Not A Good Reason

by McCarthy, G. L.

  “If you plan on staying late to target practice could you please send me a text?” Alex didn’t want to rush if Sam was going to spend time at the shooting range.

  “You got it. I probably will, but I’ll confirm.” Sam really wanted to beat Zane the next time they had a friendly little competition.

  Alex closed the door and let out a long sigh. This sudden feeling of anxiety was not the way she wanted to feel today. Was this a subconscious warning of what was to come or just her own feelings building up in anticipation? Either way she wished the feeling would go away and soon.

  The Universe must have sensed Alex’s desire to get on with this investigation, because her day flew by. She had decided to have her girls read whatever they wanted as long as they were quiet. The silence was welcomed as it gave her time to organize her thoughts. A list of thoughts and questions for the Sheriff would help her sound more organized and believable. Now she just had to hope he was in a receptive mood.

  When Alex walked into the Sheriff’s office her heart sank. He wasn’t there, only the 9-1-1 dispatcher sat at the radio desk.

  “Hi Jim. Is the Sheriff around?” Alex felt she knew Jim Reeves well enough to be able to confide in him; having had several serious conversations on the phone over the past few months.

  “Sorry Alex. He’s at lunch with one of the State Troopers. He should be back in about twenty minutes. Is it an emergency?” Jim had been working long enough for the Sheriff’s Department that he was privy to all the details of Alex’s special adventures.

  “No, not an emergency. But I do want to talk to him. I’ll go see his cousin Carol and be back in twenty minutes. Please tell him to come find me if he comes back sooner. Thanks.” Alex winked and headed for the hardware store. What an interesting job Jim had, taking calls for everything from loose livestock on the roads to sending the fire department to Taylorwood School when Richard Greenway blew up the old cabin in the woods. He would definitely be a good source for information about all the crimes that had happened in this little town.

  Carol was running an errand so Alex brought her son Jason up to speed with an abbreviated version of her trip to New Mexico over the holidays. Twenty minutes sounded like a lot until you had a lot to tell someone. Then it wasn’t very long at all and Alex had to leave Jason with a promise to give him all the details at a later date.

  Alex was pleased to see the Sheriff when she walked through the door. He was still conversing with the Trooper but cut his conversation short when he saw Alex enter.

  “Hey Alex, long time no see.” He really liked this woman and had wished she played for his team.

  “Sheriff have I got a story for you! Are you free now?” Alex looked at the Trooper and hoped his time with the Sheriff was up.

  “As soon as I can kick this guy out of my office. Ms. Alexandria ‘Alex’ Whitney I’d like you to meet an old friend, Trooper Filberto Valdez. He patrols this area for the State. Don’t believe half of what he tells you. He tends to exaggerate big time. The only thing that’s true is that he was in the Marines Special Forces for six years. But since he can’t tell us what he did during that time, his stories are all BS.” Sheriff Taylor smiled as Trooper Valdez laughed.

  “Nice to meet you, Alex. I do need to get back out there. But John, think about what I said.” Trooper Valdez touched his cap and left them alone to talk.

  “Why only six years?” Alex figured he’d be a twenty year man.

  “He was injured during an op so his range of motion is limited in his right shoulder. Nothing that can keep him from doing his job now, but enough I guess for him to leave the Marines. So what’s up?” The Sheriff felt his friend left the Marines for another reason, but they never talked about it.

  “Can we take a drive? I’ve a lot to tell you as well as show you.” Alex wanted to get right to it.

  “Am I going to need backup?” The Sheriff knew Alex wouldn’t be taking him on a joy ride.

  “No, if I’m right we’re too late. I just hope I’m not.” Alex knew she was correct in her vision. But she could hope.

  The drive out to the spot where Alex marked the dirt road was filled with friendly stories of how they had spent the holidays. When Alex spotted the upright stone she asked the Sheriff to slow down and turn onto it. The road was just as she remembered it and a chill came over her when she saw the stump.

