Delusions With Murder: A Rilynne Evans Mystery (10 page)

A file dropped down on her desk, causing Rilynne to jump.  Detective Butcher just gave her a hateful look before handing the files to the rest of the detectives.  Rilynne opened the file to find the complete list of the homes that had been built in the woods.  Although only a handful had basements listed, she knew she would have to check them all.  This was going to be a long day.

“Of the twenty-eight homes we have within our search radius, two have basements listed on their blueprints, and another four have basements listed on real estate listings.  There are also eight homes that have never been sold, so we could not get information on them other than what is listed with the tax office,” Butcher said as she walked to the board.  “That also does not mean the homes that have sold have not built something onto the property since it changed hands last.”

That was only too true.  There was a lot of privacy in the woods, and Rilynne was not positive what she had seen had been the basement of a house.  It could have very well been an underground bunker of some kind.  If that was the case, she knew they had very little chance of ever finding it.

By lunchtime, they had pulled the background checks on the majority of the property owners.  So far, nothing was standing out.  Several of the properties were used as rentals for campers, and two were listed as vacant properties owned by the bank due to foreclosures.  Another home had burned down the previous summer and was in the process of being rebuilt.  Rilynne flipped through the pictures of the homes they had, and sat aside the ones she knew could not have been the home.  She had been able to eliminate half of the homes from the list, and the remaining ones she split between Matthews and herself.  They were on the way out to start visiting them when Detective Wilcome rushed into the room, his cell phone pressed against the side of his head.  The look on his face told Rilynne to stay where she was.

“Some hikers just found Derek Hartley in the woods,” his face was white, as if he couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth.

Rilynne dropped back into her chair.   “It’s only the fourth day.  We should have still had at least two days left before…”

“No,” he interrupted.  “That’s… Derek Hartley is still alive.”

Chapter Nine

N
o one moved, or dared say anything for fear they had mistaken what their ears had just heard.  When Detective Wilcome finished the call, he slowly sat down in his chair and let out a great sigh of relief.  All eyes were still on him when he finally spoke again.

“This information does not leave this room.  As far as the public is to know, hikers found the remains of Derek Hartley in the woods.  I will be picking up Ms. Martin and taking her to the hospital.   Jerkins and Evans, I want you to meet us there.  Limited staff will be working on Mr. Hartley, and I want you to make it very clear that no one is to release his identity for his own protection.  Matthews, Ochoa, and Butcher, I want you at the scene.  Use scent dogs.  I want to know where he came from.  The perpetrator would not have let him go willingly, and with a fresh leg amputation, he would not have been able to make it far on his own.  The rest of you, keep working on the interviews with the family members.  If he didn’t get what he wanted from Mr. Hartley, he might have the urge to take another victim sooner than normal.”

Rilynne and Detective Jerkins rode silently to the hospital.  Neither of them seemed to know what to say.  Rilynne knew Derek Hartley had seen the perpetrator, and with any luck would be able to identify him.  This could all be over by this time tomorrow. 

She thought back to her last vision, though.  He had been so weak that he could not move or talk.  What kind of shape was he going to be in when they arrived?

That question was answered quickly when they arrived at the hospital.  Detective Wilcome and Ms. Martin met them in the waiting room of the ICU.  A doctor joined them just moments later.  “Detective Wilcome, I’m Dr. Jordan Abrams.  I have been taking care of our patient since he arrived this morning.”

“Thank you for your discretion Dr. Abrams.  This is Ms. Emily Martin, the patient’s girlfriend.  And these are detectives Evans and Jerkins.  What can you tell us about his condition?”

“He has endured quite a lot, and his body is in shock.  His right leg has been partially amputated, which led to an infection.  He was also extremely dehydrated when he was brought in.  He coded just after being brought in, but we were able to get him back quickly.  Right now he’s in a coma, and I’m afraid I cannot tell you when, or even if he will wake up.”

Emily let out a deep sob, and collapsed into the chair behind her.  Dr. Abrams motioned for an older nurse to come join them, and after introducing her to Detective Wilcome, instructed her to take Emily to see Derek Hartley.

“As you had requested, I had all of the clothes the patient was wearing bagged up for you.  I have also talked to each member of the staff who is in contact with the patient, and informed them of the seriousness of keeping his identity hidden.  Is there anything else I can do for you?” he asked, handing Detective Wilcome the bag with Hartley’s clothes.

“Not right now.  Thank you for all of your help.  Please contact me if anything should change with his condition, or if anyone should show up asking about him.”  When Dr. Abrams left, he turned towards Rilynne and Jerkins.  “I want a list of every person who has been in contact with Mr. Hartley, or will be.  I want two officers posted at his door at all times, and get a crime scene tech down here to collect evidence off of the body.

“If Mr. Hartley escaped, then the killer would not have had time to clean the body.  Something on him should tell us where he has been, and who has had him.  If he can’t tell us who this guy is, maybe his body can.  Have the crime scene tech run the evidence under a separate case number, and inform them not to tell anyone what it’s for.  The fewer people who know about Mr. Hartley, the better.”  Detective Wilcome handed the bag to Rilynne, and walked away.

Derek Hartley was in worse shape than Rilynne had imagined.  She had expected the amputation, but it was clear he had spend at least two days out in the woods before being found.  His hands and legs were raw from dragging himself across the ground.  The parts of his body that had not been covered by his clothes were also extremely sun burned.  The worst being his head, which had been shaven when he was abducted.

Ms. Martin refused to leave his side, even when the nurse told her visiting hours were over.  Dr. Abrams was finally called in, and in the end, gave her permission to stay in the room with him.  Rilynne had gone to her apartment to pack a few things for her so she wouldn’t have to leave.

