“Jesus Christ,” Nate said in disgust. “Who could’ve done something like this?” He stepped closer to the body, bending down to have a better look, holding his breath as he did.
“Stop, Nate, don’t touch anything,” JD said. “Call Jerry Davich and tell him to get out here with his camera, as fast as he can. I’ll call Dr. Covey.”
“JD, you should come over here and see this.” JD stepped in Nate’s direction, but Donovan suddenly blocked his path.
“Is it really necessary to bother the coroner?” Donovan asked him.
“There’s a dead body behind you, mayor,” JD said, becoming highly annoyed. “What do you want me to do, just throw some dirt over whoever that poor soul was and call it a night?”
‘What an asshole,’ JD thought. He never liked him anyway and this just reinforced his feelings.
“You’re right, sheriff,” Donovan replied, putting his palms up in the air. “I guess, too many outsiders already know about the body, anyways. I just thought it would be better to—“
“If it were one of us,” JD interrupted him. “I would have no issue with just sweeping it under the rug… but it’s not,” he explained. “I have to do this one by the book, Donovan.”
JD brushed past the mayor, giving Nate some further instructions. “Nate, set up a perimeter. All persons in the area who not working on direct behalf of law enforcement… need to get back up to the road,” he called out, glaring towards Donovan. “And, that includes you too, Mayor.”
Donovan crossed his arms and gave JD an insulted look.
“You heard me! If you don’t get back up to the road, in the next sixty seconds, I’ll have you arrested for obstruction of justice and tampering with a crime scene!” JD warned him. “Do you really want to be in a jail cell, when that sun comes up?”
The two men faced off for a brief moment, before Donovan slowly turned and started to leave. “I don’t know what crawled up your ass,” he retorted. “But, you’d better remember who you’re talking to, John Davidson. And, let it be known… I’m not diggin’ the way you’re treating me.”
Ignoring his comment, JD continued over to where Nate was crouched over the body.
“What is it?” JD asked him, squatting down on the other side of the body. “What did you find?”
“See for yourself.”
Nate pointed to the remnants of a boot print that was left behind in the snow near the corpse’s skull.
“Could that be one of the moron brothers’?”
“No, they’re both wearing flat boots with no heels,” Nate replied, nodding towards the two sets of prints they’d followed.
“Looks it might be a kid’s body, anyways,” JD noted. “Judging by the size of the skull, it’s hard to tell… could belong to an adult woman. It was a human, though… no mistake there.”
“Who do you reckon it might be?”
“Only missing person we’ve got right now is Jacob Richards,” JD answered the question. “His mother called this morning, looking for him. But, I guess we won’t know for sure, until we get the ID,” he said, taking one more look at the body. “Man, I hope it’s not Jacob… it’ would just kill his mother. And, I don’t want to be the one to tell her, either.”
JD flashed back to a year ago, remembering himself crying and rocking the body of his dead son, out here in these very same woods.
“What’s the next move?” Nate asked, noticing JD was lost in thought. “You don’t look so good, JD… you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, putting his face to the ground. He sniffed the area near where the body had been found, hoping to pick up on a scent.
“Well?”
“It smells of undead activity,” replied JD, standing back up to his feet.
Noticing a few more of the unknown footprints in the snow, JD and Nate followed them, until the prints were no more. Seeing that the tracks ended in the middle of the path, arriving nowhere, JD and Nate stopped and looked at each other in silence… then looked up to the moonlit sky.
The hours passed, while JD and his crew carried on their investigation at the crime scene. Lights were set up around the perimeter and a generator noisily chugged away in the background. Deputies Brad, Wayne, Tony and Nate stood by, smoking cigarettes and watching the action; if they would’ve had a box of donuts and coffee, they would have been all set.
Jerry Davich, a blonde-haired news reporter, who looked to be in his mid-forties, snapped photographs, while another man, wearing a jacket that had ‘coroner’ written across the back, waited to take the body away. The coroner’s name was Dr. Covey and he was about sixty years old, with hair as white as snow and round wire-rimmed glasses. Jerry finished the last of the photos and took a few steps back, as Covey and Wayne began loading the dead body into the back of a waiting ambulance; JD followed.
