Lucy frowned. “What? Where?” she said.
“In the Golden Valley Memorial Hospital, about a five-minute drive from here.”
“Is she okay?” I opened my mouth to say something more but Benson held his hand up to stop me.
“Let me fill you in,” he said. “First, yes as far as I know she’s physically okay – in the sense that she doesn’t appear to have any life-threatening injuries, but…” he paused for a moment, opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a manila file. “She was in a road accident a little over a week ago – on the night of February six. An engineer, name of…” he glanced at the contents of the Manila file in front of him, “Crombie, was headed south from Iowa to Arkansas. It was late at night, raining heavily. He got himself lost after pulling off the highway. Visibility was bad. Suddenly this girl stepped out in front of his car and he couldn’t stop. That’s his story and we’ve no reason to doubt it. The car skidded and hit her broadside. He managed to get her to a local hospital. She was unconscious but almost miraculously didn’t appear to have suffered any broken bones or major internal injuries but she’s remained in a coma since then. After two days she was transferred to the GVM here in Clinton since they’ve got better facilities for dealing with head trauma there. As far as I know she hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”
“When did you find all this out?” I said.
“Well we’ve known about it ever since she was transferred here.” He looked at the file again. “Eighth of February. Since the accident we’ve been trying to find out who she is. I found that out just over an hour ago when Matt sent through the photograph. I recognized her instantly.”
“Where did the accident happen?” I said.
“I’ve got a map where I can indicate the approximate location. Unfortunately, I can’t be precise. The driver panicked after the collision and placed the poor girl on the rear seat of his car and then drove to Warsaw – that’s over in Benton County where the girl was initially hospitalized. He shouldn’t have moved her, of course – he ought to have called for an ambulance and stayed put, but different people react differently in these kind of circumstances. Fortunately, as I said, the young lady didn’t have any serious injuries, other than the head trauma, so no harm was done; but when he was asked to retrace his steps the following day to pinpoint where the accident occurred he wasn’t able to do it. So we only have an approximate location which is somewhere near the boundaries of Henry, Benton and St Clair counties.”
“So what’s the current prognosis as far as Vicky is concerned?” I said.
“Well I thought maybe we’d head over to the hospital to find out. From what I understand there’s no sign of internal cranial bleeding, and there’s no fracture either. So far I’ve been told that she could come out of it anytime or she could remain comatose for weeks, months or even years.”
“So from what you’ve told us I assume she had no ID when she was taken to the hospital.”
“She had only the clothes she was wearing. No cell phone, no personal items of any kind. Obviously since the accident occurred we’ve circulated her picture and there have been newspaper pleas for help to identify her but nothing’s come of it. Now that we at least have a name we can maybe make some progress.”
“Well thank God she’s okay,” Lucy said. “I mean obviously not really okay but at least she’s alive. Is she…”
“According to Doctor Fletcher who is in charge of her case there’s no reason to think that she won’t eventually make a complete physical recovery. In his experience it’s often just a matter of time in cases like this. I mean her respiration and all her vital signs are okay as far as I understand. I’m told she’s not in any danger of a relapse. Look…Fletcher can tell you more than I can. I’ve asked my sergeant detective, Phil Spinks, to arrange for you to see him this afternoon. I think I’ll come with you too. I know the real purpose of your visit here today was to inquire about the Stamper girl, but I guess this will have to take precedence for the time being.”
“Yes, I agree,” I said. “I guess Matt told you about the possible connection between Cindy’s disappearance and our current inquiry?”
“Sure, I understand that. Prior to this development I was going to arrange for you to talk to the medical examiner that performed the autopsy, but I guess that’ll have to wait for the time being.”
“From what Matt told us the medical examiner won’t be able to shed any light on the cause of Cindy’s death.”
“But there’s been another development,” Benson said. “I’m sorry, I should have told you.”
“What kind of development?” I said.
Benson drew a deep breath, let it out slowly and said, “I’m afraid there’s been another body found.”
“Another…”
“It was found just a mile from Cindy’s body. A couple were out walking their dog soon after dawn on Saturday morning with their kids. The dog must’ve picked up the scent and it started to dig; got all excited. They called the police and they located the body about eighteen inches down. It was a young girl, dead for no more than a week or two.”
“Oh Christ,” Lucy gasped. “Was it…”
“We don’t have identification yet,” Benson said. “The body was taken immediately to Jackson County for an autopsy, but there seems little doubt it was a homicide. Both of the victim’s kidneys were missing – they appear to have been surgically removed at or about the time of her death.”
“My God,” Lucy said.
“Look, I don’t want to say too much. It’ll be better to put you in touch with the pathology department over in Jackson, but Miss Stamper’s remains had both kidneys missing too. It was assumed at the time of her autopsy that those organs had been scavenged by wild animals, but now I’m not so sure. It’s likely that the investigation into her death will have to be re-opened.”
The relief of finding Vicky was cruelly overshadowed by this latest news. “I need to get over to see the examiner,” I said. “I have a number of photographs of Marisa and I may well be able to make an ID if the victim had only been recently buried. I hope to God it’s not her, but it seems likely. What’s the view of the medical examiner about the missing kidneys – is that suspected to be cause of her death? I mean you can live with only one kidney as far as I understand, but not without both.”
