Fleeting Glimpse

by Victoria M. Patton

  His phone rang. “Yeah, what’s wrong now?” He barked into the phone. “Well, what the hell am I paying you for? How the hell should I know? They’re fucking farm animals.” He laughed. “No shit. You’re right about that. They are only good for cooking. Get over there and get them. Tell the old man we keep trying to keep them from getting out. I don’t think he’s too pissed. He has never complained formally. I’m about an hour from home. I should be there soon.” He threw his phone in the passenger seat.

  He reached for the ignition about to start his truck when she came out. He had a direct line of sight to her. She locked her door and headed down the walkway. She always parked in front of her apartment.

  He watched as she threw her bags into her car. She wore a pink shirt and her dark brown hair contrasted nicely against it. For a moment, she paused at the driver’s side before she got in. His heart raced as she looked in his direction. He sunk in his seat. He was sure she couldn’t see him, but what if she did? She might remember him. He cursed himself. This was a stupid idea. He didn’t do stupid. He hated stupid. But God, he wanted her.

  She got into her car and drove off. He almost thought about following her, but he had to get back to the farm. That’s okay, he thought. He knew where she liked to go and knew where she lived. He knew where she worked too, but that didn’t scare him. He would just make sure he took her far away from her office.

  Chapter 5

  Forensic Lab

  The Springfield Forensic Laboratory was comprised of several buildings connected by a series of underground tunnels; making it easy for employees to travel between the buildings on the large compound. Damien drove down the winding drive to the main building, which housed DNA, Trace, Autopsy, and the Administrative offices.

  A stunning brunette greeted them at the front desk. Joe gave Damien a sly smile and sauntered over to her. She wore a name tag centered above one perfectly shaped breast. He leaned in close to her and lowered his voice. “Hey, there—Taylor Reese. I’m Detective Joe Hagan and this,” he nodded towards his right, “is Lieutenant Damien Kaine. We’re from Division Central. We need to speak with Director Jones. Is he available?” Joe smiled one of his sexiest smiles at her.

  “Sure, let me call back there. One moment please.” Her shaky finger punched a few numbers on the keypad. “Jamie, the two Detectives from Chicago are here to meet with the director. No, they’re standing right here. Okay, I’ll let them know. What? Oh yeah, no I don’t know who he is. I’ve seen him at that track by the outdoor mall I go to. No. First I will ask Matt to look into it. Yes. I will tell the director if it keeps happening. Okay, I will. Thanks, Jamie.” Taylor smiled at Joe. She could feel her cheeks burn as she stared at him. “The director will be with you in a moment,” she said.

  Damien and Joe stepped away from the desk. Damien hung his head to hide his smile. “Dude quit gawking at her. Can’t you see you’re making her nervous?”

  Joe frowned at Damien. “I’m not making her nervous,” Joe said.

  Damien chuckled. “Right. She can’t even make eye contact with you. Look at yourself, you’re drooling right now. Just remember why we are here, Casanova. You need to keep your head on straight.”

  A wicked grin spread across Joe’s face. “Jealous, huh?”

  “Yeah, you got me. I’m jealous.”

  ***

  “Lieutenant Kaine and Detective Hagan,” Director Jones said as he walked towards them. He shook both of their hands and guided them to the doors he had come through. Sliding a key card through the security lock, the light on the keypad flashed green.

  Director Jones pushed open the heavy metal doors and led them down a corridor. “I spoke with Captain Mackey, not ten minutes ago. I’m glad to have you two here.”

  Damien liked the director right off. He had a lean body carried by legs with a long smooth stride. He looked as if he glided down the hallway with minimum effort. Unlike Captain Mackey, Director Jones wore his authority casually. Damien had no doubt that the director’s casual demeanor left no room for his authority to be questioned, under any circumstances.

  Director Jones stopped in front of an empty room. “As you can see, we set up a whiteboard and two laptops for you. If you find you need anything else, let me know or ask Taylor up front. She always knows how to reach me. Have you checked into a hotel yet?” Jones continued down the hallway.

  “No. Not yet,” Damien said. “We passed a couple on our way. We figured we’d get one of those after we finished up here.”

  “Don’t worry about the arrangements. I’ll tell Taylor to get you two rooms at the Holiday Inn down the street. That way you can stay here as long as you need to.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks,” Damien said. “What do we have?”

  “The CSTs got back about an hour ago. The ME is already in autopsy with the body. We’re checking her fingerprints now. We’re also tracking down some missing person reports. The girl seems about seventeen or eighteen. The killer didn’t cut her face, but it has some hellacious bruising.”

  As they reached another set of metal doors, Director Jones stopped and hung his head. “I’ve seen some pretty nasty crap in my day, but this—it’s one of the worst. He cut her into pieces and then put her body parts in a heavy-duty plastic bag.”

  Director Jones used his keycard to unlock the door. A hiss escaped as the door swung open. The heavy scent of disinfectant wafted out. Classic soul music emanated from a room at the end of the corridor. They walked down the long dimly lit hallway. With every two or three steps, an overhead fluorescent bulb clicked on, creating eerie shadows on the walls. Damien sensed those shadows were the dead that traveled through these doors.

  “This is Dr. Langley, our Medical Examiner,” Jones said.

  Damien stepped forward. Doctor Langley’s blond hair glistened under the glare of the lights. A bright blue lab coat draped his broad shoulders. He had to be in his fifties with the body of a much younger man.

