DiNolfo was impressed. Processing a murder scene in the pouring down rain was like watching a bomb tick off its final seconds. If you’re not quick enough, some crucial evidence could be washed away.
“The evidence I’ve bagged so far is locked in Joe’s office, so you can check it out there.”
DiNolfo nodded as she looked down at the victim.
“What are these marks all over her?” DiNolfo asked.
“She sustained multiple injuries. The cause of death was clearly the gunshot wound to the back of her head. There was obviously a struggle… Her nose is broken, her face is bruised and her neck is broken, but I think those injuries came later.”
DiNolfo listened intently as Adam Morrow pieced together the crime scene. She had trained him well.
This kid knows what he’s talking about…
“But these marks,” Adam said as he pointed to the black broad marks that ran across her legs and torso, “Are tire tracks.”
“Good work, Morrow…”
“That’s not all though…”
“Oh?”
“No, not by a long shot…”
Adam crouched down next to Courtney’s battered body.
“Look here…” said Adam as he pointed to the green tarp that lay underneath Courtney’s body.
“A tarp…”
“She wasn’t killed here. This is a dump site. I think she was pushed out of a moving vehicle and that is when her neck and nose broke. Post-mortem.”
“Decent hypothesis. But what about the tire tracks?”
“They probably ran back over her to add insult to injury.”
The thought was chilling but DiNolfo thought Adam was right on the mark.
“Solid work. Keep going. I’m going to review the evidence inside. Continue bagging as much evidence as you can. The weather is working against us.”
***
Joe walked into his office and closed the door shut behind him. He tried his best not to look at the evidence on his desk as he grabbed his cell phone out of the top drawer. In a quiet voice, Joe talked in to the receiver.
“Hello?” asked Jack in a grouchy tone of voice.
“It’s Joe.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“It’s Courtney…”
Jack paused.
“What about her?”
“She’s dead. Murdered by the looks of it. We found her out on Mountain Road. Keep your boy under lock and key. This doesn’t look good at all.”
***
Adam had finally finished bagging up the evidence when the van from the Medical Examiner’s office arrived. A burly officer and a short female officer dressed in white covered the body with a sheet and lifted it into the back of the wagon. The medical examiner would need to perform a full autopsy to provide an official cause of death.
***
DiNolfo scanned the evidence that was labeled and bagged on Joe’s desk. This was definitely not a cut and dry case. Adam had collected a leather wallet with a ten dollar bill and a driver’s license belonging to Jesse Trafford. There was a photograph of a single black hiking boot track caked in the mud. There was also a semi-automatic hand gun, a tattered shirt, and a single piece of black thread which was retrieved from the victim’s hair. The unskilled mind would have all officers beating down Jesse Trafford’s door. Fortunately, DiNolfo had some inside information. Jesse Trafford had an iron-clad alibi from 7 P.M. on June 16th to approximately 5 A.M. on June 17, 2000. DiNolfo had arrested Jesse herself for disorderly conduct in Shooter’s Pool Hall. She left him sitting in a holding cell overnight until he decided to calm down. His brother posted his bail and he was now a free man. The trouble was where was he between the hours of 5 and 7 A.M.?
***
DiNolfo came out of Monte’s with a serious look on her face.
“Liam, start canvassing the area and ask if anyone saw or heard anything. Adam and I need to pay the O’Mara’s a visit.”
***
Lightning illuminated the stormy sky as Adam and Jenna approached 27 Caribou Road. Adam knocked on the wood door twice as he waited for someone to answer. Gwen O’Mara opened the door with a quickness. She was still dressed for bed in her yellow robe and slippers, and she had a tired and worried expression upon her otherwise pretty face.
“Hi, Mrs. O’Mara. I’m Officer Morrow… This is Sergeant DiNolfo. May we come in?”
Gwen let the officers in and quickly closed the door behind them. Roger O’Mara was still wearing the same outfit he wore the night before. He looked disheveled and stressed. He stood up as the officers approached him.
“Please sit… You too, Mrs. O’Mara,” said DiNolfo firmly.
“Is everything okay?” asked Roger nervously.
“I am afraid that I am the bearer of bad news. This sort of thing is never easy to say, so I’m just going to come right out with it.”
DiNolfo was trying to be firm but sensitive. It was not an easy balance for her. Angie came into the living room with a concerned look on her face. She wrapped her arm around her father’s shoulder as she listened.
Jenna spoke in a tone that was all business, “Your daughter Courtney was found dead on Mountain Road this morning.”
It took a moment for the O’Mara’s to process what the Sergeant had just said. It was Angie who spoke up first.
“Dead?! How?!” she said as a horrified look crossed her face.
“Courtney O’Mara was murdered. She was killed by a gunshot wound to the back of her head.”
