LET'S PLAY (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 10)

by John C. Dalglish

“We’re working a theory on the River Walk Missing. That list is of the cemeteries where we think we might find Rosalind Garner or Joann Heddon. I need permission to search the last two locations with GPR.”

  Patton was intrigued. “How did you come up with this list?”

  “Long story short, we applied the pattern of Melinda Gomez to the other girls.”

  “Pattern?”

  “Gomez was buried, six days after going missing, in a grave that was covered the next day.”

  Patton’s bushy eyebrows went up. “Interesting. It’s a bit of a stretch, but not a bad idea.”

  “Layne was the one who spotted it.”

  “She would. I’ll sign off on it as long as you can secure the search tool.”

  “I already have a lead on one.”

  Patton laughed. “I thought you might. When do you plan on doing it?”

  “First thing tomorrow.”

  “Good.”

  Banks got up, retrieved the note from Patton, and headed for the door. “Sarah?”

  She turned. “Yeah?”

  “Anything new on who was responsible for the press leak?”

  “No, John. Nothing.”

  “The chief is not letting it go, mostly because the mayor is not letting it go, which means I can’t let it go.”

  “If I hear anything, you’ll be my first call.”

  “Good. Let me know how the search goes.”

  *******

  Sarah took the stairs down to the third floor, then went straight to the conference room. She found the three detectives reviewing video again. She handed the list back to Jason as Vanessa turned on the lights.

  “Patton has signed off on the searches; start out at Davenport Cemetery first thing tomorrow.”

  Vanessa looked at Jason, then Banks. “What are we doing, digging it up?”

  “No. I’m arranging for a GPR unit to meet you there in the morning.”

  “GPR?”

  “Ground-penetrating radar.” Jason and Vanessa stared at Eli, who had piped up with the explanation.

  “You’ve heard of it?”

  “Sure. I’ve used them in missing persons cases several times.”

  “How does it work?”

  “You shoot radar in to the ground and an image of what’s below comes back.”

  Vanessa wrinkled her nose. “That’s creepy.”

  Banks turned to go. “Creepy or not, we use it tomorrow, nine sharp.”

  *******

  Tammy-Jo couldn’t see a clock, but by now she could almost sense when he would be coming to get her. Her mind was telling her it would be soon, and sure enough, footsteps echoed on the hall floor outside the room. The steps were followed by the click of the doorknob, then the snap of the padlock being opened, and finally, the blinding light as the lid was lifted.

  “Play time.”

  “I don’t want to play.”

  His hand moved slightly from his hip to the knife handle. “Oh, sure you do.”

  Tammy-Jo forced herself not to panic. “No, not today.”

  The words had no sooner left her lips than the knife was resting across her throat, his face right next to hers, his breath filling her senses. “Are you sure?”

  She didn’t answer, afraid her voice would fail her anyway, and slowly sat up while pushing the knife back with her fingers. He let her force it away but she cut her fingertip, almost like a paper cut, and it told her how sharp he kept his weapon.

  He smiled as she climbed out of the box. “See, I knew you wanted to play. Go to the bathroom and then we can start.”

  Tammy-Jo caught sight of herself in the mirror. It was easy to see she was losing a little more of herself every day. Her face was thinner, her hair more matted, and the light in her eyes was ebbing slowly away. She was torn between wanting to survive and wishing it would all be over.

  She staggered down the hall, relieved herself without bothering to shut the door, and returned. He waited for her to walk past him, and then followed her to the card table.

  A sandwich sat on a plate, a glass of water next to it. In the middle of the table, a Monopoly board was set up. Money had been separated into two piles, the dice lay in the middle of the board, and the little silver car was sitting on ‘GO’.

  “You can choose your piece, but I want the car. What do you want?”

  She didn’t care, and was more interested in the food, but pointed at the shoe while eating. “That’s…fine.”

  He placed it on ‘GO,’ handed her one die, and they rolled. He got a six and she a four.

  “I’m first.”

  The game began, and like most games of Monopoly, it went on for a while. Despite her barely paying attention, it was three hours later when he declared himself the winner. Tammy-Jo slumped back into her chair, sensing what was next, but hoping she was wrong.

  He slowly folded up the board, put away the money, but left out the dice. He rolled them onto the table. “Eight. Your turn.”

  She didn’t bother to object, there was no point. She prayed she’d win this time and be left alone this night. “I need an eight before a seven, right?”

  “Right.”

  She gathered up the dice and flung them on the table, one of them rolling onto the floor. The one on the table was a five, and when she looked at the floor, she saw a three. Her heart leapt into throat. “Eight! I win!”

  He leaned over and picked up the die on the floor, laid it next to the other one on the table, and pointed at them. “Roll again.”

  “Why? I won.”

  “The dice have to stay on the table.”

  “But…”

  His look cut her off.

  She reached for the dice, determined this time, even convinced she was going to win. She rolled them and watched a pair of threes come up.

  “Six.” His tone was flat.

  She didn’t wait, grabbing them quickly, she threw them again. A four and a…five.

  “Nine.”

  Her adrenaline had surged. “I can add!”

  He stared at her, but let the outburst go. “Again.”

