The first disk contained more deer and turkeys, and for the first time a pair of skunks wandered by.
“I think our collection of Wisconsin wildlife is complete, I can’t think of anything else left to photograph,” said Austin.
“Just bigfoot,” said Angie. “Then we would be more famous than those goofballs who hunt for them on TV.”
The first disk was a bust, and the most suspicious thing on the pond photos were a few mallards and two pair of Canadian geese. The camera on the buildings and the potato field was more of the same except for a small, yellow panel van that backed up to the barn. Two men got out and went into the barn. After several minutes of loading something into the van they waved to Sinclair and left. Two hours later the scene was repeated, but this time one of the men walked over to Sinclair and handed him something and shook his hand. “That’s the last shot on number three.”
“What about the one across the road?” asked Angie.
“Right here,” said Austin, clicking on the first frame.
Over the three days, the camera had captured about a hundred cars passing by on the road, and both times the yellow van came and went.
Deacon watched the van come and go again. “Any chance we could get the tag number of that van?”
“No, it’s too far away and it’s pretty dirty,” said Austin. “I think it’s a used rental van, you know, like the company might sell when they’re done with it?”
“Probably so. I sure don’t see much evidence of anything illegal happening on that place,” said Angie, “it’s still boring.”
Removing the disk from the computer, Austin stuck it in his pocket with the others. “You want us to pull the cameras?”
Deacon nodded. “Bring the ones on his property in on the next trip, it’s just too risky to keep doing this.”
Rusty was already at the spot where the arm was found when Vince pulled up. After explaining what he wanted to do, he got Maggie out of the truck and clipped on a long leash. “Let’s start by going a quarter-mile south, then come back and do a quarter-mile to the north,” said Vince. “If we don’t find anything then we’ll move out a little farther.”
“You got it, let me put on her boots first, the rip-rap is hard on her feet.”
The Brittney pulled at the leash, ready to go to work. When she got the scent, she was hard to keep up with. If something was there, she was going to find it. The strip of rip-rap along the shoreline was about fifteen-feet wide and made of chunks of granite mixed with other local rock. The cracks and spaces were full of road dirt from the winter’s plowing. Maggie worked nonstop for an hour before she could be slowed down long enough to take a drink and have a treat.
After finding nothing, they started working to the north. After several minutes, Maggie sat down and barked twice. Rusty pushed a small red flag into the spot and gave the dog a treat. Continuing north, she marked two more spots not more than a hundred yards away.
Vince petted the dog for a minute and gave her one of the treats. “Let’s give her a little break and check these out.”
“Sounds good, but getting her out of hunting mode can be tough, let me put her in the carrier.”
Vince threw down a tarp, unfolded his shovel and began to dig. Using a pry bar to move one of the stones out of the way, all he found was a piece of dirty string. Tossing it away, he continued to dig and move the rocks around and found nothing else.
“Vince, you want her to check that spot again?”
“Yeah, but I don’t really see anything.”
Maggie walked around the hole and never made a sound. “Maybe she’s losing her touch, Rusty. There’s nothing here, that’s for sure.”
Hearing her bark twice, they both turned to see her sitting and looking at them. “What have you got girl?” asked Rusty, giving her another treat.
Walking over to the dog, Vince couldn’t see anything. Pulling her away from the spot, he bent down and picked up the piece of string he threw away while digging. “Well shit. Rusty, let Maggie have a whiff of this.” She immediately barked and sat down. Putting the string in an evidence bag, he marked and sealed it.
Rusty laughed at the scene. “You gotta learn to trust what the dog is tellin’ you, Deputy. They don’t make mistakes.”
“She’s made a believer out of me, that’s for sure. Let’s check the other two spots.” After digging up the first hole he found part of a cardboard hang tag with an eyelet. The second hole produced another piece of a tag with a few letters on it.
Several more hours didn’t produce any more notices from Maggie and Vince called off the search. “Rusty, I think we’ll have these tested before we go any farther. We may be calling you again though. Take good care of that dog, she’s a good one.”
Deacon looked at the new evidence bags on his desk. “Angie, let’s get these off to the state lab right away. I want to know if the DNA on these matches the DNA on the arm and anything they can tell me. Vince, you did a hell of a job here. If these came from the arm, we might have something to run with.”
“Thanks boss, but Maggie gets a lot of the credit, she has one hell of a nose.”
“Yeah, she does. How are we doing on the search for a medical cadaver company? Are there any around here?”
“Nothing close, but there are companies in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, they work a lot with the Mayo Clinic down in Rochester. There’s also one in Madison and one in Milwaukee too.”
“Do they ever get up into this area?”
“No solid evidence as to when they may have been here, but I know they have to pick up or deliver bodies from morgues, funeral homes or hospitals, so it’s not impossible.”
“I want to know everything there is to know about these outfits. I don’t want to accuse them of losing body parts unless I have it right.”
“Deacon, the autopsy report just came in from Doctor Baker,” said Angie. “I put it in the war room and posted the victims picture with the rest.”
