by CM Sutter
“I know, just wishful thinking. Now I know why Morris only had a dime in his pocket and no other change. It was deliberate.” I looked around and thought of the magnitude of the searching we had in store. “I think we’re going to need the dogs. It will make finding Elise go a lot faster.” I radioed Clayton. “Hey, call the police department. Tell them we need the dogs and any available bodies who are free and willing to help out here, ASAP. I’ll owe them a beer at Joey’s when this mess is over with. Have the dogs get Elise’s scent off the yoga bag. Hurry, Clayton. We need help. Keep everyone else out. Shut this park down after they arrive and tell Clark the plan.”
“I’m on it, boss.”
Jack and I walked down to where the trees met the meadow. We needed a definite starting point instead of just entering the woods in the center. We decided to walk in a back-and-forth grid about twenty feet from each other. We began the search and called out to Elise every few minutes. The forest was relatively quiet other than our own voices, birds chirping, and squirrels skittering about, chasing each other from tree to tree. From the meadow, the voices of the guys calling Elise’s name echoed back to us. With the heavy leaf cover from the oaks, maples, and basswoods in our search area, the canopy was dark, making any body hidden there easy to miss.
Thirty minutes into our search, we heard voices and dogs barking from back at the parking lot. I took a deep breath of relief, hoping the K-9 unit could speed up the search. So far we had nothing.
I made a quick call to Billings to ask how Perry was holding up. Billings was the best person to sit with Perry. He had a calming personality that worked well in this type of situation. Having a seventeen-year-old daughter had taught him a lot about being patient. Billings was forty-four, wore his head clean shaved, and had a perfectly groomed goatee. He was the typical teddy bear, which our department needed, and I knew I could trust him with handling Perry for as long as he had to.
The problem with sending Perry home was that he’d have to pass the park on his way. He’d see the squad cars sitting alongside the road at the park entrance. For now, I didn’t want him to interrupt our search. He might have been involved in some way too. He had to stay put. Finding Elise was of the utmost importance right now, and when we did find her, I wasn’t expecting anything good.
Billings said Perry was okay for now and was sitting tight. He also told me that Lieutenant Colgate from Milwaukee had called and said the blood evidence found at the abandoned house matched Morris’s that we had on file. That house was indeed the crime scene. I had to process how we’d go forward with that bit of information. It looked as though we had a killer with a calling card and some type of agenda. This could be someone who was just getting started. Billings also mentioned that Detective Lindstrom had cleared Bobby and LeJon. They were in Detroit together most of last week, as confirmed by people in Milwaukee and Detroit. They were dead ends.
I pressed my fist into my eyes and gave them a thorough rub. Allergies affected me every year at this time. “Billings, call Lieutenant Colgate back and tell him what’s going on with Elise. Have his detectives talk to Morris’s boys and Terrance again. We need a list of names. I don’t care if it was Morris’s doctor, dentist, grandma, friend, or enemy. We need names of everyone they can think of that Morris had contact with. We’ll get the same type of list from Perry and see if there are any names that crossed both lists. Tell Colgate I’ll follow up with him after we find Elise. We’ve got to nip this nutcase in the bud and quick.”
“Got it, Sergeant.”
Jack and I had covered only a small part of the woods when he suggested I head back to the parking lot and group up with the guys that had just arrived. I agreed and left.
“Jade, good to see you again but not under these circumstances.” Lieutenant Brian Colbert held out his hand and shook mine. Detective Don Miller stood at his side along with two patrol officers, the K-9 unit, and their handler. The two German shepherds sat at attention, their ears perked and ready to go on command.
I wiped my brow and took a deep breath. “Guys, thanks for assisting and bringing out the dogs. We really need them. This park is too big for the few of us. I have three officers in that meadow to our right, and Detective Steele and I were working on the wooded area to our left. We haven’t gotten far.”
Lieutenant Clark hung up from a call and joined us. “So, how do you want to proceed with the K-9s?”
