Hidden Angels: Wildfire Lake Book One

by Victoria Wyngate

  “Sure, it’s over on that table,” said shelly, pointing to the one in the corner.

  ******

  The gravel crunched under the tires as Travis pulled into his grandfather’s driveway. The front door opened as he stopped by the porch steps.

  A heavy set woman came down the steps as he opened the car door. She approached the car and said, “Hello, can I…” she stopped mid-sentence as Travis got out of the car.

  “Oh my word, TRAVIS? Is that you?” she asked, bringing her hands to her face.

  “Hi Aunt Nelda. Is Gramps inside?” asked Travis. Nelda grabbed him in a tight bear hug. Her embrace making him cringe. Sensing this, she released him.

  “Oh Honey, I guess you haven’t heard,” she said.

  “Heard what?” he asked.

  “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but George has been moved to an assisted living facility. He had a stroke two weeks ago. He was still partially paralyzed on his left side when they released him from the hospital. I’ve been dropping by every other day to check on his cat and feed the cows,” she said.

  “Well, don’t just stand there, come on in. I thought you were living in Virginia?” she continued as she headed back inside.

  “I am, but I thought I’d come down for a visit,” he said as he followed her up the steps. Nelda led him to the living room and sat down on the spacious couch. She motioned for him to do the same.

  “Well, this might work out for both of us.” Nelda said.

  “What do you mean?” he asked.

  “You see, I have to drive seven miles one way every time I come by here. With my work schedule I never know what time I’m going to be able to get here. You could stay here in exchange for, say, taking care of the animals. That is, if that’s okay with you?” said Nelda.

  “Sounds good to me. Where is Gramps?” he asked.

  “I believe he’s still in Shady Oaks,” she said. “Let me show you around the place. A lot has changed since you were here last time.”

  Nelda showed Travis the latest additions to the farm. At the southwest edge of the two acres of the residential portion of the property, there stood a large two story garage type structure with three roll up doors.

  “George had this built about six years ago. He needed the extra space for his tractors,” she said as the door opened.

  “He uses the unfinished attic as a hay loft.” Travis looked around, but not listening to anything she was saying. He was too busy taking in the contents of the garage to notice anything else.

  He was mesmerized by all the sharp objects hanging from the rafters and the useful Bobcat sitting in the corner.

  Coming here was a great idea. This place has loads of potential, he thought.

  CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

  Larry Hawthorne, the news anchor for KBBT channel 12, sat down at the news desk. He straightened his tie and watched as the camera man cued his story.

  Reading the teleprompter he said, “Breaking news out of Charlottesburg this morning. Police are looking for this man for questioning in the abduction of a local woman.” Behind Larry the composite sketch came up on the screen.

  “The woman was taken from the parking lot of the Sky View Mall in Charlottesburg over the weekend. The woman’s name is being withheld at this time due to safety concerns. If you recognize this man, please call the number listed at the bottom of your screen.” continued Larry. “In other news….”

  As soon as the sketch was displayed on the screen the phone lines in the call center lit up like Christmas trees. One of the operators looked at the phone and said sarcastically, “And so it begins.”

  ******

  Gerald opened Smitty’s at 8:00 a.m. as usual. Keeping to his usual routine he turned on the television in the corner in the customer lounge.

  The morning news broadcast had just begun.

  What Gerald saw next stopped him dead in his tracks. A composite sketch was displayed across the screen.

  He recognized it immediately and picked up the phone. He called the number listed. When the operator answered the call Gerald blurted out, “I know the person in the sketch. It looks just like a man who used to work for me. That man’s name is Travis Conrad!”

  ******

  The call center had been fielding all types of calls in reference to the person in the sketch. Some were just attention seekers wanting their time in the spotlight.

  Others were asking about the amount of the reward. Some were just plain crazy crackpots. The ones with halfway credible information were placed on the list for a follow-up.

  The names, addresses and phone numbers of those callers would be forwarded to the investigator assigned to the case.

  ******

  Trish finished eating her breakfast and placed her dishes in the sink. She’d wash them later. She picked up the phone and called Janelle.

  She had a lot of explaining to do if she wanted to keep her job.

  CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

  David walked into his office with an armload of files. He was putting the files on the corner of his desk when he was startled by the sudden ringing of his phone. He almost dropped the entire stack. The phone was already on the third ring before he had a chance to scoop it up.

  “Detective Moore,” he said hastily.

  “David, it’s Gary. They found something down by the lake. You might want to get down there… and quick.” said Gary.

  “Which side of the lake?” asked David, “It’s a big place.”

  “Charlottesburg side. You’ll need to enter from the interstate side street. I’ll make sure a unit is standing by at the turnoff so you can’t miss it. They’re about half a mile in. I’ll meet you there,” said Gary. David looked at the files.

  You guys will just have to wait until I get back, he thought. He grabbed his overcoat off the back of a chair and ran out of the door.

