“So…”
“I’m getting there,” Halson said. “The fabric from the Doe clothing is manufactured using a very new and modern technique. The textile mills in India began developing a type of nanotechnology to enhance their fabrics. Basically they were looking for ways to improve softness, durability, inflammability-that kind of thing. It’s almost like genetic engineering for cloth.”
“What are you saying? The clothing is special?”
“Sort of. It’s only sold through one chain in the U.S. Old Navy stores, of which there are three in Fairfax county. Jaxon-these are modern clothes on a kid who has been dead for a long time.”
“Ok-so he dressed him in new duds for the swim.”
“Wait, I’m not finished. We found a few other fibers which were also unusual. Two small samples of a Dacron/cotton mixture which are no longer manufactured and a rubber type compound that is also obsolete. Both of these types of materials were found to be toxic in some form or another and the production of them was halted in 1985.”
“But if the…”
“Hold on. Both the rubber and the cloth were new to the market back then and were only made for a short time before they were pulled. Specifically, the production of the cloth began in March of 1984 and the rubber in April of that same year. They were both shut down in September of 1985.”
“How confident are you these fibers are from our John Doe?” Jaxon asked, a grin forming on his face.
“Pretty damn sure. The management company says they drain the pool yearly for maintenance. I mean you could have some old ‘has been’ with his rejects from the 80’s hanging out by the pool looking for babes, but that’s highly unlikely. I’d say about 80 % sure.”
“Halson, you are my hero as of this moment.”
“Don’t get too excited. You still have some work to do to find out who the kid is.”
“We’re on it.”
* * *
Luke and Ellie were at her house sitting in a swing in her backyard. They both had a glass of lemonade in their hands and were leaning shoulder to shoulder against each other sipping the drinks. It was hot.
He could tell she was still upset at him about the rocket episode, but at least she was talking.
“I’m sure after this cools off a bit,” Luke said, “Mr. Stinson will be a lot more forgiving. He’s just upset at us right now.”
“I doubt it,” Ellie said. “He looked pretty angry. Adults seem to hold on to grudges almost as long as girls.” She smiled.
At least she could joke about it. “We’ll see. I’ll bet you’re babysitting for Mel and Robby again before the summer’s over.”
“I’m not counting on it, but it would be nice. I like those two a lot.”
She was quiet for a minute, then said, “Are you worried about the missing pets?”
“No-not really. It might just be coincidence. I know you’re worried.”
“Do you really think five missing dogs and cats is a coincidence?”
“Is it that many?”
She nodded. “Three from your court, one from mine, and one from Oak Street.”
“Three from my court? Damn-I guess I wasn’t paying attention. Does sound like a lot. Have any of them been found?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t go around asking anybody. They would think I was weird.”
“True.”
“What? I’m weird?” she asked.
“Totally. The weirdest person I know. I mean, look at the company you keep.”
She punched him in the arm and he spilled his drink in his lap.
“Hey!” he yelled, laughing. He threw the rest of the lemonade at her and it hit her right in the face. She sat there with her mouth open in shock.
“Oh crap! I’m sorry, El! I didn’t mean to.”
She laughed and dumped her lemonade over the top of his head. It ran down his face and back and he cringed from the cold. “That’s it weirdo! You’re in for it now!” He reached for her but she jumped up and ran. He caught up to her near a big maple tree in her backyard and she squealed as he tackled her to the ground. She rolled over on top of him and he let her pin his arms to the ground. The sticky lemonade made grass and dirt cling to their faces and clothes.
“Who’s a weirdo?” she teased.
“You!”
She tickled him in the ribs and he squirmed uncontrollably underneath her. “No! Not tickling! I can’t control myself!”
“Who’s the weirdo?” she repeated.
“I am! I am!”
“Damn right you…!” She stopped.
He squirmed for a second longer and then realized something was wrong. He looked up at her above him and saw her staring at something behind his head.
“What?” he said, breathless. “What is it?”
Silent, she got up off of him and stood staring. He rose up and looked behind him. He didn’t know what he was looking for at first, but then he saw it. Sticking up about two inches above the ground, just under the maple tree, was an animal’s paw. The brown fur and black nails clearly visible above the dirt. A single fly buzzed around it and then landed on a toenail. He stood up next to her and then walked over to the tree. It was a dog’s paw. Pretty good sized dog from what he could judge. The soil he was standing on was loose and squishy and he stepped back away from the area, uncomfortable with the way it felt beneath his bare feet. Ellie stood next to him and stared.
“Do you have a shovel?” he whispered, his voice sounding funny in the shade of the tree.
She looked at him. “In the garage, but…”
“Go get it.”
She looked at the dog’s paw again, her lip trembling, and then she left to get the shovel. He looked at the area around the paw and could tell it had been disturbed. The grass looked funny. He reached out and pulled a piece and it shifted easily in the soil. It had been dug up and then put back. He would never have noticed it unless he was standing right on top of it. Another fly buzzed around the protruding paw and then a third. Luke could now smell a whiff of decay and he backed away, unsure if he wanted to dig up the rest.
