Cimarron, Denver Cereal Volume 4 (31 page)

“
Oh,” Seth said. “My buddy
died of lung cancer. He used to smoke a lot of everything before we
kicked our mutual vices.”

“
Sandy’s Dad,” Delphie
said.

“
Yep,” Seth said. “Anyway,
I run about fifty miles a week. I like it. Gives me time to think.
My only vices now are donuts, coffee, and now an odd affection for
a woman named after a flower.”

Delphie smiled at him.

“
You’ll find true and
lasting love from someone who adores you,” she said. “But that
won’t be me.”

“
I guess I’ll get another
dog.”

Delphie laughed. There was a tap on his
window.

“
You can go in now. I’m to
escort you through the scene,” a uniformed police officer said.
Nodding to Delphie, he said, “Ma’am.”

Delphie gave the young man a little wave.
Seth and Delphie got out of the car and began walking toward the
river.

“
Ma’am, I hate to ask but
could you…”

“
Girl,” Delphie said.
“You’ll have your boy next.”

“
Thank you, ma’am,” he
said. “That’s a relief for me.”

“
Yes, I can see that,”
Delphie smiled.

“
Ok, this guy, David Craig,
was out walking his dogs…” the uniformed officer said.

“
Breeze and Chance,”
Delphie said.

“
Right, Labradors,” the
police officer said. “He works at the Teatro so he comes down here
early.”

“
He doesn’t have anything
to do with this,” Delphie said.

“
You sure?” Seth
asked.

“
Positive,” Delphie
said.

“
So this guy’s walking his
dogs and he finds a body,” the officer said.

“
A body?” Seth
asked.

“
The dogs find something,”
the officer said. “He doesn’t like the smell. Thinks it’s
suspicious and has been around enough to know what can go on down
here. He calls 911 and waits for us. You know how many people wait
for us? Almost no one.”

Delphie smiled.

“
Anyway, he takes the
patrol down to the area,” the officer said. “And they don’t like
the smell either so they call it in. Whamo, six bodies.”

“
Exposed bodies?” Seth
asked.

“
Oh, no,” the officer said.
“They were buried at different times too. In this weird pattern.
I’ve never seen anything like it. The guys are saying it’s a serial
killer. Is that true?”

“
Probably,” Seth said.
“Thanks. I’ll take it from here.”

The police officer nodded. Seth and Delphie
continued walking until they reached a sandy path. Turning right,
they walked under the Fifteenth Street Bridge.

“
Sandy and Aden just stayed
at the Hotel Teatro,” Delphie said.

“
Yes,” Seth said.
“Coincidence?”

“
Probably,” Delphie
shrugged.

The slowed down at the open space area where
the Coroner and her assistants were working.

“
Are you picking up
anything?” Seth asked.

“
Just that a lot of people
don’t want me here,” Delphie said.

“
Seth! Delphie!” the
Coroner said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

The woman waved them over to her.

“
Same pattern, same number
of bodies,” the Coroner said.

“
But?” Delphie
asked.

“
Someone unearthed one of
the more recent bodies,” the Coroner said.

“
You mean it wasn’t
buried,” Seth said.

“
No, it was buried,” the
Coroner said. “Someone unburied it.”

“
Why? Would someone do
that?” Seth asked.

The Coroner and Seth looked over at
Delphie.

“
He wants to be in the
newspaper,” Delphie said. “He knows that we’ve found
his…”

Delphie’s face went white.

“
What?” Seth
asked.

“
He thinks of them as
trophies or awards,” Delphie said. “The disgusting creature
unearthed a body so that he could be on the front page of the
Denver Post. He’s furious that his handy work hasn’t gotten the
attention he believes he deserves.”

“
Then we won’t give him the
pleasure,” the Coroner said.

“
Any lock on who?” Seth
asked.

“
Just that he was here…
recently,” Delphie shook her head. “Breeze and Chance were chosen
to find this.”

