The Bone Harvest

by Stacy M Jones

  “It’s him,” Megan said without any hesitation. “I got a good look at his face. This is the same hat he was wearing in the bar.”

  That was all Luke needed. He was grateful for the lucky breaks this time around. He hated that another girl had to lose her life.

  Luke followed Megan out of the conference room. He called to her with one last question. “How often does Katie supply drugs?”

  “Never,” Megan said definitively. She took a few steps back towards Luke. “That was the surprising thing about that night. The girls drink and some of them heavily. I’ve only known them for a couple of months, but we’ve never done drugs. Katie never had ecstasy or any other drugs before. The other night was a first.”

  After Megan left, Tyler and Luke sat at their desks talking over what they had learned and developed a plan of action.

  Tyler had his legs kicked up on his desk and his chair leaned back. With his head tilted back and his eyes on the ceiling, Tyler concluded, “You know we have to bring Katie in. I hope she talks to us before she lawyers up.”

  “Do you think she was involved?” It was hard to believe a girl like Katie knowingly set up another girl to be murdered because that was essentially what it was. Certainly, things like that happened, but Luke struggled to make sense of it.

  Tyler brought his chair into a forward position, “I think she’s involved somehow. Whether she knows it or not, I think she’s connected with the killer. I can’t really picture that girl we met digging around in a chat room on the dark web though. Maybe he connected with her in another way.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Luke admitted.

  “Do you think the killer used helpers? What would be the point? Does he toy with people or do you think this is how he catches his victim?”

  “Serial killers don’t normally work with other people,” Luke said, thinking through the question. “He could easily snatch and grab girls without involving anyone else. If I had to guess, getting other people involved amps up the excitement for him. Maybe he’s getting off on seeing if people can connect the dots or knowing that there are people out there who could come forward to give details to the police.”

  “You think he’s keeping them quiet somehow?” Tyler asked.

  “I think he might, but I’m more curious how he gets them involved, to begin with. The guy in Fayetteville was in financial trouble and needed the money. Money worked for him. Is the killer taking time to find the right victims and researching people to help him? That’s a lot of leg work for one murder.”

  “It looks that way.” Tyler moved some papers around on his desk and gathered his things to go. “I need to head out for the night. Let’s get back at it in the morning.”

  Luke waved his partner off. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. He didn’t have much to go home to without Riley there. Luke missed her. He checked his phone to see if she had texted. There was nothing. He’d call her later.

  Luke pulled out the file folder Tyler had given him with the girls’ statements. He checked them against what Megan had said. They were just initial inquiries taken by the uniformed cop. Luke read each of them. He didn’t see anything about the details Megan had mentioned in any of the statements. Luke read them again. Something about the way they were all worded bothered him. He shuffled through them one more time. That’s when it hit him. The wording was too alike. Witnesses usually told a story a little bit differently from each other, even people standing next to each other during a crime. The details of the girls’ statements read like a story they had copied from each other.

  These statements were nearly identical both for the information included and what was left out.It was clear to Luke that at least part of what Megan had said was true. The girls had been coached before giving a statement. Luke wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had written up a statement and had given it to each girl to read.

  They all indicated that Cristina had not felt well and that she left. There was no mention of drugs, even heavy drinking. There was no mention of Cristina being goaded into leaving, and definitely no mention of water being dumped on Megan or even that she had followed Cristina out of the bar. The statements were basic, specific about time and why Cristina left. Each girl said the same thing in the same way.

  Luke put the folder down on the desk. He was sure now that Katie had coached them. He texted Tyler and told him to meet at the station early so they could bring Katie in for formal questioning. Luke put his files away and locked up his desk.

  CHAPTER 54

  Cooper walked down to the lobby of his hotel at close to eight-thirty that evening to meet with Adele. He had spent the day canvassing around the Atlanta neighborhood near the university. He had walked through wooded areas, doing a cursory search in the brush and leaves. Not that Cooper thought after all these years, he’d just stumble on Jordan’s remains, but he wanted to see what the killer was working with as far as location was concerned.

  He also wanted to clock the distance and accessibility of the library. Cooper found that there were more than a few places to go. If the killer didn’t want the body found – and that seemed to be the case – it was more than doable even within a few miles.

  Cooper took a seat in the far back of the hotel restaurant, steering clear of the late dinner crowd. When the server arrived, Cooper ordered a soda and explained he was waiting for someone. He read the menu in front of him more than a few times. He should have been hungry, but wasn’t. Reading the menu gave him something to do. He checked his phone, too. Adele wasn’t late. Cooper was just anxious to speak to her.

  Finally, out of the corner of his eye, Cooper noticed an attractive black woman with her hair twisted in braids on top of her head. She had bright red earrings and a matching red patterned shirt and flowing black pants. She was stylish and commanded the room as soon as she entered. He sat up in his chair a little straighter. Cooper felt underdressed in jeans and a pullover shirt.

