burning has hindered the discovery according to the medical examiner's office."
"What about the other two whose names I gave you? Are they okay?"
"Don't know yet. Ray is trying to locate Gordon Lamar now. Lamar didn't show up for work this morning, didn't call in, and hasn't been heard from by Cynthia Meyers, who was at her parent's home in Maysville. She has been advised to take precautions if she goes out."
"Jericho doesn't need this type of crime, Nealy. We've never had four killings in a year ever. There's a madman on the loose taking young lives and who knows the reason other than the killer?"
"I can only hope that we will soon know the motive but we don't have a clue at this point. Forensics found no identifiers. No loose hairs, no fingerprints, no random discards. Nothing. It's a blank page in the murder book. Keep this under your hat hear. The papers have the basics but not the lack of forensic clues. We want that hidden."
You know you've got my confidence. I'll keep my ears open for anything that may be related to any of this mayhem. Thanks for keeping me informed."
Grubbs moped around the restaurant until seven when he told Loren he had a severe headache and was going to go home and lay down. Loren closed up and left at eleven-fifteen. When he stepped from his car in the driveway, Cynthia Meyers met him in the shadows at the steps to his porch. He backed away from her but she pleaded with him to listen to her. She apologized to Loren for all that she had been a part of in the past. She was teary-eyed as she asked if he knew where Gordon might be because he had been missing for two days with no calls or contact. Loren shook his head and said, "No, Miss Cynthia, I didn't know he was missing. I hadn't heard about it."
She stepped closer and in a lower voice asked, "Jack Grubbs didn't tell you? Did you know that Lewanna and Kenny were dead?"
"Yes, Maam. Everyone at the restaurant was talking about it. Just like they did with Chip and Kelli. Why would you think I know anything?"
"Because we all picked on you and you were the only one I could think of that might have been involved."
"Look at me Miss Cynthia. I'm a crippled weakling. Gordon was twice my size. So was Chip. I couldn't do anything like that even if I wanted, which I don't. I wouldn't have been able to lift even small Kelli. I'm sorry but I have no knowledge of where Gordon may be."
She touched his arm and said, "Thanks, Loren. Again, I'm so sorry about the way we played pranks on you. I'm so scared that someone is out there hunting for me. The Sheriff seemed to think the same thing. Please forgive me. I'll never do it to anyone else again. This has every one of us young people scared to death. We don['t know what to do about it."
"I know how fearful everyone is and, Miss Cynthia, I don't hold anything against you or Gordon. Of course I'll forgive you because I never thought much about what you did. I learned to live with it while I was in school. I sure hope nothing happens to you."
"Loren, I want you to know I was the one who called about the picnic. But I had nothing to do with the basket of horse poop. That was Chip and Kelli. I only made the call."
"Miss Cynthia, I recognized your voice, but thanks for admitting it. Too bad it's too late for Chip and Kelli. Will you be safe going home?"
"That's my dad over there in the car waiting on me. He won't let me out unless he's with me. Thanks for your understanding and help, Loren. Take care of yourself." She turned back into the shadows against the hedges and silently slipped to the curb and got in the car with her dad. Loren waved as the car drove away. She was in full tears on the ride back to Maysville.
Noting happened during the next two weeks. Grubbs was called to the Sheriff's office once during that time. Nealy told him that the medical examiner had detected chloroform in all four bodies. The suffocation occurred with no trauma to the bodies. It was theorized that the victims had been chloroformed before being put into a large bag, the air was sucked out and the victim suffocated inside the bag while unconscious.
Grubbs frowned and asked, "You mean like those bags that we store sweaters and things in for the summer?"
"Exactly. If fact, Mike suggested that it could be one of those large bags. All you would need is a vacuum cleaner to withdraw the air just like you do at home. You keep the body inside the bag until you get it to the chosen dump spot like the Gazebo or the tanning salon."
"Our marketing people in this country certainly do provide killers with easy products to do one in if they're so inclined. I would never have thought of it though. I guess I don't have an evil mind."