The handler spoke up. “We’ll need the woman’s scent, and then we’ll split the dogs up. One can go with the officers in the field, the other in the woods.”
“Okay, over here,” I said as I led them to the car. “Her yoga bag is in the backseat with some articles of clothing inside.”
The handler nodded. “That should do it.”
Once the dogs had Elise’s scent, we split up and headed back out, the German shepherds leading the way. We entered the woods again and met up with Jack about a quarter of the way in. We followed thirty feet behind the German shepherd that was assigned to us. Within twenty minutes, Odie, the K-9 we were with, seemed to be on to something. He caught a scent and ran ahead with his nose glued to the ground. He barked, skirted around a marshy area, and picked up speed. As the five of us reached the hill Odie had just crested, we saw him waiting below. He barked his alert and sat in a wooded gully next to an unusual mound dead center on the canopy floor.
My heart sank when we reached the spot and I saw a piece of lime-green cloth and the blue yoga mat sticking out from below the brush and twigs. We knew it was Elise. We cordoned off the area and radioed Dan and Kyle, who were still going over the Malibu. We needed them at our location now. We had another DB on our hands. I told them to call Doug and Jason. We needed them too.
Chapter 14
“She’s in full rigor,” Doug said as he glanced at his wristwatch. He turned to look at us over his shoulder. “I’d say she’s been deceased twelve to fifteen hours, possibly more.”
Dan and Kyle searched the scene for telltale signs and trace evidence. The killer seemed to have made sure his victims were left outdoors in remote areas. Animals, the temperature, and weather conditions could affect our scenes and remove any signs that a human had passed by. I was sure he’d counted on that.
Elise had no defensive wounds, no trace under her nails, just dirt and weeds covering her body, along with black ants that had recently gathered. She did have dried blood in her nose, her face was black and blue, and her mouth was jammed full of leaves.
“What do you make of her facial injuries, and why would she have leaves in her mouth?”
I could barely look at her. Her face was badly bruised, and the sight of her body stiffened in that unnatural, hog-tied position disgusted me.
“It looks like she was beaten about the face before she was killed. I’ll go out on a limb right now and say her nose was broken. I’ll know more once she’s on the table, though. The leaves? I’m guessing he wanted to shut her up,” Doug said.
I stared at Elise again. Just two nights ago, she led my yoga class. She was vibrant, happy, and full of life. She was an innocent woman and someone I viewed as more than an acquaintance—she was a friend. Nobody deserved her fate. The very things that made her happy had been used to take her life. I was more than pissed, and the sick killer still roamed free. He’d left no evidence, and just as with Morris, we had nothing to go on. We were left shaking our heads. The only thing certain was that we were dealing with the same killer in both cases—the man that called himself Dime.
With the sound of a zipper being fastened, Elise was sealed in the body bag, and the guys loaded her onto a backboard, secured her with straps, and carried her out of the woods. With her body in the van, Doug and Jason left for the Medical Examiner’s office. We’d need her clothing gone over carefully when Kyle and Dan got back to the forensics lab. We had to find some clue to catch this killer.
We thanked everyone that had helped us search for Elise and parted ways. Our deputies pulled down the yellow police tape and opened up t
he driveway that led into the park. The officers from the police station left with the dogs. Jack, Clayton, Lieutenant Clark, and I stood in the parking lot discussing this new turn of events. Kyle and Dan waited until the Malibu was loaded onto the flatbed before leaving. The car would be taken to the evidence garage, where they would go over it more thoroughly. They had to piece the puzzle together and see if there was anything of value we could use.
Lieutenant Clark spoke up. “You know we’re going to have to search Perry’s house. I highly doubt if he’s involved in any way, shape, or form, but we’ll get our chops busted if we don’t do it. I’m calling it in. We should have a warrant within the hour. We’re going to have to sit on him until the search is over.”
Perry had been detained at the station for hours. Billings had kept him calm and well caffeinated for most of the day. Now came the hard part—telling him that his wife was dead and we had no idea why.
