***
That afternoon, the second Body Box victim suffered a series of seizures. The doctors didn’t know how to help, or diagnose him because they couldn’t open the box. A major concern with the seizures was that the man’s hands kept bumping the glass. Kevin secured the latch with zip ties to keep it from flying open.
Giving the man a sedative hadn't worked. The repetitive movement of the man’s body, and the constant pelting on the box, unexpectedly cracked the glass. When the man’s hand struck the cracked the glass, blood trickled down the back of his hand. The display provided more proof that the man was, in fact, alive.
The doctors stood by, helplessly, as the bottomless body ceased movement with a sudden jolt. Frantically, the doctors checked for vital signs as best they could.
Yala decided to talk to the victim. She hoped her voice would help calm him, or at least reassure him that they were there to help him.
“Come on, guy, one more day. One more box and you will be in one piece.”
They needed the man to survive; so he could at least tell them who did this to him.
A few minutes passed before another set of seizures shot through the man, sending his hand straight through the cracked glass. The group stood, frozen, as every drop of air was vacuumed from their lungs.
Yala turned the logic in her head.
“Technically, the box isn’t open, so he should be okay, right?”
Before her question was answered, the man stop seizing. Yala covered the hole in the glass with one of the doctor’s thick medical books.
Kevin turned towards the door.
“I’m going to find reinforcements to keep him inside that thing.”
When Kevin took the first step, an ominous splattering sound stopped him in his tracks. His tennis shoe screeched against the floor, as he stood still for a frozen moment.
Yala gasped. A muffled squish gave her the creeps and sent rippling chills up her spine. The man’s innards started to spill into the box.
This death was messier than the first.
Instead of blood leaking and squirting out in spurts, this victim’s innards popped out with a splat. It appeared as if he’d been dropped and his body popped open from the impact. His remaining innards crept out, like scared rats whose hiding place had been discovered. Chunks and bits of tissue slid down the glass, resembling overcooked lumps of spaghetti with meat sauce.
The victim’s eyes popped open and frantically searched for understanding.
Had he become aware of what was happening to him?
No one mentioned the odor, but the scent was staggering. Death had placed a chokehold on their nasal passages.
Yala’s eyes began to water. The pungent stench of death gripped her by the throat and wouldn’t let go. She took in sips of air as she struggled to breathe normally and fought to keep her stomach from doing somersaults. The air and space surrounding them became bricked in by death’s aroma. She swallowed saliva with every breath she took.
Her glance darted towards Kevin. With his sensitive nose, the scent likely wreaked havoc on him.
Dr. Pendergast spoke first.
“The smell is strong because he is dissected across the intestines. He was cut at an angle so he would be missing too many vital organs to survive without his lower extremities. The killer knows what he’s doing.”
Kevin's gaze remained on the victim. “Who would do something so cruel to someone?”
Yala leaned over box and glared into the victim’s distressed gaze. His body shook as his heart continued to pump blood, and life, into areas that couldn’t circulate it further.
Was the victim suffering?
It certainly appeared so.
She leaned closer to the glass and stared into wide frighten eyes, eyes that reflected the hollows of someone’s worst fear.
Her voice cracked with sorrow. “Can you say your name, sir?”
Seeing the victim in distress made her forget about the scent.
Everyone gawked at her as if she were crazy for talking to the man; but when he uttered a raggedly whispered name that sounded like “Julio,” everyone became immediately aware that the poor man was likely in insufferable pain.
Dr. Hughes quickly gathered a needle, opened the glass, and gave the man an injection that immediately settled him. The doctor stared at the broken man but addressed the group.
“I gave him morphine to ease his suffering.”
Dr. Pendergast took the man’s hand, as Yala continued to whisper encouraging words. In the victim’s last moments, the team was determined not to let him die alone and frightened.
He stared at Yala, likely searching for peace. Then, his eyes darted around in every direction. His free hand was clinched so tight, his knuckles strained against his skin. The peachy tint of his skin faded with every passing second. Recognition shined in his gaze, he knew he was dying.
The crew stood helpless. All they could do at this point was attempt to comfort the man. As the man took his last breaths, Yala cloaked her hopelessness behind a reassuring glint.
Had this man been suffering the entire time he’d been in the box? Had he experienced hunger or thirst? Felt aches and pains?
Seeing fear and pain in his eyes made this murder more horrific than the first. Seeing the man like this made him real, no longer a subject, nor a John Doe, but a real man with a mind and feelings.
Standing at Yala’s side, staring at the man, was Kevin. When the man’s gaze locked with Kevin’s, it appeared as if he willed the man’s distress away. With his gift and the way the man’s expression eased, Yala was almost certain it was exactly what Kevin was doing.
***
Kevin and Yala left the doctors and headed towards Elizabeth Paul’s apartment. They had to move fast. The last thing they wanted was to give the monster a chance to box another victim. They sat outside and awaited Elizabeth's arrival.
When Elizabeth arrived, they pounced. They caught her as she entered her apartment.
