Georgia
Vance’s chopper bounced around in the turbulence as it was clear that the weather sucked. He had no idea where Al’s chopper took off to; hopefully not in this mess. Vance laughed, maybe worse.
He felt the chopper begin its descent meaning that getting soaked was in his immediate future, and he wasn’t looking forward to that. They soon landed on what appeared to him to be a grassy field. The rain pelted the skin of the chopper so hard that it sounded like someone was playing the drums. He opened the door and two police officers in full rain gear waved for him to come out and follow them. One of them had an umbrella that looked to be almost coming apart in the wind. Vance jumped out and when his shoes hit the ground, he sank into the soft muddy grass almost soaking his feet. The suction on his shoes caught him off-guard and he held back his usual profane expletives. “Lead the way, boys.”
As they mucked through the grass, they appeared to be heading in the direction of a brick church-like structure. As he got closer, Vance noticed partially boarded-up windows with green moss and vines growing up and around the outside walls. When they reached the door, he concluded this building was severely neglected and most likely abandoned. Once he entered, a man in a trench coat walked up and greeted him. “Agent Mahoney?”
Vance leaned against the brick wall with his hand, kicked the mud off his shoes, and answered, “At your service.” He glanced around at the dilapidated hallway. There was a strong smell of rotten wood and rat shit. Wires were protruding from the brick ceiling where light fixtures once were and the wood floor looked like it was about to cave in.
“I’m Captain Sadusky. I’ve been given direct orders to hand this case over to you.” He turned, began walking down the hallway and added, “Honestly, you can have it, and I wouldn’t worry about tracking mud inside.”
Vance stomped his feet one more time but realized he was right. He figured that he had to behave himself with as few wisecracks as possible. That was a virtual impossibility, but he tried anyway, “This case is sensitive, Captain; I appreciate your cooperation,” he said with as much police-style professionalism as he could muster. They proceeded down a short corridor. The only light inside the building came from outside rays of light filtering through the partially boarded up windows. It wasn’t much but it was just enough to navigate by.
They joined two more plainclothes officers drinking coffee and standing where the walkway opened up to a larger area. As they noticed him approaching, they greeted him with brief eye contact and a simple nod. That to Vance was not a good sign, considering the eye contact was a bit scornful. He then realized that this wasn’t a church at all but more like an abandoned brick warehouse. Something else caught his attention. He heard someone crying directly diagonally from where he was standing. He ignored the two officers and focused on where the sobbing was coming from.
He found Dr. Zohar sitting on a wood crate against the wall. Her face was in her hands and she was crying. One of the officers had draped a coat over her shoulders. From where he was standing, he could clearly tell that she had been somewhat roughed up. The last time he saw her she was an elegant muscular woman wearing a white lab coat with her name neatly embroidered over the pocket.
Now, another man was standing near her reading something out loud and she didn’t appear to be listening.
“Over there,” Captain Sadusky said.
Vance glanced at him and saw that he was pointing in another direction. “There is a body over there.”
“Ah, great,” Vance grumbled under his breath. No one told him he was investigating a murder; all he knew was he was to talk to Dr. Zohar. She had not seen him yet so he continued in the direction the Captain indicated. He didn’t get far when he saw the devastating sight.
The remnants of a naked body lay face up on a bare, blood-soaked floor. As Vance stepped closer, the realization of what happened became obvious. Both arms and legs were ripped off, and lay inches from the shoulder and hip joints in an extended X shape. The blood still looked wet and it spilled in and filled up the grooves on the wood floor. He could see large rusty metal spikes nailed into the shoulders and hips still attached to the torso. “Yuck,” Vance said disgusted.
“Obviously,” Captain Sadusky said, “I don’t have to explain to you that this is a torture scene.
Not liking this at all, Vance swallowed hard and pulled out his pack of cigarettes. He always kept a pack on him regardless of how beat up they often got. He tapped the pack on its side and fished one out with his lips. He cupped his hands to block the slight breeze slipping in from the dozens of boarded-up windows, and flicked his lighter. It took several times to get it to stay lit. Eventually it caught and he asked, “When did this take place?”
Captain Sadusky, who had patiently and politely waited throughout the cigarette lighting ritual, slowly answered, “I would estimate less than two hours ago.”
“And her?” Vance motioned to Dr. Zohar.
“She was here when we arrived.”
“Has she said anything?”
“We were not to proceed with any questioning without you.”
