It had to be You

the tool-laden bear story is worse.“
    “You can understand why nobody took notice, sir. She probably was just taking a walk to see if the ice had all melted on the lake yet and saw the body floating.”
    Howard pulled himself together and asked, “Has anybody interviewed her again?“
    “No, sir. I never heard they did. You can ask Chief Simpson though.”
    Instead of going directly to Chief Simpson’s home, they stopped at a local greasy spoon restaurant on Route 9. It was really too early for lunch, but Howard hadn’t had breakfast. He ordered a bottle of beer and a toasted cheese sandwich with sour pickles on the side. Deputy Parker ordered a soda, and ham and bean soup with lots of crackers.
    While they ate, Howard asked Parker about his life and how and why he’d joined the police.
    Parker told him that he was from a small town on the other side of the river about ten miles north of Beacon. The town was so small that Howard hadn’t ever heard of it.
    The deputy went on to say that he’d always wanted to be a policeman ever since he fell off his bicycle when he was eight years old, and a very nice policeman had taken him to the hospital to be checked out and driven him home and helped his dad repair the damage to the bicycle. So when he turned eighteen, his parents gave him a third of the corn profits and told him to use it to attend a police school. Parker named the school, but Walker had never heard of it either. Parker had attended for a year before the money had almost run out. But he thought he might get a job anyway and study more in his free time.
    “Anyway,“ he continued, “I took off and went downriver to every police station I could find. Nobody needed me. I had almost no money left and slept in the woods at night in my farm clothes to keep my one suit clean. I finally crossed the river on a ferry because the owner was my mother’s second cousin and he didn’t charge me. I ended up in Beacon working my way back north. Chief Simpson had just lost his deputy because the deputy took off with his family to California.”
    They finished their lunch and went back to Chief Simpson’s house. “We’ve struck out,“ Walker admitted. “We questioned two households that overlook that lake. But nobody bothers to look at it. One young couple even put up a big stone wall in an attempt to cut out the sight and smell of it.“
    “So where do you suggest we go from here?“ Chief Simpson asked.
    “I think if it were me, I’d put a notice in a lot of nearby newspapers, asking if anyone knew of a young man who’d gone missing in the middle of last winter and to contact you if they do.“
    “But a great many whole families have gone off to California,“ Ed Simpson replied.
    “This isn’t a whole family. It’s one young man. It might not be worth it, but it could give you a couple of leads,“ Walker said. Glancing at his watch, he added, “I still have a little time to spare while I’m here. Have you sent anyone to the crazy old woman who reported the body that floated up? She might have remembered something accurate since that day.“
    “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you about her. She was obviously an unreliable witness and I’d already put her out of my mind. Did Deputy Parker tell you about the bear?“
    “Yes,“ Howard said with a laugh. “But she might have lucid moments. If Deputy Parker doesn’t mind and can find the place, I’d like to talk to her. It’s the last thing I can think of doing.”
    Deputy Parker reluctantly agreed, but suggested they wear scarves or something to avoid the smell.
    “Good idea, except that would probably scare her right around the bend. She’d think we were bandits.”
    They set out, got lost a few times, and finally found a steep unmown track that led down to the lake. They had to abandon the police car two-thirds of the way and walk the rest. “Do you know this woman’s name?“ Walker asked Parker.
    “No, sir. I don’t think anyone told me what it was.”
    When they reached the house, if you could imagine anyone living in it calling it a home, Walker almost turned around. It was a dreadful place and the smell of the lake up close was horrendous. But they’d come this far and might as well follow up.
    He knocked at the door and said loudly, “We’re the police and we need some advice from you, ma’am.”
    The door opened a crack and a pale blue eye peered at them. Apparently she approved of them as they were both in police uniforms, and