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HODGES DID BETTER THAN bring a shovel; he brought several interns to help excavate the unmarked grave. He’d arrived several minutes ago and pulled the white van marked COUNTY CORONERS OFFICE on the side in bold blue letters onto the grass and into the backfield. Jimmy Matea, who he was not familiar with, greeted him.
“Are you Mr. Hodges?” Jimmy asked.
“Yes,” he said. “I was told Ames wanted my services pronto.”
“Yes, sir,” Jimmy said. “He asked that I stay and wait for you. I was just radioed that Deputy Powers is on his way and will have complete control of the scene. So, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to wait before you get started.”
“Yes, of course, not a problem.”
Hodges called his interns around to the back of the van. He opened both cargo doors and began unloading the shovels. A gurney with a plastic body bag already laid out was lowered onto the soft grass.
It wasn’t very long before Arnie showed up. He touched the bent-over Hodges on the shoulder.
“Arnie, my good man, how are you?” Hodges said, standing. Both men shook hands.
“Not too well,” he said. He explained about Soames.
“Very sorry to hear that,” Hodges said.
There was a moment of awkward silence that made everyone uncomfortable. Finally, Hodges asked, “What have we got here?”
Arnie scratched the top of his head. “Truth be told, I’m not sure. Steve just sent me out here to supervise. This gentleman here found what’s believed to be a grave. Pretty fresh from the look of it.”
“Well, let’s have a look and see what we’ve got and we’ll both find out together.”
“Good deal.”
Both men made their way over to the fresh mound of soil where Jimmy still stood sentry. Hodges stared at it for only a moment and said, “Yep, definitely a grave and probably no more than two days old. The topsoil is still dark and damp. It hasn’t had time to dry out in the sun.”
“Okay,” Arnie said. He was out of his league here. Soames was better at this part of the job than he was.
“Boys,” Hodges said. “Let’s start removing some of this soil so we can get at what we really came here for.”
The young interns came with the shovels and wheel barrel and started on the mound.
“You probably want these,” Jimmy said to Hodges and held out a hand full of plastic vials and plastic baggies. “Ames asked me to collect this.”
“Ah, very good. Our sheriff is certainly on top of things, even when he’s away,” Hodges said. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to collect a few more samples.”
“No problem,” Jimmy said.
An hour later one of the interns stood and said, “Sir, I think we hit pay dirt. No pun intended, sir.”
Hodges looked up from the samples he was looking over. His glasses had slid down the bridge of his nose and Arnie thought he looked very much like an ordinary grandfather, rather than a man who fiddled with human bones for a living.
“Let’s see what we have.”
Where the mound had been, several smaller mounds of loose topsoil now stood. In the middle of the gaping maw the tarp-wrapped cadaver lay exposed. Taking a small recorder from his inner coat pocket, Hodges flicked the record button and began speaking.
“November 11, 2008. The time is...” he consulted his watch. “Four fifty-two p.m. I am standing at a grave site at 614 Apache Trail. We have uncovered what appears to be a body. It is currently covered in tarp and we will now attempt to remove this covering without damaging the remains.”
He clicked off the recorder. From one of the interns he retrieved a scalpel and stepped into the hole with the body. With a flashlight in one hand so he could see what he was doing, Hodges began to carefully slice the tape that bound the tarp. After several minutes of tedious and calculated cutting, he was ready to remove the tarp.
Under Hodges direction, the four interns entered the hole and began slicing the tarp so that the body would not have to be removed to be unwrapped. Several times Hodges took a scalpel from one of the interns and began cutting himself when he wasn’t satisfied with what they were doing. Finally, he leaned in and pulled open the slit ends of the rough material. All seven men stood and looked at the remains of John Hapscomb.
“Get me some more light,” Hodges said and all four of the interns scrambled, trying to find flashlights. With his own flashlight in hand he started examining the body and recording his findings.
“The victim is male, somewhere between fifty and sixty years of age. Ligature marks around the victim’s neck suggest strangulation. Estimated time since death is two or three days, based on smell and condition of body. No other apparent visible wounds, but further examination will be required.”
Hodges flicked off the recorder and reached out of the hole. Arnie helped pull him out. “Did you get all that?”
“I think so,” Arnie said.
“Well, what it boils down to is that this man was strangled to death. I can’t tell just yet if there were any internal wounds, but certainly no signs of stab wounds. What’s the connection to the other victims?”
“This is the home of the man who killed those girls.”
“Oh,” Hodges said. “Well, I guess we need to ID this man and find out how he fits in. Tell Ames I’ll get to work on that immediately. For right now, I’ll say death by strangulation.”
“Got it,” Arnie said. “I guess you can go ahead and remove the body if you need to.”
“Yes. I’d like to take it with me. Just sign the authorization papers and we’ll be on our way.”
The interns were already preparing for the transfer of the body from hole to gurney. Arnie signed the required paperwork and left Hodges and his men to do their work. Back at his cruiser, he radioed Marlena and gave her the details. Several minutes later, she radioed back.
“Arnie, I can’t reach Sheriff Ames. He’s not answering the radio or the telephone.”
“Try again, please.”
He waited again, but Marlena was still unable to contact Ames. Arnie stood thinking for a moment. He remembered vividly Frank on the floor in a spreading pool of his own blood. If the killer had come back a second time, why not a third?
“Marlena, I’m on my way to the hotel. I’m leaving Matea in charge here until Hodges finishes up.”
“Make sure you keep radio contact, Arnie.”
“Yeah,” he said.
Several minutes later he was on the road, pushing his cruiser as fast as it could go.