The End of Summer: Book One in The Detective Bill Ross Crime Series
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He used the knife to cut off all of her clothes. He stuffed toilet tissue in her mouth, wrapped her blouse around her head and tied it loosely so she could still breathe. With one of the sleeves cut from her blouse, he tied her hands behind her back and he then used her school tie to tie one ankle, wrap the tie around the commode and tie the other ankle. She was completely naked, blindfolded, gagged and secured on the commode with legs splayed. He molested her. He then wrote, “whore” on her naked stomach, locked the cubicle door and climbed over the metal partition. He returned to class like nothing had happened.
Later at morning break, the restroom rapidly filled with girls and when they couldn’t get into the locked cubicle, one of them was given a boost to look over the top. Full panic ensued and school staff escorted the humiliated and terrified girl from the restroom and called her parents. When interviewed, the little girl was incoherent.
The teachers and the police suspected that it was Luther but they could never prove it. The victim never returned to the school and she and her parents left the area.
Chapter 36 - Psychosis
2005 - The Killing
Luther had bought the cabin soon after he and Summer had completed their main Pagosa home. The original plan was that this would be his bunker that he was to fortify with heavy defenses and stock it with food, water, and ammo. If there was to be a breakdown in society and a final war to be fought, he could defend his primary residence and then fall back to this secure bunker if the house was compromised. The death of Summer changed this plan.
Summer drowned in August of 2003. In 2004, almost a year to the day from the drowning, Luther had seen a young woman walking along the street in Pagosa. In an instant, he was convinced she was Summer. It made perfect sense to him that Summer had returned and was searching Pagosa looking for him. He abducted the woman, took her to the cabin and spent several days raping and abusing her before killing her.
When the woman was dead, he cleaned her thoroughly using a diluted bleach mixture. He shampooed her hair, combed it and blow-dried it until it shined. He worked on her fingernails and toenails, giving her a French manicure. He then dressed her in a white cotton dress. The final touch was the facial makeup along with a dab of Chloe perfume. She was now ready to be returned to the lake so that she might come to him again.
Luther put the body in his RV and drove to the lake at Navajo State Park with his boat in tow. When he arrived, he parked the RV and launched his boat with the dead girl’s body on board. He then sailed to the middle of the lake, secured weights to her and dumped the body overboard. As she sunk to bottom, his twisted mind imagined how she would return to him and when she did, he would be better prepared for those visits. That’s when the cabin was remodeled for a different purpose than being his bunker of last resort.
~
Luther heard Galina stir in the Summer bedroom. He entered the room and he could see that she was disoriented. She was sitting up on the bed, trying to focus and figure out where she was. When she realized she was shackled, she panicked and began screaming uncontrollably. Luther took a vial of drug cocktail he had grabbed from the winter room when he heard her stir and injected her with it. The mixture of Morphine and Rohypnol calmed down almost immediately and she entered a semiconscious state.
After she settled down, he fastened the headboard manacles to each wrist and lay down beside her and began whispering in her ear. Her eyes stared blankly outward as his lips brushed against her earlobes.
“I am so happy you’re home again, Summer. I thought that I had lost you at the lake but I’ve have worked hard and found a way to bring you back to me.”
His psychosis had reached such a state, that he believed that he could bring the long dead Summer back to life on demand by kidnapping young women who’s physical attributes were close enough to those of his dead wife. His deluded mind allowed him to filled in the gaps.
He began kissing her passionately and when the semiconscious Galina did not fully respond in the way he thought she should, pent up anger filled his body. This had also happened when Summer was alive. She refused to submit to his fetishes and extremely deviant sexual demands. Whenever she refused, Luther would lose control and lash out.
Galina’s response brought the same response. He lost control and started to deliberately do things to her to cause pain and to “teach her a lesson.” Luther grabbed her by the throat and penetrated her roughly to exercise his control and power. He followed that up by assaulting her with dildos, metal tubes and other instruments of torture that he had assembled ready for use. His perversion knew no bounds. In some cases, in the Winter room, he had gone too far and killed the poor girls.
With his anger spent and his sexual desires met, he again lay down next to her and kissed her tenderly.
“I love our games, my love and I know you do too. I’m so happy that we give each other so much pleasure. Sleep well, my love, as tomorrow we go off on a grand adventure.”
Luther left the cabin, “It’s good to have Summer home,” he whispered to himself as he drove off.
Chapter 37 - It’s Galina Alkaev
2014 - The Cold Case Investigation
Sheriff Gordon from the Archuleta Sheriff’s Department agreed to circulate the artist impression. Every deputy was provided with a copy. The sheriff also had the editors of The Pagosa Springs Sun and The Pagosa Daily Post run the picture simply saying that the Pagosa Sheriff’s department was looking for anyone who might recognize the woman and to contact them ASAP to help them with their enquiries into an ongoing case. They got fourteen hits.
Two days later Raul called Bill, “Hi Bill, this is Raul. We have a number of positive IDs on your artist’s impression.”
