by Terri Reid
“So, why are we seeing sliced stomachs if that happened after death?”
“But they remembered dying,” Sean said.
“Or they thought they were dying,” Bradley said. “They remember being put in cold water. Hypothermia can produce a slowing of your system and induce a coma-like state. I’m a recent expert on that.”
“So, they lowered their core temperatures in the water?” Mary asked.
Bradley nodded. “You get it down to about 65 degrees and you have a body that looks dead. No pupil response, waxy skin, no discernable heartbeat.”
“But we’re still back at why,” Sean said. “Why go through all the trouble to turn them into cadaver mules?”
“Where can cadavers go where live people can’t? Mary asked.
“Medical schools,” Bradley said. “Colleges, universities…places where pushers might have a hard time getting into.”
“So, you have a contact at a med school. You send bodies into a temperature controlled location,” Sean said. “Then your contact dissects the stomach, removes the drugs and leaves the rest of the body available for further use at the school.”
“And when they’re done, they cremate the remains,” Mary added. “Evidence destroyed.”
“Damn…brilliant,” Sean said. “I wonder how long he’s been doing this?”
“Well, he won’t be doing it any longer,” Bradley said. “There’s got to be some of those bodies still out at the schools. Once we locate a couple of them and get some of the contacts to turn state’s evidence, he’ll be in a temperature controlled climate of his very own for a long time.”
“You’ve both done a great job,” Sean said. “There is no way we would have tracked this down so quickly. Thank you.”
Mary nodded. “Thanks. But it’s kind of bittersweet,” she said. “What the hell happened to Kevin?”
“We may never find out,” Sean said, standing up and slipping the reports into a folder, “Now, not to sound like an ungrateful host… but, get the hell out of my city.”
Bradley laughed. “Yeah, not to sound like an ungrateful guest, but the further away I get from Chicago, the better.”
*****
Chapter Twenty-nine
The sun was shining brightly and reflecting off the snow covered farmland surrounding Freeport. Bradley had the radio on and holiday music filled the interior of the car.
“I know I should be tired,” Mary said, “but I feel so pumped.”
Bradley laughed. “I know exactly how you feel,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Like the world’s a little better place and you got to help.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, exactly! And hopefully things can get back to normal again.”
Bradley turned down the street to Mary’s house. It felt like she hadn’t been home for a month, not just a week. She was delighted to see Andy Brennan busily shoveling her walk. Yeah, normal was good.
They pulled up to the curb and got out of the car.
“Hey, Miss O’Reilly, where’ve you’ve been? You get arrested or something?” Andy called.
“Why does everyone always think the worst of me?” she asked Bradley with a grin.
She scooped up a handful of snow, packed it lightly, turned and then threw it at Andy. “Yeah, I got arrested for assault with a snowball.”
The snowball landed with a splat on Andy’s chest. He looked down, amazed. “You have really good aim,” he said, scooping up some snow of his own. “But can you dodge?”
He whipped the snowball towards her, hurtling it with surprising force. At the last moment, she pulled Bradley in front of her as a shield. Surprised, Bradley didn’t have time to react and the snowball barreled into his face and down his neck.
Mary peeked around Bradley and looked up at his snow covered face. “Wow, looks like I’m not the only one spending some time in jail,” she said.
Bradley glared at Mary.
“All right young man,” Bradley growled, “I want you to turn around and place your hands on your head, where I can see them.”
Andy immediately did as he was told, a flicker of apprehension in his eyes.
Bradley moved forward, toward the young man. “Do you know what the penalty is for assaulting an officer?” he asked.
Andy shook his head. “No sir.”
“Do you think it’s funny to throw snowballs at officers of the law?” he asked.
“No, sir. I wasn’t trying to hit you. But, Miss O’Reilly moved.”
Bradley moved closer. “That’s true,” he said. “Do you feel that Miss O’Reilly deserves to be assaulted with a snowball?”
“Do you want the truth, sir?”
A grin stole over Bradley’s face; he squatted down next to Andy. “Yes, young man, the truth.”
Mary watched Bradley walk over to the boy and squat down next to him. His broad back blocked her view of Andy. She was sure Bradley would take the incident in the spirit of fun.
Bradley seemed to be listening to something Andy was saying and nodding. Mary peered closer. They looked like they were exchanging a handshake or something. “Is everything okay over there?” she called.
“Fine,” Bradley answered, “We’re just figuring some things out. Man stuff.”
“Yeah, man stuff,” Andy replied.
“Oh, okay,” Mary answered. “Could I be of assistance at all?”
