Exposed

by C. M. Sutter

  We scrambled to make calls to the top news stations in our viewing area. We faxed the photos and details of Max Sims and Deborah French to every one of them.

  With everything we could do for the night done, we closed shop and headed home at nine thirty. That would give me enough time to change into a pair of comfy sweats, sit down with a cup of tea, and watch the news. I was beat.

  Amber and Kate sat next to me on the couch a few minutes before the news was set to begin. They each had a glass of wine in front of them.

  I grinned at Kate. “What, no tea?”

  “I’m enjoying wine more than I thought I would. Guess I’ve been hanging out with you guys too much.”

  I reached across the couch and patted her hand. “It’s never too much. We love your company. Here we go. The news is starting.”

  The anchor greeted the viewing audience and went immediately to breaking news. Amber clenched her hands and leaned in, then looked over her right shoulder at Kate. “This is the kind of stuff we’ll be doing before long.”

  “It’s not always pretty, Amber, and far from glamorous.”

  “You’re right. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

  We watched the two-minute segment as the photos and descriptions were aired. The toll-free number that went directly to Horbeck and Jamison’s desks was listed at the bottom of the screen. I had the other channels taped so I could play them back and compare the coverage from each station.

  “Hopefully the calls will start coming in on the tip lines. I’m going to bed, guys. See you in the morning.”

  I lay in bed hoping for sleep but anxious to get tomorrow started. With any luck, we’d find that tree on the Sims property, but I still didn’t know what that would tell us. I punched my pillow into a fluffy shape and shut down the gerbil wheel for the night.

  Chapter 16

  I woke at six thirty, went through my usual routine, and was on the road by seven thirty. My travel mug with freshly brewed, steaming coffee sat in the cup holder. I bit into the piece of peanut butter–coated raisin toast pinched between my fingers as I drove to the station.

  I turned into the parking lot and was surprised to see everyone’s cars already there. That gave me a bad feeling—something wasn’t right. I parked and crossed the pavement at a quickened pace. Inside, at the dispatch counter, Jan stood and gave me a heads-up before I entered the bull pen.

  “Jade, the lieutenant has been trying to reach you.”

  “What?” I dug into my purse and felt the void where my cell phone usually sat. “Damn it.” I realized I had left my phone on the breakfast bar. “What the hell is going on?”

  “I’m not sure, but it’s a war zone in there.”

  “Great.” I punched the code into the pad next to the door and walked in. All eyes turned toward me. I threw up my arms. “Sorry, I forgot my phone. What’s the urgency?”

  Clark came out of his office. “Jade, we’ve got a mess on our hands.”

  “Sightings of Max Sims and Deborah French?”

  “No, nothing with reasonable merit has come in on that yet.”

  I slumped. “Then what the hell is going on?” I looked around the bull pen. Jack, Billings, and Clayton were on their phones. Horbeck and Jamison were searching through Internet articles and printing out documents.

  Clark jerked his head toward his office. “Come inside.”

  I followed, and he closed the door at my back.

  “Have a seat.”

  “Boss, you’re worrying me.”

  “It’s bad, really bad. The developer’s crew got started at daybreak. There’s a slew of machinery at the farm. Bulldozers, backhoes, front-end loaders, and dump trucks. You get the idea.”

  I nodded.

  “Anyway, fifteen minutes ago everything came to a screeching halt. I already have forensics en route. They’ve unearthed human bones—lots of them.”

  I pushed my chair back and stood. “Son of a bitch—what are we waiting for, let’s go!”

  “We’re calling in favors. By the sound of things, we’re going to need help. And then there’s the mayor. I’ll have to deal with him.”

  “What do you want me to do, boss?”

  “See what the guys need help with for the time being. I have no idea the quantity of remains we’re talking about, but I’m sure this is way more than what we can handle alone.”

  “Do you think the Polaroids have anything to do with this?”

  Clark raked his hands through his hair. “There’s a damn good chance of it. Start searching the statewide database for women that went missing between 1980 and 1996 when Darryl Sims went to prison.”