  David pulled into a flat spot between some pine trees near the shore of the lake. The Coroner’s wagon pulled up beside him and came to a stop.

  Crime scene tape was being strung from practically every other tree. David saw Gary and walked over to talk to him.

  “What have we got?” asked David.

  “What we’ve got is at least one body. It’s possible we could have even more. I’ve called in the specialized cadaver dog unit. They didn’t give an ETA,” said Gary.

  Daniel Westfall, the Coroner, was kneeling by a shallow grave. A photographer was busy snapping pictures around the perimeter of the scene. A small bone was protruding above the leaves and branches.

  “Once you finish with the exterior of the grave, we’ll start to uncover the remains,” he told the photographer.

  “I want photographic evidence of every detail. Any tiny piece could possibly help solve the mystery of what happened to this person. Bag anything you find.”

  The cadaver dog unit arrived a little over thirty minutes later and began a sweep of the lake. Not even fifteen minutes into their search one of the dogs alerted on a location twenty yards from the first.

  “Hey, I think we got something here!” shouted the handler to the detectives. His shout was interrupted by the braying of another dog.

  “And over here!” shouted the other handler.

  “Get ready guys. Looks like it’s going to be a long day,” said David.

  The sites where the dogs alerted had brought the total body count to three. Each site was cordoned off with crime scene tape until it could be photographed and processed.

  As the last of the crime scene tape was being secured a news van pulled up on the scene. Out jumped a reporter and a man with a huge video camera.

  “Great!” said David sarcastically, “Here come the vultures.”

  ******

  Trish was in the kitchen washing the morning dishes when she thought she heard the word ‘Charlottesburg’ mentioned on the television. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel.

  Throwing the towel on the counter, she ran to grab the remote. She turned up the volume as the reporter
said, “We now go live to Jodi Garrett on the scene at Wildfire Lake. What can you tell us Jodi?” he asked.

  Jodi had her index finger on her earpiece awaiting her cue.

  She nodded and said, “Thanks Larry. I’m on the scene where police have just discovered a set of skeletal remains buried in a shallow grave at Wildfire Lake. No word yet as to the identity of the victim. The remains are to be transported to the Charlottesburg crime lab.

  An examination of the remains will be performed later today to try to determine the cause of death. There are also cadaver dogs on the scene at this hour searching the shores.

  We will keep you updated on this developing story as it unfolds. Now, back to you Larry,” said Jodi.

  “Thank you Jodi. In other news….,” said Larry.

  Trish didn’t hear the rest of the sentence. She turned down the volume as she sat down on the couch.

  She brought her shaking hands to her face. Oh my God! That could have been me, she thought.

  ******

  David was still on the scene when the last of the remains were removed and placed into the body bags. He supervised as the bags were placed into the coroner’s wagon for transport to the crime lab.

  The coroner drove the remains to the crime lab downtown. Opening the rear double doors of the wagon he and his lab assistant removed one of the bags.

  They placed it on a nearby gurney and wheeled it into the building. He pushed it down the long white tiled hallway and into the autopsy suite.

  They repeated this for the second and third body bag until all of the remains were in the autopsy suite.

  Opening one of the body bags he placed its contents on the stainless steel table. He turned on the microphone hanging from the ceiling above the table.

  “My name is Doctor Daniel Westfall. It is now 7:45pm. I have on the table the skeletal remains of what appears to be a female. I will refer to her, for now, as Jane Doe #1,” he said.

  He looked down at a tape measure built into the table.

  “The skeleton measures approximately sixty-six inches from heel to top of cranium. No obvious signs of previous fractures to any of the extremities. There is a fracture in the cervical spine in the area of the C-4 vertebrae. This fracture would have resulted in the severing of the spinal cord and instant death. Manner of death, as of this time, is listed as homicide.”

  He turned off the recorder and covered the remains with a clean sheet. He turned the recorder on again and turned his attention to the next set of remains. He took a deep breath and began the examination.

  Daniel finished examining of the remains of Jane Doe #2 and Jane Doe #3. He turned the recorder off for the last time.

  The manner of death for all three women would be listed as homicide.

  Only two of the three showed trauma to the cervical spine. There were no signs of trauma for Jane Doe #3. Her cause of death was listed as undetermined.

  He would need their dental records to be able to make the positive identifications.

  Calling David and the investigator in Lynxboro, he requested the records for their missing women. He had a sinking feeling that they weren’t missing anymore.

  He knew in his heart that they had already been found.

  ******

  Travis settled right into his new life on his grandfather’s farm. He actually enjoyed tending to the cows. The cat, however, got on his nerves. It always got into everything.

  There was only one good thing about that shitting ass cat, it stayed outside. He would rather kill it than clean a litter box.

  The weather was getting warmer. He was looking forward to getting the farm tractors out and using the plows. Might even try his hand at gardening.

