Nineteen
Shelly looked at Barbara with upraised eyebrows. “Must be Chief Clark.”
The guests heard him greet someone, and he reappeared with Chief Clark and Shooter in tow. “Hey, everyone, look who came to visit.” He ushered the group over to the couch and introduced them to Barbara.
As she shook their hands, she said, “Shooter? What an interesting name.”
Shooter blushed and mumbled, “It’s a long, and boring, story.”
Shelly said, “Why don’t you tell it while I get some refreshments? No, Barb, you keep your seat and I’ll attend to the serving.”
By the time Shelly returned from the kitchen with fresh cups of coffee and more cookies, the ladies were in tears of laughter and even Shooter was smiling. Shelly, having heard the story again from the kitchen, was also grinning. Matt offered to tell some more vintage “Shooter” stories, but desisted when Shooter reminded him how easy it would be for someone to slit the ’Vette’s tires.
After the food had been served, Clark looked at his watch and said, “Well, I guess I’d better get down to the reason for our visit.” He leaned forward and poured himself another cup of coffee before continuing.
“First of all, let me welcome you all to our team and tell you how appreciative we all are that you have agreed to join us in this case, and that includes the police chief and the mayor.”
Barbara coughed and almost strangled on her coffee as she heard this. “Wait a minute!” She shot a questioning glance at Shelly. “What is he talking about, ‘joining him in this case’?”
Shelly looked sheepish as he reached over to pat her on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, dear. I haven’t had time to discuss it with you yet, and I was waiting to see if Damon could get permission from his superiors before I brought it up.”
He glanced at the chief. “Damon, you’ve cleared our participation with them, I take it?” he asked.
Clark nodded.
“Have you informed them about the possibility that we’re dealing with a serial killer?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve become head of your department without realizing the political importance of CYA?” Damon replied with a crooked grin.
Shelly chuckled. “If you mean ‘cover your ass,’ that’s one of the first things you learn in medicine, even before the Hippocratic Oath.”
“It goes double for civil servants like the police. There was no way I could keep the possible existence of a serial killer from the PC, and no way he could keep it from the mayor. Fortunately, they both agreed with my assessment that it was crucial to keep the news from the media, at least for the time being.” He picked up his coffee and took a sip. “It seems there’s an election coming up in a few months and they are scared to death of the publicity.”
Barbara was still frowning at Shelly, but he patted her again and whispered that they would discuss it later.
Clark continued. “Okay people, this is our semiofficial ‘serial killer task force,’ and I want you all to realize that the only way we can possibly succeed is to think and act like a team at all times.” He stood and began to pace the room as he talked. “Like any team, each of you will have different responsibilities. Shooter, you and Sherry will be the gatherers of intelligence about the killings and do the legwork to track down any clues or leads the team may come up with. Shelly, you and Sam and Matt will be our scientific eyes and ears, and it will be up to you three to find any and all clues that may be gleaned from the victims and any physical evidence found at the crime scenes.”
He stopped pacing and looked directly at Barbara. “Let me emphasize that they will not, I repeat, not be involved in any way with the apprehension of this perpetrator.”
Shelly glanced at Barbara. “That’s a good point, Chief, but it brings up a question. To whom do we report our findings, anyone on the team or just to you personally?”
“Doc, first of all, I want everything in writing, with you and Matt keeping a copy, and one copy hand-delivered to me personally. Verbal reports, if urgent, can be given to whomever in the team you can reach first. Remember, if this hits the media, the party’s over and we’ll probably be crucified for not giving the public their right to know; that’s why I want a paper trail of everything we do and think.”
Shooter grinned. “You mean more CYA?”
“You got it! Now let’s get to work.”
Clark took his cigarette case out, then remembered where he was and put it back in his pocket.
Barbara stood. “Just a minute, Chief. I’ll get you an ashtray.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
She went to the mantel and picked up a small glass ashtray and handed it to him. “No, of course not.” Then she looked at her husband. “As long as Shelly doesn’t revert to his old habits.”
Clark lit a cigarette, then gestured to Shooter, who pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Clark. “These just came over from the ME’s office. They’re results of some lab tests that were done by one of the junior pathologists just after the ME’s heart attack. They just came back from the state lab in Austin.”
Sam started to speak, but Shelly stopped her with a gesture. “Sam, let him tell it in his own words.”
Clark took another drag on his cigarette and hesitated, weighing his next words carefully. “The results are from a homicide that we didn’t think was connected to the serial killings.” He got up and once again began to pace, smoking as he talked.