  Hunched over a steel slab, Doctor Langley smiled at the two Detectives. “Music off. Sorry, I play my music a little too loud. Detectives, pleased to meet you. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances.” His gaze shifted to the table in front of him.

  “Same here Doc. Do you have anything yet?” Damien asked, moving up to the table. All the air in his lungs hissed out.

  Joe followed Damien and took two steps closer to the table. “Fucking bloody hell!” His Irish lilt heavier than usual.

  The remains of a once beautiful young girl lay before them. The girl’s hair, a matted mess of tangles and dried blood. Her head clung to her torso by a few tethers of tendons, ligaments, and skin. It laid on its side, and her dull cloudy eyes glared at Damien and Joe. Her head couldn’t even rest in the U-shaped headrest most of the dead had the privilege of using.

  Dr. Langley rested a hand on the top of the girl’s head with the tenderness a loving father might do as he watched his daughter sleep. “Well, as you can see, we’re having trouble stabilizing her head. The killer cut her arms off at the shoulders and then separated them at the elbows. He then removed her legs at the thighs and separated them at the knees.”

  The ME exhaled a long heavy breath. “Upon preliminary findings, it appears she suffered repeated sexual assaults, both vaginal and anal. The tearing indicates severe trauma. From the destruction of the tissue, I would say he used some kind of instrument at some point.”

  Joe dragged his hand down his face. “Damn.”

  Damien stared down at the young girl. Above one of her breasts, there appeared to be a deep indentation. “Doctor Langley, are those bite marks on her chest?”

  The Doctor glanced up at Damien’s stoic face. “Yes, Lieutenant. There are several bite marks on her breasts and her shoulder area. We will cast those for future identification of our suspect. Bite marks are as individual as fingerprints. They can be tricky to cast, but when done properly it will stand up in court. However, something that isn’t tricky to do is figure out
what she ate last.” Dr. Langley held a small container filled with a cloudy liquid. “Once I analyze this, her stomach contents—or lack thereof. It seems he gave her limited food and fluids while he held her.”

  Dr. Langley rolled his shoulders and twisted his head from side to side, causing Joe to wince at the cracking sound. “We took samples for DNA. We could get a hit if her parents put her in the system. Last year during Abduction Awareness Week, we made DNA/Fingerprint kits available to every school-age child’s parents. We had widespread participation in the program. There is a good chance we can identify her quickly.”

  Damien clutched the St. Michael medal he wore around his neck. His chest constricted. The trauma this innocent girl suffered sickened him. He swallowed the lump in his throat and pushed down the bile trying to work its way out.

  ***

  Just outside the conference room door, Damien stood with Joe and the director. Jones’ jaw clenched. “One hell of a way to start the week. I want this bastard. I have a fourteen-year-old daughter. This hits too close to home.”

  Damien spun around at the sound of footsteps jogging towards them. A young man who looked barely twenty-one came down the hall. “Sir, we have the identity of the young girl. Rebecca ‘Becca’ Martin through her fingerprints. The parents registered both their kids last year with those DNA/Fingerprint kits. She went missing from a mall in Decatur last Saturday afternoon. Her family lives in Blue Mound, thirty-five miles up Interstate 72.”

  Jones nodded. “Good job Matt. Let DNA know she’s in the system.” Jones glanced at Joe and Damien. “We placed those cards and samples in a different catalog for easy indexing. When we have a missing child, time is of the essence.” Jones watched the young man as he headed back to his work area. “Well, I don’t envy your next stop, family notifications suck.” He handed them several of his business cards. “You met Matt Dillard, one of our lab techs. He’ll assist you here in the lab. If you need him to gather information on the computer or get anything for you, just contact him.”

  Director Jones handed one of Matt’s cards to Damien. “You two, don’t forget to get your ID badges at the desk. It’ll allow you twenty-four-hour access to the lab while you’re here. Give me your cards; I’ll pass them on to Matt.” He took the cards from Damien and Joe and headed down the hallway.

  Damien studied his watch as if it gave him instructions. “It’s now four p.m. What do you say we go over to the hotel, drop our stuff off and then head up to Blue Mound? I could use a few minutes before we tell the parents about their daughter. Let’s also call the local Sheriff’s office and make sure we can stop by and speak with him before we head out to the parent’s house. I’m hoping he has something that will help us in this case.”

  “Sounds good. I wouldn’t mind a few minutes to clear my head, and maybe throw up my lunch.” Joe said.

  To read more of Innocence Taken, download the Ebook from your favorite retailer.

  Please leave a review wherever you purchased this book.

  Other books by Victoria M. Patton

  Damien Kaine Series

  Innocence Taken

  Confession of Sin

  Fatal Dominion

  Web of Malice

  Blind Vengeance

  Series book bundles

  Derek Reed Thrillers

  The Box

  Short Stories

  Deadfall

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Victoria M. Patton is forced to share her home with a husband, two teenagers, two dogs, and two cats. If she isn’t plotting her escape, she uses her Search and Rescue/Law Enforcement skills from the Coast Guard and her BS in Forensic Chemistry to figure out the best way to hide all the bodies and write amazing stories about the murders. If she has any free time, she drinks copious amounts of whiskey and binge watches Netflix. She is on most social media outlets, type in her name, you’ll find her.

  To learn more about her and sign up for her monthly email

  visit her websites:

  www.whiskeyandwriting.com

  www.victoriampatton.com