As Adam spoke the words, he could see the O’Mara’s begin to break. Gwen’s face was frozen in a state of ultimate shock and grief. After a moment, her lips started to quiver as a terrible scream cried from her lungs.
“Not again! Not Courtney!”
Roger O’Mara had to steady his wife as she fell to her knees.
“Please know that we are doing everything we can to find the person responsible,” said Adam, trying to sound reassuring.
“We are deeply sorry for your loss,” said DiNolfo somberly. She patted Gwen on the arm.
“We will be in touch very soon. You take care…”
Adam shook Mr. O’Mara’s hand and wished him well. A look of deep sorrow radiated from Roger O’Mara as he took Adam’s hand. After Jenna was done consoling Gwen, she approached Angie and she was surprised by the look on her face. Whereas Gwen and Roger had showed their complete devastation and despair, the only emotion on Angie’s face was anger. Pure unfiltered, unwavering rage poured from Angie’s eyes as she heaved deep breaths from her chest. In that moment, Jenna was catapulted back twenty years to a memory that she forget she even possessed.
Chapter 10
June 4, 1980
27 Caribou Road
Elkhart, PA
9:15 P.M.
It all started with three girls and a dance. PS 132’s prom was just around the corner and no one was more excited to attend than Tiffany O’Mara. As captain of the cheerleading squad and the president of the year book committee, there wasn’t a person in school who did not know Tiffany O’Mara. Unfortunately for her, popularity has its costs.
***
“Oh, Tiff… you’re definitely going to be prom queen with that dress!” gushed Jenna DiNolfo as she approved of her friend’s purple off the shoulder prom dress.
“Do you think so?” said Tiffany trying to sound self-conscious when in reality she was as vain as they come. She flounced her floor length gown with a sassy simper.
Jenna looked at her friend with an incredulous look on her face, “Well it sure as hell isn’t gonna be me!” laughed Jenna.
Tiffany rolled her eyes, “Well maybe if you wore something other than black and gray, you’d be able to find a date!”
Jenna looked down at her own prom dress – a black tea length dress that was elegant and classic. Jenna lips curled up into a toothy smile.
“Actually, I already do have a date.”
Tiffany whipped her body around and looked at her friend in shock.
“Who?!” Tiffany demanded to know. Jenna gave her friend a sly wink.
“Joey Piedmonte asked if he could take me.”
Tiffany looked shocked.
“My next door neighbor Joey?!”
“Yeah, I saw him at his Dad’s restaurant and he asked if I needed a date.”
“You know he’s like twenty-one, right?”
Jenna smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t care, he’s cute.”
Tiffany rolled her eyes at her carefree friend.
“Oh, I know… No one could ever compare to your Ethan,” Jenna said facetiously.
“What’s wrong with Ethan?!” asked Tiffany in a high pitched voice.
“Oh, nothing other than the fact that he’s a total bore and he has the IQ of a rock.”
“I like him. He’s sweet and he buys me pretty things.”
Suddenly Tiffany’s bedroom door swung open and
Angie was standing in the doorway.
“Pretty gown, Tiff…” Angie said, complimenting her sister with a smile.
Tiffany smiled a fake smile then said in a sugary sweet voice, “Thanks…”
“Hey Jenna, are you going to prom?” asked Angie curiously. Tiffany rolled her eyes.
“Obviously! Now can you please leave us alone?!” yelled Tiffany as her fake sweetness melted away, revealing her true nature. Jenna looked at her friend with a nasty look.
“Why are you so mean to your sister?!” said Jenna irately, sticking up for Angie.
“She’s so annoying!” Tiffany complained.
“So are you! Now be nice or I’m leaving!” threatened Jenna.
“Fine, whatever…” said Tiffany as she walked towards her window.
“Are you going to prom, too, Angie?” asked Jenna, trying to school Tiffany on how to have a civilized conversation.
“Yeah, Hunter is taking me,” explained Angie with a smile.
“Oh, you guys should ride with us!” said Jenna in an excited voice.
Tiffany gave Jenna an evil stare as Angie’s face lit up.
“Okay!” said Angie, excited for the offer.
“My dad rented a limo… you and Hunter can join us.”
“Oh, my God, I can’t wait!” squealed Angie, truly excited to feel like she was becoming a part of her sister’s inner circle for once.
As Angie and Jenna continued to chat happily, Tiffany sulked by the window. She stared out into the darkness until something peculiar caught her eye. A silhouette of a man caught her attention. He was standing just outside their house. His figure was illuminated by the street light, but his face was cloaked by the shadow of his hat. He appeared to be looking right at Tiffany.
“Who is that…?” asked Tiffany with a sense of alarm present in her voice.
Jenna and Angie both looked at Tiffany with concern.
“What?” asked Jenna.
“There. In the road. There is a man…” Tiffany continued.
