have a closer time to when the body could have been placed on the hopper chain, and could the watchman have been involved?"
"The closest time I could confirm was sometime after three o'clock Sunday afternoon. As you can imagine, the mill jobs are not that good. Most of Borgquist's manual labor only stays for a few months to a couple of years. His current night watchman was given his job after working on the sorting crew for twenty years. I know he couldn't get a job at a grocery store because he couldn't read the labels on the cans. He wasn't involved. He could never remember his lies for more than a few minutes."
Frank continued talking to the gathering. "You all should have looked at the preliminary reports I handed out earlier. So we have a killer who likes to slowly kill his victims. That's my interpretation of the coroner report on Jenny Rossetti's body and the fact that Pike Borland had been missing for a few days. The man or men have to have a secure place to do their killing and an intimate knowledge of the area. He or they knew about the neighborhood dogs, how to get in the lumber mill, and where to place the body. He or they are using their knowledge of the area to destroy evidence but also to terrorize. He wants everyone to know what he did. He wants the fear and knowing that he is causing it.
"Now, something that you might not have realized. At least some of you, if not all of you, must know the killer or killers. I have worked serial murders before. The killer's actions blend in with the neighborhood. Anything unusual about their actions is so minor that it is only discovered after the killer is caught. This killer has left us clues.
"He knows the school, the residential area of Deer Lake Falls, and Borgquist Lumber. My guess would be that he also had personal contact with the two victims before he killed them. I have no idea what the contact was, but they somehow caught the attention of the killer. Any questions or comments?"
A general shaking of heads 'no' followed.
"The ten men assigned to the homicide task force stay. The rest of you can leave. Those leaving, keep your eyes and ears open. You know what we're looking for. Contact the task force with any information you discover."
Frank waited until the noise and disturbance of those leaving quieted. "You all know Henry?" Frank waited until the nods and murmurs of greetings settled down. "He's my second in command. If you get anything and I am not around, you contact him immediately. Any questions? Good!"
"Al, you, Mike, and John are assigned to the school. You check out any information that comes in about the school. I want at least one of you around the school property while it is open. You will be able to request additional officers for surveillance during the loading and unloading of busses and for any public events, such as the baseball game on Friday.
"Chris, John Pietila, and Fred will take care of anything that involves Deer Lake Falls.
"Dave, Bill, and Vernon will take the mill. Vernon will also coordinate any information between the three groups.
"You will start by making lists of people in your areas whose names come up in the investigation. I want you to list all the names. You are not looking for just the killer or killers right now, but on any way those three sites could be connected.
"Vernon, you will keep an updated list of all the names divided into three categories, matching on all three, matches on two, and names that came up. I want all three groups to check on changes in the lists every two hours. Everyone on the task forces will be working at least double shifts until further notice.
"Any questions? Good! Get to work!"
After the rest of the men left the room, Henry walked up to Frank. "I want to try to force something to happen. Maybe ... get the killer to make a move he hasn't planned."
"What do you have in mind?"
"The county attorney contacted the sheriff's department to investigate a blackmail and extortion complaint against the school district. The teachers' union has filed civil charges against the superintendent, principal, and school board. The union's lawyer notified the county attorney of the filing for possible criminal action. Remember that Jenny had filed a sexual-assault complaint against James Makinen and then the school immediately fired him with no investigation.
"I know there doesn't seem to be a connection between the cases, but something about the whole thing bothers me. I want to shake up the whole school administration and see what falls out."
Frank hesitated. Attacking a school administration and board could be political suicide. Not finding a killer was also a job destroyer. What if he cut Henry loose?
"Okay, Henry. You can put the pressure on, but be careful. If you step on anyone's toes, you are on your own."
Henry stared at Frank until he looked away. He had hoped that Frank had more backbone. With his backing, it would have been much easier to apply pressure. Maybe he could see if the county attorney knew someone in the Attorney General's office. A State audit of the schoolbooks would really get everyone's attention.
* * * *
The old man relished the fear that penetrated the school after the news of a body found at the mill spread though the building during the noon lunch period. It didn't have the same satisfaction as killing, but he could still feel the power of the fear that he controlled.
It was during the sixth-hour class time, while he was sweeping the hall by the ninth grade lockers, when he saw a girl with her head buried in her locker. The old man dumped the load of dirt and paper that he was pushing with his dust mop. Without the paper, the mop was absolutely silent as he pushed it across the floor. The girl closed the locker door. Turning, she stifled a scream when she saw how close the old man was to her. She smiled at the awkward looking old man holding the broom and left for class.
The old man stood in the hall, his grip on the broom slowly turning his knuckles white. The janitor played through his mind the fluttering throbbing of the startled girl's throat. The fast pulsing of the heart as seen though the smooth white skin of a young girl's throat froze him there until the bell rang at the end of the hour.
After school, the old man was surprised when Amy, the dotty old fool of a secretary, asked him to walk her out to her car for protection. The janitor heard loud voices coming from the Superintendent's office when he got back to the building. He pushed his cleaning cart next to Thelma's desk. Picking up her wastebasket, he leaned against the door to the inner office. He heard
Kawalski ranting about Makinen and Lori, and the worries of the blackmail investigation. A final angry oath came from Kawalski. He moved quickly away from the door. As it was, Kawalski pushed the old man into Thelma's desk as he bulldozed his way to the doorway.
The janitor finished his cleaning in a dazed state as he planned his next moves. The same sappy lopsided grin that had lulled the high school girl into complacency was plastered on the old man's face. Outside as the janitor left the building, Al Gallea saw the grin and dismissed the old man as feeble. He never even noted the old man on his log of whom entered and left the school for that day or the way the old man stopped to stare at the cars in the parking lot.