CHAPTER THIRTY

 

 

May 16, 2015

5:20 P.M.

McCall, Idaho

 

Julia found herself walking along the beautiful mountain McCall Lake as dark settled over the water. The main part of town was just behind them, the dark mortuary ahead of them.

She was walking hand-in-hand with Lott, the man she was coming to love more and more each day. And she wished like anything this could have been under different circumstances, because it felt so right.

Maybe at some point she and Lott could go up to Taos and walk along the lake there. That would be perfect, especially on a beautiful spring night as this was.

The warmth of the day hadn’t yet left the air and the smell of pine trees and steaks cooking at a nearby restaurant were like a comforting blanket.

She felt very rested because after the sheriff was tucked away, she and Lott and Annie and Doc and Fleet had gone back to Doc’s house on Cascade Lake.

She and Lott had stretched out on couches in front of the fireplace and both taken short naps. She could have gone up to her room, and he could have gone to his room, but it seemed they wanted to stay close to each other at the moment.

She really wanted to stay close to him a lot more when this was finished. He seemed to be a rock to her worry, even though she could tell, and he had said, he had been scared to death a few times, especially when Sheriff Blake pulled his gun.

But knowing the FBI agents were right outside the door had helped calm them both.

Fleet had said that he and Agent Munn had search warrants ready to file for the mortuary, the sheriff’s office and home, and Williams’ home on the lake as soon as Williams ended up at the mortuary.

As soon as they arrested Williams, search warrants would be issued for his other homes in Boise, Seattle, and Las Vegas.

They had had to file the search warrant for the mortuary first, but Fleet and Agent Munn were positive that Williams would not find out about it before he did his boat trip across the lake.

They had had a nice early dinner that Annie and Doc had cooked, then had all headed back into McCall.

Just at dark, Julia and Lott had headed down the beach to go in the back door of the mortuary and get set up for Williams’ arrival.

Williams had been in his home on the lake for four hours now and hadn’t made a call or taken an incoming call.

“This has been a nice walk,” Lott said.

“It has,” Julia said, squeezing his hand. “Let’s do it again without half the world listening and a serial killer on the loose.”

“Deal,” Lott said, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.

Julia knew that a number of FBI agents were watching, but she couldn’t see any of them.

They went up the back steps to the mortuary from the beach as if they belonged there and went inside.

The room was a stark, white room with three metal embalming tables lined up. Shelves filled with various supplies filled the right wall and the concrete floor was washed down and clean. But the place still smelled of a slight rotting flesh covered with the odor of disinfectant.

The gold casket sat on the lift to the back of the room and a door to the right led into a small office there, which also had a shower and bathroom. Stairs from the upstairs were against the left wall with the door closed at the bottom.

The larger freezer door on the left of the lift was to a cooling room. Julia didn’t want to know if any townspeople were in there at this point. They were going to have to find another mortuary starting tomorrow.

Julia had watched numbers of autopsies as a detective and it was always the smell that got her the worst. The smell in this place wasn’t much better.

Agent Munn greeted them.

“How’s Andrews holding up?” Lott asked.

“Pleading for a doctor and a deal,” Agent Munn said, laughing. “He has also said, while being recorded, that Williams did the murder and the embalming, confirming the story the sheriff said.”

“The rats are jumping this ship,” Lott said. “Did you ask him how he leaves the lights in the mortuary and the back door open or locked for Williams.

“Andrews said the upstairs lights are always off,” Agent Munn said. “These lights are on, back porch light is on, back door is unlocked.”

“So we’re set,” Lott said.

“And where is the victim?” Julia asked.

“Andrews said they leave her in the casket on the lift, and leave her alone with Williams,” Agent Munn said. “They are always upstairs when he arrives and never saw the victims alive. When Williams calls for them a couple hours later, she is dead and embalmed.”

Julia was so glad they had rescued the girl in Washington.

A moment later, Annie opened the back door and came in and shut it behind her.

“Nice smell,” she said, waving her hand in front of her face.

“So now we are completely set,” Lott said.

Agent Munn nodded. “My people will tell us when he arrives and goes in the back door here. It will take them about fifteen seconds to get to the back door to block it.”

“So now we wait,” Lott said. “How about we do that upstairs in the dark in those comfortable chairs in the waiting room?”

“I agree,” Julia said, having no desire at all to stay in this smell or this room of death. “It’s just barely dark out there. It might be hours.”

At that very moment a voice came through their communication links in their ears. “Williams just left his boat dock, no running lights, wearing black.”

“How about fifteen minutes,” Agent Munn said, smiling. “Report when he lands.”

“Copy,” one of the agents said.

She went over, made sure the back door was unlocked, then the four of them stood there, waiting.