Lani’s breath caught in his throat, gut contracted, and the bile in his stomach churned. He willed his legs to move close to the body as he fumbled with his gloves, dropping his notebook in the process.
As he bent down to retrieve the writing pad, the putrid smell clobbered his senses with a vengeance. Burnt flesh and rotten meat filled his mind’s eye. His stomach acids surged leaving an instant sour taste in his mouth. He eradicated the foul thoughts and images from his mind as the evidence lay before him.
Nothing he had studied in books prepared him for this murder scene.
Lying on her back, arms and legs spread wide, and the torso cavity severely burned, charred beyond any recognition that it had once pumped blood throughout the body. The hollowed out cavern that had once been a living person resembled a trash pit of unspeakable horror. Dappled leaves placed around the body left a three to four inch space. As the faint morning breeze picked up, the carefully positioned leaves never moved.
Lani pried his eyes away from the hideous hole and scanned the rest of the body. Charred markings from the intense fire had flicked up around the neck and chin leaving a charcoal stippling design along with blackened marks on her thighs.
Her dark eyes, intact, open and fixed in a verification of imprinted evidence of the torture and mayhem she suffered.
The subtle shutter of the digital camera rapped in succession around the crime scene area.
Lani gently examined the side of her face where there was some type of blue greased markings. The mark meant something important to the killer.
The dark haired woman’s naked body seemed to reflect the porous and unyielding appearance of a porcelain doll. Bright pink painted fingernails and toenails along with subtle pink lip-gloss jolted the display, as if to mock the brutality of act.
Lani focused as he searched for any unusual marks on her arms and legs. Nothing came to light. There were no traumatic injuries on her head except for the large gash on the front of her neck. She was subdued another way, but the evidence conveniently burned away.
The killer evolved with each murder. These words resonated in Lani’s mind. He stood up and scanned the entire area in a full circle imagining what the killer saw and felt. He remembered what Emily had said about killing every day if he needed it to happen.
The sergeant knew that Emily was correct with her assessment on this serial killer becoming something else or moving to another perceived reality. After viewing this murder scene, he would never sleep soundly again in the dark.
Lani made a few notes, observations, entrance and exit points, body position, and then snapped some photos for his report as well as for Emily and the team to study.
Lani directed his instructions to a roving patrol officer and the crime scene tech. “Rope off the entire parking lot now, no one leaves until all of it has been searched for anything out of the ordinary. Understood?”
“What are you looking for?”
“Anything that the killer might have dropped or an indication of how he brought the victim up here. That means every square inch. Look at the surrounding dirt areas as well, make the perimeter as big as necessary.”
The patrol officer sighed, but obeyed the order and was followed by the tech to take care of the details.
Lani stood and gazed at the incredible view of the canyon for the first time since he arrived. The beauty was unsurpassed. He tried hard to fill his mind with serenity and natural wonder instead of horror and deep sadness.
He stopped another officer. “Anything about any missing women?”
The officer shook his head and continued to his duties.
Lani’s cell phone rang.
“Sergeant Candena.”
“Lani.” A weak voice replied.
“Alex? Are you okay?”
A paused before she said another word. “I’m scared Lani. I think he’s going to do something bad and I’m scared for my own life. He thinks that I’m against him too.”
Lani snapped into reality as he heard the fear in his friend’s voice. “Alex stay inside, lock the doors. If there’s anything out of the ordinary call the police immediately. Patrol can get there faster than I can because I’m at a crime scene at Waimea. Okay?”
“Okay…” She said slowly. “Maybe I’m just being silly.”
“No such thing. I’m glad you called me.”
“Thanks Lani. See you in a little bit.”
“We’ll get this worked out, I promise.”
There was a little relief in her voice. “Thanks Lani. Bye.”
Click.
Lani hung up his cell phone and returned it to his pocket.
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Friday 1020 Hours
The digital camera focused on the inside of the house through an open window. It zoomed back and forth until the razor sharp image pinpointed the target. A display case filled with weaponry including knives, martial arts throwing stars, and tribal antique dart guns.
The telephoto lens stationed at a perfect height from an empty rental house across the street proved to be a perfect vantage point for surveillance of Daniel Lee Cogan.
Click. Click. Click.
“I’ve never seen so many weapons in a personal collection.” Emily remarked as she continued to document every item visible. “He’s interested in island antiques that perpetuate fighting and violence.”
“Sweet guy…” Rick stated as he searched on his phone for maps of the property.
Emily adjusted her position lying on her belly. Her elbows ached from the wooden deck and her lower back still throbbed and tensed from her scuffle at the morgue. The green netting posed a perfect camouflage across the second story deck leaving a four-inch gap at the bottom. Even if someone looked directly at the deck, they wouldn’t see Emily and Rick spying in their direction.
Emily rested her right hand under the camera and maneuvered her left to view through other windows. The larger lens made the weight heavier as her wrists twinged with pain. She took a deep breath, slowing letting out air and concentrated on any movement. Her patience paid off.
