The Bone Harvest

by Stacy M Jones

CHAPTER 69

  Cooper hung up with Luke confused by the question about the home of Uncle Sam. He set his phone down and looked around his empty hotel room. Cooper knew it was probably time to leave Atlanta, but he felt a tug to stay. He needed at least to see Adele one more time. Cooper figured she’d be at work, but tried her cell.

  Adele answered faster than Cooper had anticipated, and he stumbled over his words. He felt a bit strange, like a kid calling for his first date. He brushed it off. “Sorry to bother you at work. I did some research on Michael Hayes. I was able to confirm he’s been at four universities when a similar murder took place.”

  “What were the circumstances of those cases?” Adele asked. The anticipation in her voice was apparent.

  “The victims, all freshmen, disappeared after leaving Halloween parties. No one other than your sister disappeared from the school itself. None of the girls on those four cases have been found.”

  “Why do you think my sister is the only one missing from on campus?”

  Cooper switched the phone from one ear to the other. He sat down in the comfortable chair Adele had been in the night before. “The man who calls himself The Professor claims your sister’s case was the first. I was most interested in the case because of that and because your sister was missing from campus. I can’t know for sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say he wasn’t as organized then. He probably didn’t have the planning he had in later cases. I think he realized the risk he was taking and minimized his direct exposure on later cases. Basically, he figured out how to take the girls without being seen so publicly.”

  Adele didn’t say anything.

  “You okay?” Cooper asked gently.

  “It’s just not knowing where she is. It’s too much some days. Do you think she will ever be found?”

  Cooper didn’t want to lie, but the truth was harsh. Even if Jordan was found now, she’d be skeletal remains and possibly not even intact. Cooper knew Adele could take the truth, he just didn’t want to be the one to deliver it. He sidestepped. “I don’t know. It’s been a long time. I’d say the chances are low. Have you ever held a service for her or anything like that?”

  “No, but maybe once you catch the killer we will. Would you come to it?”

  “Yes, I’ll be there for you,” Cooper said emphatically.

  “I’d like that.” Adele hesitated. Then all at once, she added quickly, “Do you have time to see me today?”

  “Absolutely,” Cooper said far too quickly and enthusiastically for his liking. His voice dropped an octave. “What time will you be available?”

  “How about dinner? I’ll text you the time and place.”

  Cooper smiled as he hung up. He kicked his feet up on the bed and tried to figure out what he was feeling. He rolled a few thoughts around in his head. The simplest answer was that Cooper wanted to get to know Adele better. He didn’t care about their differences. He didn’t care that they lived nine hours apart. Cooper was genuinely attracted to her and not just to how she looked. Adele was smart, thoughtful and sweet. When they were together, he felt comfortable and like himself. She put him at ease.

  Cooper’s daydream was cut short by a text. He picked up his phone from his lap and sweat formed at his brow as he looked at the photo. Holly was sitting outside his condo door. The text read: I’m not leaving until you see me. Where are you?

  This had to stop, even if it meant Cooper had to get confrontational. He immediately texted back:

  I’m not home. Won’t be home anytime soon. We can’t see each other anymore. I’m not looking for anything more than what we had.

  Holly responded just as quickly. Dread washed over him as he read her words.

  You’ll pay for this.

  Cooper did not respond. He went into his phone settings and blocked her number. Cooper hoped that in the time he was out of town, Holly would wind herself down and get over it. His truck wasn’t there for her to mess with. His condo was secure. What harm could she do?

  Cooper got up and stretched feeling a sense of finality with that situation. He grabbed some notes off his desk and called Riley. The phone rang and rang, but she picked up.

  “Can you talk now? Luke suggested we update each other.”

  “Yeah, hold on. I’m moving a few things for my mom in the attic.”

  A major commotion echoed through the phone. Things were dropped and clunked to the floor. What sounded like a box was being dragged across a floor. “Sorry about that,” Riley said. “I’m trying to get a few things done for my mom while I’m home. I’ve been meaning to call you back.”