“Let me get Tommy and Marie in here and put them on speaker. Jack is out today or I would have him join us,” said Bill.
A few minutes later, Tommy and Marie joined Bill in the conference room to listen to the update from Raul.
“Go ahead, Raul, we’re all here.”
Raul’s voice sounded crackly through the conference room speakerphone.
“Thanks, Bill! We got fourteen hits on the artist’s impression we circulated. I’ve already spoken with all of them. Two of them sound a little flaky, but the other twelve seem like they are genuine for one specific reason. They all drank at the San Juan Sports Bar and Grill here in town back in 2005. Many of them still drink there regularly.”
“One of them was the owner of the place until 2010. Her name is Heidi Braun. Heidi is sure that the dead woman’s name is Galina Alkaev and that she worked in the bar for about three months until she disappeared just after Labor Day, 2005. She also lived in an Airstream trailer that Heidi parked at the rear of the bar.”
Marie had her hand over her mouth and was stifling a scream as she stared at Tommy. “Galina Alkaev! After ten years could they have finally put a name to her?”
Raul continued, “She said that when Galina Alkaev disappeared, she left everything that she owned in the Airstream. She simply vanished into thin air without a note or any communication. Heidi said that she was concerned at the time as it wasn’t like Galina to just up and go. Heidi also said that she had hired her as a favor to a friend in Vail after Galina had some boyfriend troubles. She called her friend to see if Galina had gone back there but she hadn’t.”
Tommy interrupted Raul. “And she left it at that? She didn’t do anything else to try to find her?”
“Good question. Heidi had tried to locate Galina to return her things to her but never managed to track her down. One of the things that she left was an address book that contained names and phone numbers for people back in Pikesville Maryland, her hometown. Initially, Heidi had thought to call her parents but then thought better not to interfere. Over the years, Heidi forgot about it. She still has a box with all of Galina’s stuff in her garage.”
Raul paused for a second before saying, “Oh, there is one other thing that Heidi Braun told us that you guys are going to really love!”
“Well, go on and stop keeping us in suspense!” yelled Tommy.
“Galina had an up close and personal relationship with Jim McCord!”
There were gasps around the room! Then Bill broke the tension.
“Chubby Checker is at it again! Another twist!” said Bill.
The team thanked Raul for his hard work on the case and hung up. Tommy called Jack Johnson on his cell and debriefed him on the Ortiz call. To say Jack Johnson was angry and frustrated was an understatement.
“Have this Heidi Braun woman package up the stuff and send it down here to us. Give our FedEx account number to her to bill the cost and tell her to overnight it. When it arrives, let’s go through it together and then we get that bastard McCord back in. As God is my witness, I am going to string him up by the balls before I hand him over to the Tennessee people.”
The box arrived the following morning. Apart from clothes, shoes, and other miscellaneous items, there were photographs and the address book. One photograph was of a young man and woman standing by a motorcycle, taken at the side of the highway with a Welcome to Vail sign in the background. The woman was a tall, blond who looked like Reese Witherspoon. They now knew for sure: “Reese” was Galina Alkaev!
Chapter 38 - You’re under arrest
2014 - The Cold Case Investigation
Jim McCord was seated in the conference room when the team walked into the room. Celia had gotten him a cup of coffee and he was leaning back in his chair as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His demeanor changed when he saw Jack Johnson’s face.
Jack stared at Jim and said, “I despise murderers, pedophiles, and rapists. They are all in my first division of my hate leagues. Just below them and in the top spot in division two are liars. Jim McCord, you are a liar of the highest order. You’re such a liar, that you’ve told yourself you’re not a liar. So, now we’re all clear on who you are and what you are, tell me about Galina Alkaev!”
The blood drained from Jim McCord’s face and drops of sweat sprung from his forehead. He covered his face with his hands and said, “I didn’t kill her, I swear!”
“Is that another one of your lies, Jim, you piece of shit? Back in 2005, when you saw the artist’s impression, you knew exactly who the dead woman was. You said nothing and wasted police time. You probably hastened the end of a good detective’s career. Today, we are spending taxpayer dollars to pursue a cold case that could have been solved years ago and the killer is likely to have killed many other women because of your inability to tell the truth and own up to your actions. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t throw you to the wolves?”
McCord started to say something, but before he could, Jack interrupted him. Jack and Bill had decided on their next move before Jim had entered the room.
“Jim McCord, I am arresting you on the suspicion of your involvement in the rape of a female student at Vanderbilt University on or about April 7, 1988. You will be held here, pending your extradition to the State of Tennessee.
• You have the right to remain silent when questioned.
• Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law.
• You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.
• If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning, if you wish.
• If you decide to answer any questions now, without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney.
• Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?
Jim McCord had his hands over his face as his head shook slowly from side to side. He was going to jail and they might throw away the key. “Can I call my son? I need to call my son! Please!”
McCord made the call and he was then led away to the holding cell.
Chapter 39 -Search warrant
2014 - The Cold Case Investigation
The following morning, Jack kicked off the status review meeting. “Are we all in agreement that we suspect that Luther Fisher abducted Galina, transported her to Austin in his RV, killed her and staged her body in the backyard of the McCord residence?”
