The Fed Man (7 page)

The three of them rose almost in unison and headed for Naldie’s office. They could see the angst on his face through the windowed door as they approached it. Without knocking, Doc opened the door and the three entered the musty-smelling, cluttered room that Naldie called his home away from home. They startled Naldie, causing him to drop a piece of paper he’d been looking at.

He removed his old golf cap and, with outstretched hands, yelled at the trio, “Jeez, Louise! Doesn’t anyone knock before entering a room anymore? This is my private office, you know! And I’m still the chief! At least until I can get this letter—now where the heck did that go—to the mayor. I just can’t do this anymore and I’m resigning. Pete, I’ve told the mayor that you should be the next chief.”

Pete strode right up to his boss and put both hands on his hips. “Chief, you just cool your jets! You’re not resigning and you’re
not going anywhere. Just get that crap out of your mind. If your Janelle could hear you now, she’d kick you square in your size forty-six butt and you know it. You’ve got a job to do and no one’s better suited to do it than you. And we’re going to help you, right guys?”

Doc walked up to his dear friend, and using the voice that he had perfected when dealing with irate and upset patients, he softly patted Naldie’s forearm in an attempt to reassure him.

“Naldie, I agree with Pete. Why don’t you just sit down for a bit and let’s try to figure this out together. Now take a couple of deep breaths, and then let’s put a plan together. Have you called Dr. Anthony yet? You know we have to call him, and we need to return to the crime scene and do the investigation just like we did before.” Patting the chief’s forearm again, he asked, “Okay, Naldie, are you calmed down now?”

Nube felt that even he was feeling calmer just hearing Doc’s soothing voice. He knew why Doc had enjoyed such a successful career.

“Yeah, thanks, Doc. It’s just that, well, you know, this scares the living crap out of me. And I keep asking, why here? Why in our little town? And you know what’s really eerie about this case? The whacked-out psycho placed the body in exactly the same spot where we found the young lady.” He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and said, “You’re right. I need to call Dr. Anthony and then we better get back out there. Thanks, Doc. I’m feeling better already.”

Naldie was just reaching for the phone when it rang. He wasn’t nearly as calm as he thought, because the sudden intrusion caused him to jump and almost knock the phone off the desk.

“Holy sweet mother of God! Now who the heck can that be? I’ll tell you what. It had better not be someone calling about another murder. Then you can sure as hell lock me away.”

Slowly raising and lowering his arms with his palms facing down, Doc looked at Naldie and with that soft voice he could use to sell sand to a camel, he said, “Naldie. Listen to me. Take a deep breath and then just answer the phone.”

With an audible sigh, Naldie took a deep breath, straightened the phone, and then picked up the receiver. In his best police baritone voice, he said, “Good morning. This is Chief Bushmiller. How can I help you?” Before the caller could respond, Naldie pushed the speaker button so his friends could listen with him.

“Good morning, Chief. This is Dr. Anthony.” The fear and trepidation in his voice were almost palpable. “I’m afraid I have
some disconcerting news. When I arrived at my office a few minutes ago, the back door was open. It looks like the lock had been busted. The door to the evidence room was also standing open. Someone destroyed the door, the lock, and the doorjamb. I just peeked in and didn’t touch anything. So I couldn’t tell if anything was removed or destroyed. Can you please come right over, Chief? And poor Mrs. Blowster. She’s so upset that I’m afraid she might faint or something. If you know where Doc is, perhaps you could ask him to accompany you. I’d really appreciate it if he could take a look at her.”

“Now just calm down, Dr. Anthony.” Naldie sounded as if he was borrowing Doc’s voice and approach. “It just so happens that I was about to call you. There’s been another murder and I want you to accompany us to the crime scene. Doc and Nube are right here in my office. And Pete’s here too, of course. So we’ll leave right now and we’ll meet you at Whitsell’s pit in about half an hour. Just make sure you lock the doors and ask Mrs. Blowster to stay there and not to let anyone in. And I mean no one is to enter. I’ll have Pete contact one of our volunteer policemen to come over and watch the place.” As he said this, Pete rose from his chair and went to his desk to make the call.

Hanging up the phone, Naldie returned the golf cap to his balding head and through an audible sigh said, “Well, boys, the shit is getting deeper. Let’s go. We’ll take the Crown Vic.”

