In The Shadows (30 page)

As if on cue, Danielle’s mother, grandmother, and brother were escorted in by another nurse. Before they could all be introduced, Nurse Bridges had just checked Danielle’s pupils when Danielle’s eyelids began to flutter. Myron moved back to allow her family to be by her side as he stood over them.

Danielle’s eyelids continued to flutter until she was able to open her eyes. The entire room erupted in cheer and laughter. They could hardly believe their eyes as they waited patiently for Danielle to take everything in.

“She’s awake!” Danielle’s little brother yelled, and it was all that could be heard outside Danielle’s room and down the hallway. Once the cheers died down, Danielle’s mother had everyone join hands as she prayed over her baby girl. It was a moment right out of the movies. They were so moved by the prayer and what had happened that day that there was not a dry eye on the wing as others listened in amazement.

Tonya and Brandon walked out together after saying their good-byes. Tonya was pleased to see Myron and Danielle’s family getting along well. Although Danielle wasn’t able to do much more, seeing her open her eyes was a miraculous event that Tonya would never forget. She knew her friend would be back with them again and soon. Tonya would pick Janelle and Natalie up later to bring them to visit Danielle.

When Tonya made it to her car, she reached for her keys. In her attempt to keep what Myron had told her a secret, she had stuffed his note into her pocket and hadn’t remembered to tell Brandon while they were upstairs. Brandon had stopped to speak with his fellow officers as they were on their way inside to take Myron’s statement.

When he caught up with Tonya, she handed him the note. “This is what Myron wrote,” Tonya said, looking back toward the hospital entrance. “I’m not sure if he’s going to tell the officers or not. He’s not sure who to trust at this point. I’m glad he’s going to be there another night,” Tonya said, studying Brandon’s face.

“Thank you, baby, thank you. Since we’re not sure what we’re dealing with, I think that is the best thing,” Brandon said, hugging Tonya before she departed. Brandon had to get back out to the site, and Tonya was rushing to get back to the campus.

Her class was at noon, and she needed to get back in time to shower and eat. She’d not had anything to eat since yesterday afternoon, so she pulled in at Hardee’s and got her favorite breakfast sandwich, a chicken biscuit, with a medium Mountain Dew. The sandwich was good and hot, and Tonya finished it in no time. She was riding on cloud nine as she pulled back into her parking space on campus. Finding her room empty gave her more time to reflect on the morning’s events while she enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Brandon passed by the local high school as he headed back to the site. There were cars parked all alongside the road as people began arriving for the memorial service. Brandon was so focused on Katy and Danielle that he’d completely forgotten about the service being held that day. He was immediately saddened because of the tragedy the boy’s family had experienced. Banging his hand on the steering wheel, Brandon wanted to bring closure to these families and to his family. He had to find Katy.

 Chapter Fifty-Seven

As Brandon walked back to the site, he found his father on the phone and wondered if there had been any new developments. After reading Brandon’s expression, his father took the phone away from his ear and said, “Nothing yet.” Brandon could tell his father was irritated and was shocked to later find out he’d asked Selma to call in the feds to locate Dr. Benson. “Okay, call me the moment you hear anything,” Sheriff Masterson said before hanging up.

Brandon filled him on what had taken place at the hospital with Danielle. Brandon also told him about Myron’s run-in with their suspect.

After giving everything that had happened some serious thought, Sheriff Masterson said, “Son, it sounds like he’s trying to tie up the loose ends he’s left behind.”

“Which means he’s got to get rid of the bodies. He will have a tough time after his failed attempt on Danielle last night but Katy . . . ,” Brandon said, letting his words trail off. Brandon knew Katy didn’t have much time left, and by the look in his father’s eyes, he believed it too.

“Look, let’s sweep the perimeter of the cemetery before the funeral procession arrives. We can have the men scour the grounds after the service is over,” Brandon said, filled with emotion as he hugged his father. Both men felt helpless, and since the clues had stopped coming in, they had to rely solely on their cop instincts.

* * *

Natalie could barely focus on the service as she was agitated by last night’s events. Had she not been extremely exhausted, she probably wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. What she’d seen had scared her to death, but without proof, as Tonya reminded her, there was not much she could do. After the service, Natalie sent Tonya a text message but knew she was still in class. She wanted and needed to speak with her. This time, Natalie would tell her everything she saw from the window.

Tonya had just gotten out of class and decided to go back to her room and pack a bag for the night. She wasn’t sure what was going on with Natalie, but she wanted to be prepared to stay over if she needed to. The girls had made it back to Janelle’s and changed clothes as they waited for Tonya to pick them up.

Tonya had decided to treat the girls to Pizza Hut before they went to see Danielle. Tonya had spoken with Myron, and the nurse had taken Danielle to have more tests run. Myron didn’t expect her back for a few hours.