  “Got it, boss. Does anyone know when Darryl actually purchased the property?”

  “Don’t know, but find that out too.”

  I closed Clark’s office door behind me and turned back to look through the glass wall. He had just picked up the phone. I knew he was making the call to the mayor. This new discovery could very well put a permanent halt on the construction of the Swedish megastore. The investigation could possibly go on for years.

  I approached Jack once he hung up from the phone call. “What were you checking on?”

  “Depending on the quantity of remains, we might need the help of forensic archaeologists. I was checking with the crime labs in Madison and Milwaukee to see how many there are in the state.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “There are four.”

  “How do we handle this kind of situation? If we let the bulldozers continue digging to see how many more bones they find, it’s going to be an enormous mess. I think we need those forensic archaeologists.”

  “I agree, but maybe we should go to the site and see what Dan and Kyle can tell us before anything else.”

  “Okay, let’s clear it with the boss first. Calling in the experts will have to go through him, anyway.” I glanced through the glass wall again. Clark was still on the phone. “We better wait a few minutes. Let’s get Billy to pull up the deed to the property and see when Darryl Sims bought it.”

  Jack and I took the stairs to the lower level. Billy and Todd glanced our way when we opened the door to the tech department.

  “I heard there’s a mess brewing,” Billy said.

  “Word travels fast. Can you pull up the property ownership records for the Sims place?”

  “Sure thing.” With a few keystrokes and clicks of the mouse, Billy had the deed front and center on his computer screen. “Says here that Darryl Michael Sims purchased the hundred-acre parcel on Highway G on April 9, 1987.”

  I tapped the desk with a pen as I sat next to Billy. “Well, that tells us what we wanted to know. Unless forensic archaeologists say these bones are from an Indian village two hundred years back, I’d venture to say Darryl killed a lot more women than just his wife and mother-in-law. Thanks, Billy.”

  “Yep, no problem.”

  Upstairs, and back in the bull pen, Clark was off the phone and sitting in the guest chair next to Clayton’s desk. The missing persons website was running on Chad’s computer.

  “Are you looking for missing women from twenty years ago?”

  Chad nodded, but he was laser focused on the images on the screen. He paused for a minute, rubbed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. “The lieutenant wanted me to go back to 1980, but in 1980 alone, sixty-three women went missing in Wisconsin. This is going to take forever.”

  “Don’t go back that far. Billy just looked up the deed. Darryl purchased the farm in April of 1987. Start there.”

  Chad changed the parameters on the website. “That should save a little time. I’ll only have to search for missing women those nine years until he went to prison.”

  I looked at the lieutenant and addressed him. “Boss, Jack and I are going out to the farm to see what Dan and Kyle have so far.”

  “Okay, keep me updated.”

  Jack and I left the building and climbed into the first cruiser in the lot and took off. Our drive to the Sims farm
was relatively quiet. I was sure Jack had plenty on his mind, just as I did.

  I finally broke the silence. “Do you have any idea of the magnitude this discovery might create? What if every one of those girls in the photos are buried in that field? The worst part is, we have no idea who they are.”

  “Somehow, we’ll have to find the fastest way to identify them. I’d say we should narrow the parameters even more. Why search statewide? If these bones turn out to be from twenty or so years back, I’d say Darryl didn’t have a lot of time to browse the entire state looking for victims. He was probably an opportunist that snatched anyone he could locally. Even if he killed two, maybe three, a year over a few nearby counties, it probably wouldn’t raise a local panic. Chances are, most of them could be from the Milwaukee area. He’d have a much larger pool of victims that could have gone unnoticed.”

  I shrugged. “Like runaways or loners?”

  “Or even ladies of the night.”

  “I’ll call Clayton back and tell him to stay within southeast Wisconsin for now.” Jack pulled into the Sims driveway. At that point, only the forensics van, a few squad cars, and the groundbreaking crew’s vehicles were at the site. I knew as soon as word got out, the place would become a zoo. We parked and exited the car. “Let’s see what Kyle and Dan have to say.”

