Touched by Death

by Dale Mayer

  Using her brush, she cleaned off the top of the body and was struck by the feminine bits and pieces of material that emerged. Bits of pink ruffles, pink pleats in the skirt – stiffened and dried – its original prettiness now a macabre imitation. She grabbed her camera and started taking pictures while the body lay in the bag. She'd done several at the gravesite, having been unable to throw off the concern that this was a crime scene – maybe not a killing site but definitely a dumping site.

  She worked steadily for several hours.

  "Hey." Meg walked into the room, brown bag in her hand and a tall take-out cup in the other. "Wow, it's warm in here. I brought food."

  Jade fired a wide grin at her. "Great. I'm starved."

  With an eye roll, Meg said, "See, I didn't even make you ask for food today. Besides, Dr. Mike and Bruce are looking at the gravesite. They're going to be here over lunch, too."

  "Oh good. I have our poor prisoner girl on the table. I'm hoping for a few more answers when I consult with Dr. Mike."

  "Interesting." Meg stepped over to stare at the skeleton. "She looks young." Pulling on gloves, Meg bent over, then gently opened the girl's mouth to check the teeth. "Full dentition with the wisdom just crowning in the back. She could be anywhere from twelve to eighteen for that matter. How is the fusing of the bones?" She took a magnifying glass to the radius. "Not fused at the bone plate yet." Checking the cranium next, she straightened and frowned. "Cranial sutures are still evident."

  Meg glanced over at Jade. "I'm thinking a female, a teenager approximately fifteen to seventeen years of age. Pretty rough sutures at that."

  Jade pursed her lips. "That matches my guess."

  "Interesting age."

  "Especially here. Girls are often married by then."

  Studying the bones, Meg asked, "Is she complete?"

  "Yes. Appears to be." Jade tossed her gloves in the garbage. She pulled a sani-wipe out of the dispenser and washed her hands thoroughly. Then, opening her brown lunch bag, she pulled out a container with rice, beans and vegetables. She dug in. It was food, hot and tasty. They'd been offered sandwiches for lunch but the team preferred to eat local fare. Turning back to Meg, she pointed out the remnants of the clothing she'd removed from the skeleton.

  Meg let out a long whistle. "Pleats. Wow. I'm guessing it's the multiple layers of synthetic clothing that kept those from deteriorating."

  Jade shrugged. "Possibly. I can't analyze the material properly here, however it looks that way. There's no jewelry on the body.

  "Interesting." She bent over the head area, then reached out a finger and checked the collarbone.

  "Broken and healed."

  "Agreed."

  Jade munched happily. When her food was gone, she reached into the bag and pulled out a banana that she finished in six bites. She peered into the bag again, hoping there was something else.

  "I guess we need to get you a double-sized lunch from now on." Laughter filled Meg's voice.

  Catching her humorous look, Jade smirked. "Good idea." She tucked the container back in the bag and put it by the door.

  Meg shook her head. "I'm going to work on getting the DNA samples and might as well take the dental impression too – unless you want to?"

  "Go for it. I'm still charting."

  "Right. We're hoping to take over the extra dining room at the back of the hotel for a communication room."

  "Yeah, that side of the work is backing up." Jade motioned to her laptop, open and running, beside her. "I just emptied my flashcard so I can take more pictures. I'll need hours to go through the ones I've already taken."

  Meg studied the small workspace Jade was bent over. "Maybe we should have one person working in the lab in the morning while the other does the computer work, and then switch?"

  Jade walked around the small space as she considered the options. There weren't many. "The thing is, I'm not sure anyone should be left alone out here for long periods. I'm not worried about being alone, but it's just common sense to stay together. And if we're in pairs, we need to make them useful working pairs."

  Meg cast a glance through the open door. "And I'm not sure we should work alone either. Sometimes it's like I'm being watched. It's a weird feeling."

  Jade glanced up at her then at the open door. She shrugged. "It could be the locals watching what we're doing."

