Heart of Ice

13

Flowers came around the desk. As Chapman came in he gave each man a quick look before settling back on Flowers.

“Thank you for coming, Mr. Chapman,” Flowers said. He quickly introduced Rafsky and Louis, then offered Chapman the only other chair in the small office.

Chapman slipped off his raincoat and folded it over his knees as he sat down. He was wearing a pale yellow cashmere sweater, dress shirt, and gray trousers. Louis had the thought that despite his polished veneer the man looked like he had been punched in the gut.

“Mr. Chapman,” Flowers said, “before we go on, I’d like to apologize for contacting your family before a positive ID has been made.”

Louis glanced at Rafsky, who had retreated to a corner of the small office, arms crossed. He seemed willing to let Flowers take the lead.

“No apologies are necessary, Chief Flowers,” Chapman said. “If there is any chance this is my sister, I want to be here.”

Chapman’s voice was calm, but his hazel eyes never stopped moving-from Flowers to the officers outside the glass to the closed folders on the desk. They finally came back to Flowers’s face.

“I was told my sister was found with no skull. Is this true?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, I’m afraid it is,” Flowers said.

“My father also said you found her school ring, but he isn’t in any state to give me any other details,” Chapman said. “Could you update me on what other evidence you have that leads you to believe this is my sister?”

“Right now, the ring is all we have,” Flowers said. “Except for the fact that the remains are roughly the same height and age as Julie.”

“Could I see the ring, please?”

Flowers produced the ring from a drawer. Chapman turned it over, looked at the initials. “I remember the day she got this,” he said.

“You were there?” Flowers asked.

Chapman nodded. “There’s a ceremony at Kingswood when the juniors get their rings. It symbolizes the girls becoming women and leaders. It’s a big deal, and the girls wear white dresses and the families are invited to breakfast to see it all.”

He paused. The ring looked tiny in the palm of his hand. He let out a long breath and handed it back to Flowers.

“This isn’t enough, is it?” he said.

“Not for a positive ID,” Rafsky said.

Louis knew they would have to bring up DNA testing but decided Flowers had to handle this in his own way.

“What about her clothes?” Chapman asked. “Wouldn’t they help in identifying her?”

“No clothing was found,” Flowers said.

Chapman stared at him. “You mean it all rotted away?”

“No, sir. We found no clothing at all anywhere near the remains.”

It took a moment for this to register, but when it did Chapman’s eyes darkened. “Was Julie sexually assaulted?” he asked.

“We don’t know,” Flowers said. “The lack of clothing implies it is a strong possibility.”

Chapman put a hand to his mouth. Louis subtly gestured for Flowers to continue.

Flowers cleared his throat. “There’s one more thing, Mr. Chapman, something we didn’t tell your father. Your. . the victim was pregnant.”

Chapman slowly lowered his hand. “What?”

“Your sister was pregnant.”

“I thought you only found bones. How do you know?”

Flowers hesitated, turned over the photograph of the fetal bones, and slid it across the desk.

Ross stared at it for a long time. Whatever composure he had brought into the room was gone. His eyes welled up.

“May I have a glass of water, please?” he asked softly.

Flowers went to the door and hollered out to one of his men. An officer came back quickly, bearing a coffee mug of water. Chapman drank it in one long draw.

“Do they. .” Chapman paused. “Can they tell how far along she was?”

“Four to five months,” Flowers said.

Louis felt compelled to break in. “We know your family was here that summer, so we know your sister got pregnant while she was here.”

“Anything you can tell us about your sister’s life here at that time would be very helpful,” Flowers said.

“Life?” Chapman said.

“Boyfriends,” Louis interjected.

“Julie didn’t have any boyfriends,” Chapman said.

“You never saw your sister with anyone that summer?” Louis asked.

Chapman shook his head slowly.

“This is a small island,” Louis said.

“And you and your sister ran with a small, exclusive group of kids,” Flowers added.

Still Chapman said nothing. Then he let out a long breath. “Okay,” he said. “I didn’t think about it at the time, but something was different that summer. Julie was very moody. One minute she was sky-high, the next she would lock herself in her room and cry.”

Louis noticed Flowers nodding. “I have teenage girls. What you’re describing sounds pretty normal.”

