Aric Davis - The Fort

“My office, now,” said Chief Jefferson flatly, and Van Endel took Walt’s nod as he entered the office as a mark of sympathy.

This is bad, I know it.

Chief Jefferson sat behind his desk after waddling around it, then turned on Van Endel with an annoyed look. “Stretch out your drumsticks, and sit down. I got bad news, and you’re not going to like it, so let’s get it over with.”

Van Endel sat reluctantly. The chief and he had been at odds for almost six months over Van Endel’s handling of the Riverside business. Van Endel was a smart enough man to know that his attitude hadn’t helped. Regrettably, and especially to his boss, neither had his detective work. Van Endel grinned, then frowned, but got no reaction. Finally, he took a Werther’s Original from a bowl on Jefferson’s desk and said, “Spill it.”

“We got a body,” said Jefferson. “White female, burned beyond recognition, teeth smashed out with a hammer. Whoever does dental on this girl is going to be in for a serious nightmare.”

“Where was she?” Van Endel asked, his voice higher than normal, pulse accelerating. “How long has she been deceased?” He looked at the clock on the wall. The 911 call was less than ninety minutes old.

“Calm down,” said Jefferson. “I see that look in your eyes, but it’s not what you think. She’s been dead about two days, according to the coroner, and from the amount of fire damage, she burned for a while.” Jefferson lit a cigarette, coughed twice into a handkerchief, then leaned back in his chair. “Body was found in a shallow grave, near the drive-in but off the property. You need to go down and talk to the guys working that night, get the fear of God into them, maybe even give them a serious look as possible suspects.”

“So the whole 911 call was bullshit?” Van Endel asked, in a voice that was escalating now. He could feel rage boiling in his stomach. If that was my fucking kid and he did that …Van Endel let out a breath he’d been unconsciously holding in.

“Yep,” said Jefferson. “That seems pretty damned obvious. You’re going to go back in there, and you’re going to very politely tell those kids that they’re a bunch of fuckin’ attention-seeking, miserable little pricks, and then you’re going to go the crime scene. If that sounds like an order, it’s because it is. The coroner is saying the body is close to the height and weight of the Peterson girl, so after you’re done at the crime scene, you’re going to the morgue with the body to verify, eyes-on, that those things are correct.”

“Have you contacted the mother yet?”

“Nope, not yet,” said Jefferson. “That’s next, just as soon as your butt’s out of that chair. I’m going to call the mother, give her a heads-up on the possibility of really bad news, and then when you verify the size of our corpse, I’ll let her know we’re waiting on dental.”

“How long do you think dental will take? I know normally it’s only a few days, but is it even possible when the teeth are that bad?”

“Doesn’t matter, dental’s going to come up positive,” said Jefferson. “The press is going to report this kid is dead, so is the TV news. It’s going to be all over. Even if dental does come back negative, it won’t be worth a shit. The guy from the coroner’s office, the new whiz kid they got, he says the perp stabbed her to death, then meticulously—his word—pulped out her fucking teeth before burning her. We won’t get within a mile of conclusive with the girl’s damn teeth.

“Back to those fucking kids. This is some malicious, deliberate shit, and those little assholes need to know that playtime is over. Then it’s time to kick in some doors and find this fucker.”

“I’m on it,” said Van Endel, standing. He was walking out the door when Jefferson called after him, “Don’t fuck this up. This girl isn’t some whore. She’s one of us.” Van Endel wanted to shout back at Jefferson and tell him that response was precisely why they were nowhere on the Riverside case. If the prostitute murders had been treated with this sort of priority, it could have been solved long ago. There was no point. Van Endel let the door chase him out, and then his eyes were on Dr. Martinez. He crossed the room quickly to her.

“Well?” said Dr. Martinez in a hushed voice. “What was so damn important?”

“They got a body,” said Van Endel, his voice just as quiet.

“Oh, my God,” she said, the color draining from her face. “Where, in the woods? I feel so terrible; if only we could have done more, or had a little bit more time. Fucking shit, seriou—”

“Doc, you need to calm down right now,” said Van Endel, grabbing her arm. “They found her at the drive-in, and she’s a burned-up wreck, and been there two days or so. Those kids didn’t see shit in those woods except for maybe some squirrels.”

“I can’t believe this,” said Dr. Martinez. “They were acting scared and a little unsure of themselves, but I thought with time and some hard work we were going to get somewhere. Are they sure it’s her?”

“Pretty damn sure,” said Van Endel. “I have to tell these kids to get the fuck out, and then I’m going to the drive-in, and then the morgue. Want to come?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” said Martinez, her face a stone.

26

The door opened, and both Scott’s and Beth’s heads snapped toward it. Van Endel walked in first. He looked furious. Dr. Martinez followed, not looking a whole lot happier. “There is a very good chance that Molly is deceased,” said Van Endel. “A body has been found.”

“Oh, my God, how awful,” Scott’s mom said. “Her poor mother.”

Van Endel was pacing the small room back and forth. “Agreed,” he said. “Her poor mother. But we have a problem. A big one. The medical examiner is pretty sure that the girl we found has been dead for a couple of days, likely the same day she was taken. The body’s pretty badly burned, but he’ll know exactly how long soon enough.”

“That’s not possible!” Scott nearly shouted. “We just saw her, and she was alive. It’s been like two or three hours, tops, and most of that was spent waiting to talk to you!”

“Young man,” said Van Endel, “I am going to say this one time, and one time only. Calm down. Right now. My boss has it in his head that you kids are lying, and I’m starting to agree with him. As I said, we still need to verify details, but it seems highly likely that the body recovered is Molly, and if that’s the case—”

“Mom, this is crazy! We saw Molly, and if someone would just lis—”

“Scott,” his mom said, “you need to shut your mouth, OK?” Scott couldn’t believe it, but it was happening. She wasn’t even looking at him. “Detective, Doctor, I’m so sorry. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but we’ll get to the bottom of it. I’m so sorry we wasted your time. I honestly don’t know what else to say to you.”

“I get that. I’m not the only cop that’s been working a lot of unpaid overtime on this one. We really wanted to bring Molly home safely, and this prank, if that’s what it is, is just a slap in the face.”

“I understand completely,” said Scott’s mom. “Scott has a savings account. If there are any fines, he will be working to pay them off. When can we leave?”

Van Endel looked at Dr. Martinez, and she shrugged her shoulders. “You can go now.”

Tim sat in the back of his dad’s car. Luke was across the backseat, but neither of them was looking at the other. Luke’s mom had never shown, so Tim’s folks were giving him a ride home. Tim had never seen his mom so pissed off, but his dad was worse. He hadn’t said anything since shaking the hands of the doctor and the detective. He’d apologized to them both just before they all walked to the car. His mom had said, “I don’t want you two to say one word in that car. If you can help it, don’t even look at one another. Your father and I are furious with both of you, and I’d like to spend this car ride forgetting that either of you is even back there.”