Ellie came back with the shovel and she handed it to Luke. “Are you sure?” she said.
Luke grabbed the shovel and started to dig. It only took a minute for him to realize the dog was not the only thing buried here.
“Bingo!” Sally shouted. “We got him!”
Jaxon rushed over and peered at the picture she was holding in her hand. Dead Ringer. Their John Doe now had a real name.
“Stewart Alan Littleton,” Sally said. “He’s been missing since October 31, 1984. Last seen by his Mother, June Littleton, before he went out Trick-or-Treating.”
Jaxon scanned the statistics on the sheet. “He lived right here in Fairfax. Reston. Last address Southgate Square.”
“Twenty seven years ago,” Sally said.
“Yeah,” Jaxon said. “Unbelievable huh? Let’s see if we can get a contact. Parents, brothers, sisters, anything.”
“Last known phone number and address are current as of September,” Sally said. “They kept it updated every year. The number listed is for June Littleton.”
“This time we do it the right way,” he said. “You contact her and we’ll bring her in to identify the body.”
“Thanks, boss. I find him and you make me do the dirty work.”
“You’re better at it than me. Remember what happened?”
“I’ll handle it.” She smiled.
His cell phone rang. “Jaxon.”
“Mr. Jennings?” A kid’s voice.
“This is Detective Jennings. Who is this?”
The kid paused for a second and Jaxon thought they hung up.
“You told us to call you if we had any more information on the pool kids.”
“Harrison?”
“Yes, sir. This is Luke Harrison. Ellie’s with me too. Can you come to Ellie’s house? Something bad has happened.”
“We’re very busy right now, Harrison. Can you just tell me what’s goin
g on?”
“We found more decapitated animals.”
“You say animals? Plural?”
“Yeah. Five of ‘em. Three dogs and two cats. They were buried in Ellie’s yard.”
“Don’t touch anything else. I’ll send some people over there now.”
“You’re not coming?”
“I can’t at the moment. We have something very important to do.”
“What?”
“I can’t talk about that with you.”
“Did you find out who the other kid is? Because there’s something buried with the animals you need to see.”
“What is it?”
“It’s a picture. A school picture, but it’s old. I think it’s the kid from the pool. I’m not sure though. That picture you showed us a while back? The one you asked if we knew? Is that him?”
“Yes.”
“You need to come out here. There’s a name on the picture, but it’s all covered in-uh-dead gunk and guts. The one name I can read is Little.”
“Littleton?” Jaxon asked.
“That could be it, yes. How did you know?”
“We’ll be right there. Don’t touch a thing.”
Chapter 21
Jaxon stared into the hole and felt Sally move next to him. “The heads are all missing,” he said.
“I see that,” Sally said. “Three dogs and two cats?”
“I believe so. The little one looks like a dog. The fur is right. It’s hard to tell without the head. Maybe a Chihuahua?”
He held up the picture. It was in a Ziploc baggie and he was holding it with gloved hands. “Stewart Littleton,” she said. “Dogwood Elementary, 1984. Good likeness. I wonder why our guy decided to give us a little help?”
“Down deep, they all want to be caught. They can’t stop themselves unless they are locked up, so they unconsciously help the investigation. He just doesn’t realize it.”
“Is that what your FBI training taught you?”
“That and Michael.”
She nodded. Apparently, she didn’t want to go there, and that was fine with him. Michael’s murder was something he thought about every day, or maybe he should say, tried not to think about, and though the case had been solved, he lived with his own failure in everything he did. He couldn’t save him.
The Crime Scene team arrived and he let them move in. It was going to be messy and he was glad he wasn’t the one going through it. It had been tough enough pulling the picture out of all the rotting flesh.
He glanced over at the small crowd gathered in the backyard and saw Luke Harrison and Ellie Pemberton. Her mother was there too along with a boy he didn’t recognize. He had the features of the Pembertons and figured he must be related. They all looked anxious. He turned to Sally and said, “Let’s find out what they know.” She walked with him up to the group.
“Mrs. Pemberton, remember us? I’m Detective Jennings and this is Detective Winston.”
“Yes, Detectives, I remember you. I’m a little disappointed I’m seeing you again. I would have expected all this to be resolved by now.”
“Yes ma’am. I agree. We seem to be having some difficulty. Maybe you can help.”
“I don’t see how.”
Jaxon tried to plaster a smile on his face, but it felt strained. “Who found the gravesite?” he asked.
“We did,” Luke said.
“You and Ellie?” Sally asked.
Luke nodded. “We were goofing around and she saw a dog’s paw sticking up out of the ground.”
“What else?” Jaxon asked and Luke told them the rest of the story.
“Why would you dig it up?” Sally asked. “Pretty gross.”
“We noticed a bunch of signs all over the neighborhood,” Luke said. “Actually, Ellie noticed them first. Missing pet signs.”
“Five different signs,” Ellie said. “We kind of thought maybe this was one of them. I never would have guessed it would be all of them.”
“So these are all neighborhood pets?” Jaxon asked.
“I think so,” Ellie said. “I recognized one of the cats. It’s Jinxy. The Eldridge’s cat on Cotton Court.”