  He stood and gave an awkward wave. When Adele caught Cooper’s eye, she smiled and made her way over to his table. Adele extended her hand first. “I’m Jordan’s sister Adele. We spoke on the phone. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Cooper stumbled over his words. Finally, he got out, “I grabbed a table away from other people so we could speak freely.”

  When she was seated, Cooper slid his menu in front of her. “Hungry?” He was suddenly ravenous.

  “Starving, actually,” Adele admitted. “Would you mind if I ate? It was a long day in court, and I never got lunch. It’s well past dinner time, too.”

  Cooper raised his eyebrows. “Are you a lawyer?” Cooper hadn’t searched Adele’s background before the meeting. She had been on the podcast but he didn’t recall her profession. Cooper usually searched his witnesses before he met them, but he hadn’t this time. He felt ill-prepared.

  Still looking over the menu, Adele said offhandedly, “I’m a criminal defense attorney. I’m just wrapping up a fairly complex case that’s been taking a lot of my time.”

  Cooper was impressed. “I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me. I know it can’t be easy going over this case again and again.”

  Adele smiled and closed the menu. She looked directly at Cooper. “Finding what happened to my sister is my primary mission in life. Being an attorney is what keeps food on the table. I’d move heaven and earth to find my sister.”

  “Understood,” Cooper said. The server came over at that moment and they both ordered.

  After the server left, Cooper stated, “I know I didn’t give you much background on why I was asking to meet, but I thought we could start there.”

  “You said Jordan’s disappearance might be connected to a case in Little Rock. Is that correct?” Adele asked, unfolding the napkin on the table and placing it in her lap.

  “It’s more complex than that.” Cooper took a sip of his drink and explained it.

  Over the course of the next forty minutes, Cooper detailed more than he thought he
would and everything he knew about the cases to date. They paused a few minutes to eat after the server dropped off their food, but then got right back to it after a few bites. Cooper answered questions Adele had and explained to her about what had happened in Fayetteville and subsequently the newest murder in Little Rock.

  Cooper finished by explaining to Adele the reason for choosing to look at Jordan’s murder. He detailed all the reasons he thought the killer could have made mistakes and laid out his case for being in Atlanta.

  Adele interrupted. “You don’t have to convince me. Everything you’ve said makes sense. People don’t disappear without a trace, leaving no evidence behind – especially not someone like my sister. She wasn’t in a high-risk group. Frankly, she wasn’t in any risk group. She didn’t have a boyfriend or hardly any friends at all here at school. She didn’t drink or do drugs. She wasn’t into a partying lifestyle. Jordan didn’t have issues with people. She kept her head down, always focused on her studies. I’ve looked into every angle of this case. Telling me that it’s connected to a serial killer – a stranger abduction makes sense now.”

  Cooper saw the relief on her face, but he wasn’t sure why. He questioned gently, “How much have you investigated this case yourself?”

  “All of it. Me alone for years,” Adele said with frustration in her voice. “The cops didn’t take a report that Jordan was even missing. The university never even admitted she went missing from the library. Their statement to this day is she left her books and went off with a boyfriend. No one was looking for my sister so I did. I pulled together volunteers. I contacted that podcast. I’ve contacted the media over the years. I took extra investigative courses outside of the ones normally required for my criminal law degree. I talked to her professors and her classmates. I’ve talked to nearly everyone who would listen.”

  “You seemed relieved when I said it was potentially a serial killer. Is it hard knowing your sister is probably deceased?” Cooper asked cautiously. He took another drink.

  Adele chose her words carefully. “I have long since accepted that my sister is dead. We may not have had much money growing up, but we come from a loving supportive family. We were fortunate not to have the dysfunction that some families have. I have parents that have been together for fifty years and love each other as much today as they did back then. Jordan had no reason to run away. If she was alive, she would have been in contact.”

  Tears formed in Adele’s eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. “I’ve felt all these years like I’ve failed my sister because I couldn’t find her and bring her killer to justice. Knowing it might be a serial killer absolves me from some of that guilt. That’s not something I was prepared for or would even know how to investigate. Knowing now, I can help however you need me.”

  “You said you have a potential witness?”

  “I do,” Adele explained. “She works at the university library now. Her name is Hope. She was working at the library the night my sister went missing. Because Jordan spent so much time in the library the two had become friends. For whatever reason, she never came forward with what she knows. She had hinted that her story would answer a lot of questions, but could put her at risk in her standing with the university.”

  CHAPTER 55

  Cooper paid the bill at the restaurant after refusing Adele’s money. The two walked together towards the university. Cooper commented, “You’re very strong. Not many people could take on what you have all these years.”

  Adele gave a weak smile. “You do what you have to do. But it has consumed a lot of my life. I’ve lost relationships because men couldn’t understand my desire to keep going. My parents were concerned about me for a while. They thought it had turned into an unhealthy obsession. I need to find the truth. I hate thinking of my sister, even her remains, out there without a proper burial.”

