Sauk Valley Killer

by KJ Kalis

  Watching Mary’s girls grow up had been one of Stephanie’s greatest joys, outside of her dogs. Stephanie always had a dog, at least one, preferring rescued dogs to purebreds. After losing Chuck the Corgi, Stephanie had adopted a Pitbull mix named Rusty. She had fallen in love with the breed and had only had Pitbulls ever since then. They weren’t the dog that everyone said they were. Unlike their image of being a fighter, after some research, Stephanie realized that they had been called “nanny dogs” because farm workers used to leave their children with the dog while they went to work in the fields. The dogs kept the children safe and protected while their parents were working. In her mind, Stephanie knew you couldn’t get any better than that.

  Ozzy had come to her two years before as part of the Pitbull rescue foster program. She got a call one day at work that a two-year-old Pitbull mix had been dropped off and would need some love and attention. Was Stephanie up for it? She had been without a dog for a couple of months after Rusty died. She remembered swallowing hard and saying yes. Van had been in the office at the time and saw the look on her face as soon as she popped her head in the door. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes,” he smiled.

  “You don’t even want to know why I’m sticking my head in your office?” she said.

  “From the look on your face, I’m imagining I’d probably say yes, anyway. Thought I’d save both of us the time. But feel free to go ahead and tell me if you’d like,” he said, a smirk on his face.

  Stephanie liked working for Van. He was direct and decisive but gave her the room to do the job she needed to do, the job she knew she could do. Under his leadership, she learned she was more talented than she thought. Her other editor had allowed her to work as a gatekeeper. Van allowed her to do that and to develop as a journalist. About a year into his job, he called her into his office and told her it was time for her to get back to work. “What do you mean?” she said, feeling confused.

  “It’s time for you to get back to writing. You’ve got two weeks. I want a story on my desk by then.”

  Their relationship had grown from there. If pressed, Stephanie might even say she and Van were friends. She had spent time at his house with his wife, Kat, also a journalist, and their son, Jack. It wasn’t a surprise to her that when Ozzy came available, he told her to go do what she needed to do. “No reason to have you hanging around the office distracted,” he said. “Get outta here. I’ve got the wheel.” It was his strange way of telling her he would take over.

  Stephanie nodded, feeling grateful. “Okay. Thanks.” She turned to walk away, hearing his voice call out from behind her.

  “I expect pictures ASAP.”

  Stephanie smiled and waved. She knew that Van was as much of a dog lover as she was. He had two dogs of his own. Recently, a dog that his wife had brought into the marriage with her son, named Woof, had died, leaving their Belgian Malinois, Tyrant, alone. A month before, they had gotten a new puppy, a yellow Lab named Dillon. He was the chubbiest little guy Stephanie had ever seen. Van said he spent most of his time tripping over his big feet.

  Memories flashed through Stephanie’s mind as she walked Ozzy, none of them really taking hold. They passed in front of her mind’s eye like a flock of birds, darting and diving, but never landing. The only thought that landed in her mind was that of Chelsea. Her mind kept returning to her niece, and now her death. Getting to the end of the block, Stephanie turned, heading back for home. Although it wasn’t the usual amount of exercise she and Ozzy did before work, it would have to be enough for today. She was anxious to go home, get cleaned up, and get over to Mary’s house.

  Before heading to the shower, Stephanie refilled Ozzy’s water bowl and his food, the dog gratefully lapping up the cool water. Stephanie watched him for a moment, frozen in place, suddenly lost. She took a deep breath, trying to remember what she needed to do next. Shower. Get ready. Go to Mary’s. She turned and walked to the bathroom, knowing the day was stretched out in front of her like a one-hundred-mile road with no stops.

