Double usage

by Christine Bols

  CHAPTER 4

  Pioneer Park is situated at the south of the city and is bordered by the Newport Highway on the east and the river Mary on the west. It has a surface area of seventeen hectares and is one of the biggest parks in Corvallis. Spread out over the unwooded area are sports fields, mostly used for frisbee. The other side is wooded and fairly impenetrable in most parts. A lot of people, even the natives, often confuse it with Avery park that is a bit further to the south.

  The body was found on the bank of the river Mary by two children who slipped away from their school group whilst on a trip. Rebecca Simpson, a ten year old girl, saw it first. An arm with half a hand, sticking out of a black plastic bag. In wild panic they ran back to the group. One of the teachers went back to the river and almost immediately saw the bag with its hideous content. He called the police straight away.

  Tim and David had to leave their service vehicle behind some hundred yards from the river and had to walk the rest of the way. The path was almost completely covered with bushes. The teacher that had called them showed them the black bag, his body shivering and shaking. He didn’t say anything, just pointed with a trembling finger. The ground was soggy from the heavy rains over the last days. Their rubber boots came in handy. They smelled the body long before seeing it. The stench of decomposition and rotting hung heavy in the air. Tim saw the teacher retch and dump the contents of his stomach into the bushes.

  ‘We don’t need you here any longer sir,’ Tim said to the deathly pale man. ‘We will take it from here.’ The man nodded his thanks without saying a word, and clearly relieved disappeared back to his group.

  ‘First of all, mark out the ground people,’ Tim shouted. ‘Start from the beginning of the path and work your way up here. Connely, you make sure nobody gets through, only the police photographer and the coroner.’ He felt the power of the adrenaline surge through his body. It had started raining again, and Tim pulled the collar of his thin jacket higher up his neck.

  ‘Man, what a stench,’ David said squeezing his nose with two fingers. ‘How long do you think she has been here?’

  ‘Well, I’m not an expert, but with this aroma I would say at least a few weeks.’

  In the meantime the coroner and the police photographer had arrived at the scene. They both shook hands with the inspectors.

  ‘Hi, I’m Tony Sells, coroner, and this is Malcolm Deaver, my photographer,’ said one of the new arrivals. Tim introduced himself and his colleague. Sells looked around and put on his white overalls and gloves. Deaver had already started photographing the crime scene from all possible angles, taking care that he didn’t disturb the surroundings.

  Tim looked at the scene. The plastic bag was partially hidden by the bushes. The arm with half of the hand looked like the beak of a stork, partially devoured by some wild animal. The part that was left along with the arm were in an advanced state of decomposition. The tear in the bag looked intentional. It appeared to have been neatly cut with a sharp instrument, no serrated or torn edges.

  Deaver had stopped taking pictures and took a few steps back. You got everything?’ Sells asked. Deaver nodded.

  ‘David, you glove up and open the bag,’ Tim ordered. Tim himself wrapped the arm and the remaining part of the hand with plastic foil. With unsteady hands David untied the green rope with which the bag was closed and put it in a Ziploc bag. With a sharp knife he cut the plastic from top to bottom. ‘Oh man’ he gasped. ‘Look at that. Unbelievable.’ His face turned grey. The stench was almost unbearable. The woman was naked, lying on her right side in a fetal position. Her skin had come off and showed blisters of rotting. There was a big dark hole where the left eye should have been. Her mouth was half open as in a silent scream. Her lips looked like sponges. Startled, David took a few steps back. Sells turned the woman on her back and stretched her legs very carefully. Tim’s stomach almost turned inside out when he saw the ripped open belly. He felt the ground sink away under his feet and shrank back. Flies and maggots swarmed in the cavity. It was one squelchy mess. He didn’t know a lot about anatomy, but it was obvious, even to him, that a few organs were missing. Her left nipple seemed to be cut off, although with the body in this state of decomposition, it was hard to tell for sure. He loathed the sight, but at the same time couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

  The coroner was the first one to speak. ‘That doesn’t look too pretty,’ he said. ‘By the looks of it her murderer didn’t hold back. He must have enjoyed himself. But anyway, I can’t do much more here. I will have the body transported to the morgue. Tomorrow at nine I’ll do an autopsy. I would appreciate it if you could both be there.’ He started to pull off his overalls and gloves.

