Maniacal: A Detective Jade Monroe Crime Thriller Book 1 (23 page)

We spent a good amount of time studying the way she was propped against the gate, the bridle in her mouth and the leather strap that had likely choked the life out of her wrapped around her neck and the gate. I wondered if there was significance to her being bridled. Her mouth was swollen, and her eyes bulged from bloat. The skin was beginning to turn a shade of grayish green. Looking at her was difficult, but we needed to get into the head of this madman. Why was he so devious and angry, and what did these innocent people do to make him choose them?

“Come on. Let’s get some fresh air and let Kyle and Dan begin processing this barn. Doug and Jason should be here soon.”

We went outside to talk to the groundskeepers. The sight of an approaching vehicle caught our attention. The car, a newer sporty orange Camaro, had magnetic ads for Realty World on each door. I assumed it was Leon Erikson.

“Officers, what’s going on?” he asked as he parked behind the row of vehicles and rushed toward us.

I extended my hand. “Mr. Erikson? I’m Sergeant Jade Monroe”—I nodded to my left—“and my partner, Detective Jack Steele. We’re from Washburn County Sheriff’s Department.”

Jack shook his hand.

“Mr. Erikson, we need to get inside the house right away. It’s a police matter.”

“Yes, ma’am, let’s go.” Leon entered the code for the lockbox, opened it, and pulled out the house key. He unlocked the heavy oak door and pushed it forward.

“Sir, you’ll have to wait outside with Deputy Lawrence. Deputy, interview Mr. Erikson and find out when Melissa was here last and with what client.”

“Yes, Sergeant. Sir, please step this way. Let’s find a place to sit.”

Jack, two deputies, and I entered the house with our guns drawn. We split at the end of the foyer, the deputies taking the first level, Jack and I taking the staircase to the second floor. I heard the deputies call out as they cleared each room. We cleared the second floor, checked each balcony and closet. The four of us cleared the basement level together before we entered the garage.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw the gold Infinity parked in the third stall. Jack pushed the button for that garage door. It lifted, allowing more light into the garage. With gloved hands, I opened the driver’s side door and looked in. Nothing seemed amiss, and the seat appeared to be in the correct position for someone Melissa’s height. A struggle hadn’t taken place in the car.

“Doug and Jason are here,” Jack said when he saw them come up the driveway and park the coroner’s van next to the forensics van.

Doug approached the garage. Jason followed behind him. “Sergeant, Detective Steele, what do we have?”

Jack stepped out of the garage and responded while I popped the trunk. I went to the back of the car to give it a look. “We’ve got a body in the horse barn, and it looks like she’s been there for a while.” Jack nodded toward the outbuildings. “It’s the one on the right.”

“Okay, Jason, back the van over to the barn as close as you can,” Doug said as he turned and walked toward the barn alone.

Jack stuck his head in the trunk. “See anything unusual?”

“No, nothing that looks out of place. We should call for the flatbed. We aren’t going to drive Melissa’s car back to the evidence garage.”

“Good idea. May as well get a head start on it. Kyle and Dan can give the car a quick once-over before they load it up. They’ll likely take a few photographs here too.”

Doug and Jason spent a good half hour in the barn. Jack and I talked to the lieutenant near the cars as we waited. I explained to him that the oddball in Eddy’s Tap Tuesday evening was more than likely our killer. He had to have been on his way to the house to meet up with Melissa under false pretenses. Pretending to be an interested buyer—especially of a home worth as much money as the house on Oriole Lane—would be a great way to lure a Realtor out there alone.

“Don’t you think common sense flies out the window at the chance of a hefty commission? And who would imagine a killer using that as a ruse? Scary and dangerous people are most often pictured in bad neighborhoods, not here,” I said.

“Sounds logical. Do you think you got everything you could get out of the bartender and the man at the video poker machine?” Lieutenant Clark asked.

“Not sure, sir, but they’re both getting a second interview.”

Doug and Jason walked out of the barn and headed our way.

“What can you tell us?” the lieutenant asked.

Doug shrugged. “Pretty gruesome, if I do say so myself. Body appears to be a female in her thirties. It looks like she’s been here around five days according to the maggots. Rigor has passed. The quantity of facial lacerations and contusions may have been enough to render her unconscious. COD was likely asphyxia. Her tongue is swollen and protruding, but I found decomposed paper in her throat, and this”—Doug held out a dime in the palm of his hand—“under her tongue.”