  “Please stop a little past that stump. We will have to walk from here.” Alex pushed the release on her seat belt and took a deep breath as she waited for the patrol car to stop.

  “Now I’m going to ask why here?” The Sheriff had followed Alex’s request without question. But now they were in the middle of an area that had no dwellings.

  “I hope I’m wrong. But please have faith and grab your camera. I have some things to show you.” Alex was out of the car in a flash and circled around the tree stump.

  “What are you looking at?” The Sheriff came from the back of the patrol car after retrieving his camera.

  “That.” Alex pointed to the five notches that were carved into the stump.

  “What’s that?” The Sheriff was beginning to wonder about this trip and if it was some kind of joke.

  “It’s his count. His body count.” Alex felt the tears run down her face.

  “Body count? Alex what are you talking about?” The Sheriff could see that Alex was serious and this was not a joke.

  Alex explained her dreams about the man who had strangled five women and buried them in these woods. She started walking to where she thought the downed tree was, while the Sheriff took a few quick pictures of the stump.

  The Sheriff had to run to catch up with Alex who was walking as fast as she could. It seemed longer then in her dream, but then she had run part of the way. She almost felt like this wasn’t the right place until the fallen tree appeared. The site was just as she remembered as she circled to where she watched him bury the sack.

  “This is it. I think she’s buried under that tree.” Alex moved forward and touched the tree. She felt a shock come from the tree, which was impossible. But Alex felt it was conformation that she was correct.

  “Alex I need some kind of proof. How do you know this is the place if you’ve never been here before except in a dream?” How would he call this in?

  “Faith is all I have. But how about this.” Alex took a deep breath and motioned to the Sheriff to help her roll the hollow tree a few inches. The tarp could be seen as the rain must have slowly washed some of the dirt away over time.

  “Oh my God.” The Sheriff reached down to touch the tarp and felt this was enough to get the state boys out there.

  “I need you to keep my name out of this. I’m already famous enough in this area. I don’t need any more notoriety.” Alex felt the Sheriff needed to enjoy the spot light.

  “And how do I explain how we stumbled upon this discovery?” They weren’t near any hiking trails.

  “Exactly – some hiker stumbled upon the body. Now you’ll have to say that part of it was exposed, but that’s only a little fib and if someone wants to take credit for the killing they may tip their hand by stating there was no way any part of the body was exposed.” Alex thought that was brilliant.

  “You read too many mysteries. But you may be right. I need to radio the office and get a team out here to excavate this body. Are you sure it’s a body, Alex?” The Sheriff hoped she was wrong, but had a gut feeling she was right.

  “Yes, and it’s not the only one. Does the State have a cadaver dog available?” Alex assumed the other women were near by.

  “Cadaver dog, are you serious?” The Sheriff felt this could turn into a media circus. It needed to be kept quiet.

  “I wish I weren’t. Remember the tree stump. I think there are five women buried in this area.” Alex looked at the Sheriff and knew he was having trouble believing her.

  “All right, let’s get back to the car and call this in.” The Sheriff snapped a few pictures of the exposed tarp and the surrounding area.
/>   Sheriff Taylor instructed Jim to contact the State’s Forensic Unit and have them and Trooper Valdez meet him at the beginning of the dirt road.

  “How do we explain your presence here?” The Sheriff knew Alex had an answer.

  “I was with you when you got the call. So you need to let me talk to Jim so I can tell him what’s going on.” Alex felt Jim was as trustworthy as the Sheriff to tell all to.

  The Sheriff checked his phone for service then dialed the inside line to his office and handed Alex his cellphone. She requested Jim keep her secret and not let anyone else hear what she was about to tell him. Upon his promise Alex filled him in on everything except the existence of Oliver.

  Jim would fill out a bogus anonymous caller report from the ‘Hiker’ and show that the Sheriff was sent to check it out. The fact that Jim was privy to all this information about Alex’s spiritual guardians made him feel an even closer bond to her then he already did.

