Donors

by C. M. Sutter

We left interrogation room two and walked to the bank of elevators. Two were on one side of the hallway and two were on the other. We waited and watched as the light above the doors indicated where the elevator had stopped. Sullivan crossed his arms over his chest, and J.T. paced. I stared at the light. The elevator was making a slow but continuous descent. Finally, the bell dinged at level one, and the doors parted. Inside, J.T. pressed the button for the fourth floor. We rode up in silence.

  Sullivan pushed off the back wall as the elevator stopped and the doors opened. “Let’s go in my office. We’ll do some brainstorming of our own.”

  We walked down the hall and passed through the bull pen. After we reached his office, J.T. and I dropped down in Sullivan’s guest chairs. He closed the door and rounded the desk. I heaved a frustrated sigh.

  “Jade, have something to say?”

  “Only that we’ve done everything and followed up with everyone I can think of. We’re putting in the time—hell, we all are—but nothing has surfaced. J.T. and I have been here for four days, trying to add our expertise. The guy is a ghost.”

  “Nah, don’t beat yourself up. He’s human just like the rest of us, and he’ll make a mistake.”

  “Hopefully he does sooner rather than later.”

  “Maybe we’re looking at this the wrong way and it isn’t about selling blood to make money,” J.T. said. “If that were the case, the guy would have been doing it ever since Corrine was murdered. Maybe he actually needs blood.”

  Sullivan furrowed his brows, which touched at the center of his forehead. “You mean like a hemophiliac?”

  “Possibly.”

  “Then what, he’d transfuse other people’s blood into himself? That isn’t even safe. He’d need plasma, not whole blood, wouldn’t he?”

  “And what about health insurance?” I said. “Why not go the usual route where you aren’t killing people to get medical treatment? And, he wouldn’t need blood unless he was injured, would he?”

  J.T. shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m just throwing ideas out there since most hemophiliacs are male.”

  Sullivan’s office phone rang, and he jerked his chair forward and reached across his desk. “Excuse me for a second.”

  While we waited, J.T. pulled out his cell and checked messages. I checked my cuticles.

  “Hell no! Son of a bitch! Tell them not to touch a thing. We’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Sullivan slammed down the receiver. He picked it up again and pressed a few buttons. “Mary, call Jane Felder at the ME’s office and get her out to Dasher Point. Call the sheriff and get some deputies out there too. I’m not sure if that location is within the city limits or not. Tell forensics to head out and call Mills and Stone. I want everybody there now!”

  I was already standing and ready to bolt out the door. “What the hell is going on, Captain?”

  “A man walking his dog discovered a body at Dasher Point. What are the odds?” He dialed Putnam downstairs. “Bruce, it’s Sullivan. Throw Alex Everly in a cell and leave him there until further notice.”

  I jerked my head at J.T. “Come on. Let’s grab our coats. We’ll meet you at Dasher Point, sir.”

  With our coats in hand, J.T. and I pushed through the doors to the parking garage and climbed into the cruiser. I slammed the passenger side door at my back.

  “Do you remember how to get there, or should I pull it up on the GPS?” I asked as I snapped the seat belt over my left hip.

  “I remember. We should probably go in the front entrance, though. I don’t know what road leads in there. Check that out on the map.”

  “Yep, I’m pulling it up now. Okay, make your way to Franklin and go south like we did the first time we drove there. When you come to Countyline Road, you’ll turn left. We’ll have a three-mile drive, then it looks like we go right on Greenfield for a mile or so. The main entrance was originally off Greenfield.”

  “Okay, just remind me as we go.”

  I watched the street signs as J.T. drove. “Do you think Alex has anything to do with this?”

  J.T. raised his brows as he glanced toward me. “Maybe, or maybe it’s one of his groupies, coven, or whatever the hell they’re called. Alex isn’t a blond, but I bet we can find some of his followers who are.”

  “Good point. It looks like the left-hand turn for Countyline is coming up in a quarter mile.”

  J.T. clicked his blinker and made the turn.

