I gave Renz a discreet nod as I returned to the room where the others waited. He knew what I meant—Jane Doe’s brand matched the rest of them. We were getting close, and I was sure the man and the ranch we sought were somewhere in that general area.
Renz took his turn in Jane’s room, then Tara and Byron did too. We said our goodbyes after that, promised to notify them if we found the man who’d harmed Jane, and thanked them for doing what they could to help her. We needed to continue on and had an appointment with Lester Clark, the medical examiner, who had the man possibly named Malcolm on his autopsy room table.
The medical examiner’s office was located at the back of the hospital and had its own entrance off the street. Renz drove around the building and parked, and we entered. After we told the receptionist who we were, she led us to Dr. Clark’s office, where she announced us then walked away.
Dr. Clark was a happy-looking man, considering his occupation. I wouldn’t have wanted his job, but that was just me. He appeared to be around fifty and had a recorder for dictation dangling from a lanyard around his neck. We spoke in his office for a few minutes before he led us to the chilly autopsy room.
He’d told us that John Doe was brought in on Tuesday by the hospital’s EMTs and several sheriff’s deputies. The body had likely been out in the elements for a solid day, considering the amount of damage it had sustained from wild animals. The fall itself had broken all of the man’s limbs, and his neck had been torn open by claws and teeth.
“I’d say the cat got to him first, then the fall occurred, and finally, the local wildlife took its toll on both John Doe and the dead cougar.” The doctor shook his head. “I can’t imagine a worse way to go. Just a heads-up, the body is in horrible shape.”
We’d seen bodies in horrible condition more times than I cared to admit, and we needed to look at him. With Dr. Clark leading the way, Renz and I passed through the swinging stainless steel doors.
From where we entered, I could already see the man—what was left of him—lying on the table. His head was so mangled that even if I’d taken a picture of him, nobody would recognize him. I wouldn’t feel comfortable showing the picture to anyone anyway. His arms had been chewed nearly to the bone, and the doctor explained that the broken-bone areas were the first spots to be gnawed on. Animals could smell blood from a great distance, he said, and since the bones had penetrated the muscle and skin during the fall, the wildlife took advantage of those torn-up bloody areas.
As we got closer, I grimaced. That man might have been somebody’s father or brother. He was definitely somebody’s son, yet at that point, he was an unrecognizable unknown. Even if his name was Malcolm, we didn’t have a last name to go with that. We needed to see the brand and be on our way. I wanted to hear what if anything Taft and the team had learned about the list from the auction houses and whether the name Malcolm was on that list—or known anywhere in Meagher County.
Dr. Clark raised the sheet on the man’s left side, exposing what was left of his leg, which wasn’t much. His hip was still intact, which gave us the opportunity to see the brand clearly. It matched the others.
Renz spoke up. “Did the man have any personal effects with him other than what was left of his clothes?”
The doctor pointed at a wall of cabinets across the room. “I put everything in a plastic bag in there just in case somebody came to claim him.”
“We’ll need to take a look at those items.”
“Certainly, Agent DeLeon.” He tipped his head at the box of gloves on the countertop. “Help yourself to the gloves.”
I gave him a thank-you nod, and we gloved up as the doctor retrieved the bag and set it on the table. Renz pulled out what was left of the clothing, mostly shredded pieces of cloth covered in dried blood. An oversized metal buckle was still attached to the belt in the pants belt loops. The image on the front was of mountains similar to those native to the area. I gave the buckle a long look, but it didn’t hold any clues. I flipped it over, and the back was stamped Made in China. Then I pulled out a small bag that was still inside the large one.
“Check this out, Renz.” I opened the bag and dropped a gold ring into my palm. It had the same pattern as the brand on it. “What the heck?” I looked at the inner part of the ring, which had an inscription—For twenty years of dedication, B.O.
My eyes widened, but I didn’t want to say too much in front of the doctor. White Sulphur Springs was a small town, and I was sure word traveled fast.
“We’ll need to take these items back to the FBI headquarters with us, Dr. Clark. Do you have a sign-out sheet where we can document what we’ve taken?” I asked.
“Absolutely, and we’ll take care of that in my office.”
After we finished up at the medical examiner’s office, we thanked the doctor and left. Renz’s phone rang as we crossed the lot to our car.
When he pulled the phone from his pocket, he raised a brow. “It’s Taft.”
“Good. I hope they found something we can use.”
I waited quietly while Renz spoke to our boss. From what I could gather from his side of the conversation, our team had found nine customers from Montana who had been to every auction site. That in itself wasn’t unusual, but those names could be helpful when we contacted livestock auction houses in other states where bodies were found. We would see if those same names were on their customer lists too. By narrowing down the names to only a few who had gone to every state, we could see who was from Montana and pay them a visit.
Renz mentioned the initials B.O. and asked about the name Malcolm. Then he said okay and ended the call. “They don’t have anything on Malcolm yet, either as a first or last name, and they’ll check into those initials. She said they’re making progress on the auction houses. Sounds like Taft is going to reach out to the head personnel for the departments of livestock in Utah, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska and get the customer names to their auction houses too. It could take a few days unless she issues warrants for the immediate release of that information.”
“The sooner the better, especially since we’re here already. I can feel it, Renz. We’re in the right area.”
“I agree. Let’s go see what Sheriff Burke is doing about getting someone up on that mountaintop to retrieve those shell casings. After that, I’m going to need some food.”