| |
Park Ranger Ken Sutherland winced as the scalding hot coffee hit his tongue. At one time, he enjoyed coming into work, but lately it had become monotonous. Nothing exciting ever happened, and worse yet, very few campers had been around. He decided to start his morning rounds early to fight off boredom.
At one time, this had been a popular camping spot. As the years passed, camping lost its appeal to most families. What with resorts and hotels with swimming pools popping up along the interstate, camping had lost its allure to the masses.
The park had begun to show years of disrepair, but at least the scenery remained breathtaking. From this particular spot, you could catch a glimpse of the lake. The wharf around the lake had seen its better days. It looked as if a good wind would blow it away. Most of the buildings around here were falling apart. If only they had the budget for a few minor renovations. Ken always enjoyed camping in the Boy Scouts, which was one of the main reasons he choose this profession.
A group of buzzards were flocking at a campsite in the back. Curiosity got the best of him and he decided to see what had died. If a bear mauled something, he had to warn campers of the potential danger.
***
DETECTIVE SAM MORRISON pulled up at the crime scene and parked his car behind the other patrol cars. There were more cars out here than he’d anticipated. It must be worse than he initially thought. He adjusted his holster and turned his phone to vibrate. Now he wished he had grabbed a quick cup of coffee.
Looking around the campground, he noticed that fall was fast approaching. Leaves showed vibrant hues of yellow, orange, and red. Even the temperatures had dropped in the low double digits. Maybe the mosquitoes wouldn’t be as prevalent as normal and the crime scene could be worked without getting eaten alive by the blasted things.
The coroner, Dr. Adam Richardson, had somehow managed to beat him here once again. Hell, his partner, Detective Blake Sotheby, even arrived before him. "About time you made it. What's wrong Pops? That new baby keeping you up all night?"
Morrison smiled. "It’s worth it, though. She is a gorgeous little baby." This was Doreen’s and his first child and they were ecstatic with her birth. Shelby Lynn had become the light of his life.
The coroner was walking their way, "How's the new baby?"
"She’s great. Already a Daddy's girl.”
"That’s great! Well, you have yourself a doozy of a case here. It’s bad, it looks as if she was skinned alive."
They all moved to the crime scene. Sunlight filtered through the trees, as they walked through the woods. Before entering the actual crime scene they suited up, putting on their booties and gloves. One of the techs was already snapping pictures like a pro. Jenkins, who was collecting evidence, looked up briefly and gave a quick acknowledgement. A good deal of time would be spent taking pictures and documenting the crime scene. Even with decomp, it appeared that the victim was a young female. At least he assumed they were dealing with a female. Both breasts had been removed, as well as most of her skin. A mane of long auburn hair hid her face at the moment.
With the degree of decomposition, identification wouldn’t be easy. Surely someone had filed a missing person’s report on her. Someone so young had to be missed, a parent waiting for her to come home or a boyfriend wondering where she was. They were dealing with a sick son of a bitch. Even after death, it appeared as though her body had been violated.
Morrison observed the surroundings. "I don’t notice any blood around the body or the surrounding area."
Sotheby agreed, "No, I don’t think she was killed here. It looks like a body dump. The park ranger did say he had one motor home check in earlier this week and checked out two days ago. We are running plates now. Unfortunately, payment is made in a drop box and the campers write down their own information. I'm willing to bet he didn’t provide any legit information to go on. The park ranger isn't even sure of an exact description of the motor home. If it hadn’t been for the buzzards circling, we might not have found the body for weeks."
The coroner brought their attention to the victim’s neck, "It appears as if she was strangled. There are also lash marks, possibly from a whip, several stab wounds and burn marks. What's even more disturbing is that I found she has been eviscerated. We noticed it when we straightened her body. I won't know for sure until autopsy, but it looks like several organs may have been removed."
"Any other observations?" Morrison reckoned this would be an unusual murder case they had on their hands.
