Big Noise: A Jo Spence Mystery Read online

  "So, what do you have in store for us?" Jo asked.

  "Well, first off we'll give you a two-bit tour of this operation. Then we need to rake the roof. There's a lot of snow up there, and we don't want to risk having it slide off the roof, preventing a quick exit."

  Sandy smiled as she saw both of her guests visibly relax. "What did you think we were going to do? Overhaul an engine?"

  "Hey, we were ready for anything."

  Sandy moved to a lockbox and used a key from her car key ring to open it, revealing several key rings. Taking three out, she tossed one to Ree, and they systematically started all of the vehicles. While the vehicles warmed up, she gave the group a brief tour of the station. She took on a stiff formal tone that neither Zoey nor Jo had heard from her before.

  "We can't allow non-firefighters to ride in the truck, so don't even ask." Jo and Zoey both shrugged and proclaimed their innocence with facial gestures.

  "The tanker here is basically used for hauling water. The pumper is used to pump water." She began to move away from the truck when Jo stopped her by grabbing her arm.

  "Hold on, you're not getting away that easy. Tell us all about it. We want to know everything." Jo looked at Zoey.

  "Pumper 101, please," Zoey said.

  Sandy replied, "OK." She then assumed a stance that indicated she was settling in for a while and began.

  "When the pumper is on scene, the operator immediately addresses safety precautions such as access issues, electrical wires, propane tanks, or anything that might pose a threat to our safety or ability to fight the fire. Once everything is secure, we pull hoses off the pumper and start pumping water. The pumper holds twelve hundred gallons of water. While someone is on the nozzle squirting water, others are getting the drop tank ready. A drop tank looks like a big plastic swimming pool and holds maybe fifteen hundred gallons of water." She looked at her guests to see if they were following along, and apparently satisfied they were, she went on.

  "Fifteen hundred gallons is also what our tankers carry. The drop tank is set up close enough to the pumper so that a hard-line hose can reach from the drop tank to the pumper. The pumper then sucks the water up from the drop tank to the pumper and out the hoses. So, when the pumper goes through its own twelve hundred gallons, we just pull and turn these knobs." She pointed rather than pulled and turned. Again, she looked for confusion.

  Zoey and Jo nodded enthusiastically.

  "We have two tankers, so when one tanker has dumped its load into the drop tank; we drive it to a creek, lake, or a dry hydrant. We use whatever we have close to fill up again while the second tanker moves into position to dump the next load. That way we can pump water through the pumper continuously."

  She guided them over to the next truck. "Still up for fire station lessons?"

  "Yeah, absolutely, this is cool."

  "Our four-by-four brush rig has a 125-gallon water tank. This truck is usually the first rig to leave the garage. Her crew sizes things up and relays the information to the rest of us and to dispatch via radio. They relay details like how big the fire is, where to park our trucks, how close the water source is, etc." She patted the truck with affection, "This rig can squirt water initially to knock a small fire down, but basically it's used to fight wildfires and to handle traffic control. Its flashing lights are good for signaling and guiding a landing rescue chopper, too. It has a long-range radio for communicating with Life Flight. We're luckier than most townships because we have so many lakes in the area. Dry hydrants are set up throughout the township that draw water from the bottom of ponds or small lakes, but those are few and far between."

  When they walked over to the ambulance, Ree took over. "This ambulance looks old, and it is. We got a grant and updated all of the lifesaving equipment so that we're current. It's a fully functioning ambulance."

  Ree jumped into a truck and spoke into the radio. "Big Noise Rescue to dispatch, over. I'm doing a radio check, good afternoon."

  "Good afternoon. Dispatch is taking a call currently in your area. Details to follow."

  Ree turned to us and smiled, "Looks like you two are getting out of roof raking."

  "We can't help?"

  "Well, that depends on the call. Want to?"

  Jo turned to Zoey, who was nodding yes.

  "We're in. I promise we'll stay out of the way."

  "You'll do as we tell you to do," Sandy said in a serious tone. "The only possible way for you to help is if there's a lost skier or hiker, and we need a volunteer search team."

  "Yes, ma'am," Jo said, only half kidding.

  A five long-tone signal came over the radio, followed by, "Attention Big Noise. A cabin owner on Sharp Point Lake reports that a 17-month-old baby has fallen and lost consciousness. A member of the reporting party will meet you at cabin fire number 2807."

  "Big Noise Rescue and Engine 4 are responding to the scene."

  "Rescue One and Engine 4 responding at 1345," was the reply from dispatch.

  "Big Noise portable 12 responding to the scene." Amanda let them know that she would be on her way before them.

  Ree looked at Sandy, who pulled Jo and Zoey aside.

  "Sorry, guys, this isn't something you can help with. You can either wait here or follow from a safe distance in your car. This may take an hour; it may take five. It all depends."