The Sheriff gave a rare smile as he said, "Well, that's good, Jack. Myself? I couldn't get the darned vacuum to connect to my sweater bag so they never got squeezed inside."
"Mine did. You may not have had the right type of vacuum. This winter try your shop vacuum. It's easier."
Nealy slapped his forehead and said, "Dummy me. I never considered my shop vacuum. It works very well. I'll use it this fall. Good tip, Jack. But to conclude, we have no starting point because we have nothing to point us in any direction."
Grubbs quickly asked, "What did the science teacher have to say? You did interview him didn't you?"
"Yeah, and he told us that the three boys were trouble makers when they were in school. He had to have the lab evacuated twice their senior year because of dangerous fumes from chemicals they had mixed and then exposed to the air. I checked with the principal and he verified the incidents and told of putting the three boys on detention for a week each time. Even with three Deputies and me digging the entire town, we still haven't learned of anything unusual that would point us toward anyone of interest. And we still haven't found Gordon Lamar."
"That's too bad, Nealy. At least it's been quiet for a couple of weeks now. I have my fingers crossed that it's over. Maybe Lamar saw the risk of staying here and took off for somewhere else. Even with Lamar still missing a resolution of sorts would be helpful."
"Yeah, we haven't given up but without any forensic evidence it's difficult to tie things together. You would think that Lamar would have called his long time girlfriend if he were still alive though. That's what is strange. Thanks for coming in, Jack. If we get a break, I'll let you know."
They had spoken too soon. On another moonlit evening, Gordon Lamar was found naked and lying at home plate on the local high school baseball field. He had been a star catcher on the regional championship team three years running. His cause of death was suffocation in the same manner as the other victims. Again no forensic evidence could be found on the body or the surrounding area. The only bright spot was that Cynthia Meyers, fully protected by her dad, was safe and sound at home in Maysville. However, she was a nervous wreck, under the care of her doctor, and on the edge of a nervous breakdown over her fright. She wouldn't leave the house when the moon was bright because of her fright of being taken like the others. Her dad was careful to prevent her from hearing about Gordon until he could get her to the doctor's office where the doctor broke the news to her after giving her light sedation.
Grubbs was uptight about the news also. He left the restaurant and drove around town until he cooled down enough to assist Loren in closing. He was blaming himself because he had threatened the five who were now dead. He truly regretted banning them from the restaurant because he felt that was when the troubles started. Loren attempted to sooth his fears about it being his fault but couldn't find the words to make sense about what he was getting at with Grubbs. Grubbs settled down over the next few days and realized that his actions had no bearing on the killings. Few knew about the ban. Only the victims, the restaurant employees and no one else unless the victims talked which he doubted. Nealy assured him it wasn't because of his ban. There had to be other deeper factors involved.
It was now the first week of June, flowers were in bloom, the trees full of leaves, and the calm was openly noticeable. Even Cynthia Meyers was seen in downtown walking along the street as she did her summer shopping for swim suits and shorts. She came to the restaurant for lunch and to say hello to Loren. However her father was a
lways in the background with an eye on Cynthia wherever she went, whatever she did.
Grubbs received a call from Nealy to meet him at his office. Jack jumped in his truck and headed to the County Offices. Nealy met him at the door and told him they may have caught a break. An Indian Reservation police detective was in his office with some very interesting theories.
Nealy introduced detective Greg Tsosie from the Tigua Pueblo Tribe in Marfa. After the introduction he said, "Greg has a few theories he wants to share with us. Greg, tell Jack what you think."
He turned to Jack and said, "I read of these victims in the crime releases that crossed my desk. It caught my attention because of the name associations. I don't know if you're aware of what the town and the victim's names mean." Jack was shaking his head while Nealy had a sly smile on his face.
Tsois continued, "Jericho is Arabian with references to the moon. London is an English association for moon. Lewanna is moon in Hebrew and her last name, Chandra is from India for the moon. Muraco is American with an association for moon."
He paused to let it sink in and then said, "That's for the victims but that's not all, Cynthia is Greek for moon and your employee Loren, his surname, Aylin, is moon in Turkish. All the victims were killed and found on a moonlit night. I have told
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