“Did you get the photos of those boot prints in the snow?” JD asked Jerry.
“Yes, I did… and just in time,” Jerry answered, as he put his camera back into its plastic case. “Soon as I snapped the pictures, a thick mist came rolling in,” he said. “By the time it finally passed, the rest of the prints were gone.”
“That figures,” JD answered back, turning his attention over to Dr. Covey. “Hey, doc, how long before you can tell what’s happened?”
“Well,” the doctor began. “Besides being skinned, the body was completely torn apart by the wildlife. That makes it extremely tough to determine cause of death,” he continued. “But, the body hasn’t been out here, too long… I estimate about fourteen hours.”
“Is there anything you can tell me now?” JD asked, hope in his voice.
“Well, there is one thing,” Covey began, as he removed his glasses. “The body was exsanguinated before it was skinned. There’s very little blood left, as far as I can see,” he said, wiping the lenses of his glasses on his sweater. “This is not good, JD.”
JD’s suspicions had just been confirmed. “Damn it… how soon can you have a positive ID?”
“We’re going to be needing some dental records,” Covey said, sticking his glasses back on. “I’ll contact Dr. Perdue’s office on Monday.”
“You know what… I’ll call him, as soon as I leave here, doc,” JD said. “I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to fax the records to you tomorrow or Sunday.”
“Thanks, sheriff,” Dr. Covey responded. “That sure would expedite matters.”
“No problem, I’ll take care of it… I’d really like to get the ball rolling, as quickly as we can.”
After shaking hands, Dr. Covey hopped into his truck, tilting his hat to JD, before speeding off down the snowy trail. JD and his deputies packed up and got ready to leave; it had been a long night for everyone.
Some time later, JD finally arrived home and the hour was late. Wanting to shake the entire evening from his mind, JD headed straight for the kitchen to fetch a bottle of scotch and he poured himself a hefty drink. He was unaware of Wendy’s presence behind him, watching from the doorway.
“Glad you made it home before dawn,” his wife said, startling him. “I saw you and Nate take off from the game with Donovan. You guys buddies now?” she asked jokingly.
“Wendy, you wouldn’t believe what I saw tonight… I just need a drink,” he said, taking a tall shot.
As Wendy stepped into the light, JD noticed that she was wearing his favorite negligee that she only wore on special occasions.
“I figured it was something, after all that ruckus,” Wendy replied, as she leaned up against the kitchen counter. “What happened? I hope you’re not going to keep me in the dark on this one.”
“We found a body,” JD answered her. “And, it was brutal… even by my standards.”
“Oh, JD,” Wendy said, taken aback. “That’s horrible. Do you know who it was?”
“No,” JD coldly replied. “It was too torn up… we need the dental records.”
Wendy wrapped her arms around JD to comfort him, but he pushed her away.
&nb
sp; “Not now, Wendy,” he said, not looking at her. “I’m sorry… I’m just not in the mood.” Unscrewing the bottle of scotch, he said, “I just need another drink.”
JD poured himself another hefty drink and downed it, without flinching.
“So, you would rather get comfort from that damn bottle, than from me?”
“Give me a break, okay?” JD responded, downing another drink and pouring one more.
“Maybe you should slow down, baby,” Wendy lightly said. “Three is enough.”
JD gulped his drink and threw the glass into the fireplace, with a smash. “Christ!” he hollered. “Not this shit again! Goddamn it! I don’t need you to be my mother!”
“Yes, this again!” she snapped back, raising her voice. “Deal with it, John… talk to me! I am your loyal and loving wife, so enough of shutting me out of your world… because I’m in it with you,” she argued. “Let me in, Jonathan!”
“I’ve had enough with the talking!” JD screamed, before he stopped for a moment.