“It’s too early to say. I only know that the removal of the kidneys and the victim’s death appear to have been proximate.”
“Are we dealing with some kind of maniacs?” I said. “Why the hell would anyone want to remove her kidneys?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” Benson said. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s what we feared,” I said. “Marisa’s abduction made no sense; there’s no apparent motive – at least not a financial one. I’ve worried all along that as the days passed it was more likely than not that we weren’t going to find Marisa alive.”
“It may not be her,” Lucy said. “Let’s keep our hopes alive. Does the description of the victim match any known missing person?”
“Again, it’s too early to say. Have you got accommodation arranged here yet?” Benson asked.
“No, not yet; we were planning to head back to Springfield but obviously this changes everything.”
“I’ll get that organized for you, don’t worry,” Benson said. There was a knock on the door.
“Hey, Phil,” Benson said as his sergeant entered, “Come and meet Kane and Lucy.”
Spinks didn’t say “The dynamic duo?” but I could tell he was thinking it.
Chapter Fifteen
Vicky
“We know more about the dark side of the moon than we do about the intricacies of the human brain,” Doctor Fletcher said, as Sheriff Benson, Lucy and I sat in an arc around his desk in his office on the second floor of the Golden Valley Memorial Hospital.
“There is no physical reason that we can ascertain as to why Vicky should be in a coma. There’s no swelli
ng of the brain, no indication of any internal damage whatsoever. But this isn’t unusual. I’ve been specializing in cases of head trauma for over thirty years and I’m afraid to say I’ve learned almost nothing new in all that time. To all intents and purposes Miss Boraski is a fit and healthy young woman. She received a severe traumatic injury to her skull but was lucky in that no real damage appears to have been done. She is being fed intravenously and given physiotherapy. She’s in no need of any medication. It’s a game of ‘wait and see’ I’m afraid.”
“Does she respond to any external stimuli?” I said. “Voices, sounds…that kind of thing?”
“Well her reflexes are normal. There’s no indication of nerve damage. Certainly there’s no indication of brain injury either. It’s perfectly possible that she’s aware of what’s going on around her and yet is unable to respond. We don’t know.”
“I’ve heard that in cases like this familiar sounds, voices – things like that – can help,” Lucy said.
“Yes, you’re quite right. Now we know who she is we may be able to start making progress. If we could trace her family, and let her hear some familiar voices, it might help. You see there’s no reason to believe that her aural senses have been adversely affected. As I said, she may very well be able to hear what’s going on around her but simply be unable to physically respond. There’ve been many documented cases where patients have been comatose for years and recovered. They tell us that they knew what was happening around them. There’ve been some ghastly cases where the patient listened to conversations about switching off life support and were powerless to do anything about it. It’s quite frightening really.”
“Is there anything you think we can do to help?” Lucy said.
Fletcher looked at Lucy. He rubbed his chin between thumb and forefinger.
“Yes, I think maybe there is,” he said. “It may come to nothing of course, but from what Kent told me earlier I understand you know something of her life before this accident occurred. Ideally, of course, we need to trace her family, and hopefully now we know who she is we’ll eventually be able to do that – but in the meantime, Lucy – may I call you Lucy?”
“Yes, of course,” Lucy said.
“Well in the meantime you know as much about her as anybody, and this may help.”
Lucy leaned over and rested her elbow on Fletcher’s desk, put her hand to her forehead and gazed at Dr. Fletcher earnestly.
“Doctor, you know our situation. Kane and I are desperate to find out what happened to her and Marisa,” she said. “Vicky’s the best chance we have – the only chance we have. She must have all the answers. And of course we want to help Vicky too. Tell me what I can do.”
Dr. Fletcher leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them and said:
“From what you told me earlier we can deduce that Vicky was abducted and possibly subjected to a terrifying ordeal of some sort. We can only surmise that somehow she escaped from her abductors and fled. In the course of that flight she was knocked down by a vehicle and suffered some physical trauma to her head, but it’s possible – very possible – that whatever psychosomatic trauma she experienced before her accident has contributed to the medical state that she now exhibits. Little is known about these things from a scientific or medical point of view, but experience has shown that non-medical intervention can often help.” Fletcher looked at Lucy. “It’s not going to take five minutes; you realize that?”
Lucy looked at me. I nodded.
“We don’t care how long it takes. Just tell me what to do.”
“Alright, well this is what I have in mind,” Fletcher said. “You told me earlier that you learned from your inquiries what Marisa and Vicky did for the few days before she vanished. Rack your mind for as many details as possible. Then you must sit by her bed and recount these matters to her – in a kind of conversational way if possible. It may be – it just may be – that this will stir something inside her to awaken her. But I have to say it’s not an easy job I’m giving you and it may turn out to be a thankless task. You’re going to need great reserves of patience. Are you up for it?”
I hadn’t spoken for quite a while so this seemed like an opportune time.
“Doctor Fletcher,” I said, “You’ve just given Lucy the opportunity of a lifetime – to speak whatever enters her head without fear of interruption for an indeterminate period of time. She’ll walk it. She’ll be in her element.”