“Have you seen anyone back here?” Sally asked.
They all shook their heads.
“Have there been any strange things happening?” Jaxon asked.
“You mean like dead children showing up in frozen pools? That kind of thing?” Mrs. Pemberton said.
Jaxon just stared at her.
“I’d like to ask you two a few questions,” she said. “What’s being done to protect this neighborhood? When will my children and I feel safe? It started with our dog and now more decapitated animals are buried in my yard. It sure looks like someone is targeting my family and I want some protection.”
Jaxon looked at Sally who seemed to sympathize with Mrs. Pemberton, but she remained silent.
“Mrs. Pemberton, I’m sure that…”
“I don’t believe you’re sure of anything Detective and I want something done. You and your department seem to be ignoring the whole problem. I haven’t seen a single police car or heard of any police action inside this neighborhood in over four months.”
“I assure you ma’am, we are doing everything we can…”
“I don’t believe you.” She stood there with her hands on her hips staring at him. He couldn’t blame her. She was technically correct. The department had not gone out of its way to provide any added security or surveillance in the area, relying mainly on evidence already collected to further the investigation along. Hell, they’d been at a standstill until just yesterday.
“I don’t blame you, ma’am,” Sally said, calmly. “A police investigation can leave many unanswered questions lingering for the civilians. Unfortunately, it’s what has to be done. Certain information needs to be kept from the press so we can weed out every Tom, Dick, and Harry volunteering useless information. As far as security in the neighborhood, we will step up patrols and place a squad car in front of your house. That should help you feel safer until this investigation closes.”
Jaxon looked at Sally, impressed. She avoided eye contact with him and remained focused on Mrs. Pemberton.
“Well-ok,” Mrs. Pemberton said. “That will make me feel a little better. I just wish this nightmare was over.”
“So do we, ma’am,” Sally said. “So do we.”
Luke and Ellie were in front of Luke’s house hanging out with Jimmy and John. Luke told them about the discovery of the dead animals and John apologized to Ellie again, saying he was sorry he criticized her about the signs yesterday.
“You were right,” he said.
“It’s ok. I know what you were trying to do. I seem to have a short fuse when it comes to Bentley. It’s probably because I do blame myself for what happened.”
“Why did you guys call those cops?” Jimmy asked. “I thought we were supposed to keep this stuff to ourselves.”
“My mom came out and saw what we were doing,” Ellie said, “and she made us call them. Sorry.”
Jimmy looked concerned. “So he’s back?”
“It looks like it,” Luke said. “But we haven’t heard anything from him. He’s been quiet.”
“What do you think we should do?” John asked. “Do you think it’s time to tell someone what we know?”
Ellie was nodding her head, but Luke was still not so sure. “I don’t think so,” he said. “He’s left us alone this long because we’ve been quiet. I think we should keep it to ourselves.”
“What about the other kids? Maybe we should tell them to watch out,” Ellie said.
“Like who?” Luke said. “I don’t trust any of them to keep it quiet.”
“But we said we would warn them if it got bad,” Ellie said.
“It’s not bad yet.”
“I think five dead animals buried in my backyard’s pretty bad.”
Luke saw her face flush and he could tell she was getting angry. They had never had a fight and he didn’t like where this
talk was leading. Still, he didn’t want to endanger her life by breaking their silence.
“It’s just animals. He hasn’t killed anybody else yet.” He knew as soon as he said it he had stepped over the line.
“But that doesn’t mean he won’t!” Ellie shouted. “What if someone else dies and we could have stopped it? I can’t live with that. Can you?”
“El, don’t get mad at me. I don’t like it either, but if we start talking, he may come after you and I can’t let that happen.”
“That’s not up to you to decide!” she yelled. “I won’t let him hurt anybody else.”
“I don’t want him to hurt anyone else either,” he said, “but he’s already threatened us. If we start talking and something happened to you, I couldn’t live with myself. I can’t lose you! I love you!”
She stared at him.
“What did you say?” she whispered, the anger gone now, a look of wonder on her face as she took it all in.
“I said, I love you.”
She searched his face, a single tear trickling down her cheek, then she reached for him and pulled him to her. “I love you too,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“This is awkward,” Jimmy said, smiling.
“I think I’m gonna barf,” John said.
Luke and Ellie ignored them. She pulled back and looked into his eyes and he smiled at her.
“How long have you felt this way?” she said.
“I already told you that.”
“You did?”
“You don’t remember?”
She shook her head, then stopped and smiled. “Oh-you did tell me.”
“You had me at goofy goober.”
She laughed. “I did, huh? You’re easy.”
“We’re still here,” John said. “And I’m getting more nauseous.”
Jimmy said, “Should we leave you two alone?”
Luke and Ellie let each other go, but she grabbed his hand and held tight.
“Alright,” Luke said. “I don’t want to be the one making all the decisions so let’s vote. Do we tell the neighborhood kids?”
“Yes,” John said.
“Yep,” Jimmy said.
“I think we need to,” Ellie said. “Don’t you?”
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