Skye turned to greet her longtime friend. “It was either cram everything into the minivan, which is impossible I might add. Or start from scratch, putting down the details we’ve learned in the last twenty-four hours. Besides, with two dumpsites, we’ll need two boards.”
“Where’s Josh?”
“Upstairs. I know it’s surprising to a lot of folks, but sometimes he still has a company to run.”
Harry chuckled. “True. But answer me this. What’s with Zoe and Brayden?”
“You don’t want to know. Those two blew us off last night. I’m afraid to ask why. I’d expect that kind of behavior our of Zoe, but Brayden is so level-headed.”
“Not when it comes to matters of the heart. Brayden’s become a young adult right before our eyes. So has Zoe. Two consenting adults lead to hanky-panky.” He tapped the side of his nose. “I’m sensing a relationship in the making.”
“She did mention she had the hots for him. Girl’s a fast worker,” Skye decided as she stopped long enough to refer to her legal pad of notes and then transferred the information to the whiteboard.
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” Harry added. “Look at Deborah and me. Our relationship happened quick as lightning. Never did I ever think I’d find another woman who knew me as well as Elizabeth did.”
“Excuse me if I don’t share your enthusiasm. What happens when Brayden and Zoe fight, argue, or God forbid, break up? We’ll all suffer through it and likely take sides. It could have long-lasting consequences with the team.”
“Don’t we argue anyway among ourselves?” Harry pointed out. “And I’ve seen it get heated. Look, we’re all a close-knit bunch. You thought the same thing when Judy and Reggie got together.”
“I did not. But I see your point. It’s just that they were a lot older than Brayden and Zoe.”
“Not really. As I recall, you didn’t want Reggie hurting Judy. Judy had no experience in dating. She was naïve and so shy. We all worried Reggie would leave her broken-hearted. It didn’t happen.”
“I did think it might be awkward for all of us. But you’re right. It worked out fine. Let’s hope it works out for the kids.”
“You gotta start thinking of them as adults. Look at Jenny and Winston. At first, Deb and I thought it couldn’t possibly work out. The odds were against it. They were too different. But Winston was patient with her, kept waiting for her to come around. And look at them now. The guy is head over heels about her, and she seems crazy about him. She’s told Deb as much.”
“I suppose you’re right. Winston needed her, and she needed him. I’m glad they found each other, even if it was under the direst of circumstances. With Zoe and Brayden, I’m going to try to butt out and hope for the best, keep my mouth shut.”
“Good luck with that,” Harry said, abruptly sniffing the air. “Is that coffee I smell?”
Skye hooted with laughter. “That was certainly a delayed reaction. Your GPS is usually set to hit the kitchen first whenever you get here. I inherited the fancy coffeemaker from the breakroom upstairs, one of those shiny, stainless steel jobs that make espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos. But don’t fret, I still made a regular pot for us. Old habits are hard to break.”
“I like old habits, probably because I’m old.”
“You’re not that old, Harry. I bet if I asked Deborah, she’d agree with me.”
“I don’t know about that. I thought keeping up with a younger woman would make me feel young. But some days it does the opposite. Fifteen years is a wide gap when you’re my age.”
“The relationship seems to be working. Deborah’s not complaining.”
Harry grinned before setting off for the kitchen. “Deborah hardly ever complains about anything. I lucked out in that department.”
The outside door opened, and Skye stopped what she was doing to stick her head out in the reception area.
“Did I read my emails correctly?” Judy asked. “Are we getting a rundown at this meeting about how the first victims died?”
“Hello to you, too,” Skye called out.
“Oh, sorry. I’ve been distracted all morning. Reggie woke up at four-thirty and couldn’t go back to sleep.”
“Apparently, there’s a lot of that going around,” Zoe grumbled as she entered the room carrying a box from Top Pot Doughnuts. The dogs circled her sniffing out the scent of food. She shooed them away. “People food,” she snapped as she maneuvered past them. To Judy, she continued her thought, “Leftover angst from finding bodies yesterday, no doubt. I don’t know how you guys do this every day.”