  “Luke, the detective who I told you about, has been the same way with his sister. Since the moment we got the call in our dorm that Lily was missing, Luke has been full steam ahead. I think he was relieved he finally got a letter from the killer. Any shred of information is more than he’s ever had.”

  They walked in silence for a few more minutes and then Cooper added quietly, “I really worry about him. I hope this time he gets the answers he needs.”

  “I can understand that,” Adele offered. “When you have nothing, no idea what happened to a family member, it’s hard. There are a million scenarios that run through your head. But answers, even ones that are painful to hear, are better than nothing. Sometimes understanding, you can make peace with it. I hope that beyond just answers, we get justice, especially if there really are more families like mine connected to this case.”

  “That’s all that Luke is hoping for as well.” Cooper didn’t know how Luke was going to be able to handle it otherwise.

  Meeting the family of a missing person was never a comfortable situation for Cooper. He felt out of his element, often stymied and unsure of what to say. He hated not having answers for them so he completely understood what Adele meant. Even upsetting and painful answers were better than none.

  They had time to spare before Hope would give them access to the library and share her story. Cooper wanted to see the path Jordan would have taken on her many trips to and from the library and her dorm. As they turned from the city sidewalk onto the campus in the same place Cooper had entered the night before, he asked, “While we wait for Hope, will you walk with me the path your sister would have taken from the library to her dorm? I think it will give me some perspective.”

  “I can,” Adele said hesitantly, looking up at him. “But you know she went missing from the library, right?”

  “I know that. I’m not questioning that. I just want to see the path your sister would have taken each night. I’m wondering if someone could have been watching her,” Cooper detailed. He stopped walking, hoping that Adele would take him. He had no idea what dorm Jordan had lived in, and the information wasn’t available anyplace.

  Adele seemed to hesitate only for a moment. She walked off to the right of where they were standing. Cooper followed. They walked a winding path for close to ten minutes. They finally reached a section of buildings that Cooper assumed was the dorms.

  Adele pointed to the last building on the right. “That was Jordan’s. There were a couple of different ways she could have gone, but she usually took the shortest route. She had told my parents it was always well lit, and she had never expressed fear of walking alone, even at night. My parents had asked her more than once.”

  The two walked the rest of the distance to Jordan’s dorm. Cooper checked out the front door and the large green space in front of the building. He looked around. It was all fairly open. Cooper imagined if someone had been watching Jordan, she eventually would have noticed unless they were inside one of the buildings.

  “Let’s go this way,” Adele said. She cut across the grass until they reached a sidewalk. They walked directly by a dining hall. They kept walking and eventually Cooper found himself near a side entrance to the library. The door was marked for staff and locked.

  “You have to have a special key card to enter from the side,” Adele indicated. “It was like that when my sister was here, too. It’s just for library staff.”

  “Where does it go in the building?”

  “Directly into the basement. There are stairs that lead down. You can walk through a hall and then access the elevator to go the first and higher floors.”

  Adele and Cooper made their way to the front of the library. Cooper checked his watch. It was nearly eleven. He was struck again by how quiet the campus was in the evening. They had seen a few students walking on campus, but otherwise, it was quiet and peaceful. For a campus that sits right in the middle of a city, it surprised Cooper how few people were out at that time of night.

  Together they climbed the steps to the library and entered the front door. Hope stood behind the desk in the same place as she had the night before. She came aro
und and gave Adele a hug. She shook Cooper’s hand. “All of the students are gone for the evening. I can officially lock up. Let me lock the front door and then we can talk.”

  Cooper and Adele walked to the center of the room and took a seat at one of the tables. Hope joined them a few minutes later. As she pulled out a chair and sat, Hope said, “I want you to know I tried to come forward earlier with my story. I had told a school official when I was still a student. They promised to look into what I saw, and then when I asked about it, they told me I had to have been mistaken. They cautioned me that if I made trouble, I could lose my scholarship. Then I got a job here and didn’t want to lose it.”

  “I understand and no judgment,” Cooper said. “I’m just glad you’re willing to talk to me.”

  “Adele,” Hope started, “I always wanted to tell you what I knew, but the school assured me I was wrong. They even threatened me that I could be sued. A couple of years ago when you did that podcast, I wanted to come forward, but fear got the better of me. I’m so sorry.”

  “Really,” Adele said, reaching her hand across the table and grasping Hope’s, “you and my sister were friends, please, anything you can do to help now is all that matters.”

  Hope sat back and looked at both of them. “I know who took Jordan.”

  CHAPTER 56

  “I don’t think I heard you correctly. I thought you said you know who took Jordan,” Cooper asked incredulously. Could Hope really have known and not have said all these years?

  Hope raised her hands in surrender. “Let me rephrase. I have a suspicion about who might have taken her. I can’t know for sure.”

  Cooper looked at Adele who sat on the edge of her seat. Her eyes were fixed on Hope, clearly waiting for an explanation.