ALPHABET MURDERS - ANGIE BARTONI CASE FILES #1 (Detective Angie Bartoni Case Files)

by Marshall Huffman

  He walked over to where she was lying. Her face was flushed and she was perspiring heavily. He felt her forehead and knew immediately she was burning up with fever. If he didn’t do something soon the decision would be made for him. She would most likely die.

  Suddenly he made up his mind. He would put her in the van and drive out into the countryside. He would dump her body there. She would die from exposure in a short time. It would be a just end to her after she had messed up all his plans. She would die slowly. He only wished he had time to build one of his special coffins. They could keep a girl alive for several days while they frantically tried to scrape their way out.

  This stupid cow wouldn’t even appreciate his cunning plans. He went upstairs, backed the van up to the door and checked his tool box to make sure he had plastic ties, duct tape and the bag to put over her head.

  He stopped and laughed. She was so out of it she would never be able to know where she was, not that it mattered. She would be dead by morning.

  He went back downstairs, placed the plastic straps tightly on her wrists and ankles. He tore off a strip of duct tape and covered her mouth.

  She stiffened and struggled for a few seconds then just as quickly went totally limp. Christ, what a pain in the butt he thought. He would be glad to get rid of this one.

  He carried her back upstairs and quickly laid her in the van and slammed the door. He already knew where he was going to dump her. No one would find her for months if ever. He wished he had made up his mind earlier.

  It was starting to get dark. It’s too easy to miss something in the pitch black forest he had decided on. He turned on his light and put the van in gear. It would all be over soon and then he could find his next victim.

  F or G? Should he count Fran as his F victim or did she really count? He didn’t have a chance to make her his but still he did get her. What the hell, he finally thought. I’ll get a G girl.

  Having made up his mind the rest of the drive was easy. He drove to the woods, dumped her body and headed back home without a worry in the world.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “Up and at 'em boys. Time’s a wastin’”

  A chorus of groans met him as he beat on the sides of each tent. He had to smile to himself. He knew it would be hard to get them up and going after sitting around the campfire telling scary stories. They were probably up half the night listening to the night sounds thinking that someone or something would get them if they fell asleep.

  It took a good thirty minutes before they were all dressed and sitting down to eat. Most had their eyes at half mast, wanting to crawl back into their sleeping bags.

  “Okay guys, finish up. Let’s get this stuff washed up and get on the trail. It gets hot early so we need to get a move on,” the scoutmaster told them.

  He had to tell them twice before they started to stir to life. Twenty minutes later they were ready to head off to watch the beavers down at the lake.

  “Now guys remember what I said. We have to be really quiet. If one of them hears or sees us he will slap his tail to warn the other beavers and we won’t be able to see them. It’s only a little further to the lake so no more talking and don’t bunch up too close behind me in case I have to stop suddenly,” he warned them.

  Like most typical ten and eleven year olds, what they considered being quiet and what the scoutmaster thought were two entirely different things.

  He suddenly stopped and went down on one knee.

  He turned to the boys and very quietly said, “Okay. I can see the lake just ahead. Now we are going to take it very, very slowly. I want you to follow along in my footsteps. No talking, whispering, or horsing around. Got it?”

  They all shook their heads ‘yes’.

  The scoutmaster slowly, taking small steps, edged toward the lake staying bent over. He tripped and went face first into the ground. Of course the scouts immediately broke out in hysterical laughter.

  “Crap,” he said, getting to his hands and knees.

  “Ooh, Mr. Zimmer said a bad word,” one of them said which brought another round of laughing.

  “Okay, that’s enough.”

  Suddenly one of the boys screamed and started pointing to the ground where the scoutmaster had tripped.

  “It’s a dead person,” one of them wailed.

  Immediately the others were trying to see what he was pointing at.

  “Knock it off Mark.”

  “No Mr. Zimmer. Look,” he said pointing.

  The scoutmaster looked over and saw a leg sticking out of the grass. He jumped up and yelled for the boys to get back before he went over to check. He realized it was a young girl and her wrists and ankles were bound by plastic straps. He reached down and felt her neck. He could feel a very faint pulse.

  “Boys I want you to start back to the base camp. Erin, you lead them back. You marked the trail so just follow it back. Wait until I get there. Understand?”

  The boys were trying to see the body and hardly paying attention to him.

  “Eric,” he shouted, causing the boy to jump.

  “Yes sir?”

  “I said take the boys back to the base camp and stay there until I get there. Just follow the trail and do not go wondering off. Got it?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Good. Now go,” Zimmer ordered.

  Eric grabbed the boys and lined them up which was difficult because they still wanted to see the body. Finally after tugging and shoving he got them all lined up and started off.

  Zimmer watched them head out and then turned back to the young girl. He carefully cut the straps off her wrists and ankles and rolled her on her back. He gently pulled the tape off her mouth. Her breathing was irregular and shallow. He took out his cell phone, the one he told the boys he didn’t bring so none of them would want to call their parents when they got scared. That had happened before so how he told them he didn’t bring it.

  The signal was weak but he dialed 911. The operator answered on the third ring.