  “Okay, three miles and then a right on Greenfield. That’ll take us to the mill. I’m sure somebody is ahead of us. There’s probably a half dozen people there already.”

  Chapter 39

  With his hand on the rearview mirror, J.T. adjusted it and squinted. “I’m pretty sure that’s Sullivan behind us.”

  I twisted in my seat and peered out the back window. “I think you’re right. Let him pass.”

  J.T. rolled down his window and waved for the vehicle closing in on us to lead the way. It zoomed by and pulled in ahead. “Yeah, that was Sullivan. I’m sure he knows exactly where the driveway is.”

  “And the daylight helps. We’ll be able to see the mill, anyway.”

  J.T. scanned the horizon then checked his mirror again. “A few more cars are closing in on us.”

  I glanced through my side mirror and saw four squads almost at our rear bumper. I pointed forward and to my right. “We’re almost there. I can see what’s left of the mill up the road. Sullivan just turned in.”

  We followed the unmarked black cruiser down the narrow, overgrown driveway. New ruts had already formed in the snow-packed path.

  “Watch out for those deep ruts. You don’t want a flat tire along with the rest of this shit storm.”

  The path widened when we reached what used to be the parking lot, now reduced to bare ground with chunks of gravel, rock, and rubble mixed in with the patchy snow. J.T. parked away from the squad cars, coroner’s van, and forensics van already on site. Sullivan parked near what had been the bonfire a few nights earlier. He killed the engine, climbed out of his cruiser, and slammed the door at his back.

  Two sheriff’s deputies stood with a man at the south side of what remained of the building. The man held a leash in his right hand, with some type of spaniel standing at his side.

  J.T. and I headed toward them, twenty feet behind Sullivan. Sullivan extended his hand. I heard the deputies make the introductions and assumed that since they were already on site, this had to be county land.

  We reached them and introduced ourselves. Sullivan took the lead.

  “So, Mr. Abbens, I know you’ve given your statement to these deputies, but would you mind going over it again for our benefit?”

  “No, I don’t mind.”

  I pulled out my notepad and pen.

  “Sadie”—he looked down and gave the dog a pat on the head—“and me go for an hour walk every morning. She’s a hunting dog and needs the exercise. We always find a spot out in the country where it allows her the opportunity to run.”

  “Understood, and then?” Sullivan asked.

  Mr. Abbens rubbed his forehead then pulled the stocking cap lower over his ears. “Well, I knew this old mill was out here. I mean, I didn’t notice any ‘No Trespassing’ signs when we got here, so I pulled in and let Sadie out.” He pointed to his left. “I was only going to throw the ball for her out in that field and let her get some exercise, but I guess she had other plans. She loves to run and fetch but not today. She bolted for the building like a bat out of hell as soon as I unsnapped the leash. I’ve never seen her behave that way.”

  Sullivan looked toward the area that had once served as the main entrance to the building. These days it lacked any doors and windows. “She went in that way?”

  Mr. Abbens turned and glanced over his shoulder. “Yep, right through there. I had to go after her because she wouldn’t come out. I called and called and heard her barks echo from deeper in the building. I didn’t intend to trespass, but I had to get my dog.”

  “That doesn’t
matter to us other than the building being unsafe.” Sullivan swatted the air dismissively. “Go on, please.”

  “It was the strangest thing I’d ever seen her do. I guess she smelled something. Although, as a human, I didn’t. She was scratching and pawing, yelping and barking up a storm at a pile of rubble inside. She spun in circles and yelped some more. There was obviously something there that had her all excited. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what, but at that point I needed to satisfy my curiosity and get the leash back on Sadie’s collar.” He shook his head as if to wash away the image in his mind.

  “Mr. Abbens?”

  “Sorry… I just can’t get it out of my head. I pushed a couple of large boards and debris out of the way—Sadie was frantic—then I pulled a piece of sheet metal from the opening and saw human legs.”

  I reached for the man’s shoulder in the best comforting gesture I could muster at that moment. “We sure appreciate your help, Mr. Abbens. Can you excuse us for a few minutes?”

  He nodded.

