A Breck Death (Jill Quint, MD, Forensic Pathologist Series Book 3)

by Peche, Alec

  “David, in my opinion you were wise to call for assistance in this case. I don’t mean to be self-serving, but I had one of the oddestinteractions with law enforcement today. I use the word ‘odd’ because I can’t find the right word to describe Officer Miller. I’m not sure he cares that the case gets solved. He refused to give me a copy of the report which is a violation of State law. He said I needed to prove you were the next of kin. I asked to see the department policy that required officers to identify next of kin by producing a marriage certificate. He just walked away from me so I called the office number and told the person that answered the phone that I wanted to speak to the Chief and I was waiting in their reception area.”

  David let out a little laugh and Jill smiled at him declaring, “Really as if they think they can deny me a report that is mine to have by law!”

  “Did the Chief meet with you?”

  “No, they told me he was out in the community and asked if I wanted to speak to his second-in-command. A sergeant met me in the lobby. I showed her the authorization you gave me to speak on your behalf and she returned in a few minutes with the report. The report had little new information on it. I found the only useful piece of information to be the name of the ski patrol person that found Joseph.”

  “So you didn’t get along with Officer Miller either?”

  “No, I thought you said there was another officer that visited you along with Officer Miller? Was he a problem as well? I could not read the sergeant to guess whether she was surprised or annoyed by Officer Miller.”

  “Like your difficulty in assessing the sergeant's reaction, I couldn't read the other officer to guess whether he agreed with Miller’s behavior toward me or not. Like you said earlier, I’m glad I hired you as I lack confidence as to whether catching Joseph’s killer is a priority with this law enforcement agency. When they don’t get the little things handled correctly like giving me a copy of the report, then I doubt that the big things are handled well either.”

  “I agree with you,” replied Jill as the gondola reached the top. They gathered their skis and poles heading to the chairlift.

  “You know, David, if someone wanted to murder you up here, how would they find you on the mountain? It is a big place. It makes me wonder, how Joseph was located; how would someone find him up on the mountain? I know when I ski with friends, I usually won’t see them unless we have a specified meeting area.”

  “Yes, you’re right. Even Joseph and I would know of friends that were up on the mountain and we wouldn’t see them unless we arranged a meeting time at a particular restaurant on the mountain.”

  The first chairlift was approaching the top and they needed to take an additional two chairs to reach the run where Joseph had been murdered. Jill reached down and tightened her boots. She usually liked to warm-up on intermediate slopes before heading over to peak six but she would forego those runs to keep pace with David. Where they were headed was an easy advanced slope, so she shouldn’t have a problem.

  “David, I’m not used to this altitude so I’m going to need more oxygen breaks on the way down,” Jill cautioned. “I don’t mind if you go straight to the wooded area that youthink was where they located Joseph. We may need additional runs to find the right spot. Our only sign may be a lot of boot imprints in the snow. I can’t imagine that Officer Miller has been up here nor will we see any yellow crime scene tape.”

  “Yeah I was thinking of that when I couldn’t sleep last night. Joseph liked to tree ski when he could find the right trail. The trail needs to be not too steep, and not a single loop around just one or two trees. That not too steep part should eliminate most of the tree runs that we will see.”

  “Okay that is helpful information. Let’s go back and think about how the killer found Joseph. He might have followed him from your cabin in the morning. However, I think that is unlikely as he would have had to tail him for the next six hours. Maybe the killer had a lot of patience or he just spent the time looking for the perfect place to kill him without anyone seeing it, so he would need to find an empty ski run.”

  “Our cabin is on an isolated road. We would have seen someone parked at the end of our driveway. I suppose the killer could have waited at the scenic overlook vista point for Joseph’s car to go by and then tailed it.We get an annual parking pass for the base of the gondola, so he could have followed the car to that lot.”

  “Maybe the killer got close to Joseph sometime over the past several days and dropped a tracker in one of his ski jacket pockets? Did Joseph have a distinctive jacket, or were there a hundred like it on the slope?”

  “He always wore a black jacket. It had a sheen on it that could look burgundy in bright sun, but generally you saw a black jacket. I guess you saw that jacket at the medical examiner’s office. I need to stop by there and pick up Joseph’s belongings. He wanted our skiers and boarders to be able to see him, and he also thought if he ever got caught in an avalanche, that a dark color would be easier to spot. There are lots of black jackets on the ski hill, so while the color caught your eye because the black was a sharp contrast against the white snow, it didn’t stand out from the other black jackets. His helmet was white and his ski pants black, so again nothing distinctive. You would have to concentrate hard to pick him out of say thirty other skiers on a slope.”

  “So some other ways to track him would be by his cell phone if the person knew how to triangulate it, by social media if he was updating his day on Facebook or Twitter or on the ski pass website, or by the lift pass. The lift pass would be an approximation as it only has the last chairlift a skier used, but it doesn’t tell you whether they went left or right at the top, and you would need reaction time to get up there.”

