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Sheriff William Bradham enjoyed his job. Most people considered him to be a tough sheriff who showed no leniency to anyone. That may be true, but crime in this town had dropped significantly since his election. He was forty-two, single, and planned to keep it that way. Marriage and police work didn’t mix. They were like oil and water.
Right before lunch, he received a call from Phil Jones, head of the local Department of Transportation office. “Sheriff Bradham, some men were removing trash from the roadside and stumbled across a dead body. It is near the entrance ramp to the interstate. I wasn’t sure if this is your jurisdiction or the State Trooper’s.”
“Hard to say, give me the exact location and I’ll give them a call. If it’s a dead body, I have to call the state troopers in any way. They are better equipped to handle crime scenes.” Sheriff Bradham hoped it was close to the interstate. He didn’t want this kind of headache. He informed the state trooper dispatcher the location of the dead body.
The dispatcher asked, “Can you tell if foul play is involved?”
“I’m on my way out there now. We received the call a minute before I called you.”
“I’ll alert the local state trooper detachment near there.”
“You may want to have them send out their crime scene unit. I’ll dispatch mine, but our equipment is nowhere near as sophisticated as yours.”
“Yes, sir, I’ll let them know.”
Sheriff Bradham called Detective Tony Morris and Detective Drew Powell into his office. “We have a dead body near the entrance ramp to the interstate. I informed the State Troopers, but we need to investigate, in case it turns out to be our jurisdiction. I’ll be right behind you.”
When they arrived, the men stepped out of their truck, but just pointed at the body. Neither man wanted to go near the body, much less take another look at it. “When we went to pick up the tarp, the hand fell out. We dropped the thing and called our supervisor.”
Sheriff Bradham knew the men were just doing their job, but it also meant that the crime scene had inadvertently been tampered with. Both men would have to be fingerprinted, so their fingerprints could be separated from the killer’s.
Sheriff Bradham informed his detectives. "Forensics and the coroner are on their way. It shouldn't be too much longer before they arrive. Our first priority is identifying the victim. Check for prints near and on the body. Maybe he left semen and the perp is in CODIS. Hell, you never know, we may get lucky and have this case wrapped up in forty-eight hours."
***
DETECTIVE MORRIS LOOKED over the body while he waited for the coroner. Even in death, you could tell the young woman had been attractive. She was maybe twenty-five or so. From the looks of her bare feet, she’d recently had a pedicure. Her toenails were painted a bright fuchsia pink, once again indicating her young age. Perhaps if they brought her photo to local nail salons someone would recognize her. This girl must be missed by someone. After all, she was someone’s daughter, sister, possibly a wife or girlfriend. Someone must have reported her missing.
Detectives Morris and Powell watched the coroner’s van pull up. Both men wanted to be nearby while the coroner did a quick examination of the body. Upon examination, the coroner discovered that the victim had been eviscerated, but also her private parts appeared to be super glued shut. This gave the murder enough distinction to run the MO through VICAP and see if they found a hit. Hopefully, this would already be someone else’s headache.
The mutilation and torture done to the body showed an extensive amount of rage. Multiple stab and burn marks covered the body.
Between the brutality of the crime scene and the heat, tempers started to wear thin. The men who discovered the body were getting restless, wondering when they could go home. Neither detective wanted to release them from the scene until forensics were done, just in case more questions needed to be answered. Besides, they wanted to ensure that neither man talked to the press just yet.
Morris observed his surroundings. He allowed the scene and evidence to tell its story. If he listened close enough, maybe some secrets would be revealed.
Crime scene techs walked a grid in search of evidence. They also took photographs as potential evidence was discovered. With the body being found on the side of the road, there was a chance that more trash and debris would be dumped as soon as they left. As it stood, it was hard to prevent the cars zooming by from blowing away potential evidence, even with the lane closest to them closed off. There was no guarantee that evidence had not been picked up by the wind and blown away already. Uniformed officers have been ordered to fan out and search, but it was doubtful they would find anything of use.