“
Breeze and Chance?” the
Coroner asked.

“
The dogs,” Seth said. “How
were they chosen?”

“
I don’t know,” Delphie
said. “And I don’t know why. This creature has some way of cloaking
himself. I doubt even his victims know who he is.”

“
Like Jack the Ripper,” the
Coroner said.

“
Jack the Ripper?” Seth
asked.

“
Jack the Ripper killed
prostitutes, very young women in a highly populated area,” Delphie
said. “Four of the murders happened in August and September. It was
a particularly hot summer and everyone was outdoors due to the
heat. Yet, no one saw him. Not a soul. He just appeared, killed and
disappeared. No one knows why he started or stopped.”

Seth and the Coroner gawked at Delphie.
Delphie laughed.

“
I was the Oracle Taber,”
Delphie said. “You’d be surprised at how many people, when faced
with a true oracle, ask about Jack the Ripper.”

“
And?” Seth
asked.

“
I personally think Jack
the Ripper was Nessie,” Delphie laughed. “You know, the Loch Ness
Monster?”

Shaking his head at her, Seth laughed.

“
They’ll figure it out
soon,” Delphie said. “DNA modeling or something.”

“
But you know?” the Coroner
asked.

“
I’ve been told an answer,”
Delphie said. “Which is something that hasn’t happened here.
Yet.”

“
The victims didn’t know
their killer?” Seth asked.

“
No, it’s more like they
knew the killer but didn’t know he killed them,” Delphie
said.

“
What does that mean?” Seth
asked.

Delphie shrugged. The Coroner leaned into
Delphie.

“
Is he here?” she
asked.

“
I can’t tell,” Delphie
said. “I don’t think so. Mr. Craig may have seen him though. We
should talk to him.”

“
Will you help us
identify…?” the Coroner said.

“
Yes, I’ll be there,”
Delphie said. “I’d like to see them… where they lay.”

The Coroner looked at Seth and he
nodded.

“
This way.”

Seth and Delphie followed the Coroner
through the grim scene. When they had seen everything, the Coroner
turned back to her work. Seth and Delphie returned to his car.

“
This is the biggest case
we’ve ever had. And the way these cases go…” Seth said. He turned
on the car and put it into gear. “The FBI will be here today. They
handle serial killers. That doesn’t mean it’s not our case. They
come to assist. They’ll want to meet with you… maybe
tonight.”

“
Great,” Delphie said. “I
don’t think we have plans tonight. Valerie is in LA so our lives
are quiet for a moment.”

Seth nodded. They drove the rest of the way
to the Castle in silence. Delphie was gathering her things to get
out when Seth cleared his throat.

“
I really do need your
help,” Seth said.

“
I know,” Delphie
said.

