Fatally Linked

by Juliann Vatalaro

  “No. She was a virgin,” Peter answered while still looking at the door Jake left through.

  “Ah, Peter, do you mind?”

  He cleared his throat and turned back to her. “Sorry, but I just got that iPad yesterday.”

  Dani laughed. “I don’t know Jake all that well, but I can tell you his former partner and ex-wife speak highly of him. I can also tell you that he was one of the best men his department had back in California, so I’m pretty sure stealing your new iPad is not something he would think about. So do you think we can get back to it?

  “Sorry. Continue.”

  “No sexual activity for Miss Chartel either?”

  “Nope, also a virgin.”

  “And she was found on a park bench in Central Park?”

  “Yes. Two opposite ends of the city.”

  “Mr. Textler was found behind an Italian restaurant between both those sites?”

  “Yes.”

  “Cause of death the same in all three cases?”

  Jake walked in and handed the iPad back to Peter. With a smile, he answered. “They were all injected with six different drugs. The one that caused the damage was heroine. All died within five minutes of injection. I feel comfortable in saying they didn’t feel any pain.”

  Dani turned to Jake. “Did you get through to them?”

  “Mrs. Holiday and her daughter Genie are on the way. Needless to say, they had some trouble believing what I was telling them.”

  “I imagine they would.” Dani rubbed her eyes. “One year separates each of them. Is the next going to be eighteen?”

  Jake answered. “We’ll find him before there is a next one.”

  She turned back to Peter. “The tattoo is in a different spot on each of them?”

  “Yes. William on the left chest above his heart, Kim on her stomach, Melissa on her left outer thigh.”

  “You’re sure the tattoo is the same on all of them?”

  “I haven’t had time to study them, but on first review, they seem to be. Right down to the size and color.”

  “Let’s take a closer look,” Jake said as he took the copies of the drawing from the tattoo shop out of the folder he was carrying. He handed a copy to Peter and Dani and walked over to William.

  Holding the copy next to Williams tattoo he compared them. Dani did the same with Melissa. Peter took Kim.

  A few moments later Jake spoke. “They’re close, but not exact.”

  “What’s different?” Dani asked.

  “I’m not sure. There’s a lot going on in the wings that are making my eyes cross a little, so I can’t pin it down.”

  “I’m having the same problem. Peter?”

  “Same thing here.” He picked up his iPad again and held it over Kim’s tattoo, taking a picture. He moved to William, then to Melissa.

  Dani and Jake followed him over to his computer. They stood over his shoulder as he loaded the pictures and laid them on top of each other.

  Jake leaned over him, pointing to the screen. “There. See it?”

  “It looks like a ‘J,’” Peter commented.

  “There’s another one over here.” Dani pointed to the screen. “Do you see one on the third tattoo?”

  It took over a minute, but they all pointed to the screen at the same time. “It’s upside down on this one. Whose is it?” Jake asked.

  “William.”

  Dani walked back to the gurneys and found the initial on each tattoo. Jake stepped up next to her. “It’s not much help, but it’s something.”

  “It could mean anything.” Dani stepped back to lean against the wall. “It could be first or last initial. It could be the initial of someone the killer lost.” She shook her head. “It could be just part of the design and we just want it to look like a ‘J.’”

  “I’ll send the pictures up to the electronics lab. They can run a match to check for any other differences. I’ll tell them to put a rush on it.”

  They all turned to the loud commotion in the hall.

  “Where’s my daughter?” a male voice yelled. “I was told she was here.”

  Dani headed for the door. “Get the other two out of here,” she ordered as she headed out.

  “You can’t go back there, sir. Please calm down.”

  “I got a call that my daughter is in the morgue and you want me to calm down? Where is she?”

  Dani stepped between Helen and the man. “Sir, I’m Lieutenant Castello. I need you to step back and take a deep breath to calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down! I demand to see my daughter now!” He tried to get past Dani.

  Dani moved to keep him blocked from the door. “What’s your name, sir?”