Before he left, however, he made a point of bending down to pick up the letter he had been holding when his friends had entered. He made sure they could see as he crumpled it and tossed it into the wastebasket.

When Naldie, Nube, Doc, and Pete arrived at the entrance to Whitsell’s pit, they found Dr. Anthony pacing next to his parked vehicle. Naldie was pleased to see that there was now a double strand of crime scene tape blocking the entrance. As they got out of the chief’s Crown Vic, Naldie turned to Pete and with a nod toward his other two deputies, he said, “Pete, I want you to visit with our two young colleagues about what they might have learned, how tight the perimeter is now, and then make sure they tighten it even more. I don’t even want a fly crossing our line.”

Pete smiled a bit and thought to himself that he liked the chief’s new take-charge, kick-ass attitude. “Got it, Chief. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of the pups. Maybe you ought to lighten up on them a bit, Chief.”

Turning to Pete with a stern look on his face, he replied, “Pete, let me tell you something. I’ve been a student of General George Patton for years. That man was a great leader of men. I don’t know the quotes exactly, but he said something to the effect that his men
didn’t have to love him, but they damn well better respect him. What I’m trying to do is to instill some discipline in them. Patton also thought that discipline would insure obedience and produce courage in situations like these.”

Leaning forward, he pointed his index finger at Pete and continued. “But thank God I didn’t have to waste my time doing any of that stuff with you. It’s these pups today that make us old-timers work. Now you go on and talk to those young men.”

Naldie turned to Nube and Doc and then pointed toward Dr. Anthony. “Well, let’s go visit with him.”

As they strode toward Dr. Anthony it was readily apparent that he was quite distressed. His brow was furrowed, his lips were puckered, and his shoulders were hunched as he rubbed his hair and paced alongside his car.

“Good morning, Doctor,” Naldie said as they walked up.

Dr. Anthony jerked to a halt and was snatched out of deep thought. With a loud gasp he replied, “Oh, good morning, Chief. And to you, Doc and Nube, as well. I didn’t even hear you drive up. This whole thing is beginning to unravel me a bit. I must say, in all my years I haven’t seen the likes of anything like this. Any thoughts, Chief? Or you guys?” he asked as he redirected his gaze toward Nube and Doc.

Nube noted that the confidence and arrogance Dr. Anthony displayed the last time they visited had disappeared.

“No, I’m afraid not,” answered Naldie. “But it’s still early in our investigation. I think we should put those booties on again and take a look at what we’ve got here.”

He turned toward Doc and asked, “Doc, did you happen to bring any of those booties with you today?”

Reaching into the backpack he was toting, Doc pulled out a bunch of the operating room booties and handed a set to each of them. Naldie bent over to cover his shoes with the booties, but about halfway into his bend he stood again with a puzzled, quizzical look on his face. Removing his favorite old golf cap, he scratched his head.

“By the way, Dr. Anthony, where’s your assistant this morning? Name’s Leo right? He was here with you on the last case. Where is he today?”

“Leo has Saturdays off and I didn’t think I needed to call him today for this.”

Still puzzled, Naldie resumed the task of donning his booties. When he finally got them on he turned to the other three men and nodded toward their target. The four of them entered the pit and followed the all too familiar trail to the body. They found the latest victim lying in almost the exact same location where they had found the murdered Cassandra Swenson. The four of them stood in a semicircle and stared at the body of a young male.

Nube noted the varying postures of his companions. Naldie tugged at the loosened knot of his tie while rubbing his abdomen with his other hand. Doc had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes were almost closed. And Dr. Anthony held his hands behind his back and was swaying with a far-off look on his face, which seemed quite the contrary to how he presented himself at their arrival.

Finally, Doc broke the silence. “Let’s look at the obvious. He has an axe in his chest just like our first victim. The skin of his face has been totally removed. Looks like a very neat, almost professional job. I don’t see anything else, do you guys?”

Naldie just shook his head while Dr. Anthony answered, “No, nothing obvious at least. I did bring my liver probe today so I can at least give you an estimated time of death right here.”