“Son of a bitch.” Lieutenant Clark ground his fist into his eyes. “Okay, bag everything up and give it to Kyle and Dan. I’ll call the North Bend PD and see if their forensic lab can spare Peterson and Gundrum. I’m sure our boys could use the help. Monroe and Steele, get back to town and round those fellas up again. There has to be more they can tell us.”

“You got it, boss. We’ll head out now,” I said.

Jack backed our car down the driveway and out to the road. With the number of vehicles at the house, there wasn’t room to turn around.

“Do you think my family is safe, Jack? Last night couldn’t have been personal, could it?”

Jack exited Oriole Lane and merged onto the highway heading back to town. His expression told me he was concerned.

“I don’t have any answers. Fred told us the guy ordered the wine at five thirty. You guys got to the restaurant at six thirty. That means he didn’t follow you there. He already knew where you were going.”

“The only thing I can think of is he may have been at Left Field and overheard Amber and me talking, or he knows Amber works at Joey’s and heard her telling a friend what we were doing Saturday night. I swear my brain is ready to explode.”

“Yeah, join the crowd. I think you should call Amber and update her. She’s a big girl, and if she really wants to be a cop someday, she’s going to have to know what kind of people are out in the real world. We’ll ask the lieutenant’s opinion once he gets back at the station. Maybe you and your family ought to hole up together for the time being.”

“I’m going to give Amber a quick call and tell her to stay at Mom’s house until I get back to her later. Somebody will have to let Realty World know it was Melissa we found. Leon has no idea why he came to the house, just that it was a police matter.”

Jack pulled into the station and parked. “The deputies can take care of that. I’ll tell them to track down her next of kin too. We have plenty on our plates already.”

We entered the bull pen, and I dropped to my chair. My notepad was still on my desk where I’d left it Friday night. I flipped the pages to Mike Cole’s interview and read through the information again out loud. “I’m going to call him right now.”

Mike answered on the third ring. I heard the TV playing in the background. It sounded like sports.

“Hello.”

“Mike, Sergeant Monroe calling from the sheriff’s department.”

“Hello, Sergeant. Hang on one second.”

He left the phone, and I heard the TV volume go down.

“Sorry about that. I have a habit of turning the volume up too high when I’m watching basketball. I guess it comes from having the bar TVs muted most of the time. Sometimes I actually like to hear the play-by-play action. I’m recording it, so we’re good. Okay, what can I do for you?”

“Mike, it’s about the guy at the bar on Tuesday. Is there anything else you thought of since we spoke? Anything, even if it seems insignificant, might help us catch our killer.” I stared at the notes again from the interview we had conducted at Mike’s apartment. “I’m not necessarily saying the man at Eddy’s is him, so please don’t spread that rumor. We’re just checking every possible lead we can get.”

“Sure, I understand. Hmm… I did think it was odd that he mumbled to himself, almost like he was talking to somebody. The guy gave me the creeps. Oh yeah, and he cracked his neck like three times in fifteen minutes. That’s really all I can think of, Sergeant.”

I wrote the additional information in my notepad and thanked Mike. I felt Jack’s searing stare as he stood next to the coffee machine. I looked up.

“Well? And do you want some coffee?”

“Yes, please.” I shook my head as if to clear the thoughts that were stirring in my mind. “He added that the weirdo at the bar also mumbled to himself and cracked his neck a few times.”

Jack laughed and dragged his fingertips through his hair. “Damn, that sounds just like Doug.”

“Ya think? Whatever… people mutter all the time, at least I do, and I crack my neck. All this damn tension settles in my shoulders and neck. I’ve cracked it so much lately it sounds like popcorn popping.”

“Yeah, me too.”

My desk phone rang. “Hello, Sergeant Monroe, how may I help you? Deputy Silver?” I glanced up at Jack and mouthed a thank-you when he brought a fresh cup of coffee to my desk. “Yes, either Adriana Cruz or Leon Erikson, the Realtor that opened the house for us. Somebody has to know something about Melissa’s next of kin. Neither of them has names or phone numbers of her family? All right, get her address then. We’ll search her house. I’m sure we’ll find something there. Thanks.” I hung up.

