BLOODSTAIN (Det. Jason Strong(CLEAN SUSPENSE Book 2)

by John C. Dalglish

  Heads nodded and Jason looked at Vanessa. “You want to add anything?”

  “Yes. Pay special attention around the base of trees. If the dog is at all curious, let him travel completely around the tree. We believe any alerts will likely come in these areas. Also, keep your eyes open for a wine glass.”

  One of the searchers raised his hand. “Did you say a wine glass?”

  “I did. We believe it may be found at any scene the dogs find, and we don’t want it broken, if possible.”

  Jason looked around at the group. “Detective Layne and I will be by the radio, you all have the frequency. Any questions?”

  No hands went up, so Jason assigned starting points to each team, lining them up along the service road at one hundred-yard intervals.

  On Jason’s signal, the teams began to work the area. It was no more than ten minutes when one of the dogs alerted with six sharp barks. The alert came near the base of a large tree.

  *******

  Jason and Vanessa sat in her car at the entrance gate. The radio crackled to life. “We’ve got a dog alerting on a location.”

  Jason picked up the handheld radio, already on the move. “Where?”

  “About three hundred yards in. Search dog two, one hundred yards up the road from the entrance.”

  “We’re on our way.”

  Vanessa caught up with him. “Got something?”

  “Dog number two has alerted.”

  When they arrived where the dog stood, they began to step very carefully. Everyone else had been backed away, and a uniformed officer was stretching yellow tape around the scene. Vanessa saw it first. “Is that a wine glass?”

  Lying in the undergrowth was a wine glass with a stain on it. Jason got on the handheld. “Get forensics and send them to my location.”

  He listened while his order was conveyed before putting the radio on his hip. Leaning over and looking at the bark on the tree, he found a dark stain and a hole. Under the leaves, Jason could make out the vague outline of a body. “Animals have probably scattered some of the bones. We’ll let forensics take it from here.”

  Jason waited for the crime tape to be stretched completely around the alert location before he gave the signal for the search to resume.

  *******

  Back at Vanessa’s car, they stayed by the radio until the dogs had searched the entire grid. The first alert turned out to be the only hit. Jason called the search off and thanked the handlers.

  They walked over to the taped off area where forensics was finishing up. Leonard Davis had been on site all day and nodded at the two detectives. “Female, probably. That’s about all. I’ll know more at autopsy, but she’s been here long enough to destroy most of the useful evidence.”

  Vanessa picked up the baggie with the wine glass in it. “Looks like the others. Did you find the bullet or it’s casing?”

  “Found the bullet in the tree, looks to be nine-millimeter like the others, but either we missed the casing, or it’s gone.”

  Jason had his pad out. “You got a guess how long she’s been here?”

  “I don’t like to guess, but if I had to, I’d say around three months.

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  They walked back to the car. Before leaving, Jason left instructions for a new lock to be put on the gate after forensics was done. No sense making it easy for the killer to get in and out.

  They left for the station with Vanessa driving, and she fell quiet, again. “You’re awfully quiet. You doing okay?”

  She gave him a half smile. “The morning sickness is still hanging around. Makes for a long day.”

  “I’m sure. Everything going good with the baby?”

  “Yeah. Rob and I got to hear the heartbeat at the last appointment.”

  “Awesome. I bet Rob was stoked. Did you find out what it is?”

  “No. Too soon for an ultrasound.”

  “How long you plan on working?”

  “I guess as long as I can stand the desk, once they put me on one.”

  “You gonna’ come back at the end of maternity leave, or stay home with the baby for a while?”

  She smiled and gave him a wink. “Gonna’ miss me?”

  “Of course. You’re my partner.” He pretended to be stating a fact, but he knew she saw through it. Like most partners, they were very close.

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. It’ll be hard to leave the baby but finances may force me to come back as soon as possible.”

  They pulled into the station and parked. Jason turned and looked at her. “When are you going to tell the lieutenant?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I suggest you do it before you begin to show!” He laughed but he was only half joking.

  No doubt, she’d wait until the last minute, but he wouldn’t let her endanger the baby. He’d tell the lieutenant himself if she was stubborn about it.

  “I’ll tell him soon. Rob wants me on a desk now, but he knows better. I’ve already warned him not to let it slip to the lieutenant. Come to think of it, that goes for you, as well.”

  Jason got out, pretending not to hear her. He walked toward the station, while Vanessa locked the car behind him. She hurried to catch up. “Did you hear me? That goes for you, too.”

  Jason kept walking. “What does?”

  “No letting the cat out of the bag.”

  “Who, me?” He was grinning to himself but Vanessa, trailing behind, couldn’t tell. “Don’t you mean the bun out of the oven?”

  “Jason! I’m serious!”

  “I can see that.”

  “Promise me.”

  He turned to face her, and his smile had disappeared, his face serious. “I’ll keep your secret as long as it poses no threat to you or the baby. If I feel you or your baby is in danger, all bets are off.”

  She stood glaring at him, and he could tell she wanted to argue. Instead, after a minute or so, she smiled. “Thank you.”