  "True enough." Meg reached for her tools.

  The afternoon passed quickly as they worked out a rhythm to sharing space.

  Working on 'prisoner girl' took longer as they needed to use tweezers, brushes and magnifying glasses most of the time. They needed to make sure they collected all the evidence there was to collect. Once completed, they replaced her carefully in the same bag – after they'd upended it in case they'd missed anything. The bag had been empty and Jade made a note of that on the chart. The two women then moved her to the reefer trailer.

  Jade stood and studied the layout. It was anyone's guess if they had enough space for the contents of the grave.

  At the sound of an engine, they both walked outside. "Looks like Dane's here again. What's he have in the back?"

  Dane, driving a full-sized black pickup, backed toward the lab trailer kicking dust everywhere.

  The women retreated slightly. Jade coughed once then took a drink from her water bottle. "Oh my gosh. He mentioned something about exchanging our small stairs for a big deck he had at another site. We were discussing the lack of natural light in the trailer and how nice it would be to do some of the work outside. Fresh air and all that." She tried to make sense of the jumble of wood in the truck's bed.

  Meg dropped her gloves on the table. "And it looks like he's a man of his word. Got to love that."

  "And he's not alone."

  The two women waited until the truck stopped, before walking over to see who'd come with him. Dane hopped out, looking devastating in jeans and snug t-shirt rippling across his chest. He smiled. "As you can see, I didn't forget."

  "Thank you. I'd forgotten about it." Jade smiled at the silent Haitian by his side. He was smaller than Dane, dustier and with dark skin. "Hi."

  He inclined his head, but stayed silent. His black eyes watched her closely. She walked over to Dane.

  Dane shot her a look. "I hadn't." He walked around to the back of the truck and dropped the tailgate. "They're in several interlocking pieces." He studied the set currently on her trailer. "Emile, give me a hand moving these out of the way."

  The girls stepped back to stand in the doorway while the two men lifted the old set of stairs and moved it off to one side. Unloading the largest piece of the new set first, they butted it up against the trailer. They then grabbed the second half and lowered it into position. Large squares of decking were laid down on top.

  And just like that she had a small porch. Jade bounced on her toes. "Is it safe to stand on?"

  "Absolutely."

  ***

  Dane watched Jade run up and down the stairs like a kid at a new playground. And all because of such a simple thing. Her lab coat bounced as she moved. She had to be dying in the heat with jeans and a t-shirt underneath. But then, in her place, he'd also want an extra layer or two between him and the skeletons she worked on every day.

  She laughed.

  He grinned. Good. She was way too serious. If something like this gave her a kick then he was all for it. Meg followed Jade up to stand on the little deck. It appeared bigger with the two women on it.

  "Will that work for you?"

  Jade smiled and her eyes gleamed. "Thank you. This will work nicely. If I do nothing more than stand here and grab fresh air and sunshine for five minutes at a time, it's a help."

  "Good." Motioning to Emile, they lifted the small set of stairs and loaded it into the back of the truck. Dane walked to the front of the cab and opened the door to retrieve something. He turned around, a b
ig grin on his face and his hands full.

  "And speaking of coffee..." He held out two large take out cups. Steam rose from the small opening in the top of the lid.

  "Ohhhh." Delight lit up their faces.

  He grinned as the women almost danced in place. "See, I keep my promises."

  "And that makes you a very special soul." Jade accepted a cup and sniffed the small vent. "Wow. What is this?"

  "It's a Haitian version of a cappuccino."

  Jade inhaled again. "Really? Where did you find it?"

  "Ahhh." Dane grinned. "I told you I would show you the hidden gems of this area."

  "Hidden is right." She took a tiny sip and sighed happily. "Thank you. It's lovely."

  Dane held out the second cup to Meg. "Are you also a coffee fanatic?"

  She accepted the cup gracefully. "I enjoy it, but I'm not crazy like she is. And I only eat a quarter of what she does."