"There are definite ligature marks on her arms and legs."
"What about ID? Did anyone spot a purse or wallet around the site?"
"Nothing has turned up so far."
"So doc, do you see any birthmarks or tattoos?"
"I can’t say for sure, but it looks like any identifying marks were removed when she was skinned. This poor girl was put through hell."
"Looks like we may be dealing with a pro. Let’s search VICAP, we may get a hit.” Turning to another officer, Morrison stated, “We need to identify her. Check out missing persons for the last few weeks and see what they have."
Sotheby looked over the body and said, "We need to bag her hands; maybe she fought back before he restrained her. Any signs of sexual assault doc?"
"I won’t know until the autopsy. It looks like he used super glue on her. That's a new one for me. I’ll do the autopsy at 4:00 this afternoon, if you all want to drop by."
Morrison wondered if she knew her killer. Murder often happened when love went bad for some unfortunate women. Love had been known to turn vicious at times. Lovers, husbands, or boyfriends spurned could turn violent in the blink of an eye. The skinning, evisceration and the super glue, though, made him lean towards someone with experience having perpetrated this murder. It seemed like such overkill on the body.
With decomposition so bad on their Jane Doe, Detective Morrison requested that a sketch artist go over to the morgue to look at her bone structure. Hopefully the artist could piece together a sketch of the girl that they could broadcast to the public, asking for help identifying her.
***
MORRISON AND SOTHEBY arrived at the coroner’s office a few minutes before 4:00. It took longer at the crime scene than they initially thought. There was a lot of ground to cover and they found several distinct tire impressions. As they pushed the large double metal doors open, the smell of bleach and cleaners overwhelmed their senses. Morrison despised this part of his job. He had never been squeamish about blood, but the sounds of the tools used in here tended to give him the creeps.
Dr. Richardson and his assistant were ready to begin. The body lay in front of them on a stainless steel gurney. Morrison secretly hoped Dr. Richardson had already managed to make the y-incision beforehand.
As the detectives donned their scrubs, booties, and gloves, Morrison stiffened, as he spied the table of saws and other instruments. It was such a gruesome little collection in his mind. Dr. Richardson pulled back the sheet that covered the woman, “Let’s begin, gentlemen.”
They listened as the doctor did a thorough external exam. Numerous stab and burn wounds were noted, as well as the strangulation and ligature marks. When he moved down to the pelvic region, he remarked, “Her vaginal and anal areas were sealed with super glue. From the bruising around her genitalia, I can say with certainty that she was sadistically sexually assaulted beforehand. If this killer has struck before, this may indeed give you a clue to his victims. I will check with some fellow coroners to see if they’ve had any victims present with the same type of injuries.”
Morrison and Sotheby both agreed that was an excellent idea. Not all law enforcement agencies ran the cases through VICAP, but a coroner would remember certain details like super glue.
“Looks like we may have some DNA detectives. Semen is present. He didn’t bother to wash her down, so either he doesn’t care, or is a newbie. It will take approximately a week to get the results, but when we do receive the results, they can be run through CODIS.” CODIS is a national database of DNA collected from the convicted, missing persons and unsolved cases. “I was able to lift several prints off of her body and those are being run through AFIS right now.”
Dr. Richardson stated, “I had Tim rush the toxicology report for me. A presumptive report was sent over this morning. Chloroform was used to subdue her. Trace amounts were found in her system.”
Morrison was astounded to hear that. “Chloroform? That is old school, isn’t it?”
“There are more options out there, but chloroform is easy to acquire. He must be familiar with it, though, because there is a danger in using it. If you aren’t careful, you can breathe it in and knock yourself out.”
Morrison wouldn’t be able to forget this girl’s face for a long time. It would haunt his dreams until he solved this case. The girl’s eyes were open and bulging. Petechial hemorrhaging and massive bruising was evident on her body, especially on her neck. From the hideous expression on her face, it was apparent she died a horrendous death. Patches of skin had been removed from her body. Most startling was that this girl had been skinned alive. Bite marks were also present all over the body. What had been done to her was unfathomable. You could see every horrific thing this maniac did to her.