  ‘Do you have any idea how long ago she died?’ David asked.

  Sells nodded his head. ‘I don’t like to speculate, but I would say at least ten days. I will know more tomorrow.’ Turning to Deaver he asked: ‘You have got everything we need?’ The photographer nodded. He was the silent type. With his muscled arms and heavy neck he looked more like a bouncer than a police photographer. Both men left the scene, followed by two officers with the metal coffin.

  Tim sighed. ‘Not a lot of use trying to find traces here. It may be useful to look at the tire marks at the beginning of the path and make a plaster print. Not that I expect a lot of it but you never know. If we can eliminate ours and the coroners, we may get lucky.’

  A nightmare had begun.

  CHAPTER 5

  Tim set his GPS to Salem, 575 Lancaster Drive. The screen indicated a total distance of forty miles and an ETA of 08:30. Through experience he knew that the traffic would be bad, that’s why they had left well in time. Sells would probably start his autopsy at precisely nine o’clock. They couldn’t afford to be late. The coroner’s office was situated on the south side of town so they wouldn’t have to drive through the busy town center. This would be his first autopsy and he felt nauseated already. He gazed at David sideways. He looked pale and was very quiet. Just before the exit to Salem, the traffic stopped.

  ‘Dammit’, Tim said, looking at his watch. ‘I hope this won’t take too long.’ Through the mass of cars Tim couldn’t see what had happened. Nervously he drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

  ‘I wouldn’t mind at all if we never got there’, David said. ‘Do we really have to attend?’

  Tim didn’t answer but pushed his back against the seat. They had been busy with the dead woman’s report till nine in the evening. They had gone through all the reports of missing women in the state of Oregon. Four in their twenties went missing in the region of Portland, three in Darwin and one in Cottage Grove, but the two in Corvallis were more of a concern. One was Beatrice Bodini, the other one Lilly Fitzpatrick. The last one had only been recently reported by a colleague from the library. Considering the state this body was in, it was hardly likely it would be Fitzpatrick, and unless the murderer had taken the body all the way from Portland, Darwin or Cottage Grove to Corvallis, that only left Bodini. He would have to ask Anna Wickmeyer to identify her, a task he wasn’t looking forward to. She probably even less.

  ‘I think it’s Bodini’, Tim said all of a sudden. Apparently David had fallen asleep. His head jerked up.

  ‘Sorry, what did you say?’

  ‘That I think it is Bodini. Dark shoulder long hair, slender, classical nose.’

  ‘Insofar as you could see her nose, you must mean.’

  Traffic slowly started to move again. It was 08:30. At 08:45 a woman’s low voice said: ‘You have arrived at your destination.’ Tim switched off the GPS and turned into the car park. The morgue was a sober, dark building with only one floor. The windows were darkened. Both men got out of the car and hurried to the entrance hall. Just in case they were observed, they walked with a confident step, not wanting to give anybody the impression they felt insecure or uneasy. An older woman with blonde hair in a bun greeted them from behind the reception desk.

  ‘How can I help you gentlemen?’ she asked in a friendly
voice.

  ‘Inspectors Sackley and Halloway from Corvallis police. We have to attend an autopsy with doctor Sells at nine,’ Tim said in a firm voice.

  The woman pushed a key on her PC and asked them to wait a few minutes. There probably never were a lot of visitors at the same time, because there were only two low couches in the waiting area. The hall was decorated very soberly. The floor shone like a mirror and everything gave the impression of peacefulness and serenity. After ten minutes a young woman in a green surgical suit came and got them. Her cap was hanging underneath her chin like a shadow.