  “I think I’ve got a name and a lead. Luke said you found something similar. There is a Michael Hayes who is a lecturer on the Civil War. He apparently goes to different universities and teaches a lecture series. I have five universities, including here, he’s connected to when there has been a disappearance.”

  Riley sucked in a sharp breath. “I have a Michael Bauer. He is connected to the case here in Troy and fourteen others. You think they are the same person?”

  “I don’t know,” Cooper said honestly. Although, he didn’t believe in coincidences. “Can you find much on your guy? I can’t find anything on mine. Not even a photo.”

  “Michael Bauer has a website,” Riley explained. She rattled off the web address and some additional information about the man. “Coop, he’s here in Troy. He’s from here. This guy is local.”

  Cooper hadn’t been anticipating that, but he thought back to Luke’s earlier question. “You need to talk to Luke. He’s trying to run down something about the home of Uncle Sam.”

  “That’s here.”

  “I know. It seems all roads lead back to Troy. Should I come up?”

  “Are you done there?”

  “I’m meeting with Adele for dinner tonight. I can catch a flight in the morning. It’s a fifteen-hour drive up there. I’d rather leave my truck here and fly. I’ll rent a car when I get there. Any nearby hotels?”

  “You can stay here. I’ll pick you up from the airport. Just text and tell me when you’re getting in,” Riley said definitively.

  Cooper didn’t argue. It would be good to see her. Cooper really didn’t want to drive all that distance but if he left his truck in Atlanta, it was a good excuse to return and see Adele. He was looking forward to their dinner that evening more than he cared to admit.

  CHAPTER 70

  Luke sat at his desk, frustrated he couldn’t reach Riley, even more frustrated, the killer hadn’t responded to his text. He typed a few words in the search engine, and sure enough, Cooper had been right. The home of Uncle Sam was Troy, New York.

  The popular legend was that the name “Uncle Sam” came from Samuel Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy who had supplied rations for American soldiers during the War of 1812. Wilson had stamped his packages “E.A. – U.S.” When someone asked what that stood for, a co-worker jokingly noted that it was for Elbert Anderson, a local contractor at the time, and Uncle Sam, referring to Samuel Wilson. The U.S. had actually stood for the United States, but a legend was born regardless.

  Whether the legend was true or not, Samuel Wilson was real and Troy certainly took the story and ran with it. There was a monument for the man and even artistic statues that had dotted the downtown area at one time. Visitors could even check out Samuel Wilsons’ burial plot in Oakwood Cemetery. There were businesses named in his honor as well.

  Luke loved history and read extensively but he’d never heard this story. He guessed that beyond the northeast, most people probably hadn’t heard it before either. The killer had made a reference to the place. He said that’s where he was from. Luke didn’t know if the man was serious or not, but he had some connection to Troy, that Luke knew without question.

  Wrapping up the rest of that research, Luke mulled over his next move. He checked Katie’s cellphone again and fired off another text: If you don’t respond I’m going to the police. I don’t care what you say about my dad.

  It was impulsive, but
Luke hoped the killer could feel the urgency. Luke drummed his finger against his desk. He thought about what Cooper had said about Michael Hayes and what Riley had told him about Michael Bauer. Neither had mentioned anything about his sister’s case or the current. Luke looked on the University of Arkansas Little Rock website for anything about a speaker over the summer and fall but came up blank.

  Luke placed a call to the administration. After being routed to a few different offices and then finally sent to the head of the history department, Luke found the answer he was seeking. The university did have a lecture series that summer and fall held in collaboration with a couple of other area universities. The speaker’s name was Hayes Bauer. Luke sat up straighter in his chair. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “I need everything you have on the man,” Luke said forcefully to the head of the history department.

  “I don’t know if I can just release that information to you, Detective. We do have privacy laws to consider.”