Emerging from inside, a dark haired man with a dark beard moved back and forth in front of the bedroom window. Obviously, he rose from his late night activities. He stumbled and jumped to pull on his pants. He sat a moment rubbing his face and pushing his hair from his eyes.
Emily whispered. “He’s there.”
Rick looked up and retrieved his small binoculars. He took a look. “So he is…”
“What have you been up to?” Emily clicked several shots with time stamps. “You alone? Where do serial killers or wannabes go to find a date?” She chuckled slightly.
“You’re bad.” Rick noted the time and a brief note on his pocket notepad.
“Have to keep it light sometimes.”
A truck roared up the street and parked in front of Cogan’s house. An older, overweight man got out. Emily and Rick recognized him immediately as the Kauai police chief.
Emily made sure to capture photographs of the truck, license plate, and the chief entering the house.
“Do you get a feeling that this has nothing to do with the serial murders?” Rick asked.
She looked away from her eyepiece and directed her attention to Rick. “Yes, I do. Some crime activity is going on, but my experience says this guy isn’t the serial killer we’re looking for.”
A few minutes passed before the chief reappeared and left. Cogan burst through the front door and got into his white truck and drove off down the street in the same direction as the chief.
“If we hurry we can follow them.”
Emily shook her head. “I say we take a look at what’s in the backyard.”
“Okay.”
The couple retraced their steps, scrambled across the deck, climbed over the side railing and scaled down the side of the house, landing in a vacant flowerbed. Emily took a momentary look at the two closest homes and assessed that no one was home.
The single dr
iveway littered with small gravel made a crunching noise as Emily and Rick moved quickly to the backyard away from any curious eyes. Once around behind the house, trees and overgrown island vegetation made for a convenient cover.
Rick touched the screen from his phone. He accessed the local title company and zoomed in on the property. It was small and narrow with a slow grading slope into a ravine. The adjacent properties spread out in more of a square formation with a distinct fence line in contrast to Cogan’s land.
The older house was absent of a garage. Emily spotted two sheds, which had been brought in to fit cement platforms. One shed had a large titanium lock, but the other had a simple pad lock hanging loose.
For protection purposes, Emily slid on a plastic glove, removed the lock and pulled the hinge away from the hook. The wooden door creaked as they anticipated the contents inside. Nothing out of the ordinary leaped out at them, but upon closer inspection it revealed an interesting scenario.
A faint, but distinct skunk smell greeted them once they were inside. Buckets, various bulbs, pots, soil mixtures, and some ordinary gardening tools resided. To most people, it made sense for a gardening shed, but to Emily and Rick it wreaked criminal intentions for growing and distributing marijuana. Looking around at the yard, it was absent of anything that resembled a garden.
“I think we found out what the locals are doing.” Emily documented the shed along with other areas of the property. “Lani’s going to get a big surprise.”
Rick added. “It won’t take Lani long to figure out where the harvest area is located.”
“Kauai is such an incredible place with some very dirty little secrets.”
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Friday 1158 Hours
Lani drove just above the speed limit to get to Alex’s home after he wrapped up most of the crime scene investigation. The body, zipped up tight in a plastic body bag and sent to the morgue, as the remaining police officers were concluding their searches and appropriate documentation.
The roads steadily congested with tourists, buses, and delivery trucks bogged down his drive. Lani tried to call Alex again, but the cell phone went directly to voice mail as he heard her sweet, innocent voice apologizing why she wasn’t available. There were many reasons why she didn’t answer the phone: out of range, low battery, at store, sleeping, didn’t hear it ring. He had been a cop long enough to pay attention to the quiet, little voice in the back of his mind – unfortunately, most of the time the chatter rang true.
His cell phone tweeted a silly cartoon jingle to alert him that a text or file was received. Glancing at the screen, he noted it was sent from Emily and team.
Maybe they found out more information about the serial killer?
Turning down the short street, he observed that most people were at work. Cars were absent from almost every driveway and carport. Once he pulled into Alex’s driveway, her small car sat parked with the front windows rolled down. Lani thought it strange due to the frequent rain showers on the island.
He parked his cruiser and got out.
Standing for a moment, the familiar feeling tapped his spine and alerted his instincts. The rising moisture from a rain only a few moments ago floated upward in swirling damp clouds. It accentuated the fragrance of the blooming flowers alongside the driveway to an almost sickly level.
The curious crunching echo beneath Lani’s combat boots followed him through the arbor and up onto the main deck at the front door, greeted by the stained glass door with a huge crack running the length of the pane. The only thing that would cause such an impact was a constant slamming of the front door or one extremely strong blow.
The lock looked engaged, but there were several red droplets dappled around the door release, down the molding, and across the porch, each spatter smaller than the previous.
Lani knocked on the door. “Alex? It’s me…”
The door opened slightly with a quiet whoosh. The entire locking mechanism appeared to have been pushed inward by force, which would no longer hold the door secure.
He pulled his weapon from his holster and flipped off the safety. With his Glock positioned out in front of him, Lani moved forward with trepidation. He hoped and even prayed that it was just a silly misunderstanding, something to laugh about later.
The living room had been tossed, lamps broken with a dark substance smeared on the couch pillows.