Seth nodded and drove off.

~~~~~~~~

Monday evening — 5:30 P.M.

Molly laughed at something Pete said. Monday
was their date night. Since Pete returned from prison, they’d been
hot for each other. Something about almost dying had ignited Pete’s
passion for Molly. And she responded in kind.

Stolen moments here led to groping in quiet
corners there. Quickies led to mad, crazy nights in Pete’s
apartment above Sandy’s salon. More than once, Molly was stumbling
home as Sandy opened the salon on Tuesday morning. They had started
tonight fast and furious. Relaxed, they were on their way out for
dinner.

“
What’s that?” Molly
pointed to something leaning against the salon’s front
door.

“
Stay here,” Pete
said.

Pete opened the glass front door. With his
foot, he nudged the pile of clothing. It moved. It was a person
wrapped up in layers of clothing.

“
You can’t stay here,” Pete
said.

“
My sister…” a male voice
came from under the hood of a jacket. “Waiting for my
sister...”

“
The salon is closed on
Mondays and Sundays,” Pete said. “Scram.”

“
Pete!” Molly said. “That’s
just a kid.”

“
Molly, go back in the
shop,” Pete said.

“
Oh my God! That’s Sandy’s
brother.” Molly kneeled down to peer at the face hidden in the
hood. “Charlie?”

“
Molly,” Pete
groaned.

Molly gave Pete one of her fierce ‘stop it’
looks. He raised his hands and stepped back.

“
Charlie,” Molly peered at
his face again. “Pete, I don’t think he’s all right.”

“
He smells like meth, pot
and filth,” Pete said.

“
I remember when you’d come
to my bed smelling just like this,” Molly said.

“
Molly…” Pete grabbed at
his head. “I…”

She shook her head at him.

“
Don’t be an ass,” Molly
said. “Let’s try to get him inside.”

Pete dropped down next to Molly to take a
real look at the boy. He pulled up one of the boy’s sleeves. Track
marks and…

“
He’s been beaten,” Pete
raised his shirt. “Kicked. We’d better not move him.”

“
Pete! I will
not
leave this
child
here.”

“
I’m not saying to leave
him,” Pete said. “We need to call 911. You go call. I’ll get some
blankets for him.”

“
Stay with him, Pete,”
Molly said. “Don’t leave him alone. I can bring
blankets.”

Charlie began a deep chest rattling cough.
The boy spit up blood and vomit. Dropping down next to Charlie,
Pete leaned the boy over his lap. He patted the boy’s back while he
vomited between Pete’s legs.

“
Go call!” Pete
said.

Molly pulled her cell phone from her purse.
Within minutes, the police, ambulance, and fire department were
there. Sandy and Jill arrived just as the paramedics were loading
Charlie into the ambulance. Sandy went into the ambulance with
him.

“
What happened?” Jill
asked.

“
We don’t know. We found
him,” Pete said. “He was waiting for Sandy.”

“
I’m going to meet Sandy at
Denver Health,” Jill said. “Molly?”

“
We can’t,” Molly said. “We
used our out time.”

“
Do you want to
come?”

“
I’ll stay with Pete,”
Molly said.

“
Good,” Jill said. “I’ll
let you know what happens.”

Jill hugged Molly. With a wave to Pete, she
got back in her SUV and drove off.

“
Dinner?” Pete
asked.

“
We used our time,” Molly
repeated.

“
We can order something,”
Pete said. He watched her face. “What’s going on?”

“
I’ve never seen you… take
care of someone… anyone,” Molly’s eyes filled with
tears.

Pete pulled her to him. He held her for a
moment.

“
You’ve really changed,”
Molly pounded on his chest. “Why? Why now? After everything that’s
happened, why now? Why not for me or the kids or…?”

“
All of this is for you,”
Pete said. “The workouts, the meetings, the job, the sobriety,
every moment of every day… it’s all for you.”

“
What are you talking
about? None of this is for me!”

“
No Molly, everything I’ve
done is for you,” Pete said. “I had this experience
and…”

“
What?”

He sighed.

“
Just tell me,” she said.
“I can handle it.”

“
I remember… They were
doing surgery on my brain. I had to be awake or sort of awake. The
doctors were talking to each other. One doctors telling some story.
I don’t remember what. And this creature came. The doctor told me
it was a hallucination but I…”

“
Creature?”

“
It glowed white but
looked…” he shivered. “It was a cross between a demon and an angel.
Maybe it was both. It asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted my
life back.”

“
You always say that,”
Molly said. Mimicking his voice, she added, “I want my life back so
I can piss it away again.”

“
That’s exactly what the
creature said,” Pete said. “Were you there?”

Molly gave him a tearful smile.

“
We argued,” Pete said.
“The creature asked me, ‘Why should I give you your life back?’ I
had no answer for him. None. And I was fading. Finally, I said ‘I
want to spend every day making Molly’s life good’ or something like
that. The creature said, ‘How?’ And my mind flooded with all the
things you love – the kids, pink roses, spicy green chili, your
friends, the smell of morning rain, numbers and…”