"There is no way a torture, much less a gruesome murder, took place right next to the interstate and no passing motorists noticed. To perform this kind of torture on someone, the killer needed a private place, somewhere quiet where no one could hear her scream. This was strictly a dumping ground."
"The killer didn’t care if the body was found. I'm willing to bet a paycheck this isn't his first kill and he's gotten away with it before. There are no hesitation marks on the body."
"I suspect he isn't going to stop with this one kill either. We need to run the case through VICAP and see if we get similar hits. Let’s try to stop him before he kills again."
Sheriff Bradham picked up his phone and called Detective Morris, “I need you and Powell in my office. We need to go over this case and see where we stand. Everyone is afraid this is a serial killer.”
“We just pulled up to the department and are on our way in. See you in a minute.” Detective Morris knew that Sheriff Bradham would want an update, but there wasn’t much to say at this time.
They knocked on the Sheriff’s door before entering. He appeared as frazzled as them. “Please tell me you have something. I have the mayor breathing down my neck and concerned citizens calling. The mayor already wants to implement a curfew and call in the FBI.”
“Sir, I haven’t had a chance to look through VICAP, but that is my next priority. I believe this is the work of a pro. The victim was sexually assaulted, vaginally and anally, before the super glue was applied. She has ligature marks on her wrists and ankles, as well as strangulation marks around her neck. Numerous stab and burn wounds, none contributing to her death, however. All wounds were superficial for the most part. Torture was the prize here and not murder, at least until the very end. She had several cracked ribs and damage to the heart, which the coroner believed was from resuscitation. It looks as if the killer revived her several times before killing her. This would fit with the theory that torture was more important than the actual killing. The coroner also noted that her eyes had been removed.”
“So, this could be the work of a serial killer then. We need to catch this guy before he strikes again.”
The eye removal bothered Detective Morris. He expressed his concerns to his partner, Detective Powell. “This killer is a psycho. Not only did he strangle her and then revive her several times, but he tortured her repeatedly. Did he remove her eyes for a trophy?”
Powell continued to study the photos and autopsy report, “What really bothers me is the precision of the cuts, there seem to be no hesitation marks. The eyes weren’t hacked or gouged out either. They were neatly removed. What did he do with the organs and the eyes? I agree this guy has a screw loose for sure.”
Sheriff Bradham informed the detectives. “Let’s get busy then and catch this guy.”
A quick search through VICAP for bodies matching the MO of vaginas being super glued resulted in several hits. Some of the bodies found also had Rohypnol in their system. It was something that could be made in your own home with the correct knowledge, or bought on the streets for a price. It was more commonly known as the date rape drug and considered old school now. This could mean they were dealing with someone in their late thirties or early forties, instead of a younger offender. The UNSUB most likely spiked drinks at bars, diners, wherever he found his victims. Once the opportunity presented itself, he moved in and abducted them.
Since he jumped around from state to state, it made it difficult to pin down a pattern and prove that a serial killer was preying on women. After reviewing other case files, they were fairly certain he drove a motor home. A distinct tread pattern had been found at several of the dump sites, all matching a motor home.
The current woman had been sexually assaulted pre and maybe postmortem, bruising around the area was evident. Detective Morris believed the killer was escalating, since the previous victims attributed to the killer were never sexually assaulted. The one common factor was the super glue. Each victim’s genitalia had been super glued shut.
This serial killer had definite hunting skills. The killer’s MO had changed recently, though. Could it be he had partnered up with someone? The latest victim was skinned and gutted, just like a freshly killed animal. She was cut straight down the middle with great finesse. No hesitation marks were noticed. Why remove the eyes, though? He didn’t notice that detail in the VICAP reports.
This killer was meticulous. The cuts were done with almost surgical precision. He had been honing this skill for a while. The coroner suspected that he started skinning and gutting this victim while she was still alive.
Detectives Morris and Powell were currently on their way to follow up with Gabrielle Hurst, the potential victim’s roommate, to find out if she could shed any light on Kelly’s disappearance and who may have wanted to kill her.