Reaching into the bag he was carrying, he removed a long instrument that reminded Nube of a barbecue meat thermometer. He knelt next to the body and quickly punctured the skin and inserted the probe. Naldie removed his cap, turned, bent over, and put his hand to his mouth.

“You going to be okay, Chief?” Nube asked.

“Yeah, sure. Just give me a minute,” replied the chief as he stood and wiped his brow with the back of his forearm. Taking a deep breath, he exclaimed while exhaling, “Jeez, Doctor, next time warn me when you’re going to do something like that. That just about dropped me to my knees and cost me my breakfast.”

“Sorry about that, Chief,” replied Dr. Anthony as he removed the thermometer. He peered at the gauge before continuing. “I guess I should have warned you I was going to do that. Does seem to get most people the first time they see it done.” There seemed to be a bit of a smirk on his face as he said that. “Looking at the liver temperature, I would estimate the time of death as 0400. Since it is now ten o’clock, the six hours would also be consistent with the amount of rigor mortis that has set in.”

Pete walked up just then with Dick Young and Jim Plooter. “Chief, I’ve got the two pups working on tightening the perimeter and I’ve taken it upon myself to call in some of our volunteer police to help them. I found Dick and Jim standing at the pit entrance and brought them in so they can do their thing. How’s it going so far?” He had just finished with his announcements when he noticed the body. “Holy shit, Jack! What on God’s green earth do we have here? If this is the same perp, he is truly one cruel, whacked-out dude.”

Turning to the young photographer and the sketch artist, Naldie said, “Thanks for coming, gentlemen. Please just stand right there and don’t move until you put on some of Doc’s booties. You too, Pete. Then we’ll have you do your thing with sketches and pictures just like the last time. Any questions or thoughts? If not, you can get to work while the rest of us look for other evidence. How do you think we should proceed, Nube?”

“Since the majority of our grid stakes and lines are still in place, I would suggest that we initiate the search just like we did previously.” Pointing to the left of them he said, “Naldie, you and Doc start over there and Pete and I will scan this area. Dr. Anthony, how about you work in the area just around the body. With the last vic you were able to pick up some trace on her socks. And let’s see if we can leave the axe in until you get the body back to the morgue. Then we can try to lift some prints.”

Turning to Pete, he asked, “Pete, you brought the evidence bags and other things we need with you again, correct?”

“You bet, Nube. Wouldn’t leave home without ’em.”

He reached into the duffel bag he was carrying and passed some bags and a pair of forceps to each man to use in retrieving and storing any evidence they found. They could already hear Dick’s camera working as they began their search.

By noon they had completed the search of the immediate area. Standing and stretching their backs and legs, Nube asked the group, “Anybody find anything that looks useful?”

Naldie had a difficult time standing up. He removed his cap and rubbed his forehead with the back of his sleeve. “Not a thing, Nube. The only think I noted are some different-looking footprints leading up to this area.”

“Let’s have a look. How about you, Doc? Find anything?”

Grimacing as he stretched, he replied, “Not a thing except for my body’s decreasing stamina and ability to stay in a hunched-over position for any length of time.”

“How about you, Dr. Anthony?”

“In my quick review of the body, I noted one similarity to our first victim. This poor young man, I’m afraid, died in the same fashion as the young lady. I found a sock stuffed down his throat, indicating, at least for now, that he also died of suffocation. Of course, I’ll need to get his body to the morgue for a complete postmortem examination with toxicology studies, et cetera, before I can give you anything official.”

Before looking at the footprints Naldie had mentioned, Nube gazed at a small pucker bush behind Dr. Anthony. “Wait a moment. Let me get a better look at that bush just behind the body.”

Bending down, he leaned toward the leafless, thorny bush nestled between two small boulders. Nube said over his shoulder, “Doc, hand me the forceps please, and an evidence bag. I think I have something here.”

Taking the offered instrument, he gently removed what appeared to be a thread or a couple of threads twisted together from a thorn on the lowest branch of the bush. He stood and addressed the group.

“I’m not sure if this is anything, but if memory serves me correctly, I think we found something like this when we searched the site after the first victim. Could be nothing, could be the same thing, or it may be new. But I think we should take it and submit it for examination.” He placed the evidence into a bag. “Okay, Naldie, let’s take a look at those prints.”