  After a quick shower, Stephanie tied her unruly hair back into a ponytail that looked more like a puff of curls hovering on the back of her head than anything else. She dabbed on a little lipstick and a little blush, trying to hide the red blotches on her face. There was no use in putting on eye makeup. She was sure there would be a lot of tears today and for days to come. Back in the kitchen, she picked up her purse and her keys. “Come on, boy,” Stephanie said, looking at Ozzy, who had curled up on his bed in the corner of the kitchen. “Let’s go over to Aunt Mary’s house and see if we can help.” Mary and her husband had a dog of their own, named Spark. Ozzy and Spark were great friends. And since Stephanie had no idea how long she would be gone, it made sense to bring Ozzy with her.

  Mary and her husband Nathan lived about forty minutes from Stephanie’s house. It was close enough that Stephanie could be involved with her family, but not so close that they were bothering each other. Today was a day that Stephanie wished they lived closer.

  Stephanie managed to get out the door before the worst of the rush-hour hit, the sun just cresting over the ridge, throwing harsh light onto her windshield that left her nearly blind. She pulled down the sun visor and put on a pair of sunglasses. It seemed way too early to have to do that, but the days were still long even though school had already started. The sun glinted off of the other cars near her. Stephanie found her mind numb and nearly sideswiped a blue sedan trying to get off the highway at the Sedona Road exit, near where Mary lived. She waved, catching a sharp breath in the back of her throat. If she hoped to make it to Mary’s house in one piece, she’d have to be more careful. She’d be no good to Mary if she were in the hospital.

  The closer she got to Mary’s house, the harder Stephanie’s heart beat in her chest. How was any of this possible? Chelsea should have been at school this morning. A week ago, that’s where she was. A week from now, that’s where she should be. In the blink of an eye, Chelsea had gone from planning her future to having her parents plan her funeral. Tears to dripped down Stephanie’s face. Get it together, Steph, she said to herself. The last thing she needed was to arrive at Mary’s doorstop hysterical. Her sister needed her.

  Mary and Nathan lived in an upscale California community, one that had gates, although there was never anyone at the gatehouse. When they moved there, Mary had given Stephanie her gate code so she could go in and out without having to call every single time. As Stephanie punched in the numbers to get the gate to open, she wondered when the last time was that Chelsea had touched the keypad. She imagined feeling the warmth of her niece’s fingers on the same numbers she was touching and then shook off the thought. That was crazy.

  Although the houses in Mary’s neighborhood were nice, they weren’t palatial like so many of the homes in California. The area where Mary and Stephanie lived was north of Los Angeles. It was actually closer to San Jose, near the mountains. Mary’s development was perched on a flat piece of land with mountains in the background.

  As Stephanie pulled into Mary’s driveway, she stared, not moving. She put her car into park and sat for just a moment, frozen with grief. She was supposed to be going to the office today. She was supposed to be taking care of things for Van. She wasn’t supposed to be sitting in her sister’s driveway walking into a family who had just lost their oldest daughter.

  Guilt washed over her, realizing that she’d thought about Mary and Chelsea, but nearly nothing about her other two nieces, Rachel and Jenny. There had been a five-year gap between Chelsea and Rachel, but then only a one-year gap between Rachel and Jenny. The two younger girls were close in age and even closer in looks. They were nearly twins. Those poor girls, Stephanie thought. How would they get along without their older sister? A knot of grief formed in Stephanie’s chest. She couldn’t focus on it. Not now. She opened the door to the car. “Come,” she said to Ozzy. The big dog tumbled out of the car and waited. He’d been to Mary’s house enough that there was no reason to put him on a leash.

&nbs
p; Stephanie walked to the front door, put her hand on the doorknob, and turned it. Never before had she not wanted to go to her sister’s house. Today was that day. There was no choice, though. Her sister needed her.

  Ozzy pushed through the door to get to his friend Spark. The clatter of Ozzy’s nails on Mary’s tile floor brought her into the front hallway as Stephanie closed the door behind her. Stephanie stared at Mary. Her face was pale white with deep black circles underneath her eyes. It looked like she had combed her hair but hadn’t bothered to wash it. Stephanie made a note to try to get her sister to take a shower later. It would make her feel better. There were no words to say. Stephanie opened her arms and then wrapped them around Mary, whose shoulders started to quiver. After a moment, Mary stepped back, drying her eyes, “I feel like I don’t have any tears left.”

