by Robin Mahle
With tears in her eyes, she watched them open the doors, the trunk, the hood. Looking for what, God only knew, but she was helpless to do anything now. She just wanted to get him out of that shaft.
“Hey, Chief, you wanna take a look at this?” Slocum was hunched over the driver’s seat and aimed his light at the floorboard.
“Looks like a pill.”
“That it does, and I’ll give you two guesses as to what kind of pill.”
“I only need one. It’s Oxy and I’ll bet it’s an eighty mil.”
Slocum used a card he found in the center console, one of those postcard advertisements that always slipped out of magazines. He slid it under the tablet and raised it up. “Damn good guess, Chief.” He turned to him. “Eighty mil and I can bet this ain’t the only one.”
“Might be the only one we find in here, but let’s bag it and tag it.”
“Okeydokey.”
One of the things that had gotten easier with the opioid problem had been the passage of new laws regarding OxyContin and the formation of the new tablets. They were almost impossible to crunch with teeth and crushing one turned it into some kind of jelly-like substance. And still the time-release ingredients inside it made it hard as hell to get a decent high. Another benefit was that if anything was added to it, if it was laced with something, Fentanyl in most cases, it was generally easier to trace to a dealer. This could provide useful information as to Steven Schiller’s last hours on this earth.
“I don’t see anything else of note in here, Chief. Should we head out to the shaft?” Slocum asked.
“Might as well. Let’s call the doc and he can meet us out there with a truck.” Chief Tate walked back to the car and opened the rear passenger door. “We found some Oxy in Steven’s car. You don’t know nothing about that, do you?”
“No, sir.”
“Didn’t think so.” He closed the door and got into the front passenger seat. “We’ll be heading out to the mineshaft now. Called for the ambulance to come meet us there too. We’ll get Steven taken care of. And the others.”
When Lazaro returned, he peered back at Dawn. “You sure there’s nothing else you want to tell us before we head out there?”
She shook her head as Slocum entered the vehicle.
“Okay then. Let’s go.”
Within a few minutes, they’d arrived at the clearing.
“Should we see if anyone’s here first, Chief?” Lazaro asked. “When we were here yesterday, place was deserted. Like someone called and warned everyone the law was coming.”
“That’s right,” Slocum began. “Knocked on doors, peeked through windows. Nothing.”
Dawn remembered the man from the trailer who’d seen her run out of that place like a bat out of hell. She wondered when the deputies had made their visit, but didn’t dare ask.
“Let’s just get inside the shaft and get a handle on what we’re dealing with. Then we’ll figure things out from there.”
“I’ll show you where they are. It’s sort of deep inside it, near the collapsed part,” Dawn said.
“Fair enough.” He opened his door and the four headed toward the entrance. “I’ll just need you to stick close, you hear? Place is dangerous.”
“Yes, sir.” Dawn followed them inside. “It’s back a ways. I’d say at least thirty feet. You’ll know it when the smell hits you.”
“I’m still not exactly clear as to why you were in here, Miss Murphy,” Lazaro added. “But I guess the best thing is for us to see what it is we got in here.” His nose crinkled and he raised the back of his hand to his face. “Lord Almighty.”
“That’s the smell I was talking about.” Dawn stopped and put her hand on her stomach.
“You gonna be all right, miss?” Lazaro asked.
“Yes. I’m sorry. It’s still just—just so shocking.”
“My Lord.” The chief stood in front of Steven’s body. He reached for a handkerchief in his pocket and covered his mouth with it.
“We got another male and female over here, Chief.” Lazaro pointed to the others with his flashlight. “When’s the doc coming?”
“Should be in the next few minutes.” Tate approached the other victims. “Any idea who they are?”
Slocum stood nearest the female and aimed his light at her chest. “The necklace. Name on it says Joanne. Has to be Joanne Waverly.”
“Son of a bitch. Who’s the male?”