Kevin fired relentless questions so ferociously; the woman flashed a petrified glance in Yala’s direction. He spooked Elizabeth, causing her to stumble over her words, like her voice box was drunk.
Each time Kevin mentioned Dr. Nolan, she wrung her hands and her eyes dropped and rose quickly. It was a discreet action Kevin had taught Yala to pinpoint.
The team confirmed that Elizabeth was putting herself through medical school by working as an escort. She admitted that Dr. Nolan was one of her most loyal and well-paying customers.
When Kevin asked if Dr. Nolan participated in other shady activities, Elizabeth seemed lost.
Although the doctor had an alibi, he was still a person of interest.
As for Ms. Elizabeth Paul, she looked like a prime suspect in the Body Box murders. The main problem was that any one of her male clients could have been involved.
When Kevin stated he was paranoid by nature, he hadn’t lied. After they established that Elizabeth had a relative, he persuaded her to give him the name. Kevin was sure that if Elizabeth hadn’t given them all the facts, maybe a close relative might shed some light.
In checking Elizabeth’s background, the team found Ms. Lucy Jacobs. Ms. Jacobs was not only Elizabeth Paul’s aunt, she was also the aunt of Mark Jenkins, the shifty security guard.
Yala was impressed by Kevin’s ability to dig deep enough to find clues and angles she would have ignored as a newbie investigator. Knowing that the guard and the medical student were related, Kevin and Yala started to piece the Body Box puzzle together.
Lucy Jacobs was forthcoming when she talked about her niece and nephew. She voiced her disdain for the way the two lived their lives. She informed Yala and Kevin that she often warned the two that the way in which they lived would catch up with them, one day.
The team spent most of the next day interrogating their two suspects into admissions of guilt. Yala enjoyed working with Kevin. He knew exactly what to ask and what to say to get the suspects to fumble their words. By the end of
the day, both Elizabeth Paul and Mark Jenkins were in police custody.
Jenkins, the guard, admitted he’d manipulated the surveillance tapes to protect his cousin Elizabeth. He also admitted that he’d helped her take one of the boxes from her SUV. The guard claimed he didn’t know what was in the box; but he later slipped, saying he didn’t know who the victim was.
Neither Elizabeth nor Mark would say if there was another party pulling strings in the Body Box case. Neither would say who dropped the second victim’s body box in front of the medical examiner’s office.
The team faced an unusual problem. They couldn’t fully disclose what they’d discovered about the Body Box cases, because they couldn’t explain it. It would be hard to prove that Elizabeth and Mark actually murdered the victims. Technically, the victims died while in the medical examiner’s custody, and Elizabeth and Mark could only be charged with having possession of a body part and not a complete person.
There was a bright side to the case. Mark spilling the beans by admitting he tampered with the surveillance tapes and helped Elizabeth carry one of the boxes was enough to send them both into lockup.
Kevin pushed for more info, but Elizabeth and Mark wised up and asked for a lawyer which put an end to his question-asking rampage.
***
The next day sidelined Yala and Kevin and would likely stall any progress they’d gained on the Body Box case. They received emergency calls from their Top contacts. Top called for their debriefing. With suspects in custody, most law officials would agree that the Body Box case was as good as solved. Yala and Kevin knew better. There were too many layers to the case; too many questions were being left unanswered and a killer was possibly still on the loose.
They were being reassigned. Upset, they drove to the medical examiner’s office to explain what was about to happen.
They hadn’t yet chased every lead on the case; but reassignment, at their level, was justified by a case—or cases—that took precedence. Something bigger and deadlier than the Body Box case had prompted their reassignments. Top would never pull them without cause, especially not from a case as bizarre and as deadly as the Body Box.
What could have been more important than a lunatic taking people apart and making doctors wait on their body parts in order to put them back together?
They stood by as the doctors prepped Juan Carlos De La Cruz’s body for transfer to the funeral home. Yala made the call to Mrs. De La Cruz, informing her that she could finally put her husband to rest.
Facial recognition software identified the second victim as Julio ‘Lenny’ Rodriguez.
Yala and Kevin expressed their good-byes to the doctors and prepared for the unknown. The doctors where well versed in what to do if more boxed parts showed up.
Chapter 16
Yancy Langston
The team made it back to their suite. Instead of relaxing, they suffocated under the weight of their impending assignments. Yala voiced her concerns.
“I am reluctant to leave this case, but I accept that things have likely gone horribly wrong for Top to reassign us both. I believe we have more work to do here. Besides, I was learning a lot from you.”
What she didn’t say was how much she was going to miss him, and how much she enjoyed the connection they shared.
Kevin asked, “You don’t think the medical student—or the guard—is the killer, do you?”
Yala shook her head.
“No. And we didn’t question Dr. Nolan or follow up on the other leads.”
Kevin felt bittersweet about the case as well, his droopy posture said as much.
“This doesn’t mean the end. Top will allow us a chance to revisit this case, or request a reinvestigation, if we believe it needs one.”
Intrigued, Yala's eyebrows shot up.
“This is news to me. I had no idea we could do that. There’s so much more I need to learn.”