Skye picked up her coffee mug, realized the contents had grown cold, and followed Zoe into the breakroom. “Did the crime scene get to Brayden?”
“Dani got to Brayden,” Zoe corrected, opening the box to pick out her favorite—a pineapple fritter and plopped it onto a paper plate. She licked the icing off her fingers. “He had trouble sleeping. Plus, he thinks…never mind. I’ll let him tell you when he’s ready. Right now, what I need is a shot of espresso, maybe a double.”
Harry motioned her toward the specialty machine. “Have at it. You know how to work this thing?”
“Step aside and let the master barista work her magic. At Country Kitchen, Velma calls me the miracle worker for a reason. Who else wants a latte?”
The chorus rang out as other team members began to filter in and crowd around the small room. Josh wanted a regular cup and made it himself before selecting an old-fashioned vanilla doughnut. But the others put in their orders and stood in line while Zoe created a host of tasty coffeehouse-style concoctions. Once they’d all gotten their favorite, they fought over the remaining doughnut flavors before drifting into the conference room.
Harry stood in front of the whiteboard Skye had so painstakingly recreated and updated. “Today, I’m starting with a copy of Cassie Arnett’s autopsy.”
“Why Cassie?” Judy asked between bites of banana foster creme. “She wasn’t part of either dumpsite but found separately from all of the others.”
“You’ll see in a minute,” Harry provided, handing out copies of the autopsy to everyone. “Notice anything weird listed in the report?”
Skye skimmed the document. “Cassie was strangled. Whoa, she was also missing her right thumb. That is weird.”
Harry nodded. “Yeah? Better brace yourself for weirder stuff. Roger Bayliss went on to find some surprising details about each set of remains down at the first burial pit. Remember, he and his team haven’t even started on the remains from yesterday. Right now, the morgue is a little backed up. Just keep that in mind. To my main point, Bayliss discovered that each victim from the first pit, whether male or female, it didn’t matter, was missing their right thumb. Let me repeat that—every single victim from that first site was missing their right thumb.”
Losing her appetite, Judy pushed away her paper plate. “Even Anne Harding, the kindergarten teacher?”
“We don’t know that it was Anne out there,” Skye reminded them all. “We won’t know until Dr. Bayliss confirms it. I sent him a list of names to kickstart his process. And it was also a gentle nudge reminding him that we still need the female victims ID’d. However, he’s on his own with the males. No idea who they could be.”
Harry waited for her to finish before picking up his train of thought. “The important thing to takeaway is that Bayliss insists the thumbs were severed and not chewed off by animals. I guess it was a dumb question, but I asked him twice about it in the emails we exchanged. His response was not repeatable here in mixed company. But you get the gist. Logic tells him no animal would go after the same right thumb eight times. I’d have to agree with that sentiment. For now, he believes the thumbs were severed using some type of pruning shears.”
“You think this guy keeps the thumbs as souvenirs?” Brayden proffered in disgust, placing his half-eaten doughnut back on the plate.
“Wait a minute,” Josh stated, getting to his feet to make his point. “We already know that the male
victims suffered a shot to the back of the head, execution-style. Right? Now we know the killer removed the thumbs” He traded looks with Skye.
“Oh, my God. We’re dealing with a hitman, a freaking hitman. The thumbs were likely taken to prove he’d carried out the hit and used for proof of death.”
“Yep, you read my mind,” Josh finished.
Reggie, who’d been lounging in his chair about to fall asleep, sat up straighter. He looked directly at Harry. “Are you telling us that our only ID’d victim, was killed by a hitman? Whoa. That’s gotta mean Cassie Arnett’s husband, or maybe her boyfriend hired some guy to get rid of her.”
“This should be a piece of cake now,” Winston tossed out. “We just get the cops to lean on this woman’s significant other, whoever he is, and tell the cops who he hired.”
“Sure, simple,” Skye repeated with disdain. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. We don’t even know about Cassie’s relationships yet. However, the hitman theory might explain why our killer needs a private mailbox. He uses it to communicate with his clients.”
