“No no. That’s not what happened at all. When they dug out the coffin they were going to move it to its new spot right away. It was never left alone. Not for a minute.”
“Then how could this be, mom?”
“I don’t know and your father is frantic, too. We have the New Orleans police on it and everything.”
“Do you want me to come home and help?”
“No, honey, there’s nothing you can do here. Stay where you are, and we’ll keep you updated if we hear anything. But please, don’t disappear like that, alright?”
“I won’t. I’m sorry. But I should tell you that I’m staying at a friend’s right now.”
“You are? Why? Who’s this friend? I thought you didn’t have any there yet?”
“It’s a long story, but I forgot my cell phone when I left my apartment. I will have it with me from now on.”
“Okay, good, but why can’t you tell me this story of yours now?”
“Because I have to go, but I will call you again as soon as I can.”
“Alright, dear. Your father and I love you, and please be safe.”
“Love you, too, mom.” Aria turned off the phone and looked to Wilson. “Is there anything you can do?”
“Me, I have no idea. All I can think is that the body had to be stolen for some reason, but your mom said the coffin was never left alone, and unless someone dug it out of the ground before then, took the body out of the coffin, and re-buried the coffin, empty…”
“Could that be it?” asked Aria.
“Possible, but it’s too late to tell for sure now. Once they dug up the coffin, any evidence that it may have been dug up before was lost. But I’ll call up the New Orleans Police Department and see what they found out so far.”
“Thank you”, said Aria, as she started to cry.
Wilson pulled a tissue out of a tissue box nearby and gently started to wipe the tears from her face. He couldn’t resist how beautiful her face was. He put a hand to her cheek and spoke. “Aria, while we’re here alone there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, and I don’t know if I can hold it back any longer.”
“What is it?” Aria asked through tears.
“I really care about you…”
“I care about you, too. You’ve been a good friend to me…”
“No, I mean I REALLY care about you. I have been developing feelings for you. I know it’s really bad timing, with what you just found out about your sister and all.”
Aria pulled his hand off her cheek and took a step back. “You can’t do this, Wilson.”
“Why not?”
“Because…I’m a suspect in those attacks.”
“Only to me. The rest of the police department has no idea…”
“Still, you shouldn’t get involved with me. If they find out, you’ll be in big trouble. You could even lose your job or worse, go to jail. That lie you told Ella…did you also tell them?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“So you’re lying to the police, too, which means you’re disrupting the investigation, right?”
“But I’m trying to prove your innocence!”
“It doesn’t matter. Until you do we can’t be seen together in any way other than as friends. And even that’s dangerous. Everyone thinks I’m just visiting town, right? How will you explain if we’re seen leaving my apartment together? We’ve gotten lucky so far, yes, but eventually one of your police friends will see us…”
“That’s why we’re being careful. That’s why I have you hide under that hooded sweatshirt I have been bringing you here and back in…”
“Still, someone’s going to ask why am I always hiding my face, and you’re going to have to explain…”
“Well, I’ll just tell them you’re staying longer than planned and we decided to get you your own apartment…”
“That may work at first, but what if the police decide to question my landlord about how long I’ve been living here?”
“They won’t. They don’t have a reason to. Besides, they transferred that case to me, remember? As long as I have full control, you don’t have anything to worry about.” Wilson tried to step up to her, but she continued to back away. “Aria, you have to admit that you have feelings for me, too. You can’t deny that there’s something growing between us...”
“Yes, I’ll admit there is. I do have feelings for you, too, but I can’t let it happen. I’m sorry. At least not until I’m proven innocent.”
Defeated, Wilson let it go. She’s right. He can’t do this. He can’t jeopardize her this way, much less his career.
Chapter 3
Later on, Aria was left alone once again at her apartment while Wilson went back to work. However, he had trouble concentrating on the case at hand, constantly wondering what could’ve happened to Sienna’s body. He remembered he had a friend in the New Orleans Police Department and decided to give him a ring.
“New Orleans Police Department?” answered the officer on the phone.
“Hi. My name’s Detective Wilson Parker and I’m from the Mayville Police Department up in Rhode Island. I’m wondering if Detective Joe Rainer still works there?”
“He sure does. Hold on and I’ll transfer you to his office.”
“Thanks.” Wilson waited several rings before there was an answer.
“Rainer here.”
“Joe, it’s Wilson Parker.”
“Hey, Wilson. Long time, no see! It’s been what…a year since you came down here to New Orleans? How have you been?”
“I’ve been fine. Working on a serial killer case…”
“Oh yeah, I heard about that! They say it’s some kind of wolf, but they can’t determine WHAT kind, exactly? But I heard the police were handling it themselves.”
“They were, but they’re totally stumped. They transferred the case to me, hoping I can get some answers they can’t find.”
“Well, if you’re calling me about that, I don’t see how I can help from way down here in New Orleans. It’s not like the murders started here.”
“Oh, I’m not calling about that. I’m calling about the missing body case in a cemetery down there?”