There was a unanimous show of hands.
“Bill, would you like to summarize where we are with the evidence we have gathered and any developments in your research with Raul Ortiz on sexual assaults in Archuleta County?” asked Jack.
Bill Ross cleared his throat and said, “Luther and Summer Fisher moved in to their new home in Pagosa Springs on May 2, 2001. Starting in 2002, there was a marked increase in walk in rape victims to hospitals and trauma centers across Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan counties. Many of the victims had significant injuries and had no recollection of what had happened to them.”
“Most of these women had been out partying and the next thing they remembered was waking up the following morning lying in the backseat of their cars. They couldn’t remember what had happened and therefore no charges were brought in any of the cases, as there was a lack of evidence to work with, not even semen. They each had chlorine residue on them and the medical examiner suggested that they might have all been assaulted in a health club with a swimming pool or a hot tub. He later revised this earlier supposition, as the levels of chlorine were too high. He concluded that they might have been deliberately washed to remove the possibility of gathering forensic evidence.”
“Over the same time period, there were four women found dead in different locations with significant injuries suggesting that they may have been raped and tortured. They also had the same chlorine residue on them. So let me summarize where we are.”
1. We have no evidence connecting Fisher to Galina Alkaev. We may be able to get a search warrant and go through his house and the cabin with forensics to try to find that link.
2. We do not know why or how he transported Galina to Austin. Again, we may be able to get a forensic team to pull the RV apart and find, as we suspect, that the RV was his mode of transportation.
3. If he did do this, we don’t know how he got the body into the backyard of McCord’s home. If he had driven there and came in through the Riverside neighborhood, he risked being spotted. Tough not to spot an RV with Colorado plates in a neighborhood like Riverside.
Jack nodded and said, “Thanks, Bill, any other issues or concerns from the team?”
When no one responded, Jack said, “OK, here’s what I suggest as next steps. I’ll call Sheriff Gordon and ask him to get a search warrant via the La Plata County District Attorney Office based on the evidence we currently have. If the DA thinks that we have enough and we get a warrant, then I suggest that we form a joint team consisting of the Archuleta Sheriff’s Department and the three of us to conduct the search. We can get specialist support from Archuleta or from state resources in Denver or both. Ultimate jurisdiction will depend on where the actual murder took place and while that might be difficult to prove, we need to get the warrant first.”
“Also, so everyone is on the same page, part of my reasoning in charging McCord was for us to be able to tell Fisher that we have arrested him. If our theory holds up that the reason he did this was revenge for McCord screwing his wife and perhaps a longer-term resentment of McCord for running away from the rape in Nashville, then he will think that his plan has worked and his guard will be down. There is still a risk however. He’s a Prepper and, almost certainly, mentally disturbed. He may not take kindly to us invading his privacy again. I will brief Chief Dunwoody and then call Sheriff Gordon. Stay tuned team!”
As the meeting broke up, Marie walked up to Tommy and asked, “What are you and Claire doing this weekend?”
“We have no plans,” replied Tommy. ”I thought I might take her to Zilker Park for the day and go
swimming in the Barton Springs pool. We’ve been there a few times and she loves it.”
“Why don’t you come to Lake Travis with Shelly and me on Saturday? We want to take our boat out one last time before winter and this weekend is supposed to be real nice. We can come pick you up around 8:30, we’ll get to the lake before 10:00 and get the boat launched before the big crowds get there.”
“That could be fun. Let’s do it,” said Tommy.
Chapter 40 - Let’s push the boat out
2014 - The Cold Case Investigation
On Saturday morning, Shelly and Marie arrived right on time at 8:30. Claire had been up since 6:00, jumping around excited about going to swim. For the past year, Elaine had taken Claire to swimming lessons at Little Tots Swim Center in Cedar Park and ever since, she became hyper excited when anyone mentioned swimming.
“Is this is a new truck?” said Tommy as he carried out the towels and his and Claire’s backpacks.
“Yes it is, Tommy. Shelly bought it a couple of weeks back. She traded in her old Toyota and the folks over at Henna Chevrolet gave her a great deal on this beast. It’s a Silverado four-wheel-drive crew cab. It’s great for towing the boat and we can get all our friends in the cab comfortably, along with our stuff in the back.”
Tommy drooled as this was the truck of his dreams but at a $60,000 price tag, it was a little outside his price range.
Shelly had bought Claire a pink life preserver and matching pink baseball cap. After they put it on her, they all agreed she looked adorable. They then climbed into the truck and headed to the lake. On the way they stopped at the storage center on 2222 and got the Sea Ray hooked up. It was a Sea Ray 280 sundeck, great for spending a day on Lake Travis.
To be able to live the American Dream these days, two incomes are needed and it was obvious to Tommy that Shelly and Marie were living the dream. He knew that their dream was not quite complete as they wanted to marry but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon given the Texas legislature’s stand on same sex marriage.