“Did you get anything from Felix yet? He said he would send me a copy of his report.”
“No, nothing yet.”
“Send him another copy of Austin’s incident report on the last body, maybe that will jar his memory a little.”
“You really think it will?”
“Not really, I just want to poke the fire a little.”
Chapter 15
Angie and Deacon sat in the hot tub watching several deer feed along the shoreline. “Deacon, are you with me tonight? I know you’re thinking about this case, and I know how much it’s eating at you. But you have to take a break from it sometime.”
“It’s not something that’s easy to let go of. Someone is killing these women for a specific purpose, and I don’t know why. If I have no crime scene to work, I have to try and understand exactly why he’s doing it.”
“Do you still think the Crawford’s are involved in this?”
“I can’t rule them out. I think it’s possible there could be something larger going on out there, but Felix has me shut out of the investigation.”
“Sinclair’s definitely an interesting character,” said Angie. “I mean what were they burying in the potato field in the middle of the night? I have to admit I do have a strange feeling that he’s hiding something out on that old homestead. But I still have the feeling you might be looking at other possibilities.”
He finished the last of his beer and shook his head. “I’m just pissed off at Felix and the whole FBI. I could help on this but they are so damn arrogant.”
“You’re right, the way they see it, you’re kind of a small fish in a small pond. Just keep on doing what you’re doing and don’t worry about them. There are plenty of other things going on in Bayfield County.”
“Meanwhile, the bodies just keep piling up . . .”
Stepping out of the tub, she asked him if he wanted another beer.
“Hell yes — another beer and a beautiful woman is exactly what I need.”
“How about another beer and a beaut
iful naked woman? Would that work?” she asked, as she stepped out of her bikini.
“Damn, I do love you. You always know exactly the right thing to say and do.”
“The report from the state crime lab just came in,” said Angie, handing him the package.
The evidence bags had been returned and a detailed report said there was DNA on the string and both pieces of the tag, “it matches the arm,” said Deacon. “They say it looks like the tag had been around the wrist.”
“Were they able to get any more information from the tag?”
“They made out part of an uppercase G and three random letters, but that’s all they were able to recover.”
Deacon walked into the war room and closed the door. Opening the first victim’s file, he started to read it from the beginning. Spending several hours going through each file again, he slid the last one across the table and spit out his now stale gum. “Goddamnit,” he said, slamming his hand down on the table. “Angie, come in here for a minute.”
“What’s going on boss?”
“I just want to bounce a few thoughts off you. This guy is not a regular sociopath or psycho. He has to be doing this to some end, some kind of grand finale if you will. Traditional serials have the same basic mode of operation with all their victims. Over time they may modify their mode some for the sake of efficiency, but it’s still basically the same. This guy is killing each one differently, but he makes sure that the body is cleaned and wrapped exactly like the others — the question is why.”
“Maybe he just gets bored?” said Angie. “Maybe after a kill he has satisfied a particular craving and is compelled to do something different?”
“I’ve been reading everything about every serial killer I can find, including everything there is on the FBI website. There isn’t a single case of one that operates like our guy. If you’re right about that, what could his end game possibly be?”
Angie shrugged. “I wish I could answer that too. Maybe he is doing something to them or with them before he makes the kill? Maybe he’s videoing or photographing them? Doc Baker says they are all very clean when he gets them. I hate to even say this Deacon, because it sounds so totally crazy, but what if these are some kind of snuff film?”
“I’ve always thought those things were just a legend, but yeah, I guess that could be a possibility.”
“Maybe you should have Vince look into the history of those things. He might be able to dig around on the dark web and see if there are people trying to sell this kind of stuff. If there is, maybe he might find a photo one of our victims.”
“Damn woman, that’s not a bad idea. Now I remember why I keep you around.”
“Davis, that’s bullshit and we both know it. You keep me around because you like seeing me naked.”
“That too.”
“Curt, thanks for coming in so early. Did you and Austin get the cameras last night?”
“Yeah, I think he put them in the war room before he went home.”
“You didn’t see any serial killers running around out there, did you?”
“No sir can’t say that I did, just a few of the regular wild critters. You want to see those pictures right now?”
“Sure,” said Deacon. “Maybe we caught the killer wrapping up his latest victim.”
“I suppose anything is possible . . .”
After checking the front gate everything looked to be the same. Several frames showed Sarah leaving the place in mid-morning and then returning in the late afternoon. This time she had a passenger.
“Go to the photos from the front of the farm house that start about the same time,” said Deacon. The camera caught the sedan pulling up to the front door of the farmhouse. “Right there, it’s a woman with long dark hair, and she’s going in the house with Sarah.”
“Okay boss, so you got a guest at the Crawford home,” said Angie. “Still boring. You got anything else?” The next frames were in the dark, showing several deer walking by the house and a light on in the kitchen. An hour later the deer tripped the camera again. “Now look,” said Angie. “There’s a light in the basement window. Woo woo, a light! Davis, I think you might have your guy.”