  “911. What’s your emergency?”

  “Yeah. I just stumbled on a young girl that has been bound and dumped. She is alive but in really bad shape. I need you to get an ambulance out here right away.

  “You found a body?”

  “Yes. A body. I need an ambulance immediately. She could die if you don’t get someone here quickly.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “Down by the lake at Indian Lake Park.”

  “Indian Lake?”

  “Yes. I was taking some scouts to watch the beavers and we stumbled upon this young girl.”

  “Where exactly are you?”

  “Look. We are camping about three hundred yards from the Indian Lake entrance. A bunch of scouts are there. Just send an ambulance as fast as you can,” Zimmer said starting to get frustrated.

  “We need an exact location.”

  “Look lady, send the damn ambulance to the Indian Lake entrance. We will meet them there.”

  “Do you have an address?”

  “Damn it. Listen to me. Send the damn ambulance to the entrance. I don’t have any idea what the address is. Just hurry or she is going to die. Do you get what I’m saying?”

  “No need to get excited. I was just trying to make it easier for the EMTs to find your location.”

  “Look, I’m hanging up. Get them here or she dies and it’s on your head,” he yelled into the phone and snapped it shut. Idiot, he thought.

  He wasn’t sure what to do. Finally he decided since the twit on the phone would probably never get it right he decided to pick her up and carry her back to the base camp. He carefully put his arms under her neck and knees and lifted her up. She weighed nothing.

  It took him fifteen minutes to get back to the camp. The scouts were all sitting where they had the campfire last night but jumped up when they saw him coming.

  “Who is it?”

  “Is she dead?”

  “What happened?”

  “Did you carry her all that wa
y?”

  “Stop,” Zimmer finally yelled, “One of you get a sleeping bag.”

  Eric ran to one of the tents and grabbed a sleeping bag and laid it on the ground. The scoutmaster gently laid the girl down and felt her pulse again. It was still there but very faint. If they didn’t get here soon, she wasn’t going to make it.

  “Eric, pour some water on a rag and let’s put it on her forehead. She seems awfully hot.”

  The scout quickly took off his scout necktie and poured water on it from his canteen. Zimmer placed it on the girl’s forehead. There wasn’t much more he could do.

  “I hear a siren,” one of the scouts yelled suddenly.

  Zimmer could hear it as well.

  “Eric, Jason. You two go up to the entrance where we came in and guide the ambulance back.”

  “Got it Mr. Zimmer,” Eric said and grabbed Jason by the arm and the two took off running.

  “Stand back boys. We need to give her some space,” he told them.

  Without realizing it, they had been slowly crowding in where the girl lay. They all took a step back.

  “More. She needs air. Go sit by the campfire,” he said.

  Grumbling they reluctantly headed over to the other side of the campsite. He could hear the siren getting louder and louder. Then it was silent. They must be talking to the boys he decided. A minute later he saw the ambulance come to a stop and two men and a woman got out.

  “Over here,” he yelled and they came jogging to where he was standing.

  “What have we got?” one of them said, immediately going to his knees and staring to check the girl.”

  “We found her down by the river. Her hands and ankles were bound. I cut them off and carried her up here.”

  “Do you know how long she has been there?”

  “No. Not a clue. We were at this campsite last night and today I was taking the boys down to see the beavers,” Zimmer answered.

  “Johnny, you get the information. Brenda, get the wooden gurney and we will take her up to the ambulance,” he said, while continuing to administer aid.

  A few minutes later the young girl was loaded in the ambulance and was headed to the hospital.

  “Wow,” one of the boys said.

  “Yeah. That was awesome.”

  “Boys, that poor girl may die. There is nothing cool about what we found today,” Mr. Zimmer cautioned.

  “Can we go see the beavers now?”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “Aaron, Bartoni,” the captain yelled as he came out of his office.

  Now what? I thought. I couldn’t think of anything I had screwed up. Not much anyway.

  “They found a girl at the Indian Lake park. She was bound and dumped in the woods. Some scout troop stumbled across her and called for an ambulance. From the description it sounds like the Welch girl.”

  “Is she still alive?”

  “Barely. Get a move on,” he said.

  “Where is she?” I asked heading to my desk.

  “Riverview hospital in Noblesville,” he shouted as we were making our getaway.

  Aaron and I both grabbed our guns from our desk drawers and raced down the stairs to the car. Lights and sirens going full tilt, Aaron took I-465 until we came to I-69 north. He jumped off on 37 north and headed into Noblesville. We made it in less than thirty minutes which must be a world’s record. Noblesville was just a burg a few years ago and now it’s a yuppie kind of place.

  ***

  I walked up to the information station and asked a person, who honestly looked like she should have been in one of the beds, if she could tell me where they had taken the young girl that had been found.

  Whoosh, right over their heads.

  “Young girl?”

  “The ambulance brought her in. She was found at Indian Lake?”

  “Ambulance?”

  “Yeah, a big red and white thing with lots of lights and a very loud siren. You know, an ambulance?”

  “Oh dear. We wouldn’t know anything about that.”

  “Great. Who would?”