Rilynne admired that level of dedication.  She remembered how it felt to be so in love with someone that even the thought of losing them tore your insides apart.  It was at the same time the best feeling, and the worse feeling you could have.

The ride back to the station that evening was equally as silent as the one to the hospital had been.  Rilynne didn’t know if it was better for Emily this way, or worse.  If Derek Hartley had been killed, then she would have been able to let go and eventually move on.  Now she was stuck hanging onto hope that the man she loved, who was in a deep coma, would in time wake up and come back to her.  She knew what it was like to be stuck waiting and wondering, and she didn’t wish that feeling on anyone.

The station was relatively quiet when they walked back in.  Matthews, Ochoa, and Butcher were still at the scene working with the scent dogs.  The rest of the detectives, who had split up the homes closest to where Hartley had been found, were slowly starting to trickle back into the station after checking them out.  By eight nearly everyone was back, though no one had anything substantial to show for the day.  Of the houses they had checked, none showed any sign of being the house where Hartley was held.  The scent dogs had lost the track in the river, and they would not be able to pick it back up until the morning.  The lab tech had pulled quite a bit of evidence off of Hartley, but it would be at least the morning before anything came back.

“We are going to have a long day tomorrow, so let’s call it a night,” Wilcome said as he sat down at his desk.  He seemed to want to say more, but in the end just buried his nose in his files.

Rilynne stared at her desk for a few minutes before finally deciding to leave instead of sitting down for more work.  She slowly walked down the empty hallway, running over the day’s events in her head.  The perpetrator had lost Hartley, is that why he had gone back to his apartment?  Had he hoped to find something there that would help him find him, or had he missed out on the pleasure he would have received in killing him, and was hoping to regain some part of it in his apartment?

“Headed home?” a voice called out, shocking her back into reality.  Ben had just rounded the corner behind her.  He had changed since she had seen him earlier in the day.  He was now wearing a nice pair of black dress pants with a dark blue long-sleeve button up shirt, with just the top button undone.  In his hand he held a blue silk tie and his jacket.  Even his hair was nicely combed.

She thought for a few moments before answering.  “Actually, after today I could really use a drink.  You are all dressed up, hot date?”  Oddly enough, Rilynne did not know if she wanted an answer to the question as she turned towards the elevator.  Stop being silly, she quickly told herself, and pushed the button before looking back towards him.

He seemed to be trying to read her face before answering, as if searching for something.  Rilynne quickly turned back around and pressed the button a few more times.  “You’re really in a hurry for that drink, huh?” he laughed as he walked up to stand next to her.  After a few moments he added, “and no, I had court earlier.  I just haven’t gotten around to changing out of this costume yet.  I feel like I’m going to a funeral.”

“I don’t know,” Rilynne responded, still keeping her eyes firmly on the elevator doors.  “It’s not a bad look on you.”  She could see him glance over at her out of the corner of her eye, but she maintained her focus on the doors.  As soon as they slip open, she stepped into the elevator, still avoiding his gaze.  They rode down to the lobby in silence.  It was only after they stepped out onto the street that they spoke again.

“It would be a shame for you to waste that look just on a day in court.  How about a quick drink?” Rilynne asked, looking up at the stars above.  It was a beautiful, cloud free night, which just didn’t seem right to Rilynne after the week’s events.  It would be much more fitting if it were gray and muggy outside.

“Yeah, I could actually use one right now.  This attorney today really tried to tear me down on the stand.  You know, questioning every action I took.”

“But he couldn’t find any oversights in your work, could he?”  She stepped into the street and headed for the bar at the end of the block.

Ben dragged his knuckles across his chin as his gaze shifted to the stars above.  “No, he couldn’t find anything wrong with the science,” he finally replied.  Rilynne could tell there was more behind his words than he was saying, but she knew better than to push. 

That was one thing Christopher had taught her.  If someone tried very hard to find their words when giving an answer, it often meant they don’t want to give a full one.  Pushing for it before someone was ready to share just leads to trouble.  She should know; after all, Rilynne kept more secrets than most people.  With Christopher, she had learned it the hard way.

The bar was not too crowded tonight, which was surprising after the day they had had.  Other than herself, Donovan was the only other detective from the task force there.  He was sitting with a beautiful young woman at the corner table, who, judging by their demeanor must have been his girlfriend.

Rilynne and Ben picked seats at the bar and each took a shot before they started talking again.

“So how is the case going?  I was out of the station most of the day, so I haven’t heard any details. Even with what little the techs know, though, it sounded like a pretty big day.”

Rilynne thought about what to say.  Ben was an active part of the case, but he still was not a member of the detectives unit.  She swallowed her second shot before answering.  “Derek Hartley was found in the woods by a couple of hikers today.”

Ben waited for her to continue, but after she didn’t, he inquired further.  “This was only the fourth day.  Why do you think he moved things up this time?  Do you think he knows you are getting closer, and didn’t want to risk being caught with Hartley?”

“That would mean he’s keeping tabs on the case and knows where we’re looking.  How would he know that?” she asked, adjusting her stool so she was facing him.

“It wouldn’t really be that hard.  We know he knows who you are.  If it were me, I would keep tabs on you.”  He drained his second shot and continued, “I would want to find out everything I could about my opponent.  You know, he could have followed you to the houses you were visiting, or had some kind of access to the type of homes you were focusing on.  All it would take is one person letting it slip that you were looking for basements.  You might even have had some kind of contact with him.  There would probably be nothing more thrilling than having direct contact with you, and you not knowing he was your guy.”

Rilynne hadn’t thought about that, but he was right.  Perpetrators such as this one liked to inject themselves into the investigations.  For him to be focusing on her the way he had been, she must have had some kind of interaction with him.  The thought of it made her insides churn.