by C. M. Sutter
Satisfied with his decision, Keith returned to the car and popped the trunk. He positioned the wheelbarrow against the back bumper and pulled out the wrapped corpse. He wheeled the body to the vault and dumped it in. Keith shined the flashlight one more time and looked into the void. The body, covered in plastic sheeting, lay at the bottom. He tossed the truck keys in the hole too.
“Good enough.” He dragged the steel cover to the hole and placed it over the opening. “I’ll finish the rest tomorrow.”
At a quickened pace, he returned the wheelbarrow to the shed and turned off the light. He wanted to get indoors where it was warm and secure. The deed was done, and now he needed a few minutes of normal. Inside the house and with the doors locked, Keith washed his hands and turned off the spotlight. His anger would override his apprehension, and he’d complete his task no matter what. Four more names remained on the list. Keith popped open a beer and dropped down on the couch. He let out a deep breath and grabbed the remote. There had to be something to watch on TV that would occupy his mind until he went to bed.
Chapter 26
“Anything pop yet on the Leslie McDonald case?” Jade sat at the breakfast bar and sipped her coffee as I fried the eggs.
“Over easy or medium?” I asked.
“Let’s go with medium this time.”
I flipped the eggs and turned toward Jade. I let out a defeated sigh. “What happens when you exhaust everything you can think of? It isn’t like we have any leads. We don’t even have a profile of the killer to give to the press.”
“It’s tough, and I’ve been in your shoes many times, Sis. You aren’t going to solve every case. It’s a fact of life.”
“What do you tell the family when you can’t get justice for them or their loved one?”
Jade gave me a thoughtful smile. “You tell them you’re sorry.”
Jade filled our coffee cups, and I dished up the eggs. I yelled downstairs to Kate. “Breakfast is served. Get your butt up here.”
We heard the stomping as she ran up the staircase. “Good morning, ladies. Grab a seat, Amber. I’ll butter the toast.”
We gave ourselves a half hour for breakfast as often as we could. It was always nice when Jade was home to enjoy that time to catch up. I usually bounced questions off her whenever I had the chance.
Kate stabbed the over-medium egg with her fork. “So what did I miss?”
“Nothing much. I just asked Jade what happens when a case goes unsolved.”
Kate turned to Jade. “So, what happens?”
“Unfortunately, nothing. It remains an open case, of course, and when there’s time and an available detective to work on it, it will get looked into again.”
“As a cold case?” I asked.
“Probably, unless a legitimate tip comes in, which does happen now and again. A real tip can blow open a twenty-year-old cold case.”
“I sure wouldn’t want to wait that long to bring a killer to justice, though.”
Jade tipped her wrist and checked the time. “Okay, I need to brush my teeth and hit the highway. I hope something surfaces for you guys.”
I cleared the plates from the table. “I hope so too.”
Kate and I headed to the sheriff’s office at seven forty-five. We had an easy ten-minute drive to work, and that was one reason I loved living in a small town. No traffic nightmares to deal with like Jade had driving into Milwaukee every morning. I was thankful for that.
Our typical group powwow occurred at eight fifteen most days. We’d start each day with a few jabs among friends and a fresh cup of coffee as we walked the hallway to the conference room. As Kate and I crossed into the bull pen, a different type of morning met us head-on.
We entered to see a woman—mid-thirties, I’d say—sitting across from Jack in his office. I took my seat and watched through the glass as she clearly looked distraught. She wrung her hands in her lap as Jack took notes. I spun my desk chair and faced Clayton. I mouthed the words, “Who’s that?”
He scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to me. It read, Missing husband. I nodded and began my busywork. I was sure her situation would come up during our meeting. Until then, I had plenty of filing to do.
Fifteen minutes later, Jack walked the woman to the door and saw her out. He raked his hair as he turned to us and took a seat on the corner of my desk.
“The woman who just walked out came in to report her husband missing. After speaking to her, I think we need to check out the scene and see if there’s more to it than that.”
I pulled a sheet of paper out of my desk drawer and grabbed a pen. “Check out what scene? I thought he was missing.”
“Apparently, she was going to drive to his place of employment this morning and see if he did a double shift for some reason. Instead, she saw his truck parked along the shoulder of the road. She tried the doors—they were locked—and then she noticed his cell phone sitting on the passenger seat. She realized then why he never answered her multiple calls throughout the night. Now she’s more worried than ever, and that’s why she showed up here.”
Clayton crossed his right leg over his left knee and took a sip of coffee. He set his cup on the desk. “Maybe the truck broke down and he caught a ride from someone.”
Kate spoke up. “To somewhere other than home? That makes no sense, and why leave your phone behind?”
Clayton shrugged. “Just thinking out loud.”
“The missing husband is Tyler Rauch, and his wife is Mary Rauch. She just called a tow truck, but I asked her to cancel it. I’d rather take a look at the scene while the truck is still sitting there. She said her husband is an EMT at Gold Star Ambulance Service in Slinger.” Jack tipped his head toward the door. “Clayton, you and Billings head over there and find out what you can on the husband. Amber, you and Kate come with me. Let’s see if that truck holds any clues.”