“All right already, I got it. I just thought the camera idea was worth a try.”
“Just teasing, I’ll go back to work now.”
“When you finally find your way back to your work station, give Felix a call and ask him to come in at his convenience.”
“Yessir boss, I’ll call him right away. Anything else?”
“Just go to work.”
Deacon spread out the files in the war room to look like they were currently being worked. Yellow legal pads full of notes and the crime scene photos were in plain sight. Watching Felix walk in, he was reminded how much he really disliked him. Leading him into the war room, he closed the door behind them.
The FBI agent looked at the mess on the table and the photographs, and sat down. “Davis, what’s all this? I thought you were done with this serial killer stuff. You know what I told you more than once.”
“You’re right Felix. I accept that I’m in way over my head here. That’s what I called you about.”
“You called me to say that you’re in over your head? I thought you had already dropped it. You’ve been nothing but a thorn in my side since this started. So I assume that I won’t be hearing from you anymore?”
“Listen, full disclosure here, I need your help. It’s this damn severed arm thing. I can’t get anywhere with it. I’m willing to completely drop the serial killer case and never bother you again if you’ll take over this case.”
“So you’re saying that if the FBI takes this case from you, you will never bother me about the murders again?”
“Not only that, but you can use me any way you want, I will be your ally and your eyes and ears in this part of the world. Hell, I’m just a small time sheriff — I know my place.”
Leaning back in the chair, Felix put his feet on the table. “And I can call you any time and you’ll do what I tell you?”
“You have my word,” said Deacon, holding out his hand.
Felix shook his hand. “Okay, I will have Special Agent Anders look into this. I will consider this a case that I believe has occurred across state lines so there are no questions from the office. First thing in the morning you will get us up to speed on everything to do with the case.”
Deacon nodded and shook his hand again. “Thanks man, much appreciated. We’ll be here in the morning and show you everything.”
Watching him walk to the door, all Deacon could think of was just how cocky the little rooster was.
When the door closed Angie looked at Deacon. “Davis, exactly what the hell was all that ass-kissing about? You’re giving up? Bullshit — you never give up on anything, what’s going on?”
“I don’t have the time for the case of the mysterious arm and it doesn’t have anything to do with the serial case."
“So you’re just trying to confuse me? Didn’t I just hear you tell Felix that you’ll stay out of it forever?”
“You heard right.”
“Davis, are you just trying to piss me off? After all the work we’ve done on that case, you’re dropping it?”
“No.”
“Dammit Davis, you’re not helping me here. You told him that you were through with it but you’re not really?”
“That’s it exactly. Felix will never solve the serial case, or the arm, as far as that goes. His ego won’t let him. I believe that the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Department can and will solve it.”
“The four of us are going to solve the biggest active serial killer case in the country?” asked Angie. “Are you in your right mind old man? Again — they’re only four of us in the whole department.”
“That’s why I had to get rid of the severed arm case, we were taking too much time away from our other work.”
“Like the Black Plastic Killer?”
“Exactly. Tomorrow I’ll fill them in on
the Crawford’s and their history. Be sure we have all the magazines ready. I want to overwhelm them with information. The longer we keep him busy on that, the easier we’ll have it.”
“So you think that the Crawford’s are the serial killers?”
“I still don’t know because the F.B.I. is keeping me out of it, but there’s no real downside to the bureau doing the investigation on the arm. Tomorrow I will try and convince them that I believe that the arm has something to do with the Crawford’s farm. If they’re the killers, then they’ll get caught — if not, everyone keeps looking.”
“Davis, there’s more to you than meets the eye. I kinda thought you might be working a new angle recently. Anything you care to share with me?”
“Like I told you before, I have several thoughts on how this case could go, and the Crawford’s are one of them. However, I need to gather a lot more information before I can get the pieces to stick together.”
Deacon filled in Austin and Vince well before the FBI agents got to the meeting. After answering all their questions, he told them to never mention this outside of the four people in this office. We’re going to find this son-of-a-bitch without any help from the FBI or any other agency. Cooperate with them on the arm case, and play dumb on the serial case,” said Deacon. “Keep them busy with bullshit, and take them wherever they might want to go.”
“I like the new plan,” said Austin. “I have no doubt we can catch this monster.”
“Vince, what do you think?”
“I love it. It’s exactly what I’ve been looking for, a chance to hunt down a real bad guy, and I’m more than ready.”
“Don’t forget, in between finding serial killers, you may have to find a few missing cows,” said Angie.
“Yeah, Vince,” said Austin, “you may even have to arrest a bulldog or two.”
Even Deacon had to laugh out loud at this. “Okay guys, don’t pick on him anymore, he needs all the experience he can get.”
The two FBI men walked in at exactly 8:00 and went straight to the room. “This is Special Agent Bill Anders,” said Felix. “After you brief us, he will be completely in charge of the arm case.” After the introductions Angie poured them all fresh coffee.
Murder in the Dell Page 13