  Chapter 39

  Because the tarp was heavy duty, it was well preserved and had no signs of rotting. The body was only bones, but intact. The insects had cleaned the meat off so only white bone was left. The skeleton wore a white tattered dress, a locket around the neck and a wedding ring on her left hand, which was placed on top of her right hand. It reminded Alex of so many old photos of women standing alone with their hands folded in front of them. She looked so peaceful, but Alex knew her death was anything but that.

  Trooper Valdez was talking to Sheriff Taylor, but kept looking over in Alex’s direction. The first body was on its way to the Morgue to confirm the identification that had been buried with the body. Along with the body was her purse, which contained her wallet, car keys, miscellaneous jewelry and a compact.

  When the cadaver dog arrived he got busy leading his handler to the remains of the other women. In less than an hour all four of the remaining burial sites had been marked. It was obvious that all five bodies had been prepared in the same way. Personal effects were either worn or in the victims’ purses. All five women had their hands folded the same way in front of them. To Alex they looked like dutiful wives waiting for their husbands to come home. It would turn out to be a clue into the psyche of the man who put them there.

  Alex was beginning to worry about the time. The sun was setting and although the recovery work could continue with the help of a generator powered light system, she needed to get back home before Sam. But could she get the Sheriff to leave his soon to be “crime” of the century for this quiet area? This little glitch had not been foreseen in her plan. Trying not to be too obvious Alex strolled by the Sheriff and Trooper Valdez and gave a slight wave at the Sheriff.

  “Hey Alex. I’m sorry you’ve had to hangout with me this whole time.” He was playing along with their story of why she was with him.

  “Yeah, is there anyway I could catch a ride back to town with someone?” Alex’s smile was half hearted in hopes he would take her himself and leave Trooper Valdez in charge.

  “Sheriff, I can stay until you get back. It’s pretty much routine stuff. You may want to get back to your office to see if the media has caught wind of all this.” Valdez knew this was now the biggest crime to hit this county since Richard Greenway’s death.

  “You’re probably right. I should get back and at least prepare something for the press. Let’s go Alex.” Sheriff Taylor knew this was going to bring the media out in mass and he needed to have this story down.

  Alex had felt a change come over her now that all the bodies had been located. It was a peaceful feeling as they left the area, maybe all those spirits were now able to move on. She wondered if maybe Oliver could check out the old cabin and see if that spirit had moved on.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours?” The Sheriff could see that far away look in Alex’s eyes.

  “I’m just hoping all those souls are at rest. I think this has been happening over a long period of time. But when I did some research there weren’t a lot of unexplained disappearances in this county.” Alex wondered why.

  “So now you’re saying I have a serial killer out there to worry about?” The Sheriff wondered where his quiet little town went.

  “Well I don’t think he’s killed anyone for a while. But I don’t think he’s dead either. Maybe in jail somewhere? I only have a partial description of his vehicle.” Alex knew that was going to get the Sheriff excited.

  “Really and when were you going to tell me this info?” The Sheriff quickly glanced at Alex out of the corner of his eye.

  “When I knew my dreams were correct. He drives an older model White Ford F-150, what else. Partial license number 150 are the last three digits, so I’m thinking a personalized plate. That’s all I have.” Alex felt it was something.

  “Can you describe him to me?” The Sheriff wondered if this case could be this easy.

  “Tall, built, short dark hair, long face with square jaw, eye color is hard to say because I wasn’t dreaming in color. But they looked lighter than brown so maybe blue/green.” Alex thought to herself she could pick him out if she saw him.

  “Wow, I hope this case is as easy as it seems to be. You saw his face and the vehicle he was driving. Why only a partial plate though?” The Sheriff hoped Alex could look through some mug shots when they got back to the office.

  “There was mud splattered on half of the plate. So I didn’t get the whole thing. But in my dream he did age from the first encounter to the last one. I think he may color his hair because it seemed darker when he killed the last woman.” Alex had just realized that new fact.

