by T V Scribner
"Will that take very long?" Paisley asked.
Smiling, Dr. Raj assured her, “They’ll probably be at your precinct, in a week or less. Several, may take a little longer."
Turning to leave, the two Detectives, stopped to discard their protective clothing in a container marked for that purpose, and as Paisley glanced back, the bags containing the organs were being inserted into the body's cavity. Boone, noticed her staring, as Ginny continued to work.
"C'mon, let's get out of here. They'll be sewing the belly up with the bags of organs inside and putting the body, along with the clothing, into the new body bag on the other table, which was next to us. Then back to the cooler it goes, to wait for next of kin."
The autopsy lasted a little over an hour, and it was a long drive back to Pinecrest. Neither were in the mood for a meal, even though it was almost lunchtime. Instead, they stopped at little place called, The Coffee Break, just past Big Lake. The coffee shop, was on a frontage road, off the main highway. Inside, they took a window seat, which looked out at a small pond, and both ordered coffee. They gazed out the window, privately reflecting on the morning’s events.
The waitress brought their coffee. Boone stared at Ingles, as he stirred his coffee and remarked, "You seemed to take that autopsy in stride. It was with some trepidation that I invited you to attend, for fear that it might be too difficult for you. Some faint or become ill, and of course, there's no shame in that, as it happens to many seasoned officers. But for a first-timer, you sailed through it without a glitch, and I want to acknowledge you for that."
Her face grew warm from the praise, and she was afraid he noticed, "I went to the autopsy with no expectations. I didn't know how I'd react either, but I've always had an ability to switch my mind into clinical mode, and that's what I did."
"Very impressive," he replied.
"I majored in math and science in my first two years of college, so I'm familiar with physiology, anatomy, psychology, and all the other ‘-ology's' I did my share of dissecting rats and other critters, etc., and perhaps those experiences helped!”
Boone contemplated this for a moment, then changed the conversation to Yury Antonov, the other boarder at Zolotov's house.
"Did you read the information that came back on Yury?"
She nodded, "Yes, he appears to be on the up-and-up. I did some research on him and checked his social media profile, but I couldn't find anything there, or in Russia. I think we should meet with him to see what information he has to offer. He might have friends we don’t know about, and perhaps some grudge against Kamorov, I don’t think we can’t dismiss him as a possible suspect, yet.”
Nodding his head, Boone took out his wallet and paid the tab, requesting a couple of to-go cups for their unfinished coffee. "Let's get going."
When they returned to the precinct, Boone assured her he would set up a meeting with Yury and inform her of the time and place, then they parted.
"Gonna work on some procedural things now," Boone said, "but before I forget, what was the tattoo picture all about?"
"Oh, thanks for the reminder, may I have the camera?" He handed it to her.
"And you wanted the pictures because…?” he asked again.
CHAPTER 19
Pinecrest
"I'll to tell you later," she answered mysteriously, with a grin. “There's no time right now, because I also, have a few things to handle.”
And with that, Paisley turned and hustled down the long hallway to her office, leaving Boone, standing and staring after her. Entering her office after her long day, Paisley greeted Millie before plopping down in her chair. Wasting no time, she got right to work, opening her laptop and glancing over the information gleaned from the flash drive the previous afternoon.
Although dying to work on it, she wasn't clear how she would proceed. She knew it would be time consuming, but there were just a few hours before time to go home. She pondered this, then decided to set it aside for the moment, until she handled other pressing police business.
"Well, Pais, how did the autopsy go?"
Paisley looked at Millie. "Oh, the autopsy? Well, it went great, I guess that’s how I would characterize it. After the initial shock of the odor, and the uncovered body, I managed very well! All in all, I found it very interesting—I can check ‘autopsy’ off my bucket list, now!” she joked.
"Not sure I could do that, so more power to you. But, I bet driving with that hunk, Detective Boone, worked out great!" And Millie, gave an exaggerated, conspiratorial wink.
"Why, Millie!" Paisley feigned consternation, at her remark, fanned her face with her hand and batted her eyelashes, and they both laughed.
