Chasing a Blond Moon(145)

More than interesting, Service thought. Allerdyce had never had a telephone and the nearest pay phone was a long way off. How he communicated with his people had been the subject of considerable speculation in the division over the years. While Allerdyce’s competitors were going electronic, there had been no evidence of Limpy following suit until last year when Service was certain he’d seen Limpy using a Family Radio Service device. He also knew that Limpy had installed a complex advanced warning system at the compound. Maybe the old poacher was more up-to-date than people thought. Honeypat sure seemed to be keeping up with the times.

The Marquette office had phone books for the entire Upper Peninsula. Service got out the Delta County book, called Marble Arms, and asked to talk to Lenore Ranta, sister-in-law.

“Lenore, Grady Service.”

“I heard youse found Outi,” she said.

“I didn’t find her, but I was there.”

“Too selfish to commit suicide,” Lenore said. “All that woman cared about was money and men. If Onte hadn’t died I think he’da left her, the way she fooled around.”

“Someone in particular?” Some of the things you learned after a person died were not all that flattering. Mourning passed quickly except for those closest to the dead.

“Strangers, one-night-stands, never local. I give her that, not putting out in da back yard.”

“Onte knew?”

“Was what killed ’im, ask me.”

Her interpretation.

“She was a pro, ya know, down to Windsor when Onte met her.”

“He told you this?”

“We hired a detective, cost us a heap, but worth it, hey. She just kept spendin’ and spendin’ and da business was goin’ down da tubes.”

“Did the two of you talk much?”

“Before Onte passed, ya know, da right ting to do for family, but since den, forget it. She never liked family, just money. Her idea for Onte to buy us out, hey. We needed cash back den, and we couldn’t stand da woman, so we took da offer. My hubby never really wanted out. We’d like ta buy ’er back, but da bank’s gonna get it now, and dey don’t offer good deals, hey. Onte left a will. She din’t.”

“Did Outi use a cell phone?”

Lenore snorted. “Had two of ’em, one for da business and one for her other stuff, ya know.”

“Do you have her number?”

“Only way to get one of ’em was sleep wit ’er.”

“Do you remember when she started using a cell phone?”

“Last spring when Onte was sick, I tink. Yeah, I’m sure, it was den.”

“Do you know what brand or service it was?”

“She never showed it to me, but I seen ’er usin’ it plenty. Was purple, I remember.”

Service immediately called the store in Marquette again and got the same clerk. “I don’t have the brand, but the phone I’m interested in may be purple,” he said.

She laughed. “They almost all make a purple phone now, and there are companies who make colored covers. Purple doesn’t tell us anything. Sorry.”

He noticed that the e-mail had finished coming in, and saw that the note, along with an attachment, was from Ferma. Her address was: bearwoman@worldnet.com. The message was to the point:

Dear Officer Service: I regret the untoward delay in responding to your inquiry. A colleague was derelict in informing me. If the samples of S. thibetanus are as purported, they represent invaluable scientific evidence of what may be a rare color phase of S. thibetanus, or more likely, and in my opinion, a new species of ursus, heretofore unconfirmed, but long rumored. Reports of the animal have persisted in Southeast Asia for the past century. During the Vietnam War there were several serendipitous reports, but the Khmer Rouge was in brutal and absolute control of the target habitat, and no on-site scientific inquiries or expeditions were possible. A live animal has never been confirmed by a reliable source, and the sole evidence consists of the hair sample preceding yours. As a conservation officer you are undoubtedly aware of the global animal parts market; in this regard, a live specimen of a new mammalian species would be scientifically invaluable. Commercially such an animal would bring a price beyond imagination, one estimate being in the range of $200K USD. Everything must be done to ensure the safety of a live specimen. That you collected samples in Michigan may suggest that a live animal has been captured and maintained there. There being no modern photograph extant, I am attaching a copy of a rare nineteenth-century print (of poor quality) from Southeast Asia. You will note the hanging cage. We believe this species to have been decimated over the centuries. Its flesh is said by practitioners of various cultural traditional medicines (China, SEA, etc.) to possess significant medical properties, which is what drives the current market in bear parts. More importantly, it is thought that the consumption of the animal’s flesh will cause good fortune and power to accrue to the consumer. Specifically, it is believed that if the animal is eaten immediately after being dipped in vivo into boiling oil that the meat and tissue provide advantages beyond medicinal powers. The heart is, of course, the most valued part. The rarity of the animal, we believe, stems from these and similar beliefs fostered in part by those who seek commercial gain. If through some fluke there is a live specimen, we must do all in our power to see that it is protected, or a species may pass that will never be seen again. The animal is thought to range in size from 45 to 65 kilos, which places it at the lowest end of the ursine spectrum. Males, of course, are larger than females. Please keep me informed of further developments.