Staring at the kitchen floor, neither of them spoke, as the scotch he’d drank began to kick in. For a second, the events of the evening were beginning to drift away and that was all JD wanted… all he needed. He’d been blocking out way more than any normal man could handle. Without warning, JD walked across the kitchen tiles to where Wendy was standing in silence and he pushed her up against the wall, kissing her with everything he had. Wendy fought him, at first, but then she stopped and she began returning his passionate kisses.
JD picked her up and carried her off into the bedroom, throwing her onto the grizzly bear bedcover and slamming the door shut behind him with his foot. Wendy clawed at him, tearing off his shirt, as JD clawed back, stripping her naked. The full moon shined through the skylight above, as they began to make love. JD arched his back, letting out a primal howl, the moonlight spilling over his bare, muscular chest, as they reveled together in ecstasy. The night slipped by, as they made love for hours, until they both passed out, locked tightly in each other’s arms.
___________________________________________________
Chapter Thirteen
An older four-wheel-drive, Ford truck, with an extended cab, entered Interstate Freeway 1-65 North in Louisville, Kentucky and it was being followed by an older-looking Chevy van, both vehicles loaded with a bunch of rambunctious young people. The back of the truck was filled with snowboards, skis and safety gear, as these eight youngsters were on their way to Michigan, for a week of snowboarding and partying.
The inside of the truck had clearly not been taken care of very well; the glove box was held together with gray duct tape and the headliner were long gone. The truck belonged to the driver, Tom, who was twenty-three years old.
Tom was lean, very athletic, average in height, with blonde hair and he was on the verge of becoming a professional baseball player. In the truck with him, was Sam, who’d just turned twenty-two. Sam was small in stature, with his head shaved into a Mohawk. A little on the heavy side, Sam was always the life of the party and he was usually the first one yelling out for a beer bong.
Riding shotgun in the truck: Stew. Also twenty-two, Stew was quite likeable. He was an average-looking guy, with fantastically foul mouth and a wonderful sense of humor… the bigger smartass of the bunch.
“This is gonna be a blast!” Tom shouted excitedly, flipping through the radio stations, as they crossed the Southern Indiana border. “Trust me! We are going to have a most excellent time… the slopes are going to be just perfect!”
“Huh?” Sam replied, raising a doubtful eyebrow. “Famous last words,” he said, rolling his eyes. “The last time I heard that, I got stuck with the ugly chick and the snow melted before we even got there. That was a great time, oh yeah.”
“Stop whining like a little bitch,” Tom snipped. “Just sit back and shut the hell up.”
“Whatever,” Sam shot back. “You’re the bitch… jerk.”
“Dude, with a haircut like that, you’re lucky if any girl will even talk to you, let alone sleep with you… buzz-head,” Stew tossed in, with a laugh.
“Hey, fuck you, Stew! Sit on this and spin,” Sam called out, flipping him the middle finger.
Tom and Stew just laughed, tossing their garbage at him; Sam dodged the cans and wrappers, throwing stuff back. Soon, trash was flying everywhere and everyone was yelling and jerking around, causing the truck to swerve a little.
“Shit!” Tom screamed out, suddenly turning all serious. “You guys… I hate to say this, but my headlights are getting dimmer.”
“It could just be the belts,” Stew said, offering some advice. “Or, it could be the muffler bearings.”
“Stew, you flunked out of auto shop, didn’t you?” Sam asked, poking him in the head. “Tom, you better find a gas station… fast. Jump on that next exit.”
“Shit… alright, call the other guys,” Tom reluctantly replied, tossing his cellphone over to Sam. “Let them know what’s going on.”
“I’m on it.”
The van following Tom’s truck was old, but it was very clear that its techno-geek owner, Reggy, cared a lot about his vehicle. He had it rigged up with a DVD player, a killer stereo system, hands-free Blue Tooth and an aftermarket, in-dash GPS. There were two bucket seats in the front and a bench seat in the middle, but there were no seats in the back, having been taken out to make room for suitcases, bags of food and an enormous cooler filled with beer.
Riding in the van’s driver’s seat was Reggy. Tall and extremely fit, Reggy’s attitude was very bad at the moment; he was tired from all of the driving, but he refused to let anyone else take over… he wouldn’t even let anyone else touch the keys.