  Jo and Zoey decided to follow at a safe distance. While they understood the gravity of what had happened, they felt compelled to watch their friends respond to this crisis. They followed both the ambulance and a truck for the twenty-minute drive to the lake cabin where the child had fallen. Once at the scene, the ambulance was met by Amanda, who had beaten them there. She was holding a small red flag, pointing them in the direction of the cabin. They slowed and picked her up along the way. Up ahead at a fork in the road, a man holding a similar flag pointed them toward the south gate.

  Jo and Zoey stopped and waited in their car for a half hour before the ambulance came back down the shore road. It was followed by a private party car with a toddler in a babyseat, and then followed by the truck. Sandy was driving the truck, and as she drove by, she waved for Jo and Zoey to join the caravan.

  At the fork that leads to Two Harbors, the private party turned in toward town. The ambulance and the truck kept going back to the fire hall.

  Once they were back, and the trucks were safely stowed in the garage, Sandy said, "Did you see that? We should have had a video of that." Jo and Zoey raised their eyebrows in confusion.

  "Right, I mean, how well that was orchestrated. That's exactly how it's supposed to go. Amanda got there first, had people directing the trucks into where we needed to go so that no time was lost. It was like clockwork. A thing of beauty."

  "Yeah, we did see that. Really nice. How is the baby?" Although Jo liked the pride her friends took in mounting a seamless rescue, she also needed to know how that child was doing.

  "She's most likely going to be fine. She appeared to have a slight concussion, but she's young, and babies are very resilient," Ree offered.

  "She was fully responsive and even happy by the time I finished examining her. They're taking her into the hospital for precautionary observation. She's going to be just fine." Ree knew that the child would have to undergo more tests at the hospital before this could be confirmed, and many things could change, but she wanted to reassure her friends.

  Just as they had all poured back into the car, the radio came to life again. "Dispatch to Big Noise Rescue."

  "Go ahead, dispatch. We're still at the hall."

  "A lost hiker is reported on the Hammond line. Reporting party will meet you at fire number 1534 with details." A moment later they heard three responders call in via radio. Sandy requested that all parties meet at the fire number except for Doreen. Sandy would pick Doreen up along the way. Sandy grabbed Doreen's turnout gear (protective fire equipment) and asked Zoey and Jo if they wanted to help on this one.

  CHAPTER 24

  Zoey and Jo were more than r
eady to join the squad. It kind of looked like fun. Heck, the last call had been a cinch. They decided once again to follow at a safe distance in the car. Ree waited for her partner Scott in the ambulance as the rest of the group headed toward the Hammond line. Fifteen minutes later, Sandy picked up Doreen and proceeded to 1534. A tall, wiry man with a short and well-groomed beard approached the vehicle.

  Jim Storm introduced himself with a pump handshake. He didn't appear to be shaken by the all-female force squaring off to help him. Jo guessed that the women who staffed this fire department had long since won over the support of the community through hard work and responsive community involvement.

  Sandy appeared physically small in this exchange, but she bore the air of chief in her interaction. "OK, Jim, start at the beginning. Who is missing, for how long, and how do we know they're lost?"

  He shifted his feet and stood a little taller. "OK. There's a car parked down this road at the end. It's my property, and this is really just a logging road. They didn't get permission to enter my property, so I followed their tracks quite a ways in. Pretty soon, I figured out they appeared to be going in all directions."

  "When I bent down to look, I found a place where someone had taken a piss." He shifted uncomfortably and braced himself to go on. "My best assessment is it was a female. Please don't ask me to elaborate." He coughed awkwardly, shifted his feet again, and straightened up. He also adjusted his hat before going on.

  "That's what made me notice the writing next to the yellow snow. Someone had written HELP." He stopped for a moment, scratched his chin, and grimaced as though he were looking right into the sun. "I walked back out and dialed 9-1-1."

  "Did you tell all of this to dispatch?" Sandy's tone was patient and nonjudgmental.

  "No, why? I just figured they were lost."

  "How big was the writing? Could you show me?"

  He stepped into an area of undisturbed snow and wrote HELP in four-inch block letters. When he was done, he continued squatting and looked up at Sandy.

  "Wow, I'm amazed you saw that. It's pretty small. Any other help signs?"

  "None that I could see. I did think it was unusual that they weren't using skis or snowshoes."

  "Yeah. Thanks, Jim, nice work."

  Sandy pulled out her radio. "Big Noise truck one to radio."

  "Go ahead, Big Noise one."

  "Please dispatch the Sheriff as well to this location."

  "Ten-four."

  The entire group listened to the call as well as the response and waited as Sandy brought all of the gathering members of the department up to speed. They wouldn't venture into the woods without the Sheriff's involvement.

  As Sandy was briefing the crew, Jo found herself watching them and wondering about the dynamics. Scott was the only man in the department. And if memory served her right, he had had a hard time accepting the women at first. Eventually, he learned to respect their abilities and stopped seeing them as "just women." It was clear from Jo's vantage point that he was intently listening and ready to help.

  Amanda stood to the right of Scott. Jo found it hard to believe that only two days earlier they had helped her with her roof. It seemed like weeks had passed.