As the girls sat at their table waiting for their pie to arrive, Tonya observed Natalie and knew something still wasn’t sitting right with her. Janelle picked up on it too. “Natalie, what’s going on? You’ve not been yourself all day, not since . . .” Janelle hesitated as she thought back. “Not since last night.” Tonya looked on concerned and wondered if Natalie had shared last night’s events with Janelle.

By the look on her face, she had not. Natalie was speechless, and it was clear she wasn’t going to talk about it in front of Janelle. Tonya had to exercise patience and couldn’t wait to get Natalie alone. Perhaps, the group lunch wasn’t the best idea, but they were out now and headed to the hospital after that.

After their lunch, Tonya filled the girls in on Danielle’s progress and some of what happened the night before. The girls were thankful Myron had come home and even more thankful Danielle was safe. The girls arrived at the hospital filled with excitement. Tonya knew this would be a very emotional visit for all of them.

Once they entered Danielle’s room, they found her lying in bed, staring up at them as they walked over. Myron left the room to give them time to spend with Danielle. The girls talked nonstop as Danielle attempted a smile. She was clearly alert and understood what was being said. This visit ended with Natalie leading yet another prayer.

Once the girls left the hospital, Natalie was overjoyed by the turn of events and for Danielle’s recovery. “I can’t believe Danielle opened her eyes! I thought the tears were amazing, but to see her eyes staring back at mine was just unreal. She had been asleep for so long,” Natalie said, getting emotional. She’d held it in long enough, and the tears of joy and mixed emotions erupted on their drive home.

Tonya had called Brandon a few times but couldn’t reach him. She would drop the girls off and head out to the site. Tonya wanted some time with Natalie, so she dropped Janelle at home first. On the drive to Natalie’s, Tonya told Natalie she was worried about her and told her she could tell her anything.

After mulling over the thought of sharing what she’d seen with Tonya, Natalie knew she had to tell someone but didn’t know how much good it would do since the shed had been cleaned out. Tonya was somewhat stunned by the information Natalie shared with her and promised she would get the information to Brandon. Natalie seemed satisfied with that, but she was still creeped out by the whole ordeal.

* * *

Carlos had just arrived in town. He had stopped by his mom’s just long enough to change into some old jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt while grabbing his boots. He wasn’t sure where the search was being conducted that day, but he wanted to be properly dressed. Carlos couldn’t reach Brandon as he drove through town, so he stopped by Brandon’s house. The deputies in the operations center told him where Brandon could be found.

Cars constantly and periodically flowed into the cemetery to pay respects to Northport High School’s fallen football star. The crowd eventually began to dissipate around 3:00 p.m., with the occasional person arriving on their own. Although the casket had been lowered, an overwhelming number of people wanted to say their good-byes before the casket was covered.

Brandon and his father had scheduled for the cemetery to be closed for one hour, to allow the officers time to sweep the grounds before dark. They had put the officers at the cemetery on alert, to check out anyone with a visible leg injury or limp.

The request to search the grounds was made on Tuesday; not knowing about Friday’s service at that time, the cemetery officials agreed. As Brandon walked toward the rear of the cemetery, he saw an old shed near the back gate that was locked. The shed wasn’t painted, which made it easy to blend in with the woods, but a few pieces of new wood on the window stuck out like a sore thumb. There were a total of three gates to this particular cemetery, and it looked like the gate near the shed wasn’t opened very often.

As Brandon peeked in through the window, he wondered what was stored inside the shed as he looked at the large shelving from the window. Before he could get a closer look and examine the window, Carlos called again.

Brandon had been busy earlier when Carlos called, and before he could return the call, he was involved in something else. This time he answered it and was surprised to hear Carlos was in town and was headed to the cemetery. Brandon gave him his location and radioed the officer at the front gate to let him know and to let Carlos in.

Brandon walked back over to the window and got a better look at the inside. He got a whiff of Pine-Sol or bleach and maybe other cleaning supplies as he walked around the shed. When he reached for the door, he was surprised to find it open.

He had the permission of the caretaker to explore the grounds, which would include this building, Brandon thought as he entered the room. The room he stood in appeared to have been cleaned recently. Brandon wasn’t sure that was how it was normally maintained, but he was impressed. He then took notice of the rope and gloves hanging on the wall just inside the closet.

As Brandon examined the room and its well-organized content, something began to tug at his insides. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on what made him feel that way. The room was damp and dark, with only a lightbulb suspended in one corner of the room. Now feeling a chill to his bone, Brandon immediately felt the hairs stand up on his arms and the back of his neck.

Brandon unsnapped the button on his holster as he radioed back to the front gate. Now hearing his dad’s voice, Brandon told him he needed to come to the shed by the west gate of the cemetery. Not asking any questions, Sheriff Masterson dropped what he was doing and headed for Brandon.