  “Well maybe we can catch a break and find his fingerprints on the tarps. That would sure put this case in the closed file real quick.” The Sheriff realized he was speeding and slowed down just before they entered the city limits.

  “Before we get to your office I need to know for Sam if you’ve heard anything good or bad about her from your friend at the academy?” Alex almost forgot what her task was.

  “Nothing bad, Cap says she’s giving 100% and is improving with each day. She should make a great officer once she graduates.” Sheriff Taylor was wishing he had her now.

  “Perfect. She’ll be pleased to hear that. Thank you.” Alex smiled to herself and now just hoped Sam’s personality wouldn’t change anymore.

  “No, thank you. This case is going to put us on the map and maybe we can get some funding from the State for newer equipment. You know so we can solve cases faster.” Sheriff Taylor would love to have some of the Hi-Tech equipment the State boys had.

  “What this isn’t fast enough for you?” Who needed equipment when you had Alex and her dreams?

  “Well a facial recognition program would be awesome.” It would save time having witnesses look through mug shots.

  “Okay, but who’s going to draw their face so your awesome program can recognize it?” Alex thought that was one of those “Duh” questions.

  “You’re right. But it would work on security videos, so not a total waste.” The Sheriff would be grateful for any new equipment, even if it was just a new computer for Jim.

  “That is true and anything would be better than nothing. Do you think you’ll be able to keep my name out of this?” Alex was over the whole celebrity treatment.

  “I’m pretty sure we will about finding the bodies. But I don’t know how we will when we ID the killer. That might take some special kind of story telling. We really need to find a fingerprint to help solve that problem.” The Sheriff hoped this would be as easy as finding the bodies had been.

  “We can only hope he was sloppy and didn’t think anyone would find the bodies so he didn’t wear gloves. Forensic science has come a long way in twenty years.” Alex was a big fan and remembered watching all the crime shows.

  “Do you think he’s even still alive or still in the area? We haven’t had anyone disappear in years at least anyone who’s been reported missing.” Sheriff Taylor was beginning to realize a much better computer system could be what he should wish for.
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  “About that, what kind of files do you have on women who have been reported missing. Is it computerized or still in file form?” Alex was hoping, but knew it wasn’t.

  “Ha-ha. This isn’t the big city or a TV series. We have hard copies and that’s pretty much it. I’m sure the internet has as much info as we do. All though our files are more detailed, the number of missing is probably right on.” Sheriff Taylor would have Jim pull every file they had on reported missing women.

  Alex had the Sheriff drop her off at the hardware store. She needed to see Carol just so she wouldn’t be lying if Sam asked how she was.

  “Hey there. What’s new and on sale?” Alex walked in and found Carol with her head in a new trash can.

  “Hey yourself. Trash cans, do you need one?” Carol had dropped her sign inside the shinny new can.

  “Nope, not yet at least. How’s life treating you?” Alex smiled wide at Carol and saw the look in her eye.

  “What’s up? You look like the cat that ate the canary.” Carol could tell when her friend was up to something.

  “I need you to keep a secret. Only you and Bob can know this. I mean my part in this. Okay?” Alex knew Carol and Judge Bob were above reproach.

  “Come into my office and we can talk in private. Jason I’ll be in my office.” Carol whispered to Alex and yelled to her son who was standing at the cash register.

  Alex followed Carol into a small, but very organized office and both took a seat. Alex told Carol the condensed version of everything from her first dream up to just now when she was dropped off by the Sheriff minutes earlier. Carol was a little shocked but had lived in Hastings all her life and knew something like this wasn’t impossible. But just who could do this and for so long? Carol had known several of the women who had reportedly left town and their heartbroken husbands. She’d never cared for any of them and felt that their poor husbands were better off without them. But she would have never wished them harmed or killed. Alex asked for one more favor which was not to mention any of this to Sam.