“Except she got pregnant,” Rafsky said.

Chapman’s eyes swung to Rafsky. “I don’t remember Julie seeing anyone or even talking about anyone that summer.”

“What about a girlfriend, someone she might have confided in?” Flowers asked.

“I. . I don’t know, really. We were at separate schools at Cranbrook,” Chapman said.

Flowers reached into his drawer and pulled out the yearbook from Kingswood. “Could you take a look, please?” he asked. “Maybe you’ll see someone whose face rings a bell.”

Chapman hesitated, then took the yearbook. The office was quiet as he turned the pages. After a few minutes he closed the yearbook. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t recognize anyone. It was a long time ago.”

“What about here on the island?” Louis asked.

Chapman shook his head. “I don’t remember seeing her with anyone special.”

“Your father mentioned a housekeeper that came up here with you every summer,” Louis said. “We’ll need to talk to her. Can you tell us where we can find her?”

“She’s at the cottage with my father.”

Louis glanced at Rafsky. He had assumed that the black woman with Edward Chapman had been a health aide.

“How long has-?” Louis paused, unable to remember the housekeeper’s name.

“Maisey,” Chapman said.

“How long has she worked for your family?”

“Forever,” Chapman said.

“Can you be more specific?” Rafsky asked.

“Since I was two,” Chapman said.

“Would Julie have confided in her?” Louis asked.

Chapman shook his head. “No, Maisey’s just the housekeeper.”

Louis had seen the tenderness between Edward Chapman and Maisey. This woman was not just a housekeeper. He made a mental note to talk to her later-alone.

Chapman set the mug on Flower’s desk. His eyes were fixed on something on the wall over the desk. He seemed to be staring at an old photograph of Mackinac Island’s Main Street. Finally he looked back at Flowers.

“When can I take my sister home?” he asked.

Rafsky stepped forward. “I’m sorry, but the remains cannot be released until we have a positive ID.”

“So you’re telling me there’s nothing I can do?” Chapman said.

This was wrong, Louis thought. Wrong and unnecessary. Ross Chapman just wanted to take his sister home and bury her. Edward Chapman had waited twenty-one years and didn’t have time to wait any longer.

“Actually, there is something you can do,” Louis said. “Have you heard of DNA testing, Mr. Chapman?”

Louis could feel Rafsky’s eyes on him, but he kept his own on Chapman.

“Yes,” Chapman said. “They use blood or tissue to identify bodies.”

“Bones can also be used,” Louis said.

“How does it work?” Chapman asked.

“We would need some DNA that we were positive belonged to your sister for comparison, like hair from her brush,” Louis said. “That’s impossible in this situation.”

“But you said-”

“We can test the bones for what is called mitochondrial DNA,” Louis went on. “That is DNA passed on to children by their mothers. It’s exactly the same for each child. We can take DNA from you, and if it matches the DNA in the bones, we know the remains belong to your sister.”

Chapman stared at him. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t you just tell me this when I walked in?”

Rafsky took the question. “It’s not as easy as Mr. Kincaid makes it out to be. The genetic material could be too degraded or contaminated. Also, testing takes a long time, and it is extremely expensive. With all due respect, Mr. Chapman, this is not something the state is prepared to do at this time.”

“You’re telling me I can’t bury my sister because the state is too damn cheap to do a test? You expect me to go back and tell my father that?”

“Mr. Chapman-”

Chapman cut Rafsky off with a raised hand, then looked at Flowers. “I want you to make this DNA test happen. I want to know for sure it’s Julie. I will pay for it. I don’t care what it costs.”

Flowers made it a point not to look at Rafsky before he spoke. “Yes, sir. I will get things in motion immediately.”

“What about the fetal bones?” Louis asked.

Chapman’s eyes swung to Louis.

“Do you also want to pay for testing the fetal bones?”

“Why? We know it’s Julie’s baby,” Chapman said.

“We should test for paternity,” Louis said.

“I’m confused,” Chapman said. “I thought you said you can only test for matches between siblings?”

“Paternity is different,” Louis said. “The fetal bones contain the DNA of Julie and of the baby’s father. And the father of that baby is our best suspect right now.”