  To Amanda's right stood Ree, then Sandy, then Jessie.

  Jessie lived on the Hammond on a homestead that she had built with her partner Bryce. Jessie taught online courses for a college based in Seattle, Washington. Up until recently, she had done this with only a dial-up computer connection. That required patience. Bryce couldn't sign on as a firefighter because she worked full time in Duluth as a speech pathologist in a gradeschool. Fifteen or more years separated the couple, with Bryce the youngest at 32.

  A Sheriff's Department Deputy rolled up in a tan Crown Victoria and ambled over. Sandy motioned for him to meet her away from the crowd. The exchange got a little heated, and Sandy gestured angrily with her hands. He leaned a little closer to her, trying to calm or reassure her. They talked a while longer and then approached the larger group. He was tall and thin to the point of looking gaunt. His pants were a little short for him, and as he neared the group, Jo could see his sharp, birdlike features. He presented as the perfect fifty-year-old geek cop with his receding hairline and large glasses.

  Deputy Bruns introduced himself and deferred to Sandy to fill everyone in. He struck Jo as very straitlaced. She tried to figure out if she knew him from her work in the Probation Department, but couldn't place him. She suspected he worked out of Virginia, Minnesota. He wore his uniform pants hugged up high on his waist and took his hat off every time he spoke. Sandy brought the group up to speed, Jo suspected in part to lay out the ground rules clearly for Bruns. He listened intently and put his hat back on.

  "Searches for lost hunters or hikers are by agreement completed by the Fire Department in cooperation with the County Search and Rescue and the Sheriff's Department as resources dictate. However, given that this could be something more due to the somewhat suspicious 'help' request, the Sheriff's Department will lead an initial investigation. We'll be on hand to support that effort. If no foul play is suspected after the initial investigation, and Search and Rescue hasn't weighed in, we'll resume our normal search procedure. We'll use all safety protocols, including the buddy system and radio checks, since it will be getting dark soon, it's winter, and of course, Big Noise. As we all know from experience here in the Noise, even the deer have guns." That brought a chuckle from the group.

  "Deputy Bruns and I will track the party as far as we can, and the search party will follow single file until we've made a determination." She paused and searched faces for any confusion. "Amanda, please brief our volunteer searchers Jo and Zoey while we do the initial tracking." Amanda nodded in agreement.

  Deputy Bruns went to his car and retrieved several items of clothing, a flashlight, and a backpack of supplies. He joined Sandy, and they started down the road on foot with snowshoes in hand. Jo ran ahead and asked to speak to Sandy and Bruns in private.

  "Deputy Bruns, I've been asked to look into a missing person, Rick Thomas, who was last seen in Big Noise several weeks ago."

  "Asked by whom? Who are you?"

  "Jo Spence, Probation Supervisor in Duluth. Detective Jerome Nathan asked me to look into it. I used to have Rick on probation."

  Bruns didn't hide his concerned look. "What tie does it have to this?"

  "I'm not sure, but I thought I should tell you what we found out here." Bruns motioned for her to continue. He looked a bit impatient.

  "Someone has placed a bunch of homemade crosses out here in the woods. This is precisely where Thomas went missing." She had Bruns's attention now. "When I nosed around about Rick, folks out here seemed to think he was dealing meth out of G's."

  "So, there might be a drug connection?"

  "Or gangs and drugs. I also ran into an old shed with stolen electronic equipment. Lots of it. Someone had trashed the whole shed and its contents. That wasn't far from here."

  He seemed to ponder this new information. "So, we could be dealing with anything? I'm glad you told me about this."

  "We may all be at risk if this isn't just a lost hiker."

  "Let's take it as it comes."

  Jo returned to Zoey at the back of the group and followed. Everyone had been given headlamps, but no one had turned them on because the sky was still light enough to navigate by.

  As they started down the trail, Jo felt a strong pang of intuition that they were in for much more than a hike. She gave Zoey's hand a squeeze and looked at her.

  "Are you sure you want to do this? You can bow out and go back to our cabin."

  "You're staying no matter what I do?"

  "Until I'm sure it has nothing to do with Rick."

  "I'll stay." She gave Jo a determined look.

  Jo hadn't heard a weather prediction, but since the temperature had risen dramatically within a twenty-four-hour period, a warm front might be moving in, bringing with it a whopper of a winter storm. She pushed aside her concern
s, and they continued down the trail.

  CHAPTER 25

  Once the group got to where the logging road ended and the abandoned car was parked, Deputy Bruns radioed dispatch with the license plate. Most of the group had radios and listened in. It came back to a Ralph Anderson, D.O.B. 5/12/54, 5' 9" tall, 200 lbs., dark hair. The address on his license was listed as 320 Elm Street, Silver Bay, Minnesota. Bruns asked dispatch to send a squad to that residence and make inquiries.

  After the search party left the logging road, everyone put on snowshoes, extra pairs of which Doreen had thoughtfully brought along on a sled. All of the tracks they followed were being obliterated, but that didn't seem to bother anyone.