  We walked the hundred yards back to where the heavy equipment sat—shut down for now. People milled around, not sure of what to do next. Deputies had begun cordoning off the area, even though they didn’t know how far to go with the tape, or even what to stake the tape to. Jack jerked his head toward the guys standing near the bulldozer.

  “What do you have so far?”

  Dan ran his fingers through his hair and groaned. “A mess, that’s what. We have several jawbones with the teeth still intact, five pelvic bones, and two skulls. Don’t know what goes to what, since everything is jumbled up from the bulldozer. We’ve never had a mass burial site, guys. I’m not sure how to handle this.”

  “Okay, if there are five pelvic bones for sure, we know there were at least five bodies buried here. Can you tell if they’re all female?”

  Kyle walked over and joined the conversation. “I’d say so. They’re shorter and wider than what a male’s pelvic bones would be.”

  “Who drove this bulldozer?” Jack asked.

  A voice from behind us answered, “That would be me.”

  We turned and approached the man pacing the area.

  “Sir,” I said, “we’re detectives from the sheriff’s department. I’m Jade Monroe, and this is my partner, Jack Steele.” He took off his work gloves and shook our hands. “And you are?”

  “I’m Bob Chase, ma’am.”

  I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Bob. Can you tell us how deep you went down with the shovel?”

  He sighed, as if in thought. “Yeah, it’s usually three feet initially to loosen up large rocks. After the land is clear, we dig deeper, depending on if we’re doing basements. Even if we’re just doing footings, we have to stay under the frost line.”

  “So no matter what, it would always be three feet below the surface?” Jack asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  We turned toward the sound of vehicles pulling in and parking. I shielded my eyes and peered to see who was getting out.

  “Shit. Here comes the mayor. I imagine the guy getting out of the truck is the man in charge of running this operation.”

  Bob spoke up. “Yeah, that’s the owner of the development firm, Mr. Chesak. He’s going to be pissed.”

  “By the look on his face,” I said, “he already is.”

  The mayor and Mr. Chesak approached our group and asked who was in charge. Since I was the senior officer, I spoke up.

  “I am, sir—Sergeant Jade Monroe here from the sheriff’s department.”

  The mayor huffed. “Yeah, I just talked to the lieutenant earlier. What’s going to be done about this?”

  “I imagine the development stage will be shut down until we excavate the site and see how many remains are here, but I’m not the one that calls the shots—just my opinion. There is one thing I do know, though.”

  “Yeah, what’s that?” Mr. Chesak asked. He propped his hands on his hips and gave me the once-over.

  “This is either a crime scene or some type of ancient burial ground. Until we know which it is, this area is off limits to everyone except law enforcement, forensic archaeologists, and crime scene investigators. I’ll have to ask you two politely to step back behind the yellow tape.”

  The grumbling and cursing from Mr. Chesak even made my face go red. “What am I supposed to say to the people from the Swedish megastore?”

  I smiled just to irritate him. “Sir, that’s entirely up to you.”

  He stormed away, climbed into his truck, and sprayed gravel as he peeled out of the driveway.

  “Should we head back, Jack? We have to figure out what the next move is. I think Clark needs to call in the experts. Until we know how long these remains have been buried, we don’t actually have a crime scene.”

  “Dan, is there any way you guys can date these remains?” Jack asked.

  “To a degree, but if you want to know year and month—then no. If you want my best estimate on the fly, I’d say more than ten years but less than a hundred. Really old bones are dry, flaky, and brittle. There isn’t any tissue or tendons left from the few bones we’ve found, but we need to look for more evidence before we can narrow down the time frame better. Being buried in a shallow depth like these bones were doesn’t lean toward an ancient burial site. Plus, we haven’t seen any artifacts like broken pottery, that sort of thing. We don’t have carbon dating tools in North Bend, but forensic archaeologists certainly do. They can pinpoint things to a better degree.”