“And uses it to send out his requirements to get paid by wire transfer,” Josh added. “I’m sure his clients don’t pay by check. This guy deals strictly in cash.”
Brayden put his elbows on the table, leaned in for emphasis. “Probably cash that goes directly to the Cayman Islands or one of those Swiss bank accounts.” He let out a sigh. “Look, don’t think I’m nuts, okay? But maybe that’s why Dani gave off such a weird vibe yesterday. Maybe she had her cousin killed, and she got us involved to locate the body. That’s why she pressed me so hard, trying to get the location of our search.”
Sitting next to him, Zoe put a hand on his shoulder. “And got you involved so it would look like a legit disappearance? I’m not sure I follow the logic of that.”
Before everyone lost their focus, Skye tried again to caution them against making assumptions. “I repeat, let’s not jump to outrageous conclusions about any of our victims without facts.” She paused, waited a beat before deciding to share what she’d seen. “It’s just that…I don’t need Bayliss to tell me how Emelia died, I already know. I’m only sharing it now because Brayden mentioned Dani having her cousin killed. Emelia didn’t die from a shot to the head. The girl was strangled. How many hitmen would vary their methods like that? And we don’t yet know if Emelia had her right thumb taken, so…”
Josh rubbed his chin. “But when you think about it, varying his methods would depend on the situation, wouldn’t it? Not every single hit goes down as planned. That theory is rational enough. You already believe Cassie’s abduction went wrong from the start. In her case, the guy might’ve done whatever it took to get the job done. He couldn’t leave her where he’d left the others. We know the vehicle he used couldn’t make it down that rough road in bad weather. What I’m getting at is that he could’ve strangled Cassie in that muddy field near Ames Lake. Now we know he removed her right thumb. If he did that with Cassie, and it was a hit, stands to reason he could’ve done the same thing to Emelia.”
“Or he just gets off on strangulation,” Skye offered, twisting in her chair to look at Brayden. “Using his hands to strangle the women. I’m beginning to think you’re right. Maybe Dani did put out a hit on her cousin.”
“Sorry to say, I’m going with that. It’s not exactly a great reflection on me. But looking back on my second semester with Dani, her demeanor changed. This was a girl who initially wouldn’t give me the time of day, then does a one-eighty in a matter of weeks. When she needs my help with the project, she also sees I could be used to bring you guys into this mess and give Emelia’s disappearance more weight. It all makes sense to me now.”
“But why?” Zoe asked. “Why would Dani want her cousin dead?”
“That’s what I need to find out,” Brayden reasoned.
“And how do you propose to do that?” she challenged. “You’re thinking about going to see her, aren’t you? I can see it in your eyes just like last night. If you go, then I get to go, too.”
Skye tried to referee. “Kids, look, Dani seems like the type of person you wouldn’t want to tick off, especially the day after we find her cousin’s body. Give her some space.”
“Too late for that,” Brayden grumbled. “I’ll play it cool, pretend like I’m there to console her about Emelia.”
“Like that’s gonna work,” Zoe fired back. “If she did hire this monster to kill Emelia, she’s a cold, heartless bitch.”
“Exactly,” Brayden began. “And she won’t pretend to be interested in me, not for a second now that we’ve found the body. Get it? She’ll have moved on. Maybe though, with a little luck, I’ll be able to pick up on why she wanted Emelia dead in the first place.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” Skye reiterated, appealing to Josh or Harry to intervene. But Harry and Josh appeared to have already signed onto the scheme.
“It might work,” Josh pointed out. “At least let him give it a try.”
Harry chimed in with an idea of his own. “Maybe we should outfit Brayden with a wire, but keep Zoe out of the picture.”
“What? You can’t do that,” Zoe protested.