“Can’t say. But I can assume it’s Tommy Conroy.”
They all turned to the entrance at the sound of another vehicle.
“Must be the ambo.” Lazaro looked at Dawn. “Okay, miss, I think it’s time you waited outside. Let us get these poor people out of here.” He led her toward the entrance and spotted the ambulance and the doctor who stepped out of the driver’s side.
“What y’all got in there?”
“Doc, you’d have to see it to believe it,” Lazaro replied. “Chief Tate’s in there waiting for you.” As he continued to lead Dawn away, he spotted a man standing outside one of the trailers. “You know that man?”
“No, sir.”
“Okay. Just have a seat in the car. I’m going to go have a quick word. Just sit tight, you hear?”
Dawn dropped her head in her hands and cried.
“Excuse me?” Lazaro approached the man still standing outside his trailer. “I’m Deputy Lazaro. Can I ask you your name, sir?”
The man, who appeared in need of a good bath and clean clothes, eyed the officer. “I don’t know nothing about whatever it is you got going on over there.”
Lazaro moved closer, standing only feet from the man. “That’s not what I asked, sir. Can I get your name, please? I just want to ask you a few questions. That’s all.”
“Jensen. Name’s Sterling Jensen.” He folded his arms across his chest, making his stomach appear even larger. Not an obese man, by any means, but a man who didn’t take much care with his eating habits. Fast food was cheap here. Sometimes cheaper than homemade. And overconsumption of such processed foods would lead one to appear such as Sterling Jensen did.
“Mr. Jensen, as you can see, we’ve come up on quite an unfortunate situation over there. You say you don’t know anything about it. Fair enough. But I don’t suppose you seen any unusual comings and goings around here in the past few days?”
“You do know what generally goes on around here, don’t you, Deputy? You seem like a smart man.”
“I am familiar with the area’s reputation. What I’m asking is, apart from what is normal, for here, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Cars you ain’t seen before. People you ain’t seen before. That sort of thing. Cause I’ll tell you what, I was out here with my partner yesterday and didn’t notice you. You weren’t hiding from us or anything, were you?”
“I’m not a permanent resident to this location. I’m only here when the mood strikes me. So, as I wasn’t here yesterday, the only car I seen is the one driven by that blonde woman you came out here with. She was here only a short while ago. Nothing else before. Not that I took note of, anyhow, apart from y’all.”
“Did you happen to notice what she was doing? As you say you weren’t here yesterday. Was she alone?”
“Deputy, I don’t pay any attention to the folks around here. I saw her come out the mine, left if alone and went back inside.”
“Right.”
“Figured nothing good ever going to come from inside that place ever again and whatever it was she was doing, I wanted no part of.” He peered around Lazaro. “What’d you find in there? I imagine that ambulance isn’t here just ‘cause.”
“No, sir, it’s not. But I’m afraid I can’t say much more than that right now. You be sure and let me know if you recall anything else. I surely would appreciate it.”
“Will do.” The man walked back inside.
Lazaro headed back toward the car and spotted the chief approaching. “He doesn’t know nothing. Just what Miss Murphy already told us.”
“Wel
l, I think we ought to make contact with our federal friends.”
“Louisville?”
“Feds got an office in Pikeville. Closer and might get a better response.”
“Why you think we need to call on them? Drugs?”
“I do believe that has something to do with it. They won’t get involved in local murder investigations, unless, of course, it’s got something to do with drug trafficking. Right now, I’m leaning in that general vicinity.”
“You think they were killed for drugs?”
“Can’t think of no other reason just yet. Drug deals gone bad, most likely.”
“Maybe even crossing state lines, figuring on how hard it’s been lately getting anything here in Crown Pointe,” Lazaro added.
“Exactly. Better to be proactive in a situation like this, in my humble opinion. I’ll let them decide if they think it’s worth their time. Right now, we should make a visit to Kim Waverly.”
“What about Tommy Conroy’s folks?”