Leaving the case was one thing, but Kevin was more disappointed about leaving Yala. He'd faked every smile since he'd found out about their impending reassignment.
Yala's bottom lip jutted out.
“I wish I could have gone home before being shoved into another case, but criminals never rest. Job security right?”
Kevin’s head whipped around quickly. He'd only heard one word of Yala's statement.
“Home?”
She inclined her head.
“Yeah…but you didn’t hear me say that.”
He understood having secrets and didn’t push, but he wondered how she managed to pull it off. Most Top agents lived wherever the wind blew them, himself included.
Was she purposely leaving him bread crumbs so that he'd have a way to find her?
She’d revealed that she had a home, which meant that he could track her. Now, all he needed was a name.
After winding down, they retreated to their separate rooms for a few hours of sleep.
***
Three hours later, two agents entered Yala’s and Kevin’s suite. They separated them by sending them to each end of the common area to be debriefed first, then briefed on their new assignments.
As the agent talked on and on about secret information, Kevin gave Yala a friendly smile from across the room; she returned the gesture.
After their initial briefs, the briefers pulled them back together.
The briefing agent’s monotone voice aided in making it a slow process. Yala stared at his lips, hoping she could pull his words out faster.
“You haven’t heard anything about what’s happening in our nation, or on this new case, since the media is just getting wind of what has occurred. Top leaked the information, to ensure maximum attention is paid.”
Yala and Kevin glanced at each other after those words.
“Florida Senator Robert Covington has been shot and killed. New York City Mayor Harold Manchester has been shot and killed. Texas Governor George Livingston has been shot twice, but luckily he didn’t die and continues to fight for his life.”
Kevin and Yala sat staring motionless at the agent. Now, they understood the double reassignment. This was major, worse than they could have imagined.
“Top agents reported the attacks took place at nearly the same time this morning. Since the attacks took place in three different states, we’re sure the media will label this a planned terrorist attack.”
The agent lifted the remote and turned on the television. As he’d stated, the media ran wild with the stories. As soon as they aired news of the first attack on the Florida senator, it was interrupted with reports of the other attacks. Attacks of any kind against national leaders took precedence over any other cases outstanding. As much as Yala hated to face the truth, national security trumped the Body Box case.
The briefing agent made a show of flipping through the channels to show them the media frenzy. The media was, indeed, calling it a terrorist attack. The news showcased heads of the CIA, the FBI, and the ATF being interviewed, assuring our nation they’d do whatever was necessary to track the terrorists.
By the time the media finished with the bits and pieces of information they had, the country would think all nation’s leaders were targets under the scope of sniper terrorists. The designated survivor was probably someplace preparing to become the president.
It would be unwise for agency leaders to pool and focus all assets on the supposed sniper-terrorist attack, while other major crimes went unchecked and under the radar; but it appeared to be exactly what was happening.
Leaving the Body Box case in the hands of Dr. Hughes didn’t bother Yala, but the local cops would surely provide lackluster help. It was not their fault though, since the locals would get only half the truth because the other half couldn’t be explained.
After the briefing was done, Yala concentrated on the new case. Her task was to help track down a terrorist—or terrorists—who’d killed and injured national leaders. The media wasn’t going to make solving the new priority case easy. Reporters were likely already hiding in every da
rk crack and corner they could fit into.
***
Less than an hour later, Yala and Kevin were left to say their good-byes. A strong sense of dread crept up and kicked Yala in the center of her back.
Kevin was headed to Texas, and she was headed to New York.
Kevin wasn’t prepared. Saying good-bye to Yala wasn’t going to be easy. How he'd developed such an acute connection to her was a mystery he'd fail to solve. The idea of leaving her broke his spirit and left his heart empty.
They operated in a world that often times floated outside the box of reality.
Did that commonality help feed their connection?
Yala noticed Kevin’s bag, sitting by the door, as he concentrated on something on his laptop. Not sure how to say good-bye to him, she returned to her room to retrieve her own bag.
Kevin stared at his computer screen, hoping it would shelter his mind from the impending good-bye. He didn’t want to leave Yala any more than he wanted to leave the case.
However, their world didn’t leave much in the way of choices, and there was always turmoil on the horizon, which didn’t allow room for romance.
When Yala returned to the living room, Kevin's poignant gaze gripped her attention and cause her to stumble over her own feet.
She hardly noticed her blunder. Kevin's glum look took her will as she fought to keep her solemn mood from projecting into her voice.
“It’s time for me to get out of here.”
She dropped her bag near the front door and headed towards the kitchen for a drink of water. She needed something to dissolve the huge lump in her throat. A sack of bricks had suddenly landed on her chest, and her body became heavy with emotion.
As she stood, facing the sink, she didn’t have to glance back to know that Kevin stood right behind her. When she turned, she became caught in his gaze. She was held captive, and the small kitchen didn’t give her much room to get away from the intensity he brought with him.
Body Box: Adult Paranormal Romance (Supernatural Thriller) (Dark Suspense) (The Smoke & Fire Series Book 2) Page 10