  “I can get a warrant,” Luke pressed. “I can explain to the media how the university is refusing to cooperate in a homicide investigation into one of its students. It’s bad enough you might have brought a serial killer to lecture your students. If I were you, I’d cooperate fully.”

  The man spoke in a hushed voice to someone in the background. Luke was placed on hold for a few minutes. When the man came back, he said, “I can email over to you all the credentials we have on the man. He would not allow us to video his lecture series or photograph him. He was a bit…eccentric.”

  “How long was he at the university?”

  “From July first through last week of October, he stayed in university housing.”

  “Has that place been cleaned after he left?”

  “I have no idea,” the man said. “I doubt anyone has used it since though. We don’t have that many people coming in from out of town this time of the semester.”

  “Don’t allow anyone else in that space. I’m sending over a crime scene team right now.”

  The man agreed. He gave Luke the address which was near campus. Luke waved Det. Tyler over to his desk and yelled out for Captain Meadows who had been standing in the hall near the detective bullpen.

  “We’ve got a possible suspect,” Luke said quickly. “It’s really too much to get into right now but Cooper and Riley stumbled on a lecturer who is at universities the same time as the victims disappear. He’s using different variations of his name. Riley hit on a Michael Bauer while Cooper has a Michael Hayes. They are still running down leads to confirm, but I thought it best to just check out the university here and sure enough, Hayes Bauer. He was here from July up until a week ago right after the murder.”

  “Good work,” Captain Meadows said. “You both get over there and start interviewing people to see what you can find out about this guy. I’ll make a call to CSI while you’re on your way. I’ll send a unit to the address right now to keep people out of the space. You never know who the guy you talked to will tell. The last thing we need right now is an audience.”

  Luke grabbed everything he needed from his desk, including Katie’s cellphone. As he walked out of the station to his car, he placed a call to Brie Hall from Fayetteville. She had given them the scoop about Aaron Roberts so maybe she’d know about other lecturers. Luke still wondered how Aaron Roberts fit into the puzzle. He’d been waiting for a call from Gabe with an update.

  As the phone rang, Luke thought for sure he’d get voicemail, but on probably the tenth ring, Brie picked up. She was talking to someone else as she answered so Luke waited for a beat until she said hello.

  “Brie, it’s Luke Morgan. I need to see if there was a lecturer at the university when my sister was there. He would have given a lecture series on history, specifically the Civil War.”

  “I can talk to the history department. Is there a name of the lecturer?”

  “We have a few. Just check to see if there was a lecture series, and if there was, who gave it. I can cross-reference from there.”

  Brie agreed. Before she hung up, she asked, “How’s the case going there? We’ve been hoping there’d be a break soon.”

  “This might be the break we need. As soon as you can get me that information the better.” Luke hung up. He didn’t mean to be so direct or impersonal with her. He was just singularly focused on getting to the spot where the killer might have recently slept.

  CHAPTER 71

  I finished making up the spare room for Cooper. I had called my mother earlier and she was more than happy to have Cooper stay with us. Cooper had saved my life after all. I knew my mother felt forever in his debt.

  I was arranging the last throw pillow when a knock at the front door interrupted me. I was waiting for Frank and Jack so I hoped it was them. We needed to have a short planning meeting before we speak with Michael Bauer. I was ready to go now, but Jack wanted to talk it out first.

  My sister yelled up the stairs that she’d get the door. A few seconds later, Jack’s and Frank’s deep voices filled the downstairs hallway. I placed some bath towels on the chair and yelled that I’d be right down. Cooper probably wouldn’t appreciate throw pillows and fresh towels, but my mother liked things a certain way when she had guests.

  I found Frank and Jack sitting in the living room. I plopped down on the loveseat across from them. “I have a few updates but what did you want to talk about, Jack?”

  Jack looked over at me. I could tell by the look on his face the news wasn’t good. His tone was careful and reserved. “We,” he started, looking over at Frank, “don’t think you should go with us to interview Michael Bauer.”