  Chapter 7

  It was late afternoon and the sun was just sliding below the buildings on South Presa Street. Norman made his third loop down the street looking for her. Finally, he spotted her standing with two other girls.

  There you are!

  He slowed to a stop by the curb and rolled down the window. One of the girls walked toward him. Short and blonde, with red lipstick spread too wide for her mouth, she smiled as she approached. “Need something, Mister?”

  “Not from you.”

  “What’s the matter, don’t like blondes?”

  “Something like that. Ask your friend over there to come talk to me.”

  The blonde looked over her shoulder. “Which one?”

  Norman continued to stare ahead.

  “The tall, dark haired one.”

  The blonde turned and walked back to her girlfriends. Norman watched the dark haired one look toward the truck, step on her cigarette, and walk over to him. “Hi Sweetie, can I do somethin’ for you?”

  “Possibly. Want to go for a ride?”

  “You got money?”

  Norman reached into his pocket and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. She smiled. “Okay. Let’s go for a ride.”

  She got in the truck and waved to her girlfriends. Norman put the truck in gear and drove away.

  *******

  Rob was doing some tuning on Vanessa’s car, so Tuesday morning Jason picked her up. When they got to the station, the Medical Examiner’s reports, on both the golf course and dog search victims, sat on their desk.

  Jason scanned it with Vanessa looking over his shoulder. He stated the obvious. “Except for the time of death, they’re near duplicates.”

  “Yeah. We have a serial killer who knows exactly what he wants.”

  Lieutenant Patton leaned out of his office. “Can I have a minute?”

  He didn’t wait for an answer, but went and sat back down. Jason and Vanessa followed him into the office, Vanessa closing the door behind them.

  John Patton scrunched his eyebr
ows together, forming the familiar hedge across his forehead. “What have we got on this wineglass nut job?”

  Jason opened the case file he’d brought with him.

  “We have four confirmed victims. All killed in the same fashion, three killed in and around Canyon State Park. The fourth victim, who is actually the first known case, was killed in a similar location, outside of Austin.”

  The lieutenant held up his hand for Jason to stop. “Let’s back up and start with the first victim. We need to whiteboard this and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

  He dipped his head towards Jason.

  “Your friend, Devin James, called asking questions. He wants a briefing, and local TV has also requested information. Captain Garza wants a news conference this afternoon and he wants it to go smoothly. I’ll lead, but both of you are going to be there.”

  Vanessa groaned, rolling her eyes. “Great!”

  She got up and went over to the large, dry erase board on the wall. Picking up a marker, she wrote the name of each victim across the top of the board. As Jason began to read out details from the file, she filled them in under each name.

  The heights varied from five-seven to five-nine and each girl weighed within a couple pounds of a hundred and thirty. Their age ranged from nineteen to twenty-four, and all had mid-length, black hair.

  Jason continued to read while Vanessa wrote. “Cause of death in all four was ‘gunshot to heart’. None were raped and no DNA was retrieved.”

  The phone rang, and the lieutenant picked it up. “This is Patton.”

  He listened, looking at Jason. “Yeah, JD’s here.”

  John Patton started nodding and finally hung up.

  “That was Davis. He said his guess of three months, on the time of death for Vicky Costa, is pretty close. Alright Vanessa, continue.”

  The female detective drew a long line below the columns, making marks below each. Below each mark she wrote the month of the girl’s death.

  FEB/Walker--MAY/Costa--JULY/Samples--AUG/Burns

  She turned and looked at the lieutenant. “This is the approximate timeline of death for the victims relative to each other. It indicates that either the spaces between known victims are yet to be filled in with new names, or our guy is getting more active.”

  “What’s your hunch?”

  Vanessa came back over to the desk and sat down. “My gut tells me he’s stepping up. The search dogs didn’t find others, and I doubt he has multiple dumping grounds. Other than Marcie Walker, who was in a different city, all the local girls have been found in the same area.”

  “Okay. Jason, it’s pretty clear what his victim profile is. Any ideas why he’s chosen this particular look?”

  “I think the first victim has to be the key. I think she might be the trigger.”

  The lieutenant tilted his head sideways. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why?”

  “She’s the oldest case we know of, and she’s the only one found at a different site. Until we get something that leads us in another direction, I think we should focus on people and places relative to her.”

  John Patton looked at the board, then at Vanessa. “You agree?”

  “Yeah, makes sense. She went to high school here, so he may have followed her, killed her, and then returned to San Antonio.”

  “Okay. I’ll call the press conference for two o’clock. Meet me back here at one-forty five.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter 8

  The Press conference was held outside the front doors of the police station. Lieutenant Patton stepped to the podium at precisely two. Behind him stood the Mayor, the Chief of police, Captain Garza, Doctor Davis, and the two detectives.

  The lieutenant looked out over a ring of microphones towards three cameras, and ten or so reporters. He began with a statement:

  “The City of San Antonio, in conjunction with the City of Austin, is conducting an investigation into the deaths of four young women. All four appeared to have been killed by the same individual.