“No, you just stay right where you are,” Bradley answered.
Andy giggled.
Oh, crap, Mary thought. This is not going to end well…
Before she could complete her thought, the air was filled with a barrage of snowballs all directed at her. The first two connected and hit her in the head. The next two exploded on her back as she ran for cover. The rest flew over her head, as she sat in the snow behind a drift, creating ammunition.
She sat quietly, the seat of her pants getting cold and wet. It’s worth it, she silently reminded herself.
In a few moments she heard what she’d been waiting for. “Mary? Mary? Are you okay?” Bradley’s voice called.
She smiled wickedly, loaded a snowball into each hand and waited.
“Miss O’Reilly,” Andy called. “Maybe she got hurt.”
Mary almost felt bad about making them worry. She glanced over at the pile of snowballs waiting for her retaliation. Almost, but not really, she mused.
“Mary, this isn’t funny,” Bradley called. “Just let us know you’re okay.”
She could tell he was getting closer. She bit her lip and listened to the crunching of footsteps in the snow.
Any moment now.
The footsteps stopped on the other side of the drift. “Mary,” Bradley called once again.
She sighed, Maybe I should let them know…
A shadow caught her eye. She looked up to find an avalanche of snow descending on her. Her head, face and shoulders were suddenly covered with snow.
“Yes!” Andy shouted and slapped Bradley’s hand. “We took her down!”
Bradley peered over the drift. “Um, Mary,” he said, scratching the side of his head innocently, “seems like you got a little snow on your head.”
Mary hefted two snowballs. “I’ll show you a little snow,” she yelled as she whipped Bradley and Andy with the remainder of her cache.
Five minutes later, three out of breath and snow-laden warriors pulled the luggage from Bradley’s car and carried it into Mary’s house. She looked at the boy and the man, covered with snow, faces red from the cold and still grinning from ear to ear. “Take your coats off and hang them in the bathroom,” she ordered. “I’ll make hot chocolate.”
“Cool!” Andy cried, racing to the bathroom.
“Yeah, cool,” Bradley said, following Mary into the kitchen.
She turned and found him standing behind her. She raised an eyebrow. “You’re melting on my kitchen floor.”
He grinned. “Yeah, you too.”
She looked down and saw that she was indeed dropping bits and pieces of snow from her oute
rwear. She looked up and found him staring at her. “What?” she asked, her voice a little shaky.
He lifted his hand and wiped away some snow still clinging to her hair. “You throw a mean snowball, Mary O’Reilly,” he said softly. “Welcome home.”
*****
Chapter Thirty
Mary muted the holiday music as she reached over to answer the ringing phone. “Mary O’Reilly.”
“Hey, Mary, it’s Sean.”
Her brother’s voice had a bit of an edge to it. “How are you doing?”
“Good, no, actually great,” she replied. “I spent the rest of Saturday cleaning my house and I was a total lazy bum on Sunday. I watched ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ and ‘A Muppet’s Christmas Carol’ and ate junk food. So, what’s up?”
“Is Bradley around?” he asked.
“Sean, he works three blocks away from me,” she said. “Why would he be around?”
The bell over her door sounded and Mary turned around to see Bradley enter the office.
“How did you do that?” she asked Sean.
Bradley slipped his coat off and hung it on the coat rack. She could tell he was still favoring his injured shoulder. “Sean called me and told me to head over here,” Bradley explained, sitting in the chair on the other side of her desk. “He said he wanted to share some information with both of us.”
“Okay, Sean, I’m going to put you on speaker phone,” she said, pressing the button and placing the handset back into the cradle. “Can you hear us?”
“Yeah, we’re good,” Sean replied. “I wanted to catch you up on the developments of Kevin’s case. The reports you guys pulled together have been very helpful. We’ve been able to track down about half the bodies at medical schools throughout the state. Maria Hernandez was one of the first bodies found. We’ve contacted her parents.”
“That’s great, Sean,” Bradley interrupted. “But cut to the chase. You wouldn’t have asked us to be here together just to give us that kind of an update.”
Sean paused. “Kevin’s out,” he said.
“What?” Mary replied, sitting back in her seat.
“We only had him for assault, we didn’t have enough for the murder charges,” he said. “He paid his bail and walked.”
“When?” Bradley asked.
“Yesterday,” Sean said. “I didn’t find out about it until this morning.”
“Damn,” Bradley replied.
“What else?” Mary asked.
“Angelo was found dead this morning,” Sean said. “Overdose. At least that’s what it was supposed to look like.”
“How long has he been dead?” Bradley asked.