  “Why?” I asked, immediately defensive.

  “Riley, you were nearly killed last year,” Jack said. He looked at me with sympathy. “If what you’re saying is true, that this guy has been at several of the universities, we could be dealing with a serial killer. Who knows how he will react if he thinks we are hot on his trail? You don’t even know if he’s seen you with Luke. If you show up there and he knows you’re connected to Luke, he could bolt before we have any real evidence on him.”

  I hadn’t thought of that, but even still my goal was a reaction. I wanted to see what he’d say. I wanted to be there to gauge his reaction. Jack had let him off the hook the first time. And while I trusted Frank, I didn’t know his interview style. I was more than prepared.

  “I’m going,” I said forcefully. “You two wouldn’t even be looking at this case if it wasn’t for me. If he’s seen me with Luke and runs, then we will hunt him down. Besides, I know what to ask and what buttons to push. The goal isn’t just to talk to him but to see in the basement, too. I know I saw women’s clothing down there and potentially the pink mask Luke’s sister was wearing.”

  “I told you she’d insist,” Frank said resigned, looking at Jack. “I don’t think three of us should go. I think that will look too suspicious. You and Jack go. Drop me off a block before the house and I’ll take a look around the property while you’re inside.”

  We both watched Jack, waiting for a response. He relented. “If I put you in harm’s way, your mother is going to kill me.”

  I stood to leave. I teased, “So, you’re less concerned about me and more worried about making your girlfriend angry?”

  “Something like that,” Jack muttered, following behind me out the door.

  We rode the few blocks in silence and dropped Frank off at the light on Pawling and Route 2. It was less than a five-minute walk to Michael’s house.

  After Frank got out, I looked at Jack. “You ready for this? I don’t even know if you believe this is the guy but Cooper said a Michael Hayes was a suspect on the case in Atlanta and a few others. The names are too similar. The background’s the same. I’m fairly certain this is the guy.”

  “Let’s just keep an open mind,” Jack cautioned. “I don’t want to make assumptions. We are focused only on how he can help with Amanda’s case. I agree with what you said the other night. We have to make him bel
ieve he can help us. We have to show him we aren’t a threat.”

  Jack pulled up the driveway the same way I had gone the day before. This time there was a dark-colored sedan parked in the back of the house. It was the same car I saw yesterday. I sucked in a deep breath, suddenly not sure of myself. This was not the time to have any sort of panic attack. I reminded myself that Jack was there and Frank would be outside. I was safe.

  Jack and I approached the house slowly, taking in the surroundings. As we stood on the porch, Jack was poised to knock, but the door opened before he could. There stood a man. He was close to six-foot, dark hair and solid build. He wasn’t fat but he wasn’t lean either. He was for lack of a better word – solid. His demeanor was totally relaxed.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, holding the door open wide. He held a glass of wine in one hand and a book in the other.

  Jack confirmed that the man was Michael Bauer. “I’m Det. Jack Malone. This is Riley. She’s a research assistant of mine. I interviewed you on a case from a long time ago. It’s a cold case for us now, and we are just taking a second look. I think we uncovered some information where we could use your assistance.”

  “My memory isn’t great, but I’ll help if I can,” Michael offered and stepped back to let us through.

  We stepped into a center hallway. The wide plank wood flooring gleamed. It looked original but had been well-preserved. The living room, off to my left, didn’t have one piece of furniture out of place. There was no clutter. It didn’t look lived in. It was a bit like stepping into the pages of Town & Country Magazine.

  “The house is grand isn’t it?” Michael remarked.

  Embarrassed, I could only imagine the look of awe on my face. “Yes, it is. I grew up in the area and wanted to check out the interior for as long as I can remember.”

  “I’ll give you the tour when we are done, but for now let’s sit in the living room. Anything to drink?” Michael offered, holding up his wine glass.