Jenna and Tiffany crowded the window trying to get a better glimpse of the man. Angie pushed her way through and she took a hard look at the man. He appeared to be nothing more than a shadow, but when a sparrow landed on the man’s shoulder, Angie knew exactly who he was. As the man tried to come closer, a scream escaped from Tiffany’s lungs. While Jenna comforted her, Angie watched the man race up Caribou Road and veer onto the path that led through the Forest of York.
***
June 19, 1980
27 Caribou Road
Elkhart, PA
6 P.M.
A white limousine pulled up outside 27 Caribou Road as two young men stepped out. Hunter McCord, dressed in a powder blue tuxedo, straightened his tie before knocking on the O’Mara’s front door. Ethan Quiver followed behind Hunter, dressed sharply in an all white suit. Suddenly, the front door at 25 Caribou Road sprang open and Joey Piedmonte came down the front steps as Rose Piedmonte snapped pictures of him.
“So handsome, my Joey!” squealed Rose Piedmonte.
“Mom! C’mon, it’s not even my prom!” complained Joe.
“So what?! Besides, I like this one, Joe… Jenna is a sweetheart!”
Joe smiled sheepishly as he banged on the front door of the O’Mara residence while the flash of his mother’s camera illuminated the front yard. Moments later the door opened again and Mrs. Piedmonte and her house full of guests had crowded back into the front yard. Joey helped Jenna down the stairs. She was wearing a classic black tea length dress with black pumps and tan stockings. Joey had given her a red rose corsage that beautifully offset her dark hair and dress.
“Help her down, Joey! Oh, doesn’t she look gorgeous!” yelled Mrs. Piedmonte as her son blushed.
“Ma! C’mon!”
Jenna couldn’t help but laugh.
“Thank you Mrs. Piedmonte.”
“Okay, now smile!” yelled Rose.
The cameras threatened to blind Jenna and Joe as the bulbs went off, capturing the moment forever. Next, Angie came out of the house with Hunter. His powder blue suit perfectly matched her blue taffeta gown. Her blonde hair was pulled up into an elegant French twist, which showed off her toned arms and shoulders.
Mrs. Piedmonte snapped another picture and said loudly, “You look so pretty, Angie!”
Angie smiled and let Hunter lead her to the limo. Lastly, Tiffany came out of the house with Ethan and suddenly the crowd began to disperse.
Rose whispered to her sister Rita, “I never did like that girl…”
***
The prom was a total hit and everyone was having a really good time until it was time to announce the prom king and prom queen. Tiffany waited anxiously as she watched Principal Gottlieb take the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen… It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Time to announce our prom queen and king! Mrs. Coolidge… The envelope if you please!”
An elderly woman with a rear end that was equal in mass to a mid-size Honda waddled up to the stage and handed Principal Gottlieb a silver envelope.
“Drum roll please….”
As the crowd cheered, Gottlieb’s voice boomed through the auditorium’s sound system.
“The 1980 prom king and queen are… Tiffany O’Mara and Hunter McCord!”
The look in Angie’s eyes said it all. Her cheek had flushed and her eyes began to water. Of all the guys in their class, why Hunter? Hunter looked at her sadly. He knew how much she loathed her sister.
“Chin up… I promise I won’t enjoy it at all,” Hunter said with a laugh.
“Yeah, but she will!” Angie said coldly.
Angie watched as Tiffany smugly took the dance floor with Hunter. He was simply trying to be polite, but Tiffany was laying it on awfully thick. She loved to be the center of attention, and it didn’t matter who she stepped on to get there. Jenna thought that Tiffany was acting as if she had just won the Miss America pageant. Tiffany smiled alluringly at Hunter as the music began to play. Angie felt as if her skin was on fire. The more Hunter swung Tiffany around the floor, the deeper her rage became. Finally, when Tiffany kissed Hunter on the cheek, she felt as if she might combust on the spot. Jenna looked over at Angie and saw the rage written all over her face.
“Take a breath…” suggested Jenna, but before Angie could take her advice, she was gone.
***
Prom ended at midnight and as the students and chaperones flooded into the parking lot, Angie sat on a picnic bench holding hands with Hunter.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine,” said Angie in an overly sweet voice, pretending that she didn’t want to rip her sister’s up-do off of her perfectly shaped head.
“My curfew’s in ten minutes… so I gotta go.”
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Angie said with a smile. She leaned in to kiss him goodnight.
Joey and Jenna waved to them from the parking lot as they wandered back to his house so he could drive her home. Joe had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and was listening intently as she
talked. Suddenly, Tiffany and Ethan burst out of the auditorium doors. Tiffany looked irate.
“Fine, be that way, Ethan! But that’s the end of it!” yelled Tiffany as some of her hair escaped her up do.
Stolen Innocents (The Shadow Series Book 2) Page 11