  ‘Come along’, she said with a friendly and soft voice. ‘We are about to start. By the way, I am Isobel Dawson, doctor Sells’ assistant.’

  ‘Tim Sackley’, he said while shaking her hand. David did the same. ‘David Halloway.’

  They turned into a wide corridor. At the end on the right side was a hydraulic door that probably led to the coroner’s quarters.

  ‘Like in all good books, the autopsy room is in the basement’, Isobel laughed while opening the thick wooden door and preceded them to the guts of the building. ‘Your first time?’

  ‘Yes’, Tim and David said at the same time. Tim added: ‘Not a lot of crime in Corvallis. Only four murders since I arrived. Only Ted Bundy has made the area unsafe for a while, but that’s in the history books already.’

  ‘Oh dear’, Isobel said, ‘I didn’t know that at all. I always believed Bundy was active in Colorado and Washington County, putting the fear of God in all the girls.’

  ‘You’re right, but one of his victims lived in Oregon, a student from Corvallis University, a…’

  ‘A what?’ Isobel interrupted while gazing at him.

  Tim hesitated for a moment. ‘I think this one is from Corvallis University too.’

  In silence they went further down the stairs. The basement was lit by a few fluorescent lamps and in the air hung an unmistakable penetrating formaldehyde scent. Isobel opened the door on the right hand side and gestured them in. On the shelves were green surgery suits and masks. Once she had given them the necessaries, she opened the door to the autopsy room. Tim heard David sigh behind him. He turned his head towards David. ‘Everything okay?’

  David nodded, but looked very pale.

  The body lay on a table in the middle of the room and was covered with a white sheet. Only the head was visible. A large lamp lit the table with harsh artificial light. Everything, including the cupboards, table and shelves was in stainless steel. Although the ventilator above the table was turned on, the scent of decomposition was predominant. Sells was picking out his instruments from a table against the wall, and looked up when Isobel and the two men entered the room.

  ’Sorry I can’t give you a handshake, but welcome anyway. I suppose we can start.’ With a little nod towards Isobel he said: ‘I see you got acquainted with my assistant already.’ Tim felt something hanging in the air between the two. He had a sixth sense for these things. But that was not his concern. He should be the last one to judge. He thought back of the morning he found Susan in his bedroom and cursed himself again. ‘You can stand at the table or you can watch from a distance’, Sells said. ‘It’s up to you.’

  A distance for me’, Tim said in a fruitless effort to be casual about it.

  Same for me’, David added.

  Isobel put two chairs against the wall in a way they still had a good view of Sells and the body. She had a mysterious smile on her face but didn’t say a word. Sells removed the white sheet. The ripped open belly with the swarming maggots and detached skin still had the same effect on Tim as the first time he saw it. Next to him he heard David swallow loudly. Sells cleared his throat. He reminded Tim of one of his professors from college at the start of a lecture. He always wanted complete attention from his students. Tim estimated him at around fifty. The front of his head was bald. The rest of his hair was grey and stuck out in all directions. He was rather heavy and the green suit seemed to accentuate that.

  I’ll start with the external injuries’, Sells said, turning the body a bit to the right side and gazing in the empty orbit. ‘To me it’s obvious that the eyeball has not been cut out, but removed with a round object, maybe a spoon. The nerves have been cut afterwards with a knife. All of this while she was still alive,’ he added. ‘She must have been in terrible pain.’ He bowed over the body and adjusted the lamp above the table. There are strangulation marks on her throat. It has been done with a soft tissue, a shawl or something, not a rope and certainly not with his hands. Her larynx is damaged. Her voice box’, Sells explained, fully expecting the inspectors not to know what he was talking about. Tim felt like a school boy. And this happened before she died too’, Sells said, pointing to where her left nipple should have been. He remained very unemotional. Isobel gazed at the woman with interest, then removed the plastic that had been put around the hand and arm.

