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“Open it up,” said Jeff. “Let’s see what it says.”
“Dear Roads End guys and Elk. Thanks for the hospitality. Sorry, I got lost and made you rescue me. A business issue arose that required me to leave camp this afternoon. I appreciate everything you guys did and wish you all good luck in your hunt.”
“Wow, you would at least have thought he would have mentioned this to someone. Eddie, did you know anything about it?” Jeff asked.
“I had no idea. At least we now know what happened. I was about to return to Turk’s blind to search for him.”
“I found “Pornstache” to be an odd duck,” said Elk. He seemed kinda nosy and always seemed to be pumping Jeff and Grant for information about the camp. No offense Eddie. I know he’s your friend, but I thought he acted like a real “Tool.”
“None taken, Elk. I know what you mean.”
“We can talk about this later,” said Jeff. “Who wants to go with me to Grant’s blind to see if he needs help with a deer?”
“Let’s go Burn it Down, Baby,” Chet exclaimed.
“Road trip, road trip,” said Frenchie. “I’m gonna grab that case of “brewskis” and go and pay good ole Grant a visit.” Everyone piled into two vehicles and headed out to find Grant.
Chapter seventeen
All the hunters climbed into the trucks and started down the dirt road to the highway. They planned to drive to the SW corner of the property, along the road, and walk to Grant’s blind. They parked just off the road and piled out of the pickups with flashlights and backpacks in tow. Jeff led the way as they moved noisily through the thick birch and maple foliage that separated Grant’s field from the highway. “Oh, Shit,” Frenchie exclaimed as he tripped on a down tree and fell flat on his face.
“Get your ass up, Frenchie. This is no time to take a nap,” Mooch teased.
“Bite me, Mooch,” Frenchie said as he picked himself up and dusted the snow off his coveralls. The group continued their progress toward the field where Grant hunted. Jeff called out when they reached the field, “Grant, are you around?”
“Wake up, Grant. Your buddies are here to bring good tidings and a beer,” Frenchie shouted.
Eddie joined in with a laugh, “You better not have a buck bigger than mine around here somewhere. I need that cash badly.” When none of their calls prompted an answer, they wondered where Grant had gone. They first checked the deer blind when they got to the field and found most of Grant’s gear still inside. His rifle was missing, but the heater remained running, and his thermos and snacks were sitting on a shelf in the blind. They called a few more times with no answer. Eddie said, “I’ll bet he shot one and is tracking it in the woods somewhere around here.”
Jeff replied. “Did anyone hear a shot today that sounded like it came from Grant?”
Chet’s blind sat the closest to Grant’s, and he spoke up. “I thought I heard a shot earlier in the afternoon from this area, but it could have been the Silver Lake Lodge hunters.” Several other guys disagreed, and the group reached no consensus regarding a shot.
“Let’s spread out and see if we can find him or his tracks,” Elk suggested. “This falling snow has covered up most everything unless it happened in the last hour.”
“Sounds like a good plan. Spread out and let’s find my brother,” Jeff said.
The hunters dispersed to cover the area thoroughly. Someone called Grant’s name every few minutes, but no answer came. Elk decided to explore a thicket off the far end of the field. She walked about 25 yards, looked down, and saw a figure lying face down in the snow. She screamed, summoning the others with her voice cracking, “Over Here! He’s Here! Come Quickly!”
None of the guys had ever heard Elk scream, and they all ran toward the sound of her cries. Jeff arrived first as Elk crouched over Grant’s unmoving body. The partially frozen state of Grant’s body, and the fact they couldn’t detect a pulse, confirmed their worst fears that Grant was dead. Jeff and Eddie were in shock as they looked down at their camp leader and brother lying face down in the snow. They rolled the body over on its back and held Grant upright as the others looked on. “How could this have happened?” Jeff cried out as the others tried to console him. Eddie sobbed silently as the shock shook him to his core.
A few minutes later, still in shock, they started to survey the scene in front of them. Grant’s rifle rested against a maple tree just a few feet from his body. Only a single bullet had been fired from the rifle. A few feet away lay the body of a 10-point buck. It, too, had become partially frozen, like Grant, indicating that this tragedy happened hours earlier. The ancient flask Grant always carried with him had been opened, and most of the alcohol inside had spilled into the snow.
Jeff started formulating a theory of what might have transpired as they surveyed the scene. “I think what may have happened is sometime this afternoon. Grant shot this buck. He exited the blind with his backpack and rifle to find the deer. He came over this knoll and found the dead deer. He must have placed his gun against the tree, pulled out his flask for his traditional shot on the buck, and suffered a heart attack or aneurysm. He didn’t like to talk about it, but Grant was seeing a cardiologist due to his severe heart condition.”
“That makes sense, agreed Eddie, but Grant never mentioned the heart condition to me. How long have you known about it?”
“I’ve known he had it for a while, but he only recently learned the extent of the problem. He had additional tests scheduled later this year following deer season.”
“We need to call 911,'' Mooch stated. I’ve got three bars on my phone, so I’ll do it.” Mooch walked away from the group to make the call. The dispatcher transferred the call to the county sheriff’s office, which had jurisdiction. They indicated they would send out an officer and EMS immediately. The dispatcher also warned Mooch to ensure nobody moved the body or disturbed the scene. Mooch returned to the group and relayed the message as they all waited for the sheriff to arrive.
Reed Stassin was the deputy sheriff on duty when the call came in. He immediately re-routed his patrol car and sped toward the scene. Sheriff Johnson was on a Florida vacation, so Reed took the call himself. He knew about the Roads End hunting camp and had met Grant casually through his role as CEO at Koehler Iron Works. Stassin parked next to the trucks on the highway and waited for EMS to arrive a few minutes later. He called Mooch to get a bearing on where the hunters were. Mooch walked out and met them at the road to lead them to the body.
The dispatcher had relayed the conversation with Mooch and the fact Grant appeared to be a heart attack victim. This wasn’t the type of call most deputies looked forward to. However, things had been slow around the county, and Reed welcomed a new case to break up the monotony of vandals and drunks.
Reed greeted the group and immediately went to the body with the EMS technician for examination. He had actually not seen many dead bodies during his career as a sheriff’s deputy. The tech confirmed Grant’s death and then felt for broken bones or apparent wounds. Jeff shared his theory of what he felt had happened, and Reed agreed that seemed reasonable. Heart attacks are the number one cause of hunter deaths in the woods. Grant’s history of heart problems made a heart attack the most likely cause. Chet got the camp’s UTV and brought it to the scene to shuttle Grant’s body out of the woods. The EMT produced a body bag and loaded Grant’s body into the back for transport to the ambulance. Stassin asked everyone in camp to stick around for at least a few days in case he had questions. The Trails End crew returned to their trucks for the gloomy ride back to camp while Jeff’s body was transported to the morgue.
When they arrived back at the cabin, Jeff emerged from the truck and walked toward an area that offered decent cell phone reception. He dreaded what had to happen next as he began dialing the number of Grant’s wife, Sarah. Jeff said he would make the call when the deputy asked about notifying the next of kin. Stassin indicated someone would follow up with Grant’s wife in the morning. Sarah answered on the second ring with anxiety in her voice.