“You heard about that, huh?”
“Well, actually…I know the sister of the girl whose body is missing.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. She’s living up here in Mayville.”
“Okay, so how can I help you with that, then?”
“I assume you’ve gone out and investigated the coffin and the scene by now?”
“Of course!”
“I was wondering if you can send me a copy of the report. Maybe I can be of some help, and it’ll also give the victim’s sister peace of mind if I can tell her what you found so far.”
“Sure thing, old friend. Send me your fax number and I’ll fax it right over.” Wilson gave him the number.
“Alrighty. Will get that to you a.s.a.p. Anything else you need?”
“That’s it for now, and thanks. Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been in touch. Say hi to the wife and kids for me, will you? And also let me know if you guys find anything new regarding the missing body case.”
“Will do! Good luck with that case of yours, too!”
“You too. Bye.”
Wilson hung up and came out into the lobby to wait for the fax as Sheriff Sherwood exited his own office. “What’s up, Wilson?”
“Just waiting for a fax.”
“How’s the serial killer case coming along?”
“Still stumped. All I can tell for sure is that it’s all random. The killer doesn’t have a specific type of victim they’re aiming for anything. It’s truly a mystery.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Well, I finally decided to put more patrols out on the streets at night. Hopefully we can at least stop any future attacks from happening by constantly patrolling the area.”
“Don’t forget the forest areas, too. A few of the attacks happened there as well.”
; “Got that covered, too, yes.”
“Well, it’s lunchtime so I’m going to head down to Cheryl’s with Julie and Kyle. Wanna come with us? That fax will still be there when you get back, I’m sure.” As a reminder, Officers Julie Martin and Kyle Phillips were two other members of the Mayville Police Force.
“Thanks but I really should check on my niece. See if she needs lunch.”
“Oh right. When are you going to bring her by?”
“I don’t think I will. She’s not exactly a fan of the police. Not because she’s done anything wrong, mind you.” Wilson said this a little too quickly, making her sound suspicious. “She just finds police stations boring, you know. Kids these days.” Wilson let out a fake laugh.
“Oh yeah, I know what you mean. My boy Jason has an assignment right now to follow one of his parents around work for one day for school, and he refused to follow me. Preferred his mother, even if it means commuting to Providence.” Sherwood let out a little bit of a laugh. “You’d think a boy would find police work exciting!”
“Well, maybe he finds a hospital more exciting.” Sherwood’s wife Beth was a registered nurse at a hospital in Providence. It meant a 45-minute commute back and forth each day, but she didn’t mind as long as she loved to work there.
“I suppose you’re right. Well, I better get going. Want me to bring you back anything from Cheryl’s?”
“Nah, I’m good, but thanks for the offer.”
“Anytime, friend, anytime.” Sherwood alerted Jones, who was just about to come out of his own office to hold down the fort, so to speak, while Sherwood was away. Then he left, with Julie and Kyle following behind.
Wilson started to get impatient. He knew that Joe would have to find the file, probably among a bunch of files, but how long could it really take, since it was a recent case? It wasn’t like it had been months and the file was tucked away somewhere. Just then, the fax machine finally started to buzz and several sheets of paper started pouring in, all labeled “To Detective Wilson Parker; Re: Missing Body Case”. As he was collecting the fax, a voice behind him caused him to jump. It was Jones.
“What’s this about a missing body case?”
“Jones! Don’t sneak up behind me like that!”
“Sorry. I was waiting for a fax myself and couldn’t help looking.”
Wilson showed him the fax, figuring it couldn’t hurt to get another opinion on the case. Jones found his own fax, looked around the lobby, and said “Let’s take this into my office.” Good idea. Last thing he needed was the entire police force (or at least the members of it who were doing the day shift) knowing about this.
They went in and Jones closed his door. “Sit down,” Jones ordered, gesturing to the chair on the other side of his desk. Wilson did as he was asked.
Jones spent several minutes looking over the evidence of this new case in front of him. While waiting, Wilson looked around Jones’ office, which he never had the opportunity to really look at before. There were many police awards on the wall, along with various photos of Jones with other members of the police force, and a class photo from his days in the Academy. On Jones desk was a laptop computer, a pencil cup, and a pile of case files. Along a back table behind Jones, there were several family photos of him, his wife Amy, his daughter Heather, and their pets – a dog and a cat.
“Why are you so interested in a case in New Orleans?” asked Jones.
“Because…” Wilson thought this through before continuing. He couldn’t very well say that the missing body was that of his niece’s sister, because that would make her his niece…but then he remembered that he had explained that she wasn’t really his niece. Just the daughter of an old friend, which he thought of as his niece. Bingo!
“Remember the girl who’s staying with me. The one who I think of as my niece?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, unfortunately the missing body is that of her sister. So she asked me if I could help the New Orleans police find out what happened to the body. I happen to have an old friend down there at the NOPD, so I said I’d see what I can do.”