"Anyway, I need to leave a little early today," Millie said, "so you go ahead and get back to work."
Not wanting to press her for more info, Millie filed her papers, and straightened her desk, then gathered her things.
Unexpectedly, Boone appeared at the office door, causing Millie to startle, then say, with a smile, “May I help you?"
With that, Paisley looked over, also surprised, to see him at the door, and exclaimed, "Detective Boone, what brings you here?" What a ridiculous thing to say, she thought, and added, “Have you and Millie, been formally introduced?"
Millie jumped right in and said, "No, I don't believe we have! I delivered a newspaper to your office the other morning, Detective, but I didn't introduce myself." Paisley could swear Millie batted her eyelashes at him, as she said that. "Well, Boone, meet Millie, and Millie, meet Detective Boone."
Much to Paisley’s dismay, Millie held out her hand to Boone, with her fingers pointed down, in a gesture that might look like, he was to kiss her hand, and said, "Enchanted, I'm sure!" and gave a slight curtsy.
"Very nice to meet you." Boone said, awkwardly holding her fingers, then smiled kindly.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you," Millie grinned, adding, "I've heard so much about you."
Paisley cringed, and attempted to change the subject by saying, "So…what do you need, Detective?"
"May I speak to you in the hall for a moment?" he asked.
"Oh, you can stay here," Millie said, and grabbed her jacket and purse. "I'm just leaving...see you tomorrow Pais, and nice to meet you, Detective Boone," then she rushed out the door.
"Sure...tomorrow….” Paisley said, although Millie was out of earshot when she uttered this. Relieved with Millie gone, she sat back in her chair. "Now, what may I do for you?" and she spun her chair towards Boone and waited for him to speak.
"What I wanted to say," Boone started, “…is why don't we grab a bite after work again, and discuss a plan of action, for moving forward with the investigation, then we'll both go home and get some rest. Tomorrow we'll hit it running, starting with interviewing Yury Panuken."
"I suppose it is time to call it a day," she checked her watch, then said, "Okay, you think of a place and I'll gather my things and meet you there.”
Boone left her office while Paisley began grathering her things, but just as she was about to shut down her computer, she remembered the camera. Taking it out of her bag, she removed the memory card and inserted it into her computer. Excitedly, she opened the files, which had pictures of the tattoo.
“Aha!" she said out loud, and immediately loaded them onto her flash drive, then printed out two copies, one for her files, and one for her briefcase.
Doing this brought back memories of Professor Howe, telling her college Computer Engineering class, "With all information, the key is redundancy, redundancy, redundancy." Guessing he would approve of her use of his advice, she smiled to herself. Paisley regretted not thinking to upload the pictures in time to show Millie, before she left for the day, and wondered if this tattoo would be a match to the stranger's, who came to the office inquiring about the flash drive?
Boone and Paisley met in front of the precinct, and walked to a little hole-in-the-wall diner, several blocks away from the precinct, for a bite to eat. They were oblivious to the car idling i
n the alley, with its headlights off, watching, as the two chatted, while heading towards Dora's Diner. Named after its owner, Dora Turner, Dora’s menu consisted of home-style meals, and had been in the same location for the last forty years.
The two detectives sat in a booth towards the back, as they looked over their menus. They both ordered meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cooked corn, speaking very little during the meal. Since both of them hadn’t eaten since the autopsy, hunger over-took them, and they even ordered Dora's famous homemade apple pie for desert, along with coffee.
When Boone finished eating his pie, he settled back in his chair, and took a sip of coffee, then finally spoke. "I set up a meeting with Yury Panuken, for 7:30 a.m. We'll meet in the college's student union, before his first class."
Paisley nodded her head. "Why meet at the college?" Her hands wrapped around her warm cup, as she gazed at Boone.
"He has classes all day, and won't be home from studying at school until late. He wanted to meet first thing in the morning, and since I didn't want to question him in front of Zolotov, I acquiesced."