“Okay then, how the fuck did you find her?”
That caught Captain Sadusky by surprise. He obviously was not used to someone being straight with him or maybe was accustomed to everyone kissing his ass. “I’m sorry— I thought you knew,” he said.
“All I was told was that she was found, now be a sweetheart and explain to me how the hell you found her.”
“No need to bust my butt. We got the call an hour ago to head here as fast as we could, lock the place down, and wait for you.” He innocently shrugged his shoulders, “That’s it.”
“Okay then,” Vance said. He pulled out his PDA from his pocket and slowly walked one revolution around the body snapping pictures. When he reached the head area he almost lost his lunch when he saw the eyes were lying next to the ears. “Okay, that just about ruined my lovely mood.” He turned his head to clear that image from his mind and walked over to Dr. Zohar. He decided there was no need to investigate the bloody conglomerate on the floor just yet. “Beat it,” he said to the officer standing next to her.
The officer returned a mean look, walked off without saying a word, and Vance knelt down in front of her. Her hair was mangled and dirty as if someone had dragged her through the mud.
She slowly looked up. Her face was muddy and her eyes were swollen and red. An obvious red mark on her right cheek told Vance that she had collided with something.
He simply watched her for a moment, sad for her situation. Normally, he could give a rat’s ass about guys that were pounded to a pulp because most of the time they deserved it. But a woman, no way. Even if they were guilty, he could never ever justify abusing women; except, of course, if the abuse came from another woman. He shook the thought off and took a deep breath. “Now just start from the beginning.” He could tell that she was pleased to see him, if only slightly.
“Please,” she said, “please, I had no... I had no idea.”
Vance had to know but was not sure how to ask, but did anyway, “Is that Dr, Golb?”
She nodded and let her face fall into her hands, sobbing again.
“Was he already dead when you got here?”
She shook her head from side to side. “He... He...called me on my cell... and told me to come here.”
Vance had to play it cool, not showing his sensitivity. “Did they take what you brought?”
She glanced up, and gave him the ‘how did you know?’ look.
Before she answered, he said, “We found the hidden space behind the bookshelf.”
Her face and composure relaxed as if a heavy burden had lifted from her. “Yes, they took it,” she answered.
“What was it?”
“The copper scroll translations.”
“Why did they want it?”
She shook her head, “I don’t know...but they were different from the pictures of the knights that attacked the school.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were big guys dressed in black and they...” she began crying again.
Vance cut her off. “Start from the beginning.”
She sat up straighter, took a breath, and glanced at the area where the police were standing. “I came in through that door and they grabbed me as soon as I stepped in.”
“You had the papers with you?”
“Yes,” she said, lowering her head.
Vance glanced back at the body. “So why did they kill the Doc if they got what they came for?”
“They wanted more. I mean there is something else.”
“What?”
She lifted her head and looked in the direction of the doctor’s body for the first time. Vance could tell that she was resisting it.
“I only know a little bit,” she glanced back down, “but the writing on the scroll described some type of hidden city or treasure or something.” She looked directly into Vance’s eyes.
He held her gaze for a moment and asked, “And they tortured him for it? Did they get it?”
“I think so.”
“Did you hear where it was?”
“No.”
“But they spared you.”
Her eyes swelled up and she started to cry again. “I don’t know why.”
Vance knew he was scoring high marks in the horrible and stupid interrogation tactics department, but he didn’t know any other way. He thought about allowing Sadusky to ask her because he obviously had more experience questioning people. He decided not to, and gently put his hand on her shoulder and said, “It’s okay, you’re safe now, but you must remember.”
“He yelled out Teton several times,” she said between sobs. “Then they killed him.”
Vance stood up, and walked over to the body. He was wondering about what she just said.
So, Vance thought. How far along in the task of ripping his limbs off before he talked?. Was it one arm and one leg; or was it two arms and one eye? No, it had to be one spike through the hip, one eye, and one arm. No, no, it had to be one spike through the shoulder joint, one arm, on the same side and then the opposite leg. What the fuck, wouldn’t most average unassuming professors simply pass out when they hammered large spikes into their joints? To top it off, by the looks of the stringy stuff coming out of the joint sockets and the limbs, they were ripped off, not chopped. Fucking ouch!
This situation was bad, very bad, he concluded, but something wasn’t adding up. Either they tortured him slowly until he talked and then did the ugly deed, or she is lying. He stepped over to Captain Sadusky, who had just knelt down to take measurements and analyze the area around the body with two other men. “Did she say anything when you guys got here?” Vance asked.