Lucy gave me a thump on the thigh in full sight of the gathering which, with great professional aplomb I thought, pretended they hadn’t noticed; but she was smiling broadly too.
“Well that’s settled then,” Fletcher said. “I understand that you have other matters to investigate in this vicinity, Mr. Kane. I trust you can manage for the time being without your partner.”
My assistant, I thought, but I didn’t correct him. “I’ll manage somehow,” I said, rubbing my thigh and trying to get the circulation going again.
“Now we can arrange accommodation for Lucy here in the hospital if you like,” Fletcher said.
Before I had the chance to reply to what sounded like a splendid idea Lucy said:
“Sheriff Benson has kindly offered to arrange some accommodation for us and I think Kane and I ought to stay together in case he has any matters he needs to discuss with me relating to the investigation; but I can be here for as long as you need me each day.”
“Okay,” Fletcher said. “If you can make yourself available for perhaps six hours a day – three hours in the morning and three in the afternoon that should suffice. We’ll provide meals for you and somewhere comfortable for you to rest. We’ll try it for two or three days and see if we make any progress.”
“It was kind of Dr. Fletcher to offer to accommodate you,” I said to Lucy as we left the building. “I’d be quite alright on my own.”
“There are too many bars in this town for me to let you be on your own,” Lucy said.
“Bars can be a very valuable source of information,” I said.
“Bars can be a very dangerous source of inebriation,” Lucy countered. “I’m not letting you out of my sight after dark.” She looked askance at me as we sauntered over to the car. “And I’ll be joining you at lunchtime, too,” she said.
Chapter Sixteen
The Moment of Truth
We needed to get back to Springfield and check out of our hotel, but the need for me to get over to Jackson County was more urgent, so we decided that Lucy would drive back to Springfield. She could return in the morning so that she could start her duties in the hospital. In the meantime, Lucy would try to recall every detail of Vicky’s time in Springfield before she vanished and make some notes. Sheriff Benson would arrange for me to be escorted to Jackson County. I didn’t want Lucy to be there when I identified the body. We had a sandwich and some coffee and Lucy headed back to the hotel in Springfield. Phil Spinks was to drive me to see the medical examiner.
During the drive I tried to stay optimistic. Maybe it wasn’t Marisa. But whoever it was her death was going to devastate her family. I guessed that the autopsy of the newly discovered body would already be underway. I could also study the report of Cindy’s autopsy and, if necessary, talk to the medical examiner who conducted it. That would depend on the contents of the report and the credentials of the examiner. If the examination was conducted by a forensic pathologist it would be a lot more useful than if it had simply been conducted by a physician. Somehow I doubted it would have been. It had apparently been written off as an unexplained death, perhaps natural, perhaps not. I was sure it wasn’t, but then I knew more than they did. Anyway, Cindy’s manner of death would have to be reconsidered in the light of the new evidence.
“In a way, the location where Cindy’s body was found and the manner in which it was concealed is probably more important to our inquiry than the manner of the death itself,” I said to Spinks, as we drove west. “It might help to narrow o
ur area of search for the culprits. So whether the body is Marisa’s or not I’ll need to go to the locations where the bodies were found.” We drove on in silence for a while, and then Spinks said:
“Do you think it’s worth contacting the driver again who knocked Vicky down? I mean I know he said he couldn’t remember where the accident occurred, but it might be worth another try. Wherever it was must be relatively close to where the girls were being held – after all she was on foot.”
“Let’s contact him and give it a try,” I said. “He’s probably been keeping in touch with the hospital to follow-up on Vicky’s progress. It’s likely he’ll be willing to help – I know I would in similar circumstances.”
“I wonder how Vicky got away,” he said.
I’d had the same conversation with Lucy while we were eating our lunch.
“When I wake her up we’ll no doubt find out,” she’d said.
“If you wake her up,” I said.
Lucy leaned over the table, and looked at me intently. “When I wake her up,” she said.
*
As we made our way to the medical examiner’s office in Kansas City Lucy called me from the hotel. The first thing she’d done when she got back to Springfield was to call Dean Roberts to update him on our progress. I wished we had better news – that it had been Marisa in the hospital instead of Vicky. Then I berated myself for thinking like that. Vicky was just as important to her family as Marisa was to hers. She didn’t tell Roberts about the discovery of the body; she didn’t want to alarm him. We’d agreed that unless and until we were certain that the body was Marisa’s we’d keep that to ourselves. But I marveled at how fate had intervened to help us this far – if Cindy’s body hadn’t been found then we probably wouldn’t have travelled to Clinton, Vicky’s identity would still be unknown to the authorities there and her location wouldn’t have been known to us. And there was still hope that Vicky would recover and be able to help us, although time wasn’t on our side, and it might be too late for Marisa. I told Lucy of the plan to contact Glen Crombie, the driver of the car that had knocked Vicky down.
Missing - Mark Kane Mysteries - Book Five: A Private Investigator Crime Series of Murder, Mystery, Suspense & Thriller Stories...with a dash of Romance. A Murder Mystery & Suspense Thriller Page 10