  You could see as he realized he wasn’t getting by her until he calmed down. Slowly he stepped back and took a deep breath.

  “Lenard Chartel. Is she really dead?”

  “We’re convinced it’s her, but we’ll need you to make the final identification.”

  “Oh God, no.” He fell back against the wall. He covered his face with his hands.

  Just then a woman and teenager walked through the door. She wasn’t more than five feet tall, with dark hair. She was dressed in faded jeans with a light green sweater. A young girl slightly taller and dressed similar was holding on to her arm.

  “Lenny?”

  Slowly he pulled his hands from his face and stood straighter. When he realized who called his name he took an aggressive step toward her. “You murdered my daughter!”

  “No!” Genie yelled. “No, she can’t be dead.”

  Mrs. Holiday grabbed her daughter as Mr. Chartel took another step toward them. Dani jumped between them as Jake came out into the hall.

  “Mr. Chartel, please come with me.”

  “I trusted her with my daughter and now she’s dead. I want you to arrest her, now!”

  Jake stepped up to Mrs. Holiday and Genie. Dani pulled on Mr. Chartel’s arm.

  “Please, Mr. Chartel, come with me. Let’s make sure it is your daughter before we accuse anyone of murder.”

  He turned away from Mrs. Holiday, letting Dani lead him through the doors to the lab. Jake motioned Mrs. Holiday and her daughter to the chairs.

  “I’m Detective Santos. Are you Mrs. Holiday?”

  She nodded.

  “And you’re Genie?”

  Still holding on to her mother, she nodded.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  When Genie didn’t answer, he took her hand.

  “We need to know what happened if we’re going to find out who did this to her.”

  Talking into her mother’s shoulder, she finally spoke. “It was a stupid fight. I thought we were over it before we fell asleep. She shouldn’t have left. I didn’t mean to upset her.”

  “Can you tell me what the fight was about?”

  “Robbie asked me to the dance. Melissa wanted him to ask her. She’s been in love with him for over a year. I told her I said no, but she didn’t believe me. I never would go with him even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. I like Tommy. I want to go with him. I wouldn’t do that to her. I would never do that to her. She’s my best friend. Best friends don’t do something like that.”

  “No, they don’t.” Jake hesitated while she wiped her tears away. “You didn’t hear her leave?”

  Genie shook her head. “I would have stopped her.”

  He turned to Mrs. Holiday, silently asking her the same question.

  “The girls were staying downstairs. They planned on staying up all night watching movies and talking about boys. I went up around eleven-thirty. They were still gabbing away.”

  Dani held Mr. Chartel up just inside the door. “I know this is not going to be easy. I’m sorry you have to go through this, but we need a positive ID. Let me know when you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready. Let me see her.”

  Dani motioned to the gurney in the back. Peter was standing by the head with his hands crossed in front of him. Slowly they made
their way over to him. Dani stayed a step back, nodding to Peter to lower the sheet.

  Mr. Chartel sucked in a breath. “Oh, God, no. No.” He covered his face with his hands.

  “Mr. Chartel,” Dani asked, “is this your daughter? Is this Melissa?”

  He started to nod, but stopped suddenly. “No, no, it’s not Melissa.” He stood up straighter. “What is this? Some kind of joke? That is not Melissa. It looks like her, but it’s not her. Thank God it’s not her.”

  Dani and Peter looked at each other. Dani pulled him away from the table. “Mr. Chartel, I understand you’re distraught. I know this is going to sound like a stupid question, because I’m sure you know your daughter, but are you sure that is not Melissa?”

  He started to chuckle. Low at first, then louder. He shook his head. “It’s not her. Melissa has a birthmark on her neck. It’s about the size of a quarter and in the shape of turtle. Melissa hates it. She wants to get it removed, but we won’t let her. Not until she’s old enough to get it done without our consent.”

  He looked Dani in the eyes.

  “My wife has the same one on her neck. We think it’s cute, so we won’t agree to her getting it removed. We’re hoping by the time she’s eighteen she will change her mind about it.”