  “It’s okay. It will be okay.” Stephanie was about to say something else when her phone rang. She frowned, surprised at who was calling. “Give me a sec, sis,” she said. “I need to take this.” Mary nodded and walked away. “Cheryl?”

  “Hey, Steph. Just wanted to give you a quick call. I’m so sorry about Chelsea. She was your niece, right?”

  Hearing the words created a lump in Stephanie’s throat. “Yes. She was.” Stephanie had known Cheryl for a few years. They had met taking a yoga class where they both occupied the farthest back row position available. The day they met, Stephanie had fallen out of one of the poses the ultra-flexible yoga teacher had asked them to do. Cheryl fell out of one just a minute or two later. A friendship had been born based out of their inflexibility. What she didn’t know at the time was that Cheryl was a police officer. She’d be one of the first to know about Chelsea’s death.

  “Listen, I know you’re a journalist. I probably shouldn’t be saying anything, but you’re my friend. There’s something really creepy about Chelsea’s death. This is a very unusual case. I just wanted to let you know this is not the norm. Our whole department is scrambling.”

  Stephanie shook her head and furrowed her brow, “What do you mean?”

  “At about the same time we got the call about Chelsea, we found her boyfriend. His body was at the edge of the parking lot. He’d been there for a while. It looks like he was dropped off about thirty-six hours ago.”

  Stephanie quickly did the math. That meant that Daniel, Chelsea’s boyfriend, had been killed before her. The reason they didn’t know about it is because his body hadn’t been found. “How come no one found his body before now?”

  “Where his body was placed, it was kind of far behind a building where no one goes, near a dumpster. He was covered up with a blanket. From far away it looked like he was just a homeless person sleeping. When the driver came to empty the trash, he got out of the truck to tell the guy to move. As soon as he saw his face, he knew he was dead. He called it in.”

  Stephanie’s mind was reeling. It sounded like Chelsea and Daniel had been abducted together and then killed. “Wait. You said your department is scrambling. Why?” Stephanie put her hand on the knob to the front door, waiting for Cheryl to answer. She went back outside and stood on Mary’s front porch. She didn’t want to risk Mary hearing the information or her own response.

  There was a long pause. “Stephanie, as much as I want to tell you what happened, I really can’t. What I can tell you is that there very unusual circumstances around their deaths. Unusual enough that I wouldn’t let your sister know right away.” There was another pause. Stephanie could hear voices in the background. Cheryl said, “Listen, I’ve got to go. Just do your research on this one, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  3

  Kat beat Van to their driveway, pulling up to a walk when she got to their mailbox. She was panting, having raced him the last quarter mile to see who could get back to the house first. She wanted to think she beat him, but for some reason, she thought maybe he’d let her win. Again. “Did you let me win?” she asked a few seconds later as he got to the driveway.

  “Now, why would I do that?” he said, walking past her, breathing heavily, his hands on his hips.

  “I have no idea, but if you did, I’m going to be mad.”

  He grinned at her, “Happy wife, happy life.”

  Kat shook her head. She would never know if he let her win or not. They walked up the driveway together toward the house. Jack, Kat’s son from her first marriage, was a freshman at Sauk Valley High School. He had already left for school.

  Kat stopped for a second in the middle of the driveway to stretch, feeling the muscles in her legs already tightening. Van stopped at the same time, also stretching. “What do you have going on today?”

  Van caught his right ankle with his right hand and pulled it up behind him, stretching his quad. “Same as usual. Work. You?”

  “I was thinking I might come into the office for a while today.”

  Van raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really? You working on a new story?”

  “Well, with Jack back in school, I figured I might come into the office more. You know, that editor can be a real pain.”

  Van dropped his foot and poked her in the ribs. “Yes, I’ve heard he can be very difficult.”