  Sullivan instructed an officer to take Mr. Abbens and Sadie to his squad car to warm up. Mr. Abbens was visibly shaken. I wasn’t sure whether his trembling was from the cold or from what he had witnessed, but either way, I wanted him comfortable, and we needed to get inside the building to investigate. Eventually, Mr. Abbens would need to come to the station to give a formal written statement.

  “Give me a second here, guys. I don’t want this to become a territorial dispute.” Sullivan left us and walked over to the sheriff’s deputies.

  I gave one of the police officers a questioning look. He raised his hands—palms up. “This is the county’s jurisdiction. They’ll have to figure things out between the departments on their own.”

  Sullivan returned moments later. “Okay, let’s go ahead. The sheriff’s department and I will address the location later. Right now, we have permission to go ahead as long as the deputies escort us.” He turned to the officer nearest us. “Norman, have you been inside?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Then show us the way.”

  The three of us followed Officer Norman and the two deputies into the belly of the building. Without the daylight peeking through the nearly roofless structure, it would have been dark inside. We walked quite a distance. The lighting was dim at best, but with the aid of our flashlights, we managed well enough. What remained of the window openings on the outer walls of the building was far behind us, and directly ahead stood only the cold remnants of a building that creaked in the wind.

  Norman pointed at the marks on the ground. “Please keep to the sides. Forensics wants to check out those drag marks.” He shined his flashlight at the area.

  “Will do,” Sullivan said.

  “Over here.” Norman waved us toward a heap of rubble in the middle of a large open space. “Anything else, Captain?”

  “I think we’re good for now. I want everyone that isn’t busy to start scouring the ground directly outside and along the driveway.”

  “Yes, sir.” Norman turned and walked out the way he had come in.

  Jane Felder, the ME, wore a dark blue jacket over her office attire. The back of her jacket had Medical Examiner stamped across it in yellow. Her assistant, standing to the side, wore the same type of coat. Three people I recognized from the forensics team were on site as well. They gave us a quick glance then continued taking notes, measurements, and pictures. Jane gave us a nod of recognition when she saw us approach.

  “Jane.”

  “Captain Sullivan, agents.”

  “So, what have we got?”

  “A dead female, I’d say in her twenties. Without her out in the open, I can’t give you much yet. Forensics needs to get in here and take pictures, then we’ll pull her out. We literally got here five minutes before you.”

  “Okay, let’s get forensics over here to snap some pictures and go over the scene.” Sullivan called out to Chad Nellis. “Chad, can you get a few pics of the DB so we can get her out into the open?”

  “Sure thing, Captain. We were trying to get a few pictures of the marks on the floor before too many people entered and kicked up dust. We have to preserve the evidence, you know.”

  Sullivan nodded and backed out of the way. Jane Felder moved to the side as well. Chad, the daytime lead in the forensics department, crawled into the small opening and began taking pictures of the dead woman. I crossed my arms over my chest and tucked my hands in my armpits to stay warm. I followed the sounds above me with my eyes. A half dozen pigeons flew in and out of the structure, some perching on beams three stories above us. Their wings echoed in the hollow building. This young woman—whoever she was—had met her fate and been discarded like trash, left alone in this shell of a structure.

  Dozens of flashes lit up the makeshift tomb as Chad took pictures. He finally backed out of the space, stood, and took more pictures of the rubble and the opening that led to the body. He gave us the go-ahead and stepped away. “Okay, she’s all yours.”

  Jane called the assistant ME to her side. “I’ll need the body board, a body bag, and several tarps.”

  “Right away.” The young man hurried past us but stayed to the outer sides of the coned-off path. He headed toward the entrance, where the coroner’s van was parked.

  Jane stood and brushed the dirt off the knees of her pants. “This isn’t going to be pretty, meaning there’s no good way of getting her out of that space. She’s in full rigor, literally stiff as a board, and frozen. We can possibly pull some of this garbage back, but I don’t want anything collapsing in on her. I may have to grab her by the ankles and drag her out.”

  I grimaced at the images of her extraction that played through my mind. “How was she jammed in there, then?”