  Dani looked back at Peter. He was using a clean swab to check her neck. When he was convinced there was no makeup covering a birthmark he shook his head at Dani as he covered her with the sheet again.

  “How did this happen? I’ll admit she looks like my Melissa. A little older, but it’s not my Melissa. What made you think it was?”

  Peter came over with the yearbook. “Is this your daughter, Mr. Chartel?”

  He took the book from Peter to look at the picture. “Yes, that is a picture of my daughter. If you look close you can see a shadow of the birthmark.” He pointed to the table. “But that is not my daughter!”

  “I’m sorry, sir. They look so much alike.” Peter stepped back. “I’m so sorry for putting you through this.”

  Dani motioned Mr. Chartel toward the door. “I’m sorry, sir. But you have to admit, they do look alike. Actually, they look like they can be twins.”

  Before they went through the outer door, Dani held him back. “Mr. Chartel, again, I’m sorry to have to ask this, but with the resemblance being so close, are you sure that girl is not your daughter?” She put her hand up to stop his answer. “Not Melissa, but possibly a different daughter?”

  “What are you saying? You think I had a daughter I never knew about with another woman?”

  “It’s happened before, sir.”

  “I’m sure it has, but not by me. I love my wife and my daughter. I would never do something like that to them. Never! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to call my wife. We need to find Melissa before something does happen to her.”

  He stormed through the door, back into the hall.

  CHAPTER 13

  “It’s not her,” Mr. Chartel called out. “Genie, it’s not her.”

  He knelt down in front of her. “Genie, look at me.”

  When she did, he took her hands.

  “It’s not her, Genie, but we have to find her. Do you have any idea where she would go?”

  Mrs. Holiday sighed in relief. “It’s not her. It’s not Melissa?”

  Dani spoke to Jake. “Put out an APB on Melissa.”

  She turned to Mr. Chartel. “Do you have a picture?”

  Still on his knees in front of Genie, he took out his wallet and handed a picture to Jake. “Genie, you have to help us. Where would she go?”

  Before she could answer another woman came through the outer doors, this one tall, blonde, and well dressed. She rushed up to the desk, but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed Mr. Chartel. “Lenny?”

  Mr. Chartel was up, grabbing for his wife in a heartbeat. “It’s not her. It’s not Melissa.”

  Mrs. Chartel fell into his arms. “Oh, thank God.” She held him close. “Thank God. When I got your message I couldn’t get here fast enough.”

  She leaned back to look in his eyes. “I missed your plane by only ten minutes. All the way here I couldn’t believe we lost Melissa. I would know if something happened. I’m her mother. I would feel it. I know I would.”

  She leaned into him again.

  “It’s not her. Thank God it’s not her.”

  I few moments later Mrs. Holiday stepped up and spoke in a whisper. “I’m so sorry, Holly. Please forgive me. I’m sorry.”

  Mrs. Chartel left her husband to pull Mrs. Holiday in for a hug. “We know what a hothead Melissa is. It’s not your fault.”

  She moved back to look at each of the people standing in the hall. “If it wasn’t Melissa, then where is she? And who is the girl in there?” She motioned to the lab.

  Jake stepped up to all of them. “An APB has been sent out on Melissa as of five minutes ago.” He looked at Genie. “Any idea where we should look first?”

  “She was mad at me because she wanted Robbie to ask her to the dance. Maybe when she left she went to yell at him because he didn’t ask her.”

  She grabbed her mother’s hand.

  “We were supposed to go shopping today for a new dress for the dance. She might be at the mall.”

  Dani stepped up. “Jake, get every available officer over to the mall. We’ll head over to Robbie’s. Genie, can you call Robbie and any of your other friends and ask if they’ve seen her. Don’t lead on that we are looking for her. Just find out if they’ve seen her.”

  She took out her phone. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Mrs. Chartel, can I speak with you a minute?” Dani motioned to the lab.

  “Can it wait? I have to go find my daughter.”