We left the sheriff’s office and headed south. According to the wife, the truck was sitting along the side of Arthur Road, just south of Big Cedar Lake. That area was dark and quiet at night. The most action there would be raccoons crossing the road or deer feeding in the ditches.
“How far from his workplace is the truck?” I asked.
Jack shrugged. “Arthur Road goes a distance west but dead-ends at Hillside going east. The family home is on Pleasant Valley, so he had to be going east. The wife said the truck was abandoned only a few miles from the house. Sure, it’s kind of spooky out there after dark, but anyone could have walked that far if they had to.”
“The only reason to leave a phone behind is if the battery is dead or—”
I gave Kate a somber look. “Or if somebody else didn’t want you to have it.”
We reached Arthur Road twenty minutes later. We weaved along the curvy road, past farmland and heavy woods.
“This road is so narrow there’s barely a place to park, and unless the truck is actually broken down, why would you?” I stared out the windshield, waiting to see the bright-red Tundra the wife described to Jack.
“What bothers me is the wife said the truck is less than a year old. Definitely not a vehicle you’d picture breaking down.”
Kate leaned forward between the seats and pointed. “There it is, up there on the left.”
“Yep, got it.” Jack pulled to that side of the road and parked ten feet from the nose of the pickup.
We climbed out of the cruiser and stayed on the pavement as we approached.
“Keep your eyes peeled for anything in the gravel or on the road,” he said.
I gave him a nod. “Roger that, boss.” I covered the road, Kate crossed to the gravel on the opposite side, and Jack walked along the gravel to his left.
“See anything out of place?” Jack asked.
“Nope.”
Kate agreed. “That’s two nopes.”
Jack waved us over. “All right, let’s check out the truck.” He took out the sheet of paper he had tucked in his inner coat pocket. “Amber, dial this number.”
I pulled my phone from my pants pocket and dialed. The phone inside the truck rang.
“Guess that takes care of the dead phone question. There isn’t any logical reason to leave it behind. We should glove up.”
“I’ll get them.” Kate walked back to the cruiser and pulled three pairs of gloves from the box in the backseat. She returned and handed them out.
Jack pressed his nose against the glass and shielded the sides of his face as he peered in the driver’s window then the window at the backseat. “Nothing looks out of place.”
“Wouldn’t it be odd, if Tyler was taken against his will, that the kidnapper would lock the doors? Why would he care?” I asked.
Kate walked around to the tailgate and looked in the bed of the truck. “Maybe to make it seem like Tyler left alone and on his own accord. Most people lock their vehicles when they leave them.”
“True.” I followed Kate around the back as Jack walked to the truck’s hood. “Shit! I have something back here.”
Jack doubled back on the pavement side. He walked around Kate and knelt to where I was pointing. “Blood, damn it, and matted grass in the ditch. Kate, call Forensics and get them out here. It looks like we have a crime scene.”
I took pictures of everything that appeared suspicious as we waited for the black forensic van to arrive. Thirty minutes passed, then we heard a vehicle approaching. I shielded my eyes and stared at the slight curve in the road. Seconds later, the van appeared. “They’re here.”
Kyle parked behind our cruiser and climbed out of the driver’s seat. He opened the side door and pulled out his kit. “What have we got, Lieutenant?”
Dan exited the van from the passenger side as Kyle spoke.
Jack motioned them over to where he stood. “Long story short, wife pays us a visit this morning because her husband didn’t come home from work last night. She called his cell”—Jack jerked his head toward the cab of the truck—“but it’s on the passenger seat. Husband hasn’t been found yet, but this is his vehicle. We discovered what looks like blood and a possible scuffle area right here at the back passenger-side tire.”
Dan nodded. “Let’s take a look.” He and Kyle stepped down into the ditch several feet from the flattened grass. Dan lifted the camera that hung from the nylon strap around his neck. He adjusted the setting for the low light and began snapping pictures.
Kyle opened the plastic case and removed a Heme-Stix blood detection packet. We watched as he tested the stained grass to see if it was actually blood. The procedure took only a few minutes and was a vital help in the field. He looked up at us and nodded. “It’s definitely blood, and by all appearances, there’s plenty here.”
Dan knelt and took close-up pictures with a forensic scale to gauge the quantity of blood at the site. He then poked five crime scene flags into the ground around the blood pool. “You guys see anything else?”
“We only walked the pavement and glanced in,” I said. “We didn’t want to disturb anything before you guys got here.”
Kyle closed the blood sampling case and opened the one containing fingerprint test equipment. “I’ll print the door handles and the area of the truck closest to the blood. We’ll test the blood for a type when we get back to the lab and also conduct a double check to make sure it’s human.” He glanced at the area. “Although I have my doubts that it would be anything else.”
“Understood. We’ll start walking the woods.” Jack looked at both sides of the road. “There’s a lot of brush out here, an easy place to hide a body. I’ll get a few deputies from Patrol to lend a hand.”
Dan spoke up. “You’ll have to get the husband’s blood type from the wife, sir.”
“Yeah, and that in itself is going to tell her more than I care to reveal at the moment.” Jack gave me a glance. “Make the call to Patrol and give them our location. I want Ebert, Lawrence, and Silver out here to help with the search. Call Steve Adams and tell him we need Yolo’s help.”