Immediately upon entering the shed, Sheriff Masterson picked up on a scent that wasn’t a common, everyday scent as he felt his chest tighten. He walked around quietly as Brandon emerged from the back of the shed. “Brandon, get the dogs out here,” he instructed without explanation, and Brandon complied.

Sheriff Masterson had been involved in enough crime scenes to recognize the smell of death. It was an unmistakable smell as he tried to hold on to hope for Katy. He and Brandon didn’t speak the entire time the dogs were combing the area. Each found themselves holding their breath as the dogs went crazy once they picked up a scent in the room, which eventually led them to a wooded area in the back of the shed. When the dogs stopped searching, the handler called Brandon and his father over.

“Sheriff, we got something!” rang out over the open field covered with headstones. The men rushed over to the area the dogs chose and discovered a freshly covered hole. Brandon fell to his knees and began digging.

“Get me a shovel!” he yelled as he frantically dug through the dirt with his bare hands, knowing he would find something but hoping it would not be Katy. The shed was soon swarming with police and the county coroner as Sheriff Masterson and another deputy pulled Brandon away from the hole.

Sheriff Masterson wasn’t prepared for this discovery either as he held onto Brandon, but if a body was in that hole, that would be the last memory Brandon would need to have of his sister. What they discovered was not a body but feces and some kind of clothing article in a plastic bag.

Brandon broke down after recognizing Katy’s jogging suit top, covered in fecal matter stuffed inside the hole. He was distraught because he knew his sister was dead. Within minutes, the grounds were swarming with more searchers and more dogs as they looked for more freshly dug holes.

* * *

Tonya and Carlos arrived at the site about the same time. They were allowed in and were walking toward the west gate when they heard the commotion.

“What’s going on?” Tonya asked one of the officers she was familiar with.

Stopping only for a second, he said, “The dogs found something buried back there by the west gate.”

“Oh my God. Is it Katy?”

“I can’t say for certain what it is, but they’re calling for everyone to assist in the search.”

Tonya and Carlos jumped in the car with the officer as they flew across the cemetery clearly exceeding the 10-mph speed limit. Once Tonya and Carlos exited the car, Tonya searched all over for Brandon.

She found herself shaking uncontrollably the closer she and Carlos got to the group of people standing around by a shed. Sheriff Masterson left Brandon’s side and approached Tonya. “Little lady, you really don’t need to be here for this. I don’t have a good feeling about this,” he said, looking back at Brandon, who was looking in their direction from his position on the ground.

“Sheriff Masterson, I won’t be in the way. I just want to be here to support Brandon when you find Katy,” she said, finding herself sounding more hopeful than she felt. Carlos had already gone over to be by Brandon’s side, and they were involved in a deep conversation as Tonya and Sheriff Masterson walked up. They were wondering what Carlos had said to suddenly get Brandon’s attention. Whatever it was had Brandon standing on his feet again.

He took Carlos and two other officers with him as they headed for a patrol car. Brandon was in no position to drive, and he felt the story Carlos shared was a bit of a stretch, but at that point, Brandon would leave no stone unturned.

Brandon radioed his father, telling him where to meet him. As Tonya and Sheriff Masterson jumped in another car, they headed to Cody’s gravesite. By the time they arrived, Brandon was ordering the caretaker to pull the casket up.

After Brandon told him multiple times, he finally agreed. He only agreed to it since Cody’s site had not been covered yet, and he reluctantly put the machine in reverse. Had it been covered, it would have taken a court order to exhume a casket from the ground.

Once the casket was up, free and clear of the hole in the ground, Brandon climbed down into the hole and was tossed a shovel. The caretaker was making all kinds of threats about disturbing the dead and how the police had no right, with many onlookers beginning to whisper as they grew concerned too. The crowd started to grow and began to question what was taking place while Brandon worked feverishly.

Putting his fears aside, Carlos grabbed another shovel and climbed down to help Brandon. After about ten minutes, Brandon stopped digging when his shovel hit something hard. At first he thought it was a rock until Carlos hit something hard too. Now on their knees, scrambling to get underneath the soil, both men were on the ground, moving dirt with their hands until they realized what was beneath them was a wooden box.

Sheriff Masterson and Tonya arrived just in time to see the shovels being passed up from the hole. A deputy standing nearby explained to the sheriff what had taken place as he and Tonya rushed to the site for a closer look.

Carlos was beginning to feel sick. He had no idea what they were about to unearth, but he knew it would shock the world if his belief was proven to be true. When Carlos and Brandon found the edge of the box, they both pushed until they were able to pry the lid open. What they saw next was enough to create widespread fear throughout the South and perhaps the entire country.