“A male body was found beside the road in the warehouse district. It had been beheaded and then doused with gasoline and set afire. Luckily, a group of teenagers arrived just after it happened and put the fire out before the body was completely consumed.”
“Did they see the perp?” Shooter asked.
Clark shook his head. “They got a glimpse of a dark car, but no license plate number or make. Anyway, routine tissue samples were sent to the state lab because they were too badly burned to be examined on the local equipment.”
Shelly prompted, “And just what did the tissue show, Damon?”
Clark sat back down in his chair. “The tissue was nonliving, and the lab estimated that it was from a corpse that had been dead at least twenty years.”
Matt shrugged. “Probably some fraternity boys robbed a mausoleum and had a little fun with the body. Nothing mysterious about that.”
“No, probably not. Except that the witnesses said they thought they saw the two men fighting just before one was knocked to the ground and set on fire. While they hid in some bushes, the killer drove the other man’s car off and then came back on foot to leave in his own vehicle.”
Matt did some rapid figuring in his head. “But if there were two cars, and one man had to drive them both, that means that both of the men had to be alive before the fight. That’s not possible if the tissue showed the man to have been dead for some time.”
Clark just smiled. “Perhaps you can tell me, Doctors, how a dead man has a fistfight and then gets killed, a ‘second’ time.”
Shelly slumped back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. Sam looked over at Matt and raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.
Matt persisted. “Damon, this is all very interesting, but how does it concern us? It doesn’t seem to fit the MO of our serial killer.”
“Wait, I’ve saved the best for last.”
“You mean it’s better than a dead man having a fight?” quipped Sam.
“Yeah. This report is from the case that you guys just finished. The one where the killer broke a door down, was shot with a forty-four magnum, then proceeded to kill the man who shot him. After that, he cut the wife’s throat and drained her body dry.” He turned to Barbara and explained, “It so happened that the bullet passed through the perpetrator and stuck in a wall, with bits of flesh adhering to it. Sam collected samples and sent them to the lab.”
He looked at Shelly. “This report, from the FBI lab at Quantico, showed that tissue also to be nonliving, and probably dead for in excess of one hundred years.”
“Jesus!” Sam whispered.
The hair on the back of Matt’s neck stood up as goose bumps ran down his spine.
Clark looked at Shelly. “How about the test you had your friend do, Shelly? Does it square with this one?”
“Yeah, I’m afraid so, though not exactly. When Roger gave it to me, he said he couldn’t believe it and wanted to double-check the equipment.”
“What did Roger’s test show, Shelly?” Sam asked.
“He too found the tissue to be nonliving and, in his words, the DNA was consistent with tissue that’d been dead for some time, over a hundred years. In fact, he asked if we were sure the bullet hadn’t been fired into a corpse.”
Clark frowned. “That’s what I was afraid you were going to say. Now . . .”
Barbara interrupted. “Chief, why don’t you go public with this? Perhaps the people should be warned . . .”
“No, no, Mrs. Silver, you don’t understand. If this news gets out, then right away we’d be inundated with false alarms, copycat killings, and the real killer might go underground or move to some other city until the heat died down. That would make catching him almost impossible.”
“I see your point, Chief.” She turned to Shelly. “Shelly, how are you going to find time to help with this investigation, what with your teaching and . . .”
“Well,” Shelly said, looking sheepish again, “I’ve been working on that.” He looked at Clark. “As you know, I’m already committed to cover for Dr. Chow as medical examiner for the next several weeks.” Shelly held up his hand as Clark started to speak. “However, I think I’ve found a way for all of us to get what we want. The dean of the medical school has agreed to give Sam a leave of absence so she can work full-time on these killings.”
Shooter stood. “Thank God, at the rate we’re finding bodies, we really need someone on a full-time basis.”
Shelly leaned forward and addressed Chief Clark. “Here’s my proposition. Matt and Sam can join the investigation on a full-time basis. I will continue my regular duties as ME, and will give you what time I can as a sort of senior consultant or advisor. The three of us will collaborate on the autopsies, but the brunt of the investigation, visiting crime scenes, research, and so on will be done by Matt and Sam.”
He held up his hand when Damon nodded his assent. “There are, however, a couple of things we’ll need to make this work.”
“Sure, Doc, just tell me what you want,” said Damon. “I’m sure we’ll be able to give you anything within reason.”
“The condition is that we be made ‘official consultants’ to the police department, with identification and badges but no pay.”
Clark looked puzzled. “Sure, no problem, but would you mind telling me why you need that?”