  “I would guess the ambulance driver.”

  I just shook my head and asked where the emergency rooms were. They pointed to a sign and Aaron and I took off. I heard one of the women say, ‘I know what an ambulance is.’

  Right. We found the emergency room and after playing twenty questions finally got the information we needed. She was in the critical care unit on the fourth floor.

  We took the elevator, even though Aaron wanted to race me by using the stairs. What a twit he is sometimes. I wanted to shout, ‘grow up’, but instead said I had a headache. I’m thinking he has heard that before some place because he got all pouty.

  When we got to the fourth floor we checked in at the nurses’ station. My initial impression is that they obviously didn’t understand the term critical because they were all talking about personnel crap and no one seemed to be watching what was going on.

  “Excuse me. I hate to interrupt your conversation but a young girl was brought in. Can you tell us her condition and who her doctor is?” is said flopping my badge on the counter.

  “Well. Let’s just take a look shall we?” one of them said.

  Obviously not a brain surgeon.

  “When was she brought in?”

  “I don’t know. How many young girls do you have in ICU?”

  “Ah, just one.”

  “Then my guess is that would be her.”

  “Her doctor is Doctor Lin.”

  “And how can I find Doctor Lin?”

  Talk about pulling teeth.

  “Ah, he is in surgery right now.”

  “Does he happen to be with the girl they brought in?”

  “Why yes.”

  Help me. I don’t want to smack her but it may be beyond my control.

  “What floor do we have to go to for surgery?”

  “One floor down. Floor three.”

  “Thank you,” I managed to get out and headed to the elevators.

  “Want to race down one...”

  “Don’t. Don’t even start that crap. I’m not racing anyplace, got it?”

  “Are all women grumpy when they get a headache?”

  I didn’t bother to answer, just got on the elevator and pushed the button. He took off toward the stairs. I couldn’t believe it. This guy is supposed to be a professional and he is acting like a teenager.

  He was standing by the door when it opened and I got off. I didn’t even look at him but kept walking to a window that said “CHECK IN HERE”. The glass was frosted so I don’t see how they know when someone is there so I tapped on the window.

  A day and a half later the frosted glass parted just like the Red Sea did for Moses.

  “Yes?”

  “Doctor Lin is working on a young girl that was brought in. She was in critical condition. Can you give me any information on how she is doing?”

  “I have no way of knowing at this time. Doctor Lin is still in surgery.”

  “Fine. Would you please inform the doctor that Detectives Bartoni and Aaron are here about the girl. We are trying to establish if this is the missing kidnapping victim.”

  “Kidnapped? Oh, dear. No one said anything about that.”

  “No reason they should. That’s what were here for.”

  “I’ll make sure he gets the message. Would you like to wait? We have a room just across the hall.”

  “That would be great. Thank you for your help,” I said.

  Better. Definitely better. They should move her up in ICU to yank a knot in their tails. Aaron and I walked over to the waiting room and found a couple of chairs in the corner. He immediately started shuffling through the magazines. Most were from last year but it seemed to occupy him. Small things amuse small minds I hear.

  I called the Captain and filled him in on the situation which is to say I couldn’t tell him squat really. It must have been the right thing to do because he seemed happy to hear from me. He did spoil it by saying the FBI was
on their way in mass. Just what I wanted to hear. Not.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Two hours, three candy bars, two Diet Cokes and countless visits to the restroom later we were still waiting for some word from Doctor Lin. The waiting room took on the appearance of a squad room and people seemed uncomfortable just being in the same room. It would have helped if the I-Droid twins had taken off their FBI vests but they seemed very attached to them.

  Another forty-five minutes went by before a short physician that had obviously been eating well, wearing scrubs came into the waiting room. He looked around and then immediately walked over to where we were lounging around.

  “Doctor Lin,” he said with a slight bow, not offering his hand.

  “I’m detective Bartoni. What can you tell us about the young girl?”

  “Besides status asthmaticus she had a ruptured spleen. I hesitated to remove it because it is instrumental in helping fight bacteria and other foreign substances in the body. Once I got her open I could see the tear was too extensive to let heal on its own. I decided to go ahead with the removal procedure.”

  “What caused the rupture, any idea?”

  “Blunt force trauma most likely. She has considerable bruising around her lower ribcage. Either she was hit with something or it happened during a fall. From the looks of it, I would guess a fall.”

  “Like maybe if she was tossed out of a car?”

  “I suppose that would do it if she landed on something hard.”

  “What’s her prognosis?” I asked.

  I sure didn’t like the sound of this combined with her other problems.

  “Honestly, not good. The next twenty-four to forty-eight hours will give us a better indication. Of course the hypothermia isn’t helping either. We have a lot to try and get under control before she is out of the woods,” Doctor Lin said.

  “So it’s no use hanging around here waiting to talk to her.”

  “Only if you want to spend the next two days in one of those chairs,” he said, indicating the waiting room chairs.

  “Will she stay here or be transferred?”

  “Right now we are seeing if one of the larger hospitals has room for her. It would be better if she were lifelined to a facility that had more modern equipment than we have here.”