“I know one thing for sure,” Jack said.
I wiped my dirty hands on my pants. “Yeah, what’s that?”
“We don’t know any more now than we did before, and I’m going to need a stiff drink at some point before the day is over.”
Back at the sheriff’s department, I took Perry into one of the interrogation rooms to tell him the devastating news. My least favorite part of the job was informing family members of their loved one’s untimely death, and today would be particularly hard. No way on earth would I tell Perry how Elise was found. She was dead, and nothing would bring her back. He didn’t need to know the horrific details. I told him we found her in the park, and only an autopsy could definitively tell us how she died. It could take a few days.
He sobbed openly as he leaned over the table with his head in his hands. “Was she murdered? Was it the same guy that killed the boy at Cedar Lake? What am I going to tell my kids? Why Elise?”
I shook my head and looked at the floor. “Perry, I don’t have those answers. I need to tell you, though, that your house is being searched as we speak. That doesn’t mean we’re pointing fingers at you, but we do need to clear you of this crime so you can take care of your family. Would you mind giving us a DNA sample too? Everything we’re asking is to help eliminate you as a suspect.”
“Sure, go ahead. I have nothing to hide.”
I motioned for Kyle to come in. He swabbed the inside of Perry’s mouth and took the sample downstairs.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Perry. Elise’s car is in our evidence garage. I thought you should know. It may be a while before we can release it to you.”
“What about Elise? Where is she?”
“She’s downstairs in the ME’s office.”
“I want to see her. Don’t I need to identify her?”
I couldn’t let Perry see Elise yet. Rigor had her body stiffened in a horribly contorted position. We’d wait another day or so for the rigor to relax before having him ID her.
“Yes, you do, but not just yet. I knew Elise, Perry. It’s her. We’ll call you in a couple of days to come in for an official ID. Right now you need to call your parents and tell them what happened. They have the kids, don’t they? We can’t let you leave yet, but you should make that call.”
“Sergeant, please find the person that did this to Elise. I don’t have a wife anymore, and my kids just lost their mother. I don’t know how to go forward from here.”
I squeezed his hand. “You have my word. We’ll find this monster and bring him to justice.”
I watched as Perry was led to a phone. We had to confiscate his cell phone—it was protocol. I said a silent prayer for him and his family. He was a broken man, and my heart ached for his loss, but we had to stay focused on catching this madman. I went back to the bull pen where Jack, Clayton, and Billings sat. The lieutenant came out of his office and joined us at a corner table.
“How’s Perry doing?” Lieutenant Clark asked.
“Not good. How are we going to find this killer, Lieutenant? We don’t have a damn shred of evidence. Forensics has pictures, Doug has a body, and us? We have nothing. No leads, no suspect, no motive, no eyewitnesses, and no evidence.”
“Okay, then, what do we have?”
Jack spoke up. “We think the perp is at least my height, and he must be strong and fit. He’s likely from around here because he knows the area well. He may be someone that deals and takes drugs, hence his nickname, Dime. There isn’t a connection between Morris and Elise as far as we know. Perry didn’t seem to recognize Morris’s name other than from what he read in the paper.”
“We have to follow up on that anyway to make sure there’s no connection whatsoever between the two. Maybe Elise knew someone Morris knew.”
“We’re already on that, Lieutenant,” I said. “Billings told Lieutenant Colgate that they need more names on Morris’s end. We can cross-reference the list I intend to get from Perry. We’ll see if anything shakes out. I’ll ask him to start on it while he’s waiting here anyway.”
“Good. Just think of every angle you can. We need Perry to give us a list of his own acquaintances too. What does he do for a living?”
Jack checked his notes. “He’s a CPA.”