  She grabbed the dice, tossed them so both rolled right up to the edge of the table, right under his nose. A six was followed by a…she watched it settle…two!

  She beat him to the punch. “Eight!”

  Her eyes met his with defiance, almost daring him to find another excuse, but she was surprised. A smile crept across his face, and he reached out to gather the dice. “Into the box; unless you would rather not.”

  She almost spat in his face. “The box will be fine.”

  When the lid was shut and the lock in place, Tammy-Jo broke into a grin. For just a fleeting minute, it was good to defeat him, to beat him at one of his own games. The darkness quickly stole the joy from her victory, leaving her with the sense her time was running out.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Jason and Vanessa were waiting at Davenport Cemetery for the GPR tech to show up, and at exactly nine o’clock, a blue van pulled in through the front gate. The lettering on the side declared Texas Archeology Services had arrived.

  The driver, a man around thirty with black hair and a matching black beard, got out sporting white coveralls. He walked to the rear of the van and opened the doors. The detectives went over and peered in.

  “Is that it?”

  The man turned and looked at them. “Are you Strong and Layne?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hi, I’m Buddy Tanner. Yeah, that’s it.”

  “It looks like an oversized orange lawnmower.”

  Buddy laughed. “It rolls like one too, but that’s about the only similarity. Where do you want me to search?”

  Jason pointed in the direction of the grave they’d found earlier. “Over there.”

  “Okay. Give a few minutes to set up and we’ll start.”

  “Good enough.”

  Jason followed Vanessa back over by the grave they were to search. The stone bore the name Gloria Gaston, the woman who had been
buried here on March 5. It was a flat stone, about a foot square, and had taken them nearly a half hour to find.

  Jason stood looking down at the ground and his mind went to an old fairytale. “Hey Vanessa, you think it’s like the princess and the pea?”

  “Is what like that?”

  “You know, Miss Gaston can tell something is under her.”

  Vanessa shook her head. “You’re nuts, Strong.”

  “Why is it that both women in my life keep telling me I’m nuts?”

  “Because you are.”

  “Oh.”

  Buddy came walking over to where they stood, pushing the four-wheeled contraption ahead of him. It looked exactly like a lawn mower, except where the engine should be there was just a small hump, and on the mower-like handle was a miniature TV screen.

  “Is this the grave?”

  Vanessa nodded. “Yes. So how does this work, anyway?”

  “Well, first I’ll mark off a series of squares on the grass, then move from one to the next and pulse the ground.”

  “And the screen will show a picture of a skeleton?”

  Buddy smiled. “No, I’m afraid not. That’s a made-for-TV depiction of how these work. What it does is show disturbances in the soil pattern. So the grave will show up like an upside-down ‘U,’ which is a reflection of the anomaly below the surface.”

  “How deep can it see?”

  “It varies greatly by the kind of soil, and since most of this area is limestone, about fifty feet is usually the max depth.”

  Jason patted the man on the shoulder. “That’s enough for us. You get started and let us know what you find.”

  “Okay.”

  Jason’s phone rang. “Strong.”

  “Good morning, Jason. Is the GPR guy there?”

  Jason mouthed the name Banks to Vanessa. “Yeah, Lieutenant. He’s just getting started.”

  “Okay, well don’t bug him; I’m paying him by the hour.”

  Jason burst out laughing and turned to Vanessa. “Banks said not to bug the guy because she’s paying him by the hour! That’s awful nice of you, Lieutenant.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m not, but the department is.”

  “Understood. We’ll let you know if he comes up with anything.”

  He hung up and the detectives stood watching Buddy work with the sensor. He went up one side of the grave, stopping every foot or so, then worked his way down from the headstone. At the base of the grave, he turned and worked his way back up, before coming down the far side.

  When he was done, he pushed a few buttons, and retraced the base of the grave, going back and forth across where Gloria’s feet would be. Finally, he waved the detectives over to where he stood.

  “What were you hoping to find?”

  Jason began to hope they may have got lucky. “A second body buried beneath the first.”

  Buddy’s surprise was evident on his face. “I see. Well, I don’t see any indication of a second body. The single coffin comes back pretty clear, but that’s all.”

  “Okay. We’ve got five more to check so we better get going.”

  “Where’s the next one?”

  Vanessa pulled out her notepad. “Black Hill Cemetery, southwest of town.”

  “Okay, I’ll follow you guys.”

  *******

  Twenty-five minutes later, they pulled into Black Hill Cemetery. Much smaller than Davenport, it only took a few minutes to find the headstone. While Buddy was setting up his grid and preparing to do the search, another vehicle pulled up. Jason was surprised by who stepped out.

  “Nathan, right?”

  “Yes. You’re Detective Strong, aren’t you?”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “This is one of the cemeteries I manage for the board. My boss called and told me to be here when you guys do your search.”

  “Well, you’re just in time; the search is just about to start.”

  “My boss said you wouldn’t be digging up the grave. How are you going to search then?”

  “We’ve got a radar setup that will do the job.”

  “Oh, wow. Okay.”

  Jason was watching Nathan very carefully but didn’t sense any nervousness, just curiosity.