  ’All fingers and part of the hand have been gnawed, I think by some wild animal’, he continued. I can’t determine if there are needle marks on the arm. She’s too far gone for that. There are deep bruises on both wrists. I would say she has been chained for probably a lot longer than a day.’ He studied her ankles where the same marks were visible. ’Indeed, chained for at least a few days.’ He looked down on the body. Tim saw his eyes fixed on the open belly. Then he looked at both men. ‘Are you still all right gentlemen? I’m going to do the serious work now.’

  Tim and David looked at each other.

  ‘I could do with some fresh air,’ David mumbled.

  ‘I’ll go with you’, Tim said, relieved he could escape the smells and the body on the table.

  ‘Fine’, Sells said. ‘I can understand this is a bit too much. It even gets to me. At least you made the effort to attend, something that can’t be said about your other colleagues. I suggest I do the rest of the examination and you will have my report tomorrow morning. I still have to get an entomologist to look at the body. That’s not my specialty. An entomologist can determine the time of death by just studying the kind of insects and eggs on the body.’

  ‘Are there any organs missing in the belly?’ David asked.

  ‘On first view the womb has been removed but I have to look at that more thoroughly. It’s a real mess there.’

  ‘Thank you’, Tim said quickly. ‘We will hear from you soon then.’

  Both men stood up relieved and headed for the door when all of a sudden the room was filled with a sharp, loud beeping. Sells and Isobel looked at the body, stunned. Very carefully the doctor put his hand in the open belly. He pushed the intestines aside so he could reach underneath. He pulled out a wristwatch that again produced the beeping sound. Everybody in the room looked startled, frozen in place. It was exactly 09:45.

  There was a depressed atmosphere when they went to the car park as both men were tangled in their thoughts. It had started raining and dark clouds promised a lightning storm. The wind had grown stronger and Tim shivered in his thin jacket. By the time they got to the car heavy raindrops spattered against the windscreen.

  ‘Just what we needed’, Tim said while pushing a button on his mobile phone. ‘Sackley here’, he said when someone answered. ‘Can you do me a favor and look up Bodini’s address for me? Yes, I’ll hold.’ Shortly after he wrote down the address on a note pad. ‘Thank you Susan. See you later.’ He set the GPS to 2092 University Street. David glanced at him questioningly. ‘Well, now that we’re in Salem, we might as well take a look at the bungalow. Maybe the neighbors can enlighten us.’

  ‘You’re still convinced it’s Bodini then?’

  ‘I wouldn’t say convinced, but I think it is a very strong possibility. Susan just told me Salem police went by a few days ago. She wasn’t home and they left a note in the letterbox, asking her to contact them when she came home. She hasn’t yet.’

  ‘It’s strange, but then she’s a young woman. Maybe she wanted some adventure in her life and left suddenly.’

  ‘Could be, but according to An
na Wickmeyer she is a passionate student and never missed a day at college. So I doubt it.’

  ‘It’s not mutually exclusive’, David said as if he had given the statement of the year.

  The inspectors left the car. It had stopped raining but the clouds still looked threatening. Tim opened the letter box. There were some advertising brochures and two magazines. In between the brochures there was a white postcard with the Salem police header. She still hadn’t been back. He fished his cell phone from his breast pocket and called Susan again. ‘Look up Anna Wickmeyer’s telephone number please. It’s in Bodini’s file.’ A few minutes later he dialed her number. She picked up the phone almost immediately.

  ‘Hello miss Wickmeyer. Inspector Sackley from Corvallis police here. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?’

  ‘No not at all inspector. It’s my lunch break anyway. Any news on Beatrice?’

  ‘Not really. I’m in my office going through the recent files’, he lied, ‘and I just wondered if you had heard anything yet. But by your question, you haven’t.’ He tried to sound as calm as possible.

  ‘No, I haven’t heard anything yet. She hasn’t been on campus and her phone is still on voice mail.’ She hesitated. ‘Do you think something happened to her inspector?’ Her voice trembled.

  ‘Probably not, but I’ll have Salem police take a look once more. I’ll keep you posted.’ He felt sick and sighed.