Lieutenant Clark slapped his hand on the table. “Okay, follow that too. Maybe somebody didn’t like the way Perry prepared their taxes. I don’t care how stupid it sounds, check everything. Talk to the North Bend PD and see if they want to lend a hand. They can dig in deeper with the business owners from the strip mall. Maybe somebody there had a beef with Elise. I’ll have a few deputies pull extra shifts. We need videos from businesses along her route home. Just because nobody followed her out of the strip mall doesn’t mean they weren’t waiting somewhere else. Get some deputies out there collecting video feed from every business that has surveillance cameras. Get the tech guys on it. I don’t care if they have to pull double shifts. Let’s move.”
“Got it, boss,” Billings said as he scratched his goatee. “I’ll get more deputies in here.”
“Okay, get a plan under way. We need something solid. We have to apprehend this maniac before he becomes a serial killer.” Lieutenant Clark cracked his knuckles. “I’ll call downtown and see how much the city can pitch in. If this gets worse, we may have to call in help from the state patrol too.”
Chapter 15
Clayton and Billings went through Morris’s file again. They searched for hours for any clue that would connect him and Elise. It didn’t make sense. We needed to gather names and find a common thread.
I looked at the clock—four thirty. What had started out as a half day of work had turned into another murder with no leads.
“I’m ordering a couple of pizzas. We can’t live on vending machine candy bars forever.”
I called Dick’s Pizzeria and placed the order. They said to expect the pizzas in thirty minutes. Jack and I went downstairs to talk to Kyle and Dan.
We entered the forensics lab. I wanted to ask if there was anything new, but their blank looks told me all I needed to know. They didn’t have anything to offer. There wasn’t any trace evidence on Elise’s clothing, the stretch cord, tights, or mat. They hadn’t found any fingerprints other than Elise’s on the car’s door handles or steering wheel. The only evidence on her clothing was from the park—dirt, leaves, and twigs.
Jack and I sat at the table with Dan and Kyle and brainstormed. I was sure they needed a break anyway.
“I’m thinking this guy knows how to play the game. It may be his first rodeo or not, but he knows how to avoid being detected. He doesn’t use the same kill method twice, and we have no idea where he’s going to pop up next, or who his target will be. He leaves nothing behind and no trace of his actions. What are we missing?” I asked.
I looked from face to face, hoping for an epiphany, an aha moment from anyone, but nobody said a word.
“You guys didn’t find anything at either scene, such as a murder weapon, fingerprints, or tire tracks. Morris had a knife according to his boys, and he was killed with a knife, but none w
as found. Elise was killed with her own yoga gear. It can’t be a coincidence that this killer doesn’t have to bring his own weapon to commit the crime. Even though there isn’t a connection between the two of them that we know of, the killer has chosen Morris and Elise deliberately. These aren’t random murders. He knows who he’s going to target and how he’s going to kill them. There had to be something that connected Elise to Morris.”
“Or someone,” Kyle said.
Jack spoke up. “Maybe that’s it. It’s possible that the connection isn’t actually between Morris and Elise at all. It could be someone the killer knows that connects them.”
I squeezed my temples. “That’s awesome. How in the world are we going to figure that one out?” I breathed a deep sigh. “Okay, guys, we need a mental break. I took the liberty of ordering a couple of pizzas.” I glanced at the clock. “They should be here in about twenty minutes. Come on up and join us in the lunchroom. I’ll tell Doug and Jason.”
I entered the autopsy room and found Doug sitting at his computer. He glanced up when I approached him. “Sergeant, what can I do for you?”
“We have a few pizzas on the way. They should be here in fifteen minutes or so. Come on up and join us. Where’s Jason?”
I noticed Doug had just finished filling out the online paperwork for Morris’s transport to Milwaukee. He got up and turned on the printer.
“I sent him home. There’s nothing more to do tonight. We’re okay to release Mr. King’s body, right?” he asked.
“Yeah, that should be fine. There’s no forensic evidence on him. The tox report showed traces of THC, nothing else, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, then, we have all the photos and documentation we need. Lieutenant Clark said I could sign off on it. Go ahead and shut it down. There’s nothing you can do for Elise until the rigor relaxes anyway.”
Doug muttered something under his breath.
“Did you say something?”