“Chief, you’ve been on the inside of police bureaucracy so long that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be an outsider. If Sam and Matt don’t have ID and badges, they’ll have an argument every time they go to the crime scenes, and they’ll never get any cooperation from the medical examiner’s office for quick response on lab and tissue results and all of the other hundreds of miscellaneous details they need to do their work.”
Clark agreed and prepared to leave. “I’ll leave these lab reports for you guys to study, and we’ll give you a call as soon as anything comes in.” He stood up, wiping sweat off his forehead. “I just hope you experts can find some explanation for this stuff, otherwise the PC and mayor may have me fitted for a straitjacket.”
Shooter looked over at Sam and said, “You need a ride home, or are you staying for a while?”
Matt opened his mouth to tell him that Sam had her car there, but Sam quickly said, “Thanks, that’d be nice, but Matt and I are going out later.”
Shooter cut his eyes over at Matt, smiled a slow smile, and gave his friend a little bow. “Okay. You guys have fun, and I’ll see ya later.”
Still dumbstruck by what Sam had said, Matt stood up. “Just a minute, Shooter. I’ll walk you out to your car. I need to talk to you for a minute.”
Once outside, Shooter stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it, chuckling to himself. “What was that all about?”
“I gave Sam a ride home the other day, and while I was there, I met her roommate.”
Shooter raised his eyebrows. “So?”
“Well, I kinda invited her and her roommate on a double date this weekend.”
Shooter glared at Matt. “And just who did you have in mind for the fourth person on this double date?” He stabbed Matt in the chest with his finger, scattering sparks and ashes on his shirt. “Not me I hope, ’cause you know I never, I repeat never, go on blind dates!”
“Shooter, this girl’s a knockout,” Matt pleaded. “Ya gotta do this for me. It was the only way I could think of to get Sam to go out with me.”
“Shit!” He turned and walked away a few steps, smoking and looking out at the darkness. Without turning he asked over his shoulder, “This roommate, she have all her limbs . . . all her teeth . . . not in need of any major plastic surgery?”
Matt couldn’t help laughing. “When did any of that make any difference to you?”
“Her name’s not Gretchen Gribble or Dorothy Buttstein, is it?”
Matt shook his head. “She’s young, and she’s single. She also happens to be damned good looking, which is more than you usually get!”
Shooter spread his hands. “Okay. Tell me where and when I’m supposed to meet this wonderful roommate.”
Matt told him he’d call later with the particulars and to drive safely, since he wasn’t on duty to pull his butt out of the fire if he crashed on the way home.
When Matt reentered the house, Shelly told him Barbara was in the kitchen fixing some hot chocolate to counter the effects of all the coffee they’d drunk earlier. Matt didn’t bother to remind him that hot chocolate had just as much caffeine as coffee, just sank wearily onto the couch next to Sam.
The three sat there, discussing the implications of the dead tissue from the two different homicides and how they might be connected.
After Barbara brought in the hot chocolate, she told Shelly that she was not one to interfere in his work, but she did not like the idea of him traipsing around after some psychopathic killer who sucked the blood out of his victims and who might be some dead zombie.
Shelly put his cup down and took both of her hands in his. “Barb, this case really means a lot to me. All of my professional career has been spent working on patients where I’ve been too late to help them. I’ve uncovered blunders by doctors that have taken lives, and I’ve discovered murders and helped to convict the killers, but this is the first time I have been asked to do something to help prevent further killings.”
He reached up and caressed her face with his hand. “I just don’t think I could live with myself if I refused to help and someone died because of it.”
She covered his hand with hers, then turned her face and kissed his hand. “Well, you just better be careful. I’ll never forgive you if you go and get yourself killed!”
Sam and Matt stood up, both embarrassed and touched by the scene. “Shelly, I’ll see you in the morning.”
After thanking Barbara for dinner, Matt and Sam said good night and left.
Matt opened the car door for Sam, then stood there, feeling awkward. “Uh, why did you say that to Shooter, about us going out later?”
Sam arched an eyebrow and said, “Why? You afraid I was asking you out on a date?”
“Oh, no, I just . . . wondered.”
“Hey, you’re the one who said we should fix Shooter and TJ up. The way he’s been looking at me, I just didn’t want any complications before he could meet TJ.”
Matt nodded, his face flaming red. “Oh.”
“By the way, did you have a chance to mention it to him yet?”
“Yeah, I cleared it with Shooter for this weekend. How about if we go to a restaurant that has a band? We can have dinner and do a little dancing after we eat.”
To Matt’s utter surprise, Sam had no sarcastic comeback to his offer. Instead, she stared at him for a moment, the moonlight shining through the clouds making her eyes sparkle, then quickly stood on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “I’d like that, Matt. I’d like that very much.”