Morrison couldn’t even begin to conceive the horrors this girl went through. “I want video and stills taken of the body. I will send a copy to VICAP and the FBI immediately. I think Dr. Richardson is correct in his assumption. This is not the first time this killer has struck.”
What kind of person would do this to another human being? What kind of twisted mind did this person have to even contemplate these tortures on another person?
With the external exam done, Dr. Richardson was ready to continue on to the y-incision. Morrison didn’t need to be around for this violation of the body. It may be a necessary evil to solve the case, but the woman had already been through enough, without needing them to witness the rest. “Doc, we will let you finish up here. There are still some leads we need to follow up on.”
“I’ll send you my report when it’s complete.”
The killer or killers had spent a great deal of time with the victim, never feeling the need to hurry along. They knew what they were doing. No, this wasn’t a newbie to killing. This was someone experienced.
Morrison drove back to the Sheriff’s Department in silence. The building was over fifty years old and needed minor renovations. When it was originally constructed, someone had the foresight to keep in mind the town would grow and as it did, a bigger building would be needed. There were more than enough offices to house all the detectives and give them a little more growing room for labs, interview rooms, and conference rooms.
***
MORRISON NOTICED THE FBI agent as soon as he walked into the station. His black suit and the presence about him screamed FBI. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he arrived right after a brutal murder here.
O’Riordan walked up to the sergeant at the front desk, “I’m looking for a Detective Morrison.”
Morrison had just made it to the desk when he heard his name. “That’s me. What can I do for you, Agent?”
O’Riordan was astonished that he had been pegged as FBI so quickly. “I am with the BAU. You entered a case into VICAP yesterday about a murder involving super glue. I wanted to talk to you about it, if at all possible.”
“Let’s go back to my desk. I haven’t had a chance to check on the hits from VICAP yet. You must have been watching for new cases. I had a feeling this wasn’t just a garden variety murder. I assume the FBI suspects my murder may be that of a serial killer or madman they are currently hunting down.”
“I have an alert set up that notifies me as soon as something matching my request is entered. I also noticed that you mentioned the body was eviscerated. The evisceration is new, but the super glue does match my killer. I’m fairly certain this is his work.”
“To be honest with you, when I saw the body, I thought it was the work of a pro. The body is in decomp and scavengers managed to do a number on her, but you can still tell that the torture she endured was excruciating.”
“I am in charge of the task force that is tracking down an escaped serial killer, David Thorguson, and his partner. Now that these two have teamed up, I have been worried the brutality done to the victims would become worse. The violence is clearly escalating. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about his partner, the one who helped him escape.”
“Whatever you need, just let me know. I am a firm believer that we, as law enforcement agencies, need to all get along. What this girl endured was inhumane.”
“I appreciate it, Detective Morrison. I made a copy of my relevant files for your perusal, if you’re interested. Maybe if we all work together, we can bring this duo down.”
Morrison picked up the file and looked over the photos. “Except for the skinning and evisceration, you would assume we were looking at the same crime scene.”
O’Riordan handed over the photos of the crime scenes before David became involved with his partner. “Now, I want you to take a look at these.”
“They are close, but not nearly as macabre as the recent crime scenes.”
“These are the work of a possible serial killer that has managed to fly under the radar. I stumbled across the similarities by accident quite some time ago. I, however, never really had the proof and the powers that be felt I would be spinning my wheels and wasting federal funds when the FBI already had a heavy caseload. After David Thorguson escaped and the prison guard had the same signature, I was given a chance to prove my theory.”
“These were all the work of your suspected serial killer?”
“We still don’t know for sure if all these cases are related. They all have similarities, but, yes, I do believe most were committed by the same killer. It appears that this killer knew by crossing state lines it would keep him from being discovered. He never seems to strike the same area twice. He also keeps his victimology different.”