  “So an ancient burial site is pretty unlikely?”

  Dan nodded.

  “Is twenty years within reason?” I asked.

  Kyle stared at the skull lying in the dirt five feet from them. He looked to Dan for confirmation. “I think we’d agree that twenty years is within reason.”

  “Okay, thanks, guys.” I waved the deputies over. “Keep everyone out of this area except law enforcement. I don’t care how important they think they are.” I cocked my head toward the mayor, who was walking back to his car. “You get my drift?”

  “Yes, Sergeant, we get your drift.”

  Jack and I left for the sheriff’s department. Clark had to come up with something fast.

  Chapter 17

  He couldn’t help himself—Max needed another woman. The bloodthirst he felt was much too strong, and blaming everything on Darryl made his task seem rational. Away from town and other people, and far off the road in that secluded cabin at the end of that weed-covered driveway, he could take his time with her. He stared at the wide-eyed woman with the ball gag in her mouth. The frightened expression she wore excited him. He found it enticing—it stirred him deep in his belly. He approached her, and she squirmed. Her eyes darted back and forth across the room. The ropes that secured her to the old stove prevented her from escaping.

  He chuckled. “Think you can get away? It’s unlikely—I’m good at tying knots. Didn’t your folks ever teach you not to hitchhike, especially alone?” He slapped her cheek. “Idiot, now look at the mess you got yourself in. You deserve everything I’m going to give you. I’ll let you stew on that for a while.”

  Max peeled the tin lid off the can of pork and beans with the hand-crank can opener he’d bought at the hardware store. With the plastic silverware he’d saved from the fast-food restaurant, he scooped out a heaping mouthful and ate it.

  “I’d share, but there’s no need. You won’t live long enough to die of starvation.” Max laughed. “That was kind of funny, right? No—can’t take a joke? Whatever, you probably aren’t hungry, anyway.”

  A mouse scurried across the scuffed, rotting floorboards. Max watched it for a minute, amused at its ability to frighten the young woman. He scraped the remaining beans out
of the can then whipped it across the room. The mouse squeaked and disappeared under the couch.

  He smirked at the look of relief written across the woman’s face. “That little mouse was the least of your problems. Wait until you see what I have in store for you.” He rose from the wooden stool and stretched his back, then guzzled the rest of his beer. “Stay put. I’ve got a hole to dig.”

  Max exited through the creaky door and slammed it at his back. He grabbed the shovel from the van and headed into the woods.

  Chapter 18

  “Clark better retire soon,” Jack said as we crossed the parking lot and headed to the sheriff’s department’s front door.

  I jerked my head back. “Why would you say that? He’s only in his mid-fifties.”

  “Look at the guy. He probably has a gut full of ulcers. Haven’t you seen the amount of antacids he wolfs down every day? First, there’s the problem with the megastore and the deadlines, and now another snag in the progress? It’s going to send him over the edge.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know if I agree with that. Clark is a tough old codger and a seasoned cop.”

  We entered the bull pen after offering a short update to Jan and Peggy. I glanced across the room and saw Clark sitting at his desk, shaking antacids into his hand. Jack elbowed me. I gave him the upper left lip snarl.

  Clark waved us into his office when he saw us. “Have a seat. What’s the latest?”

  I let Jack take the lead. I wanted to watch the lieutenant a little closer.

  “Well, boss, the mayor and the developer came out to voice their opinions. Needless to say, they’re not very happy.”

  Clark waved away Jack’s comment. “You know what they can do, right?”

  “Yeah, boss. This is an investigation, and that comes first.”

  “Exactly. Jim Gleason enjoys the limelight and prestige of being the mayor. Once in a while, he can get dished up a pile of shit just like the rest of us. Plus, I’ve had enough cursing in my ear for one day. What did Dan and Kyle say?”

  “Dan said on initial exam, he doesn’t believe it’s an Indian burial site. The bones don’t appear that old.”