I pulled out my phone and made the calls. Steve was the canine trainer and expert for Washburn County. Because we didn’t have our own canine unit, we depended on Steve’s help whenever necessary.
We began walking through the thick undergrowth while Dan searched closer to the vehicle. His camera bounced with every step. Kyle brushed the truck for prints. They were the experts when it came to finding things that seemed out of place. Jack took the left side of the road, nearest the Tundra, and Kate and I crossed to the other side. Fifteen minutes later, Ebert rolled up and parked. He joined the search on Jack’s side of the road. Lawrence and Silver arrived shortly after.
Ten minutes later, Jack gathered everyone on the asphalt. “We’re going to head back to town as soon as Steve and Yolo arrive. I want you three to search a hundred-foot perimeter of the woods on both sides of the road. Yolo will make short work of the scene once Steve gives him the command. He’ll sniff out any human scent that might be in the woods. Let’s continue on until they get here.”
Kyle and Dan finished processing the truck and the immediate area. They loaded up their gear and headed back to town to begin the blood typing and fingerprint analysis.
Chapter 27
Jack shook Steve’s hand once he arrived with Yolo at his side. The dog sat patiently and waited for his controller’s command.
“What do I need to know, Lieutenant?”
“Over here.” Jack pointed at the blood pool in the wild grasses and weeds. “This is where the crime took place. We didn’t see drag marks going into the brush, but for all we know, the perp may have carried the victim in.”
“No worries. If there’s a body out there, Yolo will track it in no time. He’ll need to sniff that blood to get the scent. Are you done collecting evidence there?”
“Yeah, go ahead. We’ve done a wide sweep of the area but haven’t found anything other than what’s here at the truck.”
“Understood. We’ll get started, then.”
“My detectives and I are headed back to town. The three deputies will stay out here with you until the area is cleared or a body is found.”
“Good enough, Lieutenant. I’ll keep you posted.”
Jack gave Steve a final handshake, and we headed to the cruiser. We were back at the sheriff’s office by eleven o’clock. Clayton and Billings had already arrived and sat at their desks, discussing the lack of leads when we entered the bull pen.
“What did they say at the ambulance service?” Jack pulled up a chair and took a seat.
Billings responded after rolling his neck. “They said Tyler Rauch was, or is, a great employee. He’s been employed there for six years and has never missed a day of work. He’s often put in overtime, but yesterday wasn’t one of those days.”
Jack frowned. “I was afraid of that. What else?”
Clayton took over. “They told us to talk to Rob Torrez, which we did. Apparently he and Tyler were close. Rob said they walked out together after work last night, had a smoke, and talked about the weekend’s upcoming football games. Rob asked Tyler if he wanted to stop for a beer, but he declined the offer. They parted ways with Tyler saying he was beat and heading straight home.”
“Then what the hell happened during the ten-mile drive between work and his house?”
I looked at Kate. “Apparently, that’s the million-dollar question.”
Jack picked up my desk phone and called the crime lab downstairs. He pressed the button for Speakerphone and set the receiver back on the base.
“Crime lab, Kyle speaking.”
“Kyle, it’s Jack. Any news yet?”
“Yes, the blood is definitely human and type A positive.”
Jack wrote that down. “Okay, what about the prints?”
“We’re running them now. I found three different sets on the truck. I’ll let you know as soon as something pops.”
“Good enough.” Jack hung up and ground his fists into his eyes. “Now I have to call the wife and ask what Tyler’s blood type is. That’s going to be a dead giveawa
y that something is wrong.”
“Have you gotten any word from Patrol or Steve yet?” I asked.
Jack said he hadn’t and walked into his office. He closed the door at his back.
“Are we in a holding pattern or something?” Kate turned to Billings. He shrugged.
“Let’s review our notes on the Leslie McDonald case. Maybe with the car’s color and our rough description of the perp’s age and build, it might be enough to give the press.”
“Maybe.” Clayton tipped his head at Jack’s office. He had just hung up his phone. Jack looked at us through the glass and nodded.
I turned to my colleagues. “I guess that means the blood types match. So now Tyler Rauch is officially considered a missing person and likely a victim of foul play.”
Billings stood. “We better see what Jack needs us to do next.”
Jack opened his door as Billings was about to knock. “Did you guys notice any cameras facing the parking lot at Gold Star Ambulance Service when you were there?”
Clayton rubbed his chin. “Didn’t think to look, but I’ll give them a call and find out. We can always head there and review their security tapes if they do.”
“Yeah, go ahead.” Jack’s phone rang in his office. He turned and answered it. “Lieutenant Steele here. No shit? You’re one hundred percent sure? Okay, that could be the missing link we need to break this case wide open. Thanks, Kyle.” Jack hung up and was out of his office in two strides. He called for our attention, which he already had. “The fingerprints from the rose leaf match one set of prints taken from the Tundra. Whoever killed Leslie McDonald is the same person who apprehended Tyler Rauch.”
“So that could possibly narrow things down.”
Jack turned his focus to me. “How so, Amber?”