  After just a few minutes of searching, Buddy waved the detectives over. When they were standing next to him, he pointed at the screen while he moved the photo forward and back.

  “You see that upside-down U shape there?”

  They both nodded.

  “Now watch just below it.”

  Jason’s pulse sped up as a second upside-down U flashed onto the screen. “Is that another body?”

  Buddy shook his head. “I can’t say that. What it shows is there is a second disturbance of the soil, below the initial grave. Could it be a body? Yes. Is it a body? I don’t know.”

  “Okay, Buddy. Pack up and get ready to go to the next cemetery.”

  “But I’m not done here.”

  “Yes you are.” He pulled his phone and dialed Banks.

  “This is Banks.”

  “This is Jason. We’ve got a hit. Black Hill Cemetery and I need a search warrant.”

  “Okay, I’ll send it out with Detective Warren.”

  “Good. Can I send Eli with the GPR tech and keep Vanessa here with me while we dig?”

  “Yes. Is there someone at the cemetery who can do the digging?”

  Jason looked over at Nathan Wolsey who was watching from his truck. “Yes and no.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Nathan Wolsey, the cemetery manager is here, but he’s on the suspect list. I don’t think we should have him digging around what could be his own crime scene.”

  “Definitely not. I’ll send a highway department backhoe.”

  “We’ll be waiting.”

  *******

  It was after lunch before Eli had shown up with the warrant, then left with the GPR tech for the next grave at Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery. Nathan Wolsey had called his boss when he received the search warrant, and she’d asked for him to bring it to her. By the time he returned, the backhoe was in place and beginning to dig.

  Jason was overseeing the backhoe operator as he scraped at the grave, removing the dirt, and getting prepared to lift the coffin. The going was slow because the operator was not accustomed to digging up graves, and was clearly nervous.

  Vanessa at off to the side watching Nathan as the digging proceeded. She wanted to catch the reaction of the cemetery manager as the grave was uncovered. If they did find Joann Heddon’s body below the coffin, Nathan’s reaction could lead them to focus on him or rule him out.

  She decided to walk over and sit right next to him. “No problem with the search warrant?”

  He shook his head, not looking away from the digging. “Mrs. Fulton said it looked legit and told me to come back here. I’m supposed to report to her after you’re done.”

  “Did the hole get filled in at San Isidro?”

  “Yeah, I did it yesterday. Do you think there’s another body under this grave?”

  “We don’t know. The test showed something irregular and so we have to look.”

  “I hope there isn’t. It would freak me out to have a second one found in one of my cemeteries.”

  Vanessa stared over toward the digging. “I bet. Let’s hope that’s not the case.”

  They fell silent as the coffin began its ascent from below ground.

  *******

  Jason’s phone began to ring. “Strong.”

  “Jason, this is Eli.”

  “Hey, what have you got?”

  “We just completed searching the second possible location for Rosalind Garner. The tech said the pattern here matches what he found where you are.”

  “Okay. Did you call Banks?”

  “Yes. She wants to wait on your results before requesting another search warrant.”

  “Makes sense. I’ll call her as soon as I know.”

  Jason hung up as the coffin cleared the hole and set
tled on the ground. He’d secured a ladder from Nathan and slid it into the hole. Climbing down and pulling on latex gloves, he used a small garden trowel to scrape away the dirt.

  As he began to get deeper, his heart hammered in his ears. Locating the body Joann Heddon could help them find Tammy-Jo, but it also meant a phone call to Joann’s parents, and the end of their hope. He focused on the task.

  “Anything?”

  He didn’t look up at his partner but answered while he worked. “Not yet.”

  Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a piece of pink cloth appeared through the dirt. He tugged on it lightly and more followed. He knew what he was looking at and what it meant.

  Vanessa saw it too. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Jason stood, brushing the dirt from his knees. “It would appear so.”

  He climbed back out of the grave, removed the gloves, and dialed the Lieutenant.

  “Banks.”

  “We’ve got a body.”

  There was a slight hesitation followed by an audible sigh. “Okay…I’ll tell Doc Josie, and then I’ll get Eli a search warrant. Stay by the grave and make sure nothing is touched.”

  “Will do.” Jason hung up and looked for Nathan. Vanessa was already talking to him and it was obvious the news had shaken him up. Jason didn’t care about the kid’s feelings. He needed an answer to one question. He walked directly over, only waiting until he was in earshot, to blurt out the question.

  “Nathan!”

  “Yeah?”

  “Is Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery one of yours?”

  Nathan was clearly intimidated by Jason’s tone. “You mean do I manage it?”

  “Yes.”

  “No. I don’t even know where it is.”

  Jason stopped in his tracks as Vanessa gave him a confused stare. He nodded for her to follow him, which she did, after telling Nathan to stay put.

  “What’s up?”

  “It appears likely that Nathan is not our guy.”

  Vanessa looked back at the kid, then at Jason. “How do you know?”

  “The cemetery where Eli is digging for Rosalind Garner is Immanuel. Wolsey wouldn’t have had the same access to it as he does the other two.”

  Vanessa thought about it before agreeing. “It doesn’t make sense he would take a chance when he could use the cemeteries he is in charge of.”