Blotting her mouth with her napkin, Paisley continued, "Here's my thought. From the statements taken at Ben's, Kamorov was a techie guy—a major gamer—but when we went through his room the next day, it was devoid of all tech stuff. So I thought perhaps he’d put his computer in his car, but the officers already searched it, and found nothing."
"And...?" Sipping his coffee, Boone watched her, over his cup rim, before he set it down.
"And," she paused, "if Ben's Burgers has lockers, maybe that's where he left his computer? But, I didn't see any mention of checking lockers in the detectives’ reports…not sure if Ben's even has lockers…I called, and they do have a few. So, if the computer is there, we can confiscate it, and perhaps it’ll contain clues, as to who and why, someone murdered him?"
She sat back, satisfied with herself, and slurped her coffee, only because it was still very hot from the refill, and waited to see what Boone would say.
"Hmmm...yes, a good idea, we can go to Ben's after we meet with Panuken." Boone took a sip of water and motioned for Dora to bring more coffee.
"Makes sense," and underwhelmed by his response to her idea, she decided instead, to change the subject, by asking him a few questions about his previous assignments.
Boone gave sketchy answers at best, although he did talk a little about his childhood. His artfulness, at avoiding personal questions, only served to make her more curious. She didn't press him this time, but decided to confront him, at another time, and call him on his lack of candor.
Before they left, she mentioned, “I had a curious visitor to my office yesterday, who wanted to speak with me. According to Millie, he was jumpy and strange looking. Millie asked for his name, but he wouldn't say. Do you think someone might be trying to come forward, who knows something about the case?"
Boone agreed it was strange, but said nothing else, he was no longer paying attention. Rising, he threw a tip on the table after signing the check for the meal.
As they stepped outside, the night air felt chilly and damp, so they picked up their pace, hurrying back to the station, where Boone walked her to her car, and reminded her about their early meeting the next day at the college, with Panuken. They said their goodbyes, and went to their cars. Paisley started her Jeep, turned on the car heater, then drove to Brainerd, turning right at the edge of town, onto CR 38, as usual. The Jeep picked up speed, and she decided the Kamorov case was an enigma.
Brainerd By the time she arrived at the farm house, she looked forward to climbing in bed, reading the book she’d just started, and perhaps having a warm cup, of Chamomile tea. She parked and hurried inside, turning on the light in the mud room, then continuing, to the kitchen.
She flipped the light switch by the mud room door, but nothing happened—how odd she thought, why is the electricity off? Reaching in her purse, she took out her small LED flashlight and turned it on. Pointing it into the kitchen, her jaw dropped.
"No! No!" she screamed, and stood, momentarily paralyzed, then reached for the Glock and in her purse. Her hand gripped the gun, as she shined the light around the kitchen and stared, mouth agape, at the once orderly kitchen, turned upside down!
The room had been ransacked. Dishes were thrown from the open shelves, and lay broken on the floor. The opened refrigerator’s contents spilled out onto the floor, mixing with canned goods, raked off the cupboard shelves. Even the grand table and chairs, were turned over into the mess!
Horrified, she cautiously stepped through broken dishes on the kitchen floor, to the living room doorway. She reached around it to turn on the living room light, but nothing happened. Stepping back into the kitchen, she carefully stepped over the mess to retrieve a larger flashlight, from the junk drawer in the counter. Fortunately, this drawer hadn’t been disturbed.
Holding her gun, she turned on the flashlight, hoping whoever did this was long gone! When she stepped through the doorway into the living room, it too, had been ravaged. Glancing around the room with the light, she felt sickened at the devastation. Sofa cushions and arm chairs had been slashed open, with stuffing littering the carpet.
Everything was destroyed! Books were pulled from the oak bookcases and scattered in piles amongst the stuffing on the floor. Pictures ripped from the walls, were strewn in the mess, their fronts slashed and the backings torn away. Paisley chambered a round in her gun, then forcing her legs to work, silently crept forward, proceeding slowly, with the gun held in both hands, arms outstretched, while moving the gun from side, to side.