“That’s mighty helpful of you, Wilson, but what can you do from up here?”
“I can at least read the report and tell her what they know so far. Give her a little bit of a piece of mind that they’re doing anything they can to solve the case.”
“Ah. Well, from what I can tell the only way the body could’ve gone missing is that someone must’ve dug it up…”
“That’s what I’m thinking, too,” Wilson interrupted.
“But look here. This is interesting.” Jones pointed out a particular note on the evidence report. “It appears some of the fingerprints on the coffin are that of the missing person? How can that be?”
Wilson read the notes. “I don’t know, unless they accidentally caused her hands to touch the sides of the coffin while they were laying her body down.”
“Oh yeah…maybe…” said Jones, rubbing his chin with his fingers. “Well then, I’m stumped, too.” Jones returned the fax to Wilson.
“Well, thanks for giving it a look, anyway.”
“No problem,” said Jones.
“Listen, speaking of my niece, I need to go check on her and get lunch. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Alright, Wilson. I’m sorry about her sister.”
“I’m sure the body will turn up somehow.”
“Yeah…maybe.”
“What about the serial killer case? How’s that going?”
“Unfortunately I’m still stumped on that one. But I’m trying. At least Sherwood’s finally stepping up on the patrols to keep new attacks from happening, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well, I’ll see you later.”
“Later, Wilson.”
Wilson looked over the fax before heading back out to Aria’s apartment.
Chapter 4
The earlier argument led to some obvious tension between Aria and Wilson, as evidenced when Wilson brought Aria lunch from Cheryl’s Diner. When she opened the apartment door upon his return, all she said was “Thank you. I’m really hungry.”
Lunch itself started out quiet and uneventful. Wilson was the first to speak up.
“So I called up an old friend of mine who works at the NOPD…”
“And?”
“And he faxed over all the reports and other evidence they have so far.”
“What do they say?”
“That there were fingerprints left on the coffin that are from your sister, along with those of the caretaker, your family members, and the grave diggers.”
“Wait. How is that possible if my sister was dead?”
“That’s what I’m wondering, but it’s possible the caretaker was careless in placing the body in the coffin, and her fingers just touched the sides of the coffin by accident. The investigator who wrote the report didn’t suggest that, but I can’t think of any other explanation, unless she’s alive.”
“She’s not. She was found dead in New Zealand just outside of the college campus. They’re absolutely sure of it.”
“Do you know how she died? You never told me. I know the case is unsolved, but they must have some kind of idea…”
“Yeah, they said they found bite marks on her arm, and whatever bit her, poisoned her somehow.” Aria stopped eating to think back to that time period. “But they couldn’t determine what kind of bite it was. All they could tell was that she had some kind of poison in her blood.”
“Maybe I can get the reports from the police there, then, and look it over myself.”
“You have friends in New Zealand, too?” Aria asked in obvious disbelief.
“Well…no, but I can use my credentials as a police detective and try, at least.”
“Thank you,” said Aria, “for doing everything you can to help me.”
At that, they started eating in silence again.
An hour later, Wilson took her back to his house, because she was done gathering t
hings she needed at her apartment, including her cell phone so that she could keep in touch with her parents. Even the car ride was silent, ending with an “I’ll see you later” when she got out of the car. Wilson shook his head as he watched her go into his house. He couldn’t believe he let his relationship with her turn into one of tension and constant silence. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, wishing he hadn’t admitted his feelings to her earlier that day. If he could have gone back in time and told himself to hold that thought until a more appropriate time, like after he had proven her innocence, he surely would have. While he was deeply regretting his own actions, there was a knock on the window that startled him. It was Ella. He got out of the car to face her.
“Hi, Ella. Everything okay with Charlie?”
“Well, that’s what I came to talk to you about. With all the attacks and all I’ve decided that Lindsay and I should go stay with my parents in Maryland for awhile…until things start to die down here. George is away on business for the next two weeks but will join us if we’re still there when he’s able to return. Obviously we can’t take Charlie with us, so…”
“You need me to take Charlie back.”
“Yes.”
“Well, I have some news for you on that front. The police are going to step out patrols starting tonight, so they will be everywhere and the attacks should then stop…”
“I’m still worried,” interrupted Ella. “We had quite a few police already patrolling every night, and did that stop the attacks? No.”
“What about Lindsay’s school? You can’t very well take her away from there for who knows how long…”
“I’ve made arrangements with the school to have her homeschooled in the meantime. She will be keeping up with them while she’s away and should have no problem when she returns.” Wilson remembered that Ella was a retired teacher. She retired when George got a promotion and she was on maternity leave with Lindsay.
“Then I guess you have to do what you have to do. Can you just wait until after I come home for the day? I need to also talk to Aria about this, then.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to say we were leaving right away. We won’t be leaving until Friday after school. I just wanted to discuss this with you ahead of time.”
She Wolf and The Detective: (Suspense, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy) (Book 1-3) Page 4