  “I have been so involved planning for Joseph’s funeral and dealing with a hundred other details that I haven’t thought through some of these questions you’re asking. They are all really good questions that will give me something to think about to take my mind off the fact that Joseph is gone forever.”

  “David your mind is filled with many more important details. I would advise you to think of your happiest moments with Joseph rather than pondering who followed Joseph over the past few days or weeks. I’ll be bouncing ideas off you not because I expect you to solve this crime, but rather to gain insight into Joseph’s behaviors, habits, and routines. This helps me to understand where there were opportunities to harm him and where I might look for a killer stalking him which might help me identify him or her.”

  “Her?”

  “It is early yet in this investigation and considering a dart gun with poison was used, the killer could be either gender as size and physical strength wasn’t required. Poison homicides are moreoften connected to female killers.”

  They exited the second chairlift and there was only one short ski run to reach the third and final chairlift that Joseph took before he was murdered.

  “David, I don’t have the trail map for this mountain memorized. Is this ski run the only way to reach peak six from other parts of the mountain?”

  “Yes, unless youare willing to hike uphill.”

  “I always avoid hiking. If I remember correctly, you can see the next lift from the top of this chair? Let’s pause and look around a bit before we get in line at the next lift.”

  “Ok, meet you close to the entrance line.”

  They soon exited the lift and dropped down the ski trail about seventy or so feet to the next ski chair. Leaning on their poles, Jill tried to catch her breath and soak in the atmosphere.

  “Tell me about this chairlift in terms of you and Joseph. Did you rideit frequently? What did you like about the lift? Did you have a favorite ski run?”

  “Good questions. Joseph and I were divided on any given day as to whether we liked this chair or the T-bar better. We liked the runs off the T-bar, but the lift was a drag - you can’t relax on it. You have to actively maintain your skis in the track and your posture leaning back. However, there were more trails off of the T-bar. Jo
seph and I never hiked from the top of this lift to the bowls above the lift. We didn’t need that kind of thrill.

  “We loved skiing and since we had the cabin and it was a short drive into the mountains, we averaged 15-20 days of skiing each season. We were great skiers, but knew our limits. We avoided chutes between rocks and trails where we would likely lose control and slam into a tree. We raced on Nastar, loved watching the races of Olympic trials or World Cup, or the X-Games if this town was hosting those events. We never tried snowboarding preferring skis. We never strayed from this mountain region, since there are so many resorts within a small radius of the cabin.

  “At the top of this chair we generally went left toward the bowl. Depending on your mood you could attack the mountain and its level of steepness. Sometimes we had lunch at this chalet,” said David pointing at a large ski hut. “They don’t serve food in there so it would be those days that we packed our own lunches that we stopped here.”

  “Ok, this ski pass reader was the last location that the ski patrol had for Joseph,” commented Jill looking at the chairlift. “I wonder if there are any cameras for these chairlifts, both at the top and the bottom. Do you see anything that looks like a camera?”

  They both stood leaning on their ski poles, looking for a camera somewhere on the lift.

  “I don’t see one, Jill. Let’s ask the lift attendant as we sit on the chair. Are you ready to go up the mountain?”

  Jill observed David and thought he looked both anxious to get there and hesitant to push forward. She needed to forget about the case for the next few moments and just support David.

  “Yes, let’s head up the mountain,” Jill replied as they pushed forward with their poles to the lift. A few seconds later they were seated on the chair, zooming up the hill. Most of the chairs were empty as it was midweek, a hard to reach chairlift, and early in the season. Jill counted in her head and decided that one in fifteen chairs had a skier or boarder on it. The lift employee looked at them blankly when they asked if there was a camera on the chair.

  “David, I haven’t had time to interview the ski patrol employee that found Joseph. Do you have a sense of where they found him?”

  “Yes, Joseph and I would occasionally go tree skiing off this lift. There was a path through a section of trees well off the peak that under the right conditions was a lot of fun. I have to think that was the trail through the trees that Joseph took. We’ll take several breaks on the way down to give you time to adjust to the altitude. When I reach the trail that I think Joseph took, I’ll stop and wait for you.”

  “Depending on the condition of the snow, I would just as soon pop off my skis and walk into the forest. It may have been skied on by now, but then given the few riders on the chairlift, it is possible that no one has been on that path since Joseph was found there. I will have to decide what to do once I reach the trail.”

  They were approaching the top of the lift and as usual the chair was rocking from side to side in the wind. The view was magnificent. As far as one could see, the Rockies were covered in snow with beautiful blue skies framing each peak. There were wisps of snow blowing off the peaks that looked like cotton candy being fashioned into puffy clouds. Then another strong gust of cold wind shook the chair and Jill was glad to be getting off. They exited to the right and as agreed upon began skiing down, taking that last route that they suspected Joseph had followed two days previously. David graciously stopped several times on the way to their destination. Jill was glad to descend below the wind and took the opportunity to breathe heavily trying to catch her breath in the thin air. David came to a stop at the top of a forested area and waited for Jill.

  She braked beside him and said, “Is this the forest they found Joseph in?”

  “This was his favorite tree skiing trail, so I would guess so.”