  "I'm not that bad." Jade smiled at Dane. "Don't let her scare you."

  Dane walked back to his truck. "It would take more than a hungry female to scare me off."

  Stephen and Wilson came around the corner of the rocks, dust covering their weary faces. They waved cheerfully. When Stephen spied Emile, his smile became more formal. He walked over and held out his hand.

  "Hi, I'm Stephen."

  Emile reached out and shook his hand. "Emile."

  "Hey, you're Dane's brother-in-law, right?"

  Emile frowned and glanced over at Dane.

  Grinning, Dane answered. "He means you are related to my brother's family. The answer is yes, Emile is Tasha's brother."

  "Ah." But Emile didn't smile with understanding.

  Stephen stepped back as Wilson walked over with a bottle of water in his hand.

  Dane watched as each person spoke. Emile, like his sister Tasha, was quiet – reticent with strangers. Still he handled himself well in this context. He didn't exactly smile; he did, however, gradually lose his stiffness.

  Dane turned his attention to Stephen. "Is Bruce around?"

  Stephen shook his head. "Bruce has gone to the authorities to update them on the progress here and to let them know about the clinic opening in town."

  "Clinic?" Emile was struggling with his English, so Stephen explained. A strange look stretched across Emile's face that had Dane wondering…but Emile was a simple soul so he let it go.

  Though apparently, he wasn't as simple as Emile's father, Peppe, whose mental health had deteriorated rapidly over the last few years. There wasn't the necessary level of care available here for someone like him and according to John, Tasha wouldn't let him go to a home anyway. Emile was supposed to take care of him now, however, according to John that wasn't happening.

  Dane hated it, but it wasn't his place to interfere. He'd made his opinion of the situation clear. To no avail. He'd rather eat a bullet than sit in his own shit though.

  Another reason to go home soon. It wasn't in his nature to let an injustice like that go on and on.

  Neither had it been in John's nature years ago. What had the ensuing years done to him?

  ***

  Sitting in the truck on the way back, Emile cast a wary glance at Dane, his boss. Questions burned in his mind. Only he didn't want to cross that invisible line between boss and employee. "Now those are good looking women."

  Dane tossed him a grin. "They are, aren't they?"

  "Smart to help out. I would too." Emile twisted on the seat to stare out the back window. The women were gone from view. He turned around as the truck approached his home.

  "Nothing stopping you. You live right around the corner from the site. Although I guess they aren't always there. And you work elsewhere." Dane nodded and turned a sharp corner.

  "Exactly. You're the boss. You can come during working hours. Emile has to come after work, when women are long gone." He grinned. "Maybe Emile needs to stay home sick."

  Dane laughed. "Well at least I'd know where to find you to haul your ass back to the job." He shifted gears and made a right turn to John's house. "Those women are hard to ignore."

  "Me, I like brunette. Tall dark brunettes." Emile grinned.

  "Me, I like blondes. Short tiny blondes."

  Emile laughed, a hoarse roughness to his voice. "Then again, I like all women."

  As he pulled the truck to a stop in front of the main house, Dane smirked. "What's not to like?"

  Emile hopped out and headed inside for dinner. He knew what there was not to like.

  Women who didn't know their place.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Unlocking the lab door, Jade accidentally swung her laptop bag against the side table as she entered and jarred the microscope. "Shit."

  She'd woken late, barely made it for breakfast and still hadn't gotten on track for the morning. She'd also been shortchanged on her coffee and that was bad news. For everyone.

  The air inside was stifling so she opened the door wide. Sighing, she dumped her bags down on the floor and walked over to turn on the lights.

  She frowned and looked around the lab. What was different?

  Meg had been last to leave and closed the room yesterday. It didn't feel like the same lab at the moment. How odd was that? The tools weren't arranged as she'd have laid them out. Neither did her chair sit where it normally sat.

  Was it because she hadn't been the last one here yesterday?