“A couple of hours at the most,” Sean replied. “I want you two back here in Chicago, protective custody.”
“No way,” Mary said. “Sean I can’t go into hiding because Kevin’s loose. We don’t even know if he’ll come here.”
Bradley nodded. “I agree with Mary,” he said. “We’re actually safer here. We know the territory, we know the people. Why would he come after us? Unless there’s something else you’re not telling us.”
“I found out Kevin was free because there was a note on my desk this morning from him,” he said. “It said he was sorry it had to end this way. He’d always considered me a friend. But he was going to make Mary pay for setting him up.”
“Nothing about me?” Bradley said. “I’m disappointed.”
“Well, yeah, you were mentioned,” Sean said. “And it’s not very complimentary either.”
“So, we know he’s coming,” Mary said. “He doesn’t have the element of surprise. He doesn’t know Freeport and he’s not a familiar face. I still believe we are safer staying here.”
“Damn it, I’ve got to run this case in Chicago, I can’t come out and protect you,” Sean said.
“Um, when did you become my big brother too?” Bradley asked. “Sean, we are both trained professionals. We know what we’re doing. We won’t take any chances. You keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll keep in touch.”
Bradley reached over and hung up the phone. Mary smiled. “He’s going to be really mad,” she said.
“He’ll get over it. Now, what are we going to do?”
Mary rubbed her hands over her arms. “I’m not going to hide somewhere until he’s found,” she said. “If he’s looking for me, the sooner he tries something, the sooner we catch him.”
Bradley nodded. “Okay, we won’t hide,” he said. “But I think it’s imperative we take protective measures.”
“I agree.”
Bradley looked at the large glass windows on the front of Mary’s office. “You’re a sitting duck here,” he said. “And if you close the blinds, you can’t see what’s coming.”
“I don’t think he’s going to just shoot me through a window,” she said. “He wants to take care of me up close and personal.”
He stood up, walked away from the desk and ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. Mary…”
“Don’t even say it,” she interrupted. “I’ll take precautions, but I’m not going into protective custody.”
“What’s your idea of precautions?” he asked.
“I can work from home for a week or so. I have wireless access there and I can switch my phone so it goes to the house,” she said. “If I have to go into the office, I’ll do it during the day when people are around.”
“Okay, that’s reasonable.”
“I’ll take someone with me if I go shopping or take any local trips,” she added. “I won’t be alone in a place I can get snatched.”
“That sounds good too.”
She looked at him, standing in the corner of her office, his arms crossed over his chest and his stance determined. She sighed. “And I suppose you will be sleeping in my guest room for the next little while.”
He nodded. “Oh, without a doubt.”
“Bradley, I really don’t need a babysitter,” she argued.
“Who said anything about you,” he asked, walking over to the rack and grabbing his coat. “I’m expecting you to protect me.”
She couldn’t help it… she grinned.
“I’ll be back here in an hour,” he said, “To help you carry whatever you need from the office to your house. In the meantime, I’m calling a patrol car to hang out in front of your shop, so you can close your blinds.”
Mary stood and followed him to the door. “Just remember you aren’t his favorite person either,” she said. “You need to take precautions, too.”
He nodded. “So much for normal.”
“Yeah, it was fun while it lasted.”
*****
Chapter Thirty-one
”Is it safe?” Stanley called from the doorway.
Mary jumped and then caught her breath. “Of course it’s safe,” she said. “What did you expect?”
Stanley shrugged. “Well, you have your blinds drawn in the middle of the day and I saw our favorite Police Chief head this way,” he explained. “I figured you and he were finally… well, you know… and you needed a little privacy.”
“So, you came over?” she asked.
“I yelled before I came in,” he said. “Besides that busy-body Rosie is headed down the street, so I wanted to give you two a chance to get decent.”
Mary laughed. “Yeah, Rosie is the busy-body.”
The bell over the door announced Rosie’s arrival. “I’m a busy-body?” she asked. “Well, of course I am. But really, you don’t need to advertise it.”
Mary laughed. “Stanley and I were discussing the actuality of which one of you is more nosey.”
“Well, when I saw your blinds drawn in the middle of the day, I just had to see what was going on,” Rosie admitted.
She glanced around the room. “Chief Alden isn’t hiding in the closet, is he dear?”
“No, he’s not,” she said. “And we are not planning on having sex in the middle of my office in the middle of the day.”
“So when are you plann
ing on having sex?” Stanley asked.
The bell over the door rang once again. “Who’s planning on having sex?” Bradley asked.
Mary laid her head in her hands and shook her head. “I’m living in a sitcom.”