“I noticed there are both men and women victims.”
“I don’t think the killings are sexually motivated for him. It’s all about the control and torture. The amount of pain he can inflict while ending a life is what his killings seem to revolve around. With him, it’s a matter of opportunity. This killer isn’t going for a particular look, anyone will do.”
Morrison continued reviewing the files. Each of these victims had died a horrible, gruesome death. The coroners had been thorough with the autopsies. Every clue or chance for DNA that could be considered was explored. DNA had been found in some cases, but with no hits. For some unknown reason, the DNA hits never linked the murders, even though after reviewing some of the files, the matches were there.
“Why didn’t VICAP pick up on the DNA matches?”
O’Riordan had wondered the same thing when he noticed the matches. “There was a glitch somewhere, but one that I am rectifying with this case.”
Looking at Morrison, O’Riordan could tell the man had a tremendous amount of empathy for the victims. He was very thorough in his investigations, from what he had observed. “We could use someone like you on the task force. At each sighting, I keep a small task force there to continue working the case. We all touch base as the case progresses. Some travel may be needed, though. If you are interested, I can speak with your lieutenant and have you temporarily assigned to the case.”
Morrison was taken aback by the request. This could be a huge help in his career - or it could ruin him. Some of his fellow officers in the department considered working with the FBI as a weakness. These monsters needed to be stopped, though, and if “sleeping with the enemy”, as they saw it, was the only way to do that, then so be it. Although he never considered the FBI to be the enemy.
“Agent O’Riordan, I’ll do anything I can to help capture these bastards. If you need a place to set up here, I’m sure we can find some empty offices. Anything you or the task force need, don’t hesitate to ask. We had a kidnapping case not long ago and there are already extra phone lines set up, as well as whiteboards.”
"I'm sure your coroner here is just as good as the one we have on the task force, but would it be okay for her to examine the body?"
"I have no problems with it and I don’t see where the coroner will either."
***
AS MEGHAN WALKED INTO the morgue, she prayed the coroner wouldn't be hostile and hold this request against her. Dr. Richardson walked over to her with a file in his hands. She didn’t sense any hostility in his mannerism. “You must be Dr. Cook, it’s nice to meet you. I made you a copy of the autopsy report. We still don’t have any lab results back, regrettably. This is a hell of a case.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you didn’t take any offense at the FBI’s request.”
“Doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m confident in my work and if I did miss something, and I don’t believe I did, then we need to know about it.”
“I honestly don’t think Agent O’Riordan is worried that you missed anything, it’s just that I’ve been reviewing these files over and over lately and I believe I have picked up on his signature. If that’s the case, it won’t take but a quick perusal of the body to know for certain.”
“I have her ready for you to look at. We still don’t have an ID yet.”
Meghan donned her scrubs, booties, and gloves. She examined the young woman’s body, taking blood and tissue samples to expedite to the FBI lab for results. She shook her head. This was such a waste of a young life. The body was a disaster. Numerous cuts, stab wounds, burns, and bruises covered her body. The killers had started to take their torture further.
She must rein in these emotions and channel them to her benefit. She needed to be methodical, but also proceed with haste in this case. The longer these two killers were free, the more bodies would be found. Agent O’Riordan joined them in the morgue.
“Agent O’Riordan, as I told Dr. Cook, I am confident in my work and we all have the same goal in mind – to catch this killer. Maybe with the federal government’s resources, her identity can be located and her family informed of her unfortunate demise.”
“He’s escalating. The evisceration is new.”
As Meghan continued to examine the body, she stated, “From the broken ribs and ligature marks around her neck, I suspect that they would revive her and start all over again.”
O’Riordan nodded in agreement. “That is something David Thorguson would do. He revived them as many times as he could.”
This duo was playing a dangerous cat and mouse game. Unfortunately, one never knew what went on in the mind of a diabolical killer, or in this case, killers.