  Must be. The door had been locked. She walked over to check the door mechanism. It didn't appear to have been touched or tampered with in any way. The windows had been left open though. Normally they closed and locked them when they left. The equipment inside was expensive and could be hocked for some serious money if someone knew where to sell it.

  They'd been tight with security on the first couple of days then, when problems hadn't developed, they'd grown lax.

  That needed to change.

  A proverbial list maker herself, she booted up her laptop then opened a new document to create a checklist for opening and closing the lab at the end of the day. She couldn't print it off here. That would have to wait until she returned to the hotel.

  Dr. Mike showed an hour later, coffee in his hand. But only one. "You dare bring java in here and not bring enough for everyone!" She shook her head in disgust.

  Solemnly he held the cup out to her. "Actually, it's for you."

  Shamefacedly, she accepted the treat. "See, that's what happens when I'm deprived in the morning. I turn into a real bitch. I am sorry."

  "Nah. Figured you'd run late this morning. Besides, I'm here to go over our 'prisoner lady.' Can you point her out for me? I'll have Wilson give me hand bringing her over. Also," he said looking around, "is there a space in here for me to work?"

  "I'm just finishing this boy and I need to enter the information into the computer, so this table will be clear in a couple of minutes."

  "Perfect." He nodded. "I'll grab the others to give us a hand when you're done."

  Jade quickly cleaned off the table and brought out the 'prisoner lady's' chart. They really should have some kind of name for the poor women. She pondered that for a second, remembering the plants flourishing around the gravesite. She smiled and gave 'prisoner woman' the moniker of Rose and wrote it on the chart.

  Stephen and Wilson entered carrying Rose.

  Grabbing her laptop, Jade headed to the far end of the trailer and tried to focus on her own work. It was hard to ignore what Dr. Mike was doing though. Not that there could be much to say about the condition of a body after an earthquake.

  An hour went by.

  Finally, she couldn't wait any longer. She wandered over to his end on the pretext of grabbing her forgotten water bottle. In the silence, every move she made sounded extra loud. She waited impatiently, hoping he'd notice her presence. No such luck. She had to ask, "So did you find anything?"

  "Hmmmm."
r />   She stared at his bent head, then leaned in for a closer look at what he was studying.

  "What's that?"

  "Good question. The chains weren't put on after her death as someone suggested. In fact, I'm going to say she'd been wearing them for a while."

  Jade's stomach dropped. Uh, oh. She waited impatiently until she couldn't stay silent any longer. "Anything else?"

  "Lots. But not necessarily conclusive. See here," he pointed to the neck area. "Her neck was broken."

  "Which could have happened during the earthquake."

  Dr. Mike bent for a closer look. "True enough but the hyoid bone has been crushed and that's usually caused by strangulation."

  Jade swallowed. Hard. "What about other injuries?"

  "I'm working on it."

  "Right."

  Stephen blasted through the front door, wide eyed and gasping for breath, his emotions ravaged by...something. Jade shook her head as she raced to his side. "Stephen, talk to me."

  He took a deep breath as Dr. Mike joined her.

  Stephen struggled to breathe normally. "You need to see this."

  Dr. Mike raised his brows. "All right. Let's go."

  They exited the small trailer and headed toward the path.

  "Hey, where are you all going?" Wilson called out from the reefer truck. He slammed the door closed, turning to face them.

  Pointing to the gravesite, Jade said, "Stephen found something he wants us to look at."

  "I'm coming too." Wilson jumped down the stairs then raced to catch up.

  The gravesite looked the same as always when they approached. In fact, she'd half-expected there would be natives lodging a protest over their arrival or something, given Stephen's reaction.

  "It's over here. I wasn't sure when I first started. Now there can't be any doubt."

  Frowning, they gathered around the spot in question. A path had been dug through the pile almost to the other side. Enough to be sure that there were no other bodies in the heap of rock. After opening the grave in the middle, the plan had been to dig out the lower part of the pile on the left until they'd found everything to be found, then move to the right side.