“Look at it this way,” Harry began. “This Dani might say something to incriminate herself to Brayden. She knows she used him—first to get a passing grade, second to hunt for Emelia. What she doesn’t know is that Brayden figured it out, that he’s on to her. With you there, it might send the wrong message and gum up the plan. She’ll be less likely to open up if she knows Brayden has a girlfriend. She might figure she needs to string you along until this is all over.”
“Jeez, I sound like Dani’s puppet,” Brayden admitted. “But that’s okay. I’ll let her think I’m still enamored.”
“Really? And just how enamored do you plan on acting?” Zoe wanted to know.
“I’m not planning on swooping her off to Vegas to tie the knot, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Brayden offered up. “I know what I’m doing.”
“I doubt that,” Zoe muttered. “You got in this mess because you reacted to a pretty face. Now, I don’t even get to meet Dani, the Succubus. If I’m not going, he at least needs someone to watch his back.”
“You’re right there,” Josh agreed. “He shouldn’t go in there without backup.”
“Jeez, she won’t kill me right there in her apartment,” Brayden insisted. “She might go into her drama queen routine, but that’d be about it.”
Zoe rolled her eyes. “How do you know? Because she’s so trustworthy and honest?”
“I’ll go with him,” Winston volunteered. “We’ve had each other’s backs before on other cases. I know his mannerisms, know when he’s in trouble.”
Brayden cut his eyes to Winston. “Thanks, I think.”
“It’s not altogether altruistic. I wanna get a look at this Succubus.”
“Yeah, well, at least you get to go,” Zoe complained, arms crossed. “Me? I’m not allowed.”
“Stop acting like a child,” Brayden snapped. “We’re a team here. Besides, it’s not Dani I’m in love with, okay? It’s you.”
Zoe’s eyes widened before narrowing them like lasers to his. “Really? You’re not just saying that because of last night, are you? Because I love you, too.”
Harry cleared his throat. “At least that’s settled, and we don’t have to pass notes to each other during class. Now, if we’ve finished yelling at each other, could we talk about wiring Brayden up as soon as possible and getting him over there to pay his condolence visit to Dani. Like this morning. We’ll use my SUV as a place to monitor what goes on in the apartment. You need to call her and push for a visit as soon as possible.”
Brayden reached in his pocket for his cell phone, but Harry stopped him. “No. Use the office phone line and put her on speaker. We all want to hear her excuses when she doesn’t want you to come over.”
“Yeah,” Zoe said. “And I especially want to hear her squirm.”
****
The minute Brayden left the office to head to Woodbridge, Zoe turned to Skye. “I’m going to follow him. Don’t try to stop me because I want you to go with me.”
Skye had sensed this was coming. She decided not to talk her out of it. “Okay, on one condition. You don’t go anywhere near Dani or her apartment. You wait in the car with me and see what happens. Plus, you have to promise me you don’t get mad at Brayden no matter what he has to say to get Dani to let down her guard.”
“I promise. I can’t believe you aren’t hatching a way to talk me out of it, though.”
“Would it do any good?”
“No.”
“Then I’d be wasting my breath, wouldn’t I? What would be the point of that? I’ll see if Harry can hook us up some way where we’ll be able to hear what’s going on without actually being inside his car with him and Josh.”
“I’m just glad Winston is going in there with him. When Brayden called her, it sounded like Dani had no interest in seeing him again.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“Do you think she’d hurt him?”
“Honestly, I think she’d hurt anyone who got in her way. But don’t worry. Josh and Harry won’t let anything happen to either one of them.”
“I know. I’m just nervous. Come on, let’s catch up with Harry and ask him about letting us listen in.”
With the plan in place, Brayden and Winston prepared to knock on Dani’s door. Meanwhile, Josh and Harry sat in Harry’s SUV, testing the sound equipment. Harry had parked at the opposite end of the apartment complex in an out of the way spot.
Skye pulled the minivan into the empty parking slot next to Harry’s vehicle. After cutting the engine, she adjusted her headphones before glancing in Zoe’s direction. Noticing Zoe was having trouble with hers, she offered to help. “Turn up the volume using the up and down button on the side of the headset.”
Down Among The Bones Page 15