  We are following several leads, and are asking for the help of the public. If you see anything suspicious, please call. We believe each of these women was snatched from a public place.

  No effort is being spared in the search for this perpetrator. We ask for the public’s vigilance and cooperation with our investigation.”

  He looked up from his notes and scanned the crowd. “Questions?”

  Devin James stood up, rather than raise his hand, and spoke over the other reporters. “What information do you have on the victims?”

  “They’re thin with black hair, the ages range from nineteen to twenty-four, and anywhere from five-seven to five-nine in height.”

  “That’s a pretty specific description. Do you know why he’s targeting these women?”

  “We have a theory but I won’t discuss it.”

  Devin James was not ready to yield the floor. “Why is Austin involved?”

  “The first victim we’re aware of was found in Austin.”

  “That you’re aware of?”

  “Yes. We’re not ruling out the possibility of a victim, or victims, that have not yet been discovered.”

  “How were the women killed?”

  “Gunshot to the heart.”

  Another hand came up, and the lieutenant took the opportunity to get away from James. He answered that question, and several others, before passing the podium off to the Mayor.

  *******

  Norman sat in his plaid recliner watching the news conference. He was drinking an orange crush soda, his favorite on these special days. The girl was tied in the bedroom, all her clothes removed. The news conference had pre-empted his afternoon watching of “Mayberry RFD” but he’d seen something that stopped him in his tracks. He sat down to watch.

  As the Mayor stepped to the podium, he walked in front of a female detective standing in the back. She appeared to be five- seven or so and thin, with black hair that fell to the middle of her back.

  There you are!

  The mayor was reassuring the public and made reference to the two fine detectives who were leading the investigation.

  Jason “something” and Vanessa Layne.

  He needed to get closer to Detective Vanessa Layne.

  *******

  Jason and Vanessa were relieved none of the questions had been directed at them. Neither liked the limelight, and felt it could compromise the ability to do their job.

  As they walked back into the station, Jason overheard a blonde talking to Desk Sergeant Connor. The girl was clearly upset with the answers he was giving her.

  Jason and Dave were long time friends, and a gunshot had relegated Dave to a desk job. He usually drew the front desk assignment. Dave Connor was trying to be patient. “I’m sorry ma’am, but that’s the law.”

  “I don’t care if it requires forty-eight hours for her to be considered missing; I’m tellin’ you she’s in trouble.”

  Jason gestured to Vanessa he would catch up with her, and walked over to where the blonde was standing. She was tall, a little over weight, and when she turned around, her red lipstick was smudged, and mascara was running down her face from crying.

  “Excuse me, Miss...?”

  “Donald….Brooke Donald”

  “Miss Donald, is your friend a man or a woman?”

  “She’s a woman. Stephanie Morris. We walk together, if you know what I mean.”

  “I understand. Do you have a picture of her?”

  “Sure. I tried to give it to this ape, but he wouldn’t take it.”

  Jason gave his friend a knowing smile, and took the picture from Brooke. His pulse quickened. “How tall is your friend…Stephanie, did you say?”

  “Yes, Stephanie Morris. She’s about five-eight, like me. Sometimes we share clothes.”

  “I’ll take it from here, Dave.”

  Jason introduced himself, and had Brooke follow him up to Homicide. He asked Brooke to sit next to his desk, pulled out a pad, and sat down beside h
er. “Okay Brooke, where do you and Stephanie usually ‘walk’ together?”

  “South Presa”

  “And when was the last time you saw your friend?”

  “Around five-thirty or six last night. We were talkin’ by the road when a guy pulled up in a black pick-up with a white bed-topper. I went over to talk to him, but he said he wasn’t interested. Asked me to send Stephanie over.”

  Vanessa, who was at her desk across from Jason, was listening in. “Did he ask for her by name?”

  Brooke turned and looked at the questioner. “Who’s she?”

  “That’s my Partner, Detective Layne.”

  Brooke turned back to Jason. “No, he didn’t call her by name. Just said ‘tell the tall, dark haired one to come over’.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Average guy, I guess. Don’t know how tall, seein’ as he was sittin’, and he never looked at me. Just kept starin’ straight ahead. White, dark hair, maybe mid twenties.”

  “Do you think you could give a sketch artist a try?”

  “Sure, but I don’t think I remember much detail.”

  “I’d like you to try anyway.”

  “Okay. Now?”

  “Yes. I’ll get him up here as quick as I can.”

  *******

  The sketch artist did his best, but Brooke wasn’t much for description. True to her word, she didn’t remember much detail, and Jason was forced to admit the drawing looked like a white guy with dark hair. Not much help.

  Brooke had tried her best, in between requests for help finding her friend, and Jason assured her he would file the report, and start the search. He didn’t tell her why he was willing to move on her case ahead of the forty-eight hour rule.

  Jason and Vanessa both felt they weren’t looking for a missing girl, but instead, their next crime scene. Their gut told them wineglass had taken Stephanie Morris.