“Alex?” He said again.
With an even movement, he skirted the wall and continued down the hallway. Red smears painted down the wall at arms height seemed to indicate a trail. The bedroom door was slightly ajar with brighter red spatter around the doorframe.
Lani’s heartbeat accelerated to a higher octave and pounded in his ears. The thundering pulse traveled down his arms, which made his gun waver a bit. It didn’t take much for his belly to churn again from the previous investigation. The familiar sour taste crept back into his mouth, forced him to swallow several times to gain control and keep focus.
He released his left hand from steadying the gun and pushed open the bedroom door.
The door hinges were quiet, leaving a creepy silence, as it swung inward.
The large, four-poster bed made a drastic contrast of wispy white linens and ruffles against blood spatter with cast off droplets dotting around the pink embroidered roses.
Lying on the floor, Alex’s body waited for discovery soaked in blood. Her throat grotesquely slashed, gaping wounds split open from both sides of her neck.
Death proved to be the only alternative in the heat of the apparent struggle. Her upper arms and hands were covered in blood as well. It was clear she fought her attacker, but in the end she succumbed to the murder.
Lani made a quick check around the room to make sure no one hid and waited to attack again.
He slammed open the closets and bathroom door.
Empty.
He dropped to his knees next to his friend. “Oh Alex…” he barely whispered, choking back the tears. His hands shook.
Closing her dead, fixed eyes, he noticed her skin warm to the touch.
If he only arrived sooner…
Lani chocked back the flood of tears, as he stood up, careful not to contaminate the scene. He could see under the lower part of her skirt the end of a hunting knife.
Into the police radio he spoke in a monotone, “This is Sergeant Candena. I’m at 352 Inlet Drive, there’s been a homicide.” He barely finished his sentence as he carefully backed out of the room to secure the entire house and wait for his team to arrive.
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Friday 1330 Hours
Several police cars held their positions in a semi-circle around the perimeter of the small trailer. The surrounding streets and beach areas cleared of tourists and neighbors gave the impression of a tropical ghost town as the cops waited and anticipated the next move.
Standing alongside Detectives Simpson and Ling, Lani stood, waited, and contemplated the new information about the serial killer case.
It couldn’t be this easy.
The case was officially closed.
Even as Lani pushed the send button on the cell phone to alert Emily and her crew about the recent events and the soon arrest of Timmy Phan, he knew it was wrong. He couldn’t shake his doubts, like a plague gaining momentum.
Detective Simpson raised the bullhorn to his mouth. “This is Kauai Police Department.
Thomas James Phan come out with your hands up!”
Detective Ling had an expression of accomplishment on his smug face. Chest puffed out in an alpha demeanor as he and his partner led the troops for the arrest of a patient that killed his psychologist. The look of pride as well as a mindful pat on the back as if he had single handedly solved the island’s most high profile serial murder case to date.
“Timmy come out peacefully!” Detective Simpson explained this time with more agitation in his voice.
A shift resonated through the w
all of the police force as they waited.
Stillness.
The small trailer remained quiet. The slight island breeze picked up and the curtains above the front windows and gently lowered them back into place, but no one peeked out.
Several neighbors had seen Timmy return home and enter the trailer, agitated, angrily talking to himself covered in blood.
Before the detective could instruct the suspect again, the front door of the trailer opened a few inches, a shaking hand with fingertips that gripped the edge ventured out. “Don’t shoot… please don’t shoot.” His voice soft with a distinct quiver pronouncing the vowels cut the awkward silence.
Lani took a step forward and instructed, “Hold your fire!” He kept moving. “That’s it Timmy… come out with your hands in the air… C’mon now…keep coming!”
Slowly, Timmy squeezed through the tight opening with his hands in the air. Covered in blood splashed across the front of his shirt and shorts, barefoot, he looked small like a frightened child. “Please… I did something bad… please help me…”
Timmy fell forward onto the ground with his arms stretched straight above his head.
Lani made his move and pounced on the murderer, roughly handcuffed his hands behind his back, and dragged him to his feet. The sergeant read him his rights as he steered him to his patrol car.
During the entire time until the car door slammed shut, Timmy mumbled how bad he was and god would punish him for his sins.
* * * * *
“Well, that’s all she wrote.” Jordan dramatically sighed as he broke down some of the computer equipment in their makeshift command center, rolling up cables and packing up surge protectors.
“Don’t you think that it’s just too convenient? This kid has some serious problems I give you that, but a mastermind at committing serial crimes that were well thought out and executed.” Rick shuffled papers and files to a neat pile.
Jordan stopped what he was doing and looked Rick straight in the eye. “Okay on one hand, Phan killed his psychologist, which unfortunately makes sense in his state of mind. The crime scene was extremely sloppy with forensic evidence everywhere and the murder weapon. Sorry for the pun, but it looked like a psycho did it.” He loaded some equipment in a box. “And, the cops think he’s the island serial killer who expertly planned his crimes, with very little evidence left behind, careful, cautious, organized with a definite long term plan in mind. Oh no, Phan definitely committed all of these crimes.” Jordan made a face and rolled his eyes.
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