“What did he say?” Jack dropped down into his desk chair.

“Nobody at Realty World has information on Melissa’s family except that some relative lives in Iowa. Her purse, cell phone, and appointment calendar are missing. According to Adriana, Melissa normally kept all of that in her briefcase. I think we should call the boss. He can get Billings and Clayton to go through Melissa’s house.”

Jack agreed. “Relax for a few minutes. I’ll call the lieutenant.”

Jack’s conversation with the lieutenant was short. They were just finishing up at the house, and the lieutenant was heading back to the station. Kyle, Dan, Doug, and Jason were on their way back too with the body in the van and the car on the flatbed. Two deputies stayed behind, and the North Bend PD offered us assistance with forensics. Their investigators had already arrived at the scene. The lieutenant said he’d make the call to Clayton and Billings and get them over to Melissa’s house right away.

Jack’s desk phone rang a few minutes later. Brian McKinney, the manager at Stanley’s, was calling. “One second, Brian.” Jack put his hand over the receiver and told me who it was. “Brian, I’m going to put you on speakerphone so Sergeant Monroe can join the conversation. Go ahead and tell us what you have.”

“Sure thing. Anyway, Sweet Melissa Sweet Sparkling Red Wine has its own website. Apparently their products can be ordered directly from their site by wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and private individuals. Our daytime manager takes care of orders, so I spoke with him.”

I scooted my chair next to Jack’s desk to make sure Brian could hear my questions. “Brian, it’s Sergeant Monroe here. Does your daytime manager order directly from the website or a wholesaler?”

“Since we don’t have a ton of people asking for that wine in particular, we order a case at a time off the website. Sweet Melissa is on our wine list, though, which shows up on Stanley’s website along with our menu.”

“Got it. So what you’re saying is, it’s a dead end? You guys order directly from Sweet Melissa, plus anyone can look online to see your wine list from Stanley’s website?”

“Sorry, Sergeant, but that’s really it in a nutshell.”

Jack thanked Brian and hung up.

Lieutenant Clark buzzed himself through the security door and into the bull pen. He turned the wand on the blinds—the glaring afternoon sun had already come around the building.

“Jade, I need you to gather your family together later and have them stay at your house for the time being. I’ll station two deputies on your residence, one during the day and one at night. It’s all we can spare. We have to find this maniac, even if it means working around the clock.”

“We still need to come and go, boss. We all have jobs.”

“Understood, and I’m sure you’ll explain to your family how important it is for them to watch their backs at all times. If anything seems off or someone looks suspicious, I expect an immediate phone call to the officer I’m assigning to you. I want your family members to have his contact information. I’d prefer it if everyone took time off and stayed put, but that’s your call.”

“I want to work, Lieutenant. We need everyone on this case, don’t we?”

Lieutenant Clark sighed and scratched his neck. “You’re right, we do. First things first, though, we need to give a press statement. There’s too much speculation out there. We want folks to be safe and keep a diligent watch on their surroundings. We have no idea who this killer is targeting. Right now, we have to come up with the best profile we can to give to the press. It’s going to be tough since we have no witnesses to anything. I’m calling Clayton and Billings in to help us brainstorm. I’ll have a couple of deputies take their place searching Miss Mately’s house.”

Clayton and Billings arrived at the station at two thirty. The five of us sat in the lieutenant’s office with the door closed. We wracked our brains trying to come up with a suspect profile to give the media.

The lieutenant pulled the white board and easel out of his coat closet. I couldn’t remember the last time he used it.

On it, he wrote each victim’s name, the chronological order of the murders, where the bodies were found, and the cause of death.

“Okay, it’s fair game here guys. Throw out everything you know.” He waited.

“It seems that our murderer uses something related to the deceased to kill them,” I said.

“Good point, Jade. So what is that telling us?”

“That he’s an opportunist, he doesn’t want anything traced back to him, or he’s done his homework,” Jack said.

We all chewed on that statement.

“He’s strong, has endurance, plus he must have a certain amount of charisma to get Elise and Melissa’s attention. But he has a few quirks too. Apparently, the bartender at Eddy’s said he cracks his neck and mumbles to himself,” I added.