“Best wait until we get confirmation from Doc on an identity. Shouldn’t take but half a day or so. We’ll start with Kim.” Chief shook his head in disgust as he made his way back to the ambulance. Doc, the man who ran the local hospital and morgue, closed its doors.
“Appreciate you coming out. Me and the boys are gonna make a visit to Mrs. Waverly. How long you think before you get a positive ID on the male?”
“Not long. I’ll give you a shout as soon as I know for sure.” He turned his sights toward the truck. “Can’t believe something like this could happen here.”
“I know. Shoving them in there like that. Doing what they did to the bodies. Best guess is it’s some outside group trying to move in and take over the trade. But that’s something we’ll have to get to work on ASAP.”
“I’d better get. I’ll let you know as soon as I know anything, Henry.”
“Thank you, Doc.”
The chief waited in the lobby of the hospital, which doubled as the morgue, with Slocum and Lazaro. He checked the time on his phone. “Said he’d be here by 10am.”
“Well, I bet that’s him coming up to the door now,” Lazaro replied. “Sure looks like a Fed.”
A man, appearing to be in his late twenties and wearing a navy-colored suit, walked inside. He spotted the officers immediately and approached Lazaro. “Morning. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.” He offered his hand. “Special Agent Roger Ness, Pikeville Field Office.”
Lazaro smiled. “Ness? As in Elliot Ness?”
“I assure you there is no relation.”
“Sure, yeah. I’m Deputy Lazaro. This here is Chief Tate and Deputy Slocum.”
The chief approached. “Pleasure. We certainly appreciate you coming down here to take a look.”
“Happy to help. I do apologize for the delay. It took a couple days to get the approval. Which, I’m hoping means you might have some additional forensics come through?”
“I’m afraid not. We’ve got positive ID on all three victims, but we’re still waiting on tox screens and DNA testing.” He began to walk into the hall. “Doc’s waiting on us. Best go on back and get started.”
The agent followed him. “So you believe this is related to drug trafficking?”
“Right now, that’s the only damn thing makes even the slightest bit of sense as to what happened to those poor people.” He turned back to the agent. “You’ll see in a minute what I’m talking about.”
They entered the room where all three victims lay on gurneys. Doc approached the agent. “You must be with the FBI. I’m Dr. Powell, but everyone calls me Doc.” He offered his hand.
“Special Agent Roger Ness. Pleased to meet you.”
Doc smiled a little before glancing to the chief, whose face suggested he not mention the man’s last name. “Right. Okay, so some good news. I just received the tox screens on two of our three victims here. Don’t know why the delay on Steven Schiller’s results, but anyhow, this will give us a start.”
The agent moved closer to the only female victim. “Who’s this?”
“That there is Miss Joanne Waverly. Nineteen,” the chief began. “Her momma came to me a few days ago. Someone happened across the bodies the other day, and well, here we are.”
The agent looked at the doctor. “Cause of death?”
“I was initially inclined to say blunt force trauma to the brain, however, after receiving these results,” at this, he turned to the chief, “Henry, I’d say she very well could’ve been dying from the drugs in her system. And then someone decided to hurry along the process.”
“Well, what’d you find in her leads you to believe that, Doc?”
“OxyContin, as you’d expect, but it appears it was mixed with a toxic combination of chemicals.”
“Like precursor chemicals?” The agent replied.
“I’m afraid I’m not sure what those are, but according to the screen, she had elements of propanol, chloroform, and acetone, among others in her blood. And together, it was a highly lethal brew.”
“What exactly are precursor chemicals?” Slocum asked.
“They’re mostly used by the cartels to make counterfeit Oxy, in addition to things like Fentanyl.”
“So this is sounding like it’s outside dealers looking to get in?” Lazaro asked.