  Looking around the trees Jill asked, “Where is the entrance to the trail?”

  “About half way down on the left.”

  “Let’s continue to the start of the trail, but stay outside the forest.”

  “Okay.”

  Another fifty yards downhill, David was waiting for Jill to catch up. Once she came to a stop and looked around, she could see the trail into the woods.

  “The snow doesn’t look trampled upon from this entrance. I see a few ski tracks. Has there been any fresh snow in the past two days?”

  “No there hasn’t and it appears to me that the snow cats haven’t groomed the snow in this area.”

  “On the odd chance that there is some evidence to be collected, would you stay behind me on this trail? I’m going to go very slow and stop many times, so try to stay a little back from me. First I’m going to try releasing my boots from the bindings and seeing if I can walk inside this forest.”

  Jill bent down and popped one of her bindings, stepping out onto the snow in her ski boot. Inside the forest, the snow coverage should be lighter, but then the snow cats would not have been around to hard pack the snow. If she sunk too deeply into the snow in her boots, she would not be able to walk very well. It could even be very difficult to get her skis back on. Her first tentative step dropped her about half a foot. That meant that walking in the forest on the snow would be doable. She took the other ski off and then slowly navigated her way downhill. With one hand dragging her skis, the other hand contained her poles and helped her balance. She stayed next to the ski trail as she went.

  Behind her David called out, "I think I will remove my skis too. As clumsy as it is to walk and sink with each step, you have better control without the skis."

  "Let's hope that the snow conditions stay the same, because if there is fluffy powder in our path we are sunk in more ways than one. About how long would you guess this trail goes before it exits the forest?"

  "Maybe fifty yards - half of a football field."

  "Are you a football fan?" asked Jill as they continued walking slowly downhill with trees and ski poles assisting their balance as each step sunk into the snow.

  "Yeah, we have been season-ticket holders for the Broncos for the past fifteen years. Now I can’t imagine going to a game without Joseph. One of a thousand things I will have to get used to."

  Jill had no answer to give to David’s statement other than giving him a sympathetic grimace. They plowed forward a few steps with Jill peeking through the trees looking each way as they moved. They soon came upon an area where the snow had been trampled by many boots. The sun was bright as it was approaching high noon and something got Jill’s attention as it reacted to the bright sunlight.

  “David, is that a cell phone?” asked Jill while she pointed to the glistening object.

  “It looks like Joseph’s cell phone. I’ll go get it.”

  Jill reached outher arm to block David saying, “Wait, I don’t want this crime scene trampled on. It has sat on the snow for two days; it can sit for another thirty minutes. Did they find Joseph in the dark?”

  “No it wasn’t dark, but it was dusk and with the canopy of trees here, it may as well have been dark.”

  “That must explain why the phone wasn’t secured by the ski patrol - they didn’t see it. Let’s see if there is anything else that they missed.”

  Jill walked around the perimeter of the area while she visualized Joseph dropping to the ground as his muscles lost control in less than a minute after being hit by the dart. His quadricep muscles in his legs would have been some of the first muscles to feel the impact of the curare. She looked up the trail at the direction he would have come from. She jumped over the ski trail which was no easy feat in her heavy inflexible ski boots and walked around the opposite side of the trail. She would have to research how far a dart gun fired and what kind of aiming accuracy the shooter needed. She took an excess of photos.

  Looking over at David, Jill said “I would like to walk up the trail and examine the various angles a shooter has on someone in this area. Likely Joseph was hit by the poison dart a little above where he came to rest in the snow. David I am sorry to
put you through this, but I feel that this might be the only time we might get to visit this scene before someone skis it. While it was trampled by the rescuers, it still yielded his cell phone. Sadly, I can’t distinguish the boot prints and the ski trails to identify which belonged to the killer or the rescuers.”

  “Jill, what do you need me to do?” asked David. The tone of his voice spoke to how desperately he wanted to help Jill find clues inside this forest.

  “Would you mind standing here, I would like to get a sighting of where Joseph would have been standing when he was hit by the dart. Were you about the same height?”

  “He was an inch shorter than I. Where would you like me to stand?”

  Jill looked at the clearing and guessed where Joseph had dropped. It helped having the cell phone as she knew the body had to be close by. She then moved David uphill to where she guessed Joseph had been hit by the dart. He would have traveled downhill a little distance before the dart felled him. She took measurements of the approximate distances, as that would eliminate weapons, suspects, and even locations based on the circumstances. Curves in the ski trail or trees blocking a view gave her a strong estimate of where the shooter had to stand. He also would have to be in good shape, able to control his breathing. Jill had watched the Olympic Biathlon and knew how hard it was for those athletes to control their breathing and maintain accuracy in shooting. She now imagined the shooter would have had to follow Joseph closely, stop, quickly aim, and fire the dart gun. He or she could have fired several darts depending on one of them hitting the target. The killer would have then stood in the forest waiting for the paralytic drug to take effect. It now seemed like Joseph had pulled out his cell phone to call for help, but had become incapacitated before he could dial any number.