“Kelly sent a text from the bar telling me not to wait up, that she had met a hottie. Supposedly, he was new in town, maybe just passing through. At first, I wasn’t worried when she didn’t show up the following day, but I knew she had to work on Monday.”
“Do you know what bar she frequented or anyone that may have actually wanted to kill her?”
“We had gone bar hopping, but ended up at Harry’s on Main Street. That’s really the only decent bar to pick up men. We just like to blow off steam and have fun. Neither of us are looking for a permanent relationship. Kelly was a love ‘em and leave ‘em kind of person. She also had a rough personality. She could be brazen and it got her in trouble quite a bit in the past. Some men didn’t like her demeanor at all. It didn’t seem to bother her one way or the other. Don’t get me wrong now, she was a great person, but you had to know her really well to actually understand her. I think she had a tough childhood and carried a chip on her shoulder. She never talked about her past, though. I think someone hurt her more than she wanted anyone to know.”
Morris and Powell made Harry’s their next stop. It wasn’t 5:00 p.m. yet, but maybe someone was there. A heavy set man with a balding head opened the door. He wore a white t-shirt and jeans, with a bar towel knotted on one of his belt loops. “Sorry fellows, closed for now.”
Morris flashed his badge. “Got a couple of questions for you.” The smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke annihilated their senses as soon as they walked in the door. Even in the daylight, the bar was dimly lit.
“Now what happened? We haven’t had any trouble around here lately officers, so what seems to be the problem?”
“A young lady that frequents the bar was murdered a few nights ago. We are hoping you may remember something or maybe someone else who was here the night she went missing may remember something.”
“What night are we talking about?”
“Friday night is supposedly when she was here. She told her friend that she met a new guy in town while here and he was buying her a round.”
“Friday night was busy. I don’t remember too many faces; they all seem to meld into one after a while. Very few new people venture in here. The bartender will be in at 4:00 p.m., if you want to come back and talk to him. I mainly chitchat with the crowd at the bar just passing time. This is my livelihood and I keep a tight rein around here to keep out the riffraff. I don’t want any problems.”
“Yes, sir, we understand perfectly. We’ll be back later on tonight. Would it be okay to talk to some of the patrons?”
“Sure, most are here by 8:00.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Morris’s phone rang as they walked out of the bar; it was a 703 area code. “Detective Morris.”
“Detective Morris, my name is Special Agent Jackson O’Riordan, with the FBI. I understand you have a peculiar murder there.”
“Yes, sir, it is a gruesome one, to say the least.”
“The hit on VICAP states that there was super glue used on the victim.”
“Yes, it was. The woman was also skinned and eviscerated.”
“I am tracking down a serial killer with that same signature.”
“I believe we may have one of his victims in our morgue then. We just identified the lady today and are retracing her last steps as we speak. She was last seen in a bar not too far from where her body was found. I’m still not sure where she was murdered. Agent O’Riordan there is one new detail you should be aware of, her eyes were also removed. I didn’t see that on VICAP.”
“No, that is new, but he has been taking small trophies.”
***
O’RIORDAN HAD A FEELING Sheriff Hamilton would receive another package. He needed to call and warn her that this time it would most probably contain the eyes of the latest victim.
O’Riordan decided it would be better to call Alex. With Jordan being pregnant, he didn’t want to be the one to break the news to her. “Alex, I thought you would want to know that Jordan will get another package in the mail soon. David may be sending her the victim’s eyes.”
“I appreciate it, O’Riordan. I’m still trying to figure out where the hell they’re going. There is no way they can make it into Canada, not with border patrol the way it is nowadays.”
Jordan refused to even look at the package when it arrived in the morning’s mail. “Alex, it’s here. The task force can have it. I don’t even want to open it.”
Alex, was intrigued about what the note would say. The note was simple and to the point, “Wish I could see you soon.” Alex called O’Riordan to let him know the package from David had been received and sent over to the task force. This time the postmark came from Hampton, Virginia. No one was sure of their destination, but they speculated their next stop might be West Virginia. O’Riordan had already informed the authorities there to be on the lookout. The problem was they were looking for a needle in a haystack.