“Except you can’t sell drugs to dead people. Makes no sense creating a product intended to kill your buyers.” The chief looked to Agent Ness. “And then crush their skulls and bury them inside the walls of an abandoned mineshaft. “Agent Ness, after what Doc here has said, I’m starting to think this might be more to do with intentional murder than a drug deal gone bad. I might’ve been wrong to call you out.”
“Could be both. It’s hard to say, but I’ll tell you what.” He rubbed his chin as he continued to observe Joanne’s body. “I’d like to get some input from our unit that handles unusual cases such as this. And given that there are already three unfortunate souls here, I think they might be interested in taking a look.”
Tate looked to his officers and returned his attention to the agent. “Whatever it is we need to do to make sure no one else turns up like this, I’m on board with, Agent Ness.”
6
Daylight had drawn to an end and the shadows crawled along the walls of Kate’s office. It was then she recalled the standing dinner plans she would miss out on with Nick if she didn’t leave soon. They both went to extreme measures to ensure their weekly dinner date didn’t get pushed off the calendar. It seemed a Herculean effort this week, but she would keep her end of the bargain. It wasn’t until Kate made her way to the door and Quinn appeared with a look she’d seen before that it became apparent tonight might be put on hold after all.
“Are you leaving?” Quinn asked.
“I was about to, but I’m assuming you have other plans for me?”
“I just got a call from an agent operating out of Pikeville, Kentucky. The main Louisville office referred him to us.”
“Must be important.”
“That’s what I’d like to find out. A small town called Crown Pointe in the eastern part of the state now has three dead bodies. All discovered in an abandoned mine shaft, bludgeoned. They suspect drug trafficking deaths, but aren’t sure as it stands right now.”
“Drug trafficking? Given the condition of the victims, it sounds like the work of a cartel. That’s not really our thing, is it?”
“No. But the reason for the request was the manner of the deaths, and the way in which the bodies were—stored—for lack of a better term.” He handed her a file. “We head out first thing in the morning. Take a look at the file so you can get familiar. I’ll be studying it myself tonight as well.” He turned on his heel. “Flight leaves at 8am.”
Kate slipped the file into her bag and started out the door. Her low-heeled black shoes clicked softly on the tile floor as he walked through the corridor. Its tall windows allowed the setting sun’s rays to shine through. Arriving at Nick’s corner office, she peeked inside.
“Hey. I know we had plans tonight. In fact, I was just getting ready to leave when Quinn handed me a file. We’re leaving in the morning and heading to a place called Crown Pointe in eastern Kentucky.”
“What’s going on down there?” He pushed back from his computer and held her gaze.
“Three dead bodies. That’s about all I know right now. I need to review the case file, which is why I need to reschedule our dinner.”
“You know what? Why don’t we get some pizza delivered and we can go through the file together? If that’s okay with you—and Quinn.”
“It’s okay with me. You’re not too busy?” She continued inside.
“Sure I am, but I’d like to see what you’ve got. I’m a little surprised he didn’t brief me on it.”
“He was probably waiting to see if there was anything to it. Sounds to me like it’s the work of a drug cartel anyway. Might just be a wasted trip.” She placed the file on his desk.
“Let me take a look.”
The FBI’s Louisville field office was the first stop on the way to Crown Pointe. In a circumstance where a smaller satellite office was referred to Quantico, the jurisdictional lines and keeping open communication efforts were the best way to avoid situations like the mishandling of evidence. The agent in charge was cordial and left it up to Quinn to determine if the BAU needed to be involved. He also made it clear his office wanted nothing to do with the investigation, given that he already believed it was a DEA issue and not FBI.
But a cursory look into the case had already been agreed upon. And the next step was the drive to Crown Pointe. Agent Ness from the Pikeville office would meet Quinn and Kate at the local police station at which they’d just arrived.
Quinn pulled into a parking spot in front of the station. “Looks quaint.”
“I’ve lived in ‘quaint’ before. Trust me, it’s never what you think it is.” Kate stepped out of the rental car and waited for Quinn near the entrance.