  ******

  Trish had dinner ready when Shelly got home from work that evening. The aromas coming from the kitchen made Shelly’s mouth water.

  “Whatever you’re making in there sure smells delicious.” Shelly shouted from the living room as she closed the door.

  “It’s almost ready.” Trish answered from the kitchen.

  “You didn’t have to do this,” said Shelly as she entered the kitchen.

  “I know,” said Trish, “But I wanted to do something to show my appreciation for everything you’re doing for me. I know I must be putting a damper on your lifestyle.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” said Shelly, “It beats coming home to an empty house and eating Chinese take-out. You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

  “It wasn’t any trouble. Besides, I really needed something to take my mind off everything that’s happened lately. I mean, did you see the news report this morning?” asked Trish.

  “Yeah, I was so worried about you when I saw it. Are you okay?” asked Shelly.

  “I’m doing as well as can be expected,” said Trish, “But I will feel a lot better when this guy is behind bars.”

  “You and me both,” said Shelly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  Daniel arrived at the coroner’s office at 8:00 a.m. the next morning to find not one but two courier packages waiting on his desk. They were the dental records he had requested. He opened the packages and got to work.

  ******

  David had worked well into the night so he slept in the next morning. He didn’t arrived at his desk until 10:30 a.m. He had a stack of new messages from the call center.

  His voicemail light was blinking and the files were still sitting on his desk. It’s going to be a long day, he thought.

  He started by looking at the messages from the call center. After the fourth message he began to see a pattern immerging.

  The same name was mentioned in six out of the eight messages.

  That name was Travis Conrad. He made a mental note to follow up on that. Need to find out more about this Conrad fellow, he thought as he listened to the rest of the voicemail messages.

  Most of the messages sounded like crank calls, but one was from the coroner.

  David immediately picked up the phone and returned that call. Daniel picked up after the first ring.

  “Coroner’s office, Dr. Westfall,” he said. “Hey Daniel, it’s David Moore. What ya got?” he said.

  “Well,” replied Daniel, “What I’ve got is the names for two of the bodies. I think you might wanna come down here. I don’t want to discuss it over the phone.”

  “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” said David. He looked at the files on his desk.

  They would have to wait just a little while longer.

  ******

  Travis had gotten up bright and early that morning, not having slept that peacefully in months. He’d already fed the cows before 7:00 a.m.

  He couldn’t find the cat, but then he hadn’t bothered to look that hard. Screw the cat. He wanted to take a look around the small town.

  Needing groceries, he got into his grandfather’s pick-up and headed toward the main road.

  He had a feeling that today was going to be a very good day.

  ******

  David entered the crime lab through the rear and made his way to the autopsy suite. Daniel was sitting at a desk in the corner going over some files.

  “Oh, Hey David. I didn’t hear you come in,” said Daniel as he looked up.

  Daniel took one of the files and walked over to one of the bodies on the autopsy tables. David followed.

  “You said you needed to talk to me?” asked David.

  “Yeah, I did. Those two over there,” he said, pointing to the two farthest tables, “I have positively identified by their dental records. The one initially called Jane Doe #2 is Peggy Callaway. Jane Doe #3 is Samantha Thompson.”

  David pointed to the third table. “What about this one?” he asked.

  “That one has been out there a lot longer than the other two. It’s possible she could have been out there for years,” replied Daniel.

  “The dental records didn’t match the woman missing out of Lynxboro. For now, I still have her listed as Jane Doe #1. I’m listing the
manner of death for all three as homicide. Are there any other women listed as missing in this area?” he continued.

  “I don’t remember any, but it might be in one of the files on my desk. I’ll look into it. See what I can find. Thanks Doc. Now comes the hardest part, breaking the news to their families,” said David as he turned to leave.

  ******

  Travis pulled into the parking lot of the local garden supply store, the Feed-n-Seed. He needed a hoe, shovel and a garden rake. The ones at the farm were either rusted or had broken handles.

  He was picking up the shovel when a voice behind him asked, “Can I help you find anything?”

  He turned around, smiled and replied “Nah, I’m good.”

  “Well, if there’s anything I can help you with just let me know. I’m Amanda,” she said as she turned and walked away. Travis watched as the pretty little blonde walked toward the back of the store.

  This small town just got very interesting, he thought.

  CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

  Amber went to the front door when she heard the knock. She opened it to find David standing there.

  She lowered her head and put her hand to her mouth saying, “I’ve kinda been expecting you.”

  Stepping aside as she let him enter the room. She went over to the sofa and offered him a seat.

  He sat down and said, “I know you’ve probably seen the news reports by now, but I wanted to tell you in person.” he paused.

  Taking a deep breath, he continued, “One of the bodies recovered by the lake has been positively identified as Samantha.” Amber gasped and started sobbing.

  “I’m sorry, I know this must be difficult for you. Do you have any contact information for Samantha’s family?” asked David.