She tip-toed stealthily from room to room, searching, and seeing nothing but destruction—every room a disaster! She felt numb, but convinced the perpetrators were gone, she moved back to the kitchen, picked up a chair from the floor and sat down. Staring in disbelief, she wanted to cry, but wasn’t able.
Suddenly, she jumped and pointed her gun! Something moved, in the darkness of the living room beyond the doorway, and it caught her eye. Straightening in the chair, she felt adrenalin pumping through her body, and stood, still pointing her gun and turned her flashlight in the direction of the movement.
With a tremor in her voice, she said, "Who's there?” No answer until, to her relief, Aunt Olga's black cat, Phantom, came creeping out of the living room’s dark shadows. Paisley set her gun on the table and picked up the poor, trembling cat, and said, "There, there,” cooing, and stroking her fur, as she held the scared cat close in her arms, trying to calm her.
Abruptly, she placed the cat on her chair, wondering about her Aunt's little pooch, Abby. Dread washed over her again, as she went through each room, calling Abby’s name, hoping to find her hiding under a bed, or crouched in a corner somewhere, but there was no response. Picking up her gun again, she grabbed the flashlight, and hurried to the back door. The door opened into night-blackness, as if a dark curtain had been drawn, preventing her from seeing beyond it.
Gripping her gun tighter, she stood still, listening for a sound, and heard nothing, but eerie silence. The porch light was switched on, but nothing happened—the yard remained pitch dark. Shinning the flash light around the yard, she called Abby's name. Still, no response. Where is she hiding? Panicked, Paisley moved deeper into the yard.
She almost gave up, but as she rounded the corner of the house, she shined her flashlight further into the yard, still calling Abby’s name, and spotted something on the lawn, towards the hedges, near the woods. Running towards it, flashlight beam bouncing and heart pounding, she approached the form with mounting fear.
She broke into a run and found Abby, laying in a pool of blood, with a bullet hole in the side of her head. She was dead! Paisley stood up in shock and horror, backed away, and turned to run for the house. Crying and sobbing, she was unable to process the senseless killing of her Aunt’s beloved dog!
She sobbed out loud, with anger and grief. "Why did Abby have to be killed, too? Why?" Aunt Olga loves her—how will I tell her? In her distraugh
t state, she decided to call Boone for support. Still sobbing and hardly able to breathe, she attempted to calm herself, as she ran to retrieve her cell phone, which rested on the kitchen table.
Once in the kitchen, she hurried through the mess, crunching glass on the floor, until she reached the table. She picked up her phone, fumbling with it in her haste to call Boone. Her hands shook, as she forced herself to calm down, so she could make the call. It seemed like forever, before he answered, and she burst into tears upon hearing his voice.She could not speak.
He was calling her name, "Ingles—Ingles! Is that you?What's the matter?”
CHAPTER 20
Not able to get answers from her, he said, “Hang on, I’m coming over now! Are you at the farm house?" Boone couldn't imagine what has happened.
She managed to squeak out, "Yes."
"I'm on my way—I’ll call the precinct for the address, and use my GPS, in the meantime, try and calm down, I’ll be there as fast as I can!”
Stumbling out the front door and onto the front steps, Paisley sat down, put her head in her hands and bawled like a baby. The minutes dragged, before headlights from Boone's car were visible on the road. His car pulled up to the house, and screeched to a stop, his door flew open and Boone bounded out of the car, and ran to the steps, where Paisley sat. Crouching beside her, his arm went around her shoulder, and he pulled her towards him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and tried to stifle her sobs.
With soothing words, he attempted to comfort her, and she began to relax, gaining her composure. With his free hand, he stroked her hair and continued to speak calmly, saying, "Ingles, what the heck has happened? Try and tell me what happened.”
"I'm so sorry, I don't often cry, but I can't help it.” She gave a few hiccup sobs, and sat back to look at him, “but this is one of those times!"
"Shhhh! C’mon, Ingles," he said as he helped her up, "let's so inside and get some water for you, and we’ll sit down, then you can tell me what the heck happened!”