  “My best guess would be she hadn’t died too long before she was stuffed in there. If her body was still flexible at the time, the killer could easily have pushed her in.”

  Tom Knight, the assistant ME, returned five minutes later with a backboard pressed between his body and his left arm, his hand cupped under the bottom to hold it steady. Several tarps were draped over his right arm. He placed the items down and knelt next to Jane, who was on the floor and assessing the opening. “How do you want to do this?” he asked.

  She seemed to be judging the amount of space inside the opening, and she glanced over her shoulder. “Let’s spread one tarp behind us just to keep the area and her dirt-free once we get her out. The other tarp, I’m going to push in as close to her as possible. Maybe I can get her body partially on it and then pull the tarp toward us. There isn’t enough room inside for both of us to pull her out.”

  “No offense, Jane, but I’m probably stronger than you. Let me give it a shot.”

  She backed away and gave Tom room. “Okay, see what you can do.”

  Jane stood with the captain, J.T., and me. Tom crawled into the opening with the tarp in front of him and explained what he was doing as he went along. With only Tom’s feet exposed, we needed to hear his commentary to know whether he was having any success.

  He called back to Jane, “This isn’t going to be easy. Something might snap, if you get my drift.”

  Jane looked at each of us and waited. Sullivan gave her the go-ahead nod.

  “Do the best you can, Tom. Take it slow and easy. Try to position her limbs so they don’t catch on anything.”

  “Okay, I’m working on it.”

  “Excuse me, folks. I’ll be right back,” Sullivan said.

  When Sullivan walked away, I jerked my head at J.T., who shrugged and turned his focus back to Tom. I watched as the captain disappeared around the corner.

  “I think I’m ready to inch her out.” Tom slowly backed out of the hole with a hand on either side of the tarp. “I don’t have her fully on it, but maybe with a little room, I can reposition her.” He stopped, made some adjustments, and continued backward. His feet had reached the second tarp, and the lower part of her body was now exposed.

  Dirt and blood covered her
bare legs. I fidgeted as we waited. Tom reached in and made more adjustments. He’d said her right arm was tangled in debris. “Okay, she’s coming out.”

  He continued crawling backward, and her knees came into view. I noticed how her skin was not only white from blood loss but also wore a coat of crystallized frost from exposure to the weather. I swore under my breath and squeezed my eyes closed for a second to calm myself. I opened my eyes in the dim light then clicked on my flashlight. I saw a full set of legs and red bikini underwear but nothing else from the waist down. The deep purple bruise at her femoral artery was more than obvious. I knew we were dealing with the same person who’d killed Corrine, Taylor, and Heather. This girl was drained of blood while she was alive too.

  Jane knelt and grabbed the left side of the tarp and pulled. Inch by inch, more of our Jane Doe was exposed.

  My voice caught in my throat when I yelled out, “Oh, hell no!”

  J.T. jerked his head toward me then back at the body. The purple running jacket with the lime-green-and-black stripe down the sleeve gave her away. Even with the dirt and the poor lighting, the color and design of the jacket told us who we were staring at. When she was finally out of the hole, the red hair confirmed it. Our search for Molly Davis had just ended.

  Chapter 40

  Sam slid the van into the two-hour parallel parking spot across the street from the Gary Public Library. He dropped eight quarters into the slot on the meter. He’d pulled the change out of the jar on the kitchen counter before he left the house. After looking both ways, he crossed over to the side of the street where the two-story dull cement structure took up the corner block of West Fifth and Adams Streets. Sam had never been to the library. Once he passed through the vestibule and into the main room, he was surprised to see how few people were inside. He asked where to find the computer lab and was directed to an area fifty feet to his left. There, he found long counters separated by wooden dividers, with a computer stationed in every third booth. Uncomfortable looking armless office chairs sat in the compartments that held the dated, well-worn computers. Sam assumed that at one point, all of the spaces must have held computers. With the city in decline and experiencing budget cuts, the chances of replacing equipment had likely fallen by the wayside. He took off his coat and placed it in the empty space next to him.