Sitting in the passenger seat was one of Reggy’s lifelong friends, Matt; 22, short, average weight, with dark hair and glasses. The nerdy type was always chomping on gum, three pieces at a time and blowing bubbles that usually ended up stuck in his hair. Riding along in the back were the girls: Lia, 18, short dark hair, average build; Mary, 18, long blonde hair, model-pretty, smart and still a virgin; Joy, 18, short red hair, glasses and very pretty, with a rather large chest… not an ugly one in the entire bunch.
Reggy’s Blue Tooth rang in his ear. “Sup?”
“We’re getting off at the next exit,” Sam’s voice came at him, through the earpiece. “We’re having trouble with the truck. The lights are getting dim… we need to find a gas station.”
“Isn’t that a surprise,” Reggy sarcastically replied. “Fuck me! I told that jackass to junk that piece of shit and get a new rig,” he complained, punching his steering wheel. “Well, I’m sure the girls need to pee again, anyway, it’s been an hour since we last stopped. Do you have any idea where the hell we’re at? This place isn’t showing up on my GPS.”
“I have no fucking idea,” Sam answered him. “But, we don’t really have a choice. The sign said, there’s a service station off this exit, so we’re pulling off.”
“Great.”
Reggy shut down the call and addressed his passengers, “As you all probably heard, we’re stopping again. So, Mary, you can go tinkle… again. And, no more fluids for you until we get there, or you can just pee in a can,” he said, only half joking. “I’m sick of stopping. At this rate, we won’t get there till next week.”
Mary looked embarrassed and Joy reached over, rubbing her shoulders.
“Geez,” Mary said. “You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome.”
“Yeah, Reggy, don’t be such an asshole,” Joy defended her. “I have to go, too. God, you’re such a dick sometimes.”
“Freaking chicks,” Reggy muttered under his breath.
Matt chomped away on his gum and popped another huge bubble for the fifth time, working on everyone’s last nerve.
“Will you, please, knock that shit off?” Lia screamed. “You’re driving me fucking crazy with that constant popping! Damn it, I think you got some in my hair!” she hollered, rummaging around inside of her
purse for a brush. “I’m gonna kick your fucking ass!”
“Uh, sorry,” Matt said, smiling unapologetically through his mouthful of gum.
Lia just rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation, working the sticky substance out of her hair with a comb.
“Hey, four eyes,” Reggy over to his friend, smacking Matt in the arm. “If you get any of that gum on my seat, you’ll be chewing it off. Got it? I’m not even playing with you.”
It was getting dark and the sun was still barely peeking over the horizon, by the time the two vehicles rolled up to the only two pumps, at the little shack gas station, just a little ways off the freeway. After coming to a stop, everyone spilled out to the disheartening site of the well-weathered building; they were expecting something a bit more corporate.
“What a shithole,” Reggy remarked. “Is this the only station?”
“I don’t like it, either,” Joy said, shivering a little. “It’s creepy.”
“I’m going to find a bathroom,” Mary announced. “I hope they have running water at this dump.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lia said, following close behind. “Wait up.”
“I’ll pay for the gas,” Matt told Reggy, heading for the door.
Reggy opened the gas cap on his van and reached for the nozzle on the rickety pump. “Put in forty bucks, Matt. That should be enough to get us to the next real town.”
“I’m gonna go ask the guy about a mechanic,” Tom called out on his way.
Matt and Tom walked up to the gas station entrance and Tom opened up the front door that was barely hanging on by one hinge; it creaked ominously, almost falling off. Stew followed him in and accidentally ripped the door off, taking a second to push it back into the doorframe. Behind the counter, sitting in the shadows as the boys entered, was Old Man Greiner.
Older than dust, Greiner was lanky, half-bald; with shoulder length, greasy gray hair, no teeth and he radiated the stench of rotten flesh. The word ‘shower’ was most definitely not in his vocabulary.
The Lycan Chronicles Page 10