  “This will only take a minute. Please?”

  Mr. and Mrs. Chartel followed Dani back into the lab. “I’m sorry to have to ask you this with all you’ve been through.” She motioned to the gurney. “Would you mind taking a look? We still need to identify her.”

  “What is this?” Mr. Chartel complained. “It’s not Melissa. Why would you think Holly would know who she is?”

  Dani stared into his eyes. “You know why. That girl deserves to be identified. She deserves to have someone stand up for her.”

  “You don’t have to do this, Holly. It’s not our responsibility. We need to go find Melissa.”

  Mrs. Chartel looked over at the gurney. “I’m not sure I can help, but I’ll look.” She turned back to her husband. “It’s not Melissa, but she belongs to someone. I want to help if I can.”

  Slowly she walked over. Peter moved over from his desk to the gurney. At Dani’s nod, he pulled the sheet back.

  Mrs. Chartel gasped, moving her hands to her mouth. “Oh my God. She looks just like Melissa. How can that be?”

  She turned back to Dani. “How can she look just like my daughter?”

  “You’re one-hundred percent sure she is not Melissa?”

  “Of course I’m sure. I would know my own daughter.”

  “I understand that, but for the record, can you please tell us why you know this is not your daughter?”

  She took another look at the girl on the gurney. “She looks so much like Melissa. Maybe a little older…” She touched the birthmark on her neck. “I’m positive. Because this girl does not have a birthmark on her neck.”

  Dani looked at each of them. She nodded to Peter to cover the body as she motioned to Mr. and Mrs. Chartel to leave the lab. When they were outside the lab she wiped her face with her hands before speaking. Jake joined them.

  “I’m sorry to put you both through this. I’ll apologize now for upsetting or insulting you. I’ll even apologize for pissing you off, but I have to ask. Are you both sure that neither one of you know who that girl in there is?”

  They looked at each other and back to Dani shaking their head. “We have no idea,” Mr. Chartel said.

  Mrs. Chartel added, “But I’d sure like to know who she is. The resemblance is uncanny. If it wasn’t for the fact
that she doesn’t have the birthmark on her neck, I would think it was Melissa.”

  Dani threw her hands up in frustration. “How the hell can this be?”

  “Would either of you mind taking a DNA test?” Jake asked.

  “What for?” Mr. Chartel demanded.

  “To be honest, sir, this is a weird situation. We’d like to prove without a doubt that neither of you parented that girl.”

  They both laughed. Mrs. Chartel responded. “I can see where Lenny may have gotten a woman pregnant and not have known, but I’m pretty sure I would know if I had another child.”

  “Maybe, but let’s find out for sure.” He called Peter from the lab. “Can you take a DNA test from them? Put a rush on the Jane Doe’s DNA test. Let’s see if we have a match.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This is ridiculous. That is not our daughter,” Mr. Chartel argued.

  “Unfortunately, we may have another crime to solve besides her death,” Dani commented. “Please take the test. Then we’ll go find Melissa.”

  “Let’s just do it, Lenny. We need to help them with this and we need to find Melissa. Arguing is not going to get either one done.”

  He took her hand, turning to Dani. “Fine. Let’s get this done so we can get out of here.”

  They weren’t ten steps out the door when Genie brought her hands to her mouth with a gasp.

  “I know where she is. Well, not exactly, but I think I know the area.”

  Jake stopped in front her. “Tell us what you know.”

  Last weekend she said she took a walk down to the pier. She said she couldn’t figure out why Robbie hadn’t asked her to the dance yet. She wanted to figure out what she could do to get him to ask. She found a spot that she said was so peaceful it helped her think.

  “Did she describe it?”

  “Not really. She just said there were a bunch of rocks she sat on as she watched the sun go down.”

  Jake looked at Dani. “I can think of three area’s that could be where she is describing.” She took out her phone to called command. Two minutes later she had a police car heading to each of them.

  “Which one are we heading to?” Mr. Chartel asked.