  Kat and Van met when she was still married to her first husband. She had worked for him right after he started his online newspaper, The Hot Sheet. After the two of them broke a couple of big stories, a larger media company had bought Van out and moved them to California. Van stayed on with the paper as the Editor-in-Chief.

  Before Kat could say anything more, Van’s phone rang. He looked at the screen. “It’s Stephanie. Let me get this.”

  Kat’s heart skipped a beat. Three days before, Van had gotten a call from Stephanie that her niece was missing. Stephanie’s family had just filed a missing person’s report after Chelsea, her eighteen-year-old niece, had been gone for more than twenty-four hours. Van had told her not to worry about work, that he would take care of whatever needed to be done. Stephanie had argued and had gone into work anyway. Kat and Van both knew that Stephanie needed some form of distraction.

  As Van talked to Stephanie on the phone, Kat searched his face, wondering if it was good news or bad. As soon as Kat heard Van say, “I’m sorry,” she knew the news was bad.

  Kat could barely contain the questions as Van tapped the screen of his cell phone to end the call. “What happened?” she asked.

  Van sighed and shook his head. “Someone found Chelsea’s body this morning under a tree in a park. The police found Daniel’s body at about the same time, though it looked like it had been out in the weather for a while. The whole thing doesn’t make sense, though.”

  “What do you mean?” Kat said, tilting her head.

  “Stephanie said she got a call from her friend Cheryl.”

  “The one that works for the police department?”

  “Yes, that’s the one.”

  Kat followed Van into the house, slipping off her running shoes at the door. Ever since Jack started back to school, Kat and Van had been going running every morning now that the weather had cooled off a bit from the hot California summer. “What did Cheryl say?”

  Van closed the door behind them, turning the lock. “Cheryl said that Stephanie should do some digging. The circumstances were unusual, she said. She didn’t elaborate.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I have no idea, but Stephanie asked if we could take a look. She’s over at Mary’s house with Ozzy.”

  Kat nodded. “Of course, whatever she needs.” She shook her head, her stomach tightening. “I feel so bad. That poor girl, she had her whole life ahead of her.”

  It didn’t take long for Kat and Van to get ready. She left Van in the kitchen while she took a few minutes to dry her hair and put on some makeup. “I’m gonna reach out to a couple of contacts in the department and see if anyone will tell me where these bodies are,” he said.

  Kat nodded. “That sounds good. Let me just make some coffee and check my email and then we can get out here if you can find out
where they are.”

  Quiet covered their kitchen. There was only the slight rustle of Kat starting the coffee machine and typing on her laptop, while Van did the same.

  During the time they had lived in Sauk Valley, Kat and Van had both cultivated contacts in the community. Some of them were in the police department, some of them in the fire department, and others were just friends and contacts in the community who helped them with stories. As Kat poured coffee into a travel mug and tightened the lid, Van’s phone chirped. “Okay,” he said. “They are still at the scene with Chelsea’s body. They are at Overlook Park. You ready?”

  Kat nodded, feeling unsure of herself. She was more than happy to help out Stephanie. Stephanie had been there for both she and Van over the last few years. She’d become part of the family and had even stayed with Jack at the house a couple of times when Kat and Van wanted to go away overnight. But researching something so close to home could open up old wounds that Kat wasn’t sure she was prepared to deal with.

  Although Kat’s life seemed happy and settled at the moment, she knew that balance was as fragile as a thin covering of tissue paper. As she pushed her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, she rolled her wrist, a habit she had developed after shattering it in an IED attack in Afghanistan when she was an embedded journalist. That accident had sent her home and had set the trajectory for much of her life. When Jack was four, a blackmailer had approached her for information on a mission she had witnessed while she was in the Middle East. The choice was to give him the information or watch her mother-in-law die from stomach cancer. Little did she know that her first husband, Steve, was a plant. He had been hired to marry her to get the information. The only good thing to come out of that marriage was Jack and her relationship with Laura, Steve’s mom, who lived back in their hometown of Aldham.