Chapman hesitated. “I understand,” he said softly. “I know that you want to find the man who killed my sister. But you don’t understand what the last twenty years have done to us. All we wanted to do was find Julie. And now all we want to do is take her home.”

“Mr. Chapman-” Rafsky interrupted.

“You have to understand, Julie was my father’s. . everything, she was his princess,” Chapman said. “If he found out she had gotten pregnant, it would kill him.” He hesitated. “Maybe later.”

Louis knew Chapman meant after his father had died.

The room was silent for a long time. Then Flowers cleared his throat.

“Mr. Chapman, we appreciate your situation,” Flowers said. He picked up the Lansing State Journal. “The news about the bones has already gotten out. But you have my word that we will do everything we can to keep the pregnancy quiet.”

Chapman considered this for a moment, then nodded. “Thank you. Now, what do I need to do for this DNA test to identify my sister?”

“You can go to the clinic here on the island and give a sample,” Flowers said. “I’ll have one of my officers take you over now if you like.”

Chapman shook his head. “I really need to see to my father right now,” he said. “I’ll go tomorrow.” He started for the door, then turned back. “Thank you again for your discretion.”

With a quick look at Rafsky and Louis, he left.

Rafsky waited until the door had closed, then turned to Louis. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he said. “You’ve hung that man’s hopes of identifying his sister on a one-in-a-million chance.”

Rafsky swung to Flowers. “And if you knew what the hell you were doing, you wouldn’t be taking advice from this loser.”

Louis straightened from his position leaning against the wall. “Wait a minute-”

“He lost his badge in this state,” Rafsky said. “You want to know why? He killed his own chief.”

Flowers’s eyes shot to Louis.

Rafsky picked up his files and started to the door. “You want to keep him here, fine. Just don’t turn your back on him.”

Rafsky left, leaving the door open. Louis shoved it closed.

Damn it. He was tired of having to defend himself every time he came back to this state. He was tired of feeling like an outcast in the place where his dream of being a cop had been born. And now that son of a bitch Rafsky. .

Flowers was staring at him, waiting.

“It was a complicated case,” Louis said.

“I’m listening,” Flowers said.

“We were after a cop killer. My chief was corrupt and out of control. I did what I had to do to save a boy’s life.”

Flowers dropped back into his chair and picked up the Lansing State Journal. Louis wondered if he was thinking about the shit-storm that lay ahead-or about what kind of man he had teamed up with.

“You’re leaving tomorrow, right?” Flowers asked, tossing the paper aside.

“Unless you want me gone now.”

Flowers leaned back in his chair. “I’ll take your word you did what you had to do with your chief,” he said.

Louis nodded. “I appreciate that.”

“So can you give me a few more days?”

Before Louis could answer, the phone rang. Flowers picked it up, grunted a few words, and hung up. “I have to go take care of something,” he said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Flowers left, leaving the door open.

Louis sat down in the chair Chapman had been using. From the outer office came the sounds of radio traffic and the laughter of two officers sharing a joke. He started to reach for one of the Chapman folders but pulled over the Kingswood yearbook instead.

He opened it and began to look for her. So many pretty young faces, smiling into the camera and ready to get on with their lives. And then, there she was.

The black-and-white missing persons flyer that he had shown to the ferry employees and Edna Coffee hadn’t really registered in his consciousness.

But the photograph of Julie Chapman in front of him now did. The angles and symmetry that gave Ross Chapman his handsomeness were visible here but softened to beauty. Where Ross Chapman’s hazel eyes telegraphed strength, his sister’s darker ones conveyed vulnerability.

He hadn’t noticed before, but unlike the other girls Julie wasn’t looking into the camera. It was as if she was afraid the photographer was thinking she wasn’t as pretty as the others.

A few more days. .

Louis looked back up at the map of Michigan on the wall behind Flowers’s desk, focusing on the little dot of Echo Bay. He had promised Joe he would be in Echo Bay tomorrow. It was only a three-hour drive. Would Joe be willing to come to him?

But what about Rafsky? He didn’t want their past infecting his future with her. He’d have to tell her Rafsky was here, and he’d have to trust her.

He picked up the phone and dialed Echo Bay.