Sadusky looked up, and in a sarcastic tone, replied, “Due to the delicate nature of the matter and of the threat of the Feds stomping on us little people, we opted not to interrogate the woman. I’m thinking now that we should have.”
“No, I’m just wondering if she said anything earlier. Something is not adding up.”
“Do you think she is lying to you?”
“I don’t know.” Vance looked over at the body.
Sadusky stood up and pointed down. “Look, there’s not a single mark or footprint in the blood or anywhere around him. Either these killers were methodical in their methods or got lucky.” He stepped back, “She did mention that big men in black robes and masks killed him.”
“That’s what I’m wondering.”
One of the men spoke up loudly, “You might want to see this.”
Both turned and saw the man standing by the wall several yards from where Dr. Zohar sat. He was looking down into a small hole in the ground.
“I turned over this piece of wood and found this.”
Vance walked over and knelt down next to the hole. Inside, he saw fresh dirt, small chunks of concrete, and a metal box.
Sadusky went over to the wall, bent over and picked up what looked like a crowbar.
“Dr. Zohar,” Vance said gently, “come take a look at this.”
She stood up, wrapped the coat around her, and slowly walked over.
Vance waited for her to approach, and as she did he asked, “Look familiar?”
She glanced down at the box and shook her head, “I don’t recognize that.”
Sadusky stepped over with the crowbar and held it up. “Let me guess; by the fresh scratches at the end of this crowbar, I would guess that he attempted to bury...”
“But didn’t finish,” Vance added, cutting him off.
“That’s what it looks like,” Sadusky said.
Vance glanced at Zohar who now seemed more comfortable with the situation, “What time did he call you?”
She exhaled and answered way faster than Vance expected. “When he called me I was about an hour’s drive from here.”
“Was there any hint when you talked to him that he was not alone?” Vance asked.
Again, she shook her head from side to side, “No.”
“May I,” Captain Sadusky said, hinting that he would like to ask a question.
Vance nodded.
He pulled out a small flappable notepad and opened it, typical of detectives. “You knew something was wrong,” he started. He looked right at her with his pen poised.
She didn’t answer.
“Very well, when did you notice something was wrong?”
She waited a moment before answering, “Dr. Golb mentioned several times before that he felt that he was being watched.”
“Did he ever say by whom?” Sadusky asked.
“No,” she hesitated. “He did say that we might be followed.”
“And?”
She seemed confused as to how to answer. “It all started, or all the weird stuff happened, after we began inputting the new translations.”
“Translations, eh?” Sadusky said with a hint of sarcasm. He glanced at Vance. “Is this the so-called delicate information?”
Vance didn’t really know how much of the past he should share with the smart ass investigators, if any at all, but ignored his comment. He knew that Al had been definitely captured and interrogated for Holy Script translations, and if what she was saying was right, then this was way beyond Captain Sadusky’s jurisdiction.
Vance reached into the hole, pulled out the small metal box, and placed it on the wood floor. It was the size of a child’s school lunch box with a flip-down latch. The latch appeared to be all that kept it closed, so he flipped it up, and cautiously opened it.
Sadusky and his men leaned in to see. Inside the box was an old, battered-looking scroll.
Vance leaned back so she could observe.
Putting her hand on Vance’s shoulder for support, Dr. Zohar leaned in to see it. She almost seemed surprised and said, “That is part of the scroll... be very careful with it.”
“The Dead Sea Scroll?” Vance asked. He immediately realized his mistake, but couldn’t retract it.
That immediately got Captain Sadusky’s attention. “Did you just say the Dead Sea Scroll?”
Vance did not answer right away but knew he had to say something because the doctor also seemed confused. “We think so.”
Sadusky took a step back. “Are you fucking serious? The actual Dead Sea Scrolls?”
One of the other men responded, “This is definitely way out of my pay grade.”
Vance closed the box, flipped the latch down, and stood up.
Sadusky cleared his throat, “Now I can see what you were meaning by a sensitive case. What do you want us to do?”
Vance was about to lie, but halted. He had to summon Ed there right away. “Hold that thought.” He then gently led Dr. Zohar to the wood crate and motioned for her to sit back down. “There is a very important person joining us soon who will have questions for you.”
“Okay,” she said sitting down, “Who is it.”