Terry Odell - Mapleton 02 - Deadly Bones (2 page)

As he hiked into the woods along a trail that was little more than trampled grass lined with rocks and deadfall, he ran through his mental files. Sandy was a relatively new hire, and new to Mapleton. Young, eager, and definitely more of an animal person than law enforcement. He didn’t think she was the sort who’d be hunting for sensationalism.

But a human bone? Out here in the middle of next-to-nowhere? Properties around the lake were large—most well over ten acres, many closer to forty—and in general, aside from dwellings and the occasional outbuildings, were left in their natural state. Basically, an expanse of mountainous woodland.

He tried to quell the clenching in his gut and the myriad “what-ifs” running through his brain. At the same time, he tried to recall what little he’d learned about bones in his forensics course years ago.

“Chief Hepler! Over here!” Sandy’s voice resounded from somewhere off to his left, interrupting his thoughts. He veered in that direction. Boot prints and what looked like dog tracks in the mud led the way. Sandy appeared from the trees. Tall and muscular, wearing the County Animal Control uniform tan trousers and forest green shirt, she nodded, turned, and marched into the woods. “This way.”

He followed her to a clearing where she’d secured the two dogs he’d seen on his way to the party. The smaller one whined and strained at his leash. The larger dog, lying calmly, lifted his head and thumped his tail as Gordon neared, then rested his head back on his paws and closed his eyes.

“Artemus and Midnight,” Sandy said. “Artemus lives nearby, but Midnight’s a good ways from home.”

“Where’s the bone?”

“I left it where I found it. Although I doubt it’s where Artemus found it originally. I secured the dogs out here where they couldn’t contaminate the scene.”

Sandy’s use of the term “scene” twisted his gut. Was he going to be investigating another homicide so soon after the last one? Until earlier this year, Mapleton hadn’t seen a homicide in over fifty years. Yet Sandy didn’t seem upset.

“Why don’t you start at the beginning,” Gordon said.

“After I got the call, I proceeded to Midnight’s neighborhood, which was the last reported sighting. When I couldn’t find the dogs there, I continued to Artemus’s place, assuming he might return to familiar surroundings.” She pointed up the hill. “As the crow flies—or in this case, as the dog runs—Artemus lives over that rise.”

“So, we’re on the Webbers’ property?”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure. And I don’t think the dogs pay much attention to property lines.”

Gordon thought for a moment. “The boys were at the Kretzers’ house, playing in the yard, so that’s likely where the bone originally showed up.”

“That’s my theory. When I found the dogs, Artemus was digging a hole, trying to bury something. Turned out to be the bone. I bribed him to abandon it in favor of a rawhide chew. I leashed him, but he was fixated on that bone.” She wiggled her lips. “I thought it was from a deer, but I figured the experts should see it, so I called it in. It definitely looks like it’s been buried for some time.”

Gordon breathed a little more easily. He hadn’t missed a recent missing person report in the mounds of paper that crossed his desk, then. Or a missing body, for that matter. “Always smart to err on the side of caution.”

Sandy gave each dog a scratch behind the ears. “Hang tight, fellas. I’ll be right back.” Then she crossed through the clearing, ducked under some low-hanging branches, and worked her way deeper into the woods.

“A lot easier if you’re a dog,” Gordon muttered as he followed, skirting rocks and avoiding mud-filled depressions. He didn’t think any other humans had been along this trail in quite some time.

Sandy stopped and pointed to a recent excavation. “Right here.”

Although it was still daylight, the shadows cut down on visibility. Gordon wished he’d brought his flashlight. But the bone was lying in a shallow hole, easy enough to see. “You’ve touched it, right?”

“Yes, when I took it away from Artemus. At the time, I had no idea it was even a bone, much less a human one.”

“
Maybe
a human one,” Gordon said.

“All right.
Maybe
a human bone. Whatever it came from, Artemus chewed on it. It was slimy with his saliva, and there are fresh teeth marks on it.”

Gordon pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. He picked up the bone, then took it a few feet away where the light was better. Long, straight, definitely gnawed on, especially at the ends. He agreed with Sandy. It didn’t look fresh.

“If it
is
human, you think it’s a murder case?” Sandy asked.

Gordon sure hoped not. “I need to confirm the bone is human before we start thinking homicide, which means I’m going to have to call in the Coroner’s Office. No need for you to hang around. You can deliver the dogs to their owners and I’ll take it from here.”

Sandy didn’t seem too disappointed at being sent away from what might be a long, boring wait in the woods. He watched her leave, moving easily across the terrain. He heard her talking to the dogs; then it was nothing but him and the bone. He set it back where he’d found it, not that he harbored the slightest notion that this was where the dog had first discovered it. The smell of damp, musty earth filled his nostrils, and he thought of the aroma of grilling ribs he’d been forced to abandon.

Yanking his cell from its clip on his belt, he called Dispatch. “Solomon on duty?”

“Affirmative.”

Gordon relayed his coordinates and requested that Ed Solomon, the closest thing Mapleton had to a crime scene investigator, report to his position. Next, Gordon scrolled through his contact list and placed the call to the Coroner’s Office. He gritted his teeth when he was connected to Pierce Asel, a deputy coroner he’d worked with before.

After Gordon explained the situation, the man said, “One bone? You sure it’s human?” It sounded like Gordon had interrupted a meal.

“No, I’m not. That’s why I need you to come out and verify it.”

“It’s Saturday.” Asel said.

And when you accepted the position, you knew people didn’t die between nine and five, Monday through Friday.

He kept his tone civil. “I’m aware of that, and sorry to bother you. I wish we’d have found the bone yesterday afternoon, but we didn’t. It shouldn’t take long for you to determine whether it’s human or not.”

Chewing sounds on the other end of the line made Gordon’s stomach growl for his missed meals. “Where’d you say it was again?” Asel asked.

“Mapleton. The bone is in the woods not far from Aspen Lake, off of Lakeview Circle. If you’ve got a GPS, I’ll give you the exact coordinates.”

Gordon heard another voice in the background. Female. Some rustling of paper.

“Go ahead,” Asel said.

Gordon relayed the directions. “It’s a little tricky to find. If you’ll call me when you’re close, I’ll meet you on the street.”

“Might be a while.”

“I understand.” Gordon mashed the End Call button. If the man left now, he could be here in an hour. Gordon estimated it would be closer to two. Asel had a reputation for not caring whether he kept patrol officers waiting if going out on a call interfered with his life.

Wonder if he knows they call him Asel the Asshole.

God forbid the man was at the movies when a call came in. And a single bone, likely very old, and not confirmed human, wasn’t going to light a fire under him.

He tried not to think about the food in his vehicle. Or what Asel was having for dinner. What he couldn’t help but think about was if the bone was human, who had it belonged to? And when he or she had died?

While Gordon waited for Solomon, he did a cursory check of the area. As far as he could tell, with the exception of Artie’s interrupted excavation, the place was undisturbed. In the distance, he heard children’s shrieks and splashes as they took advantage of the warm day. He smiled, remembering swinging out over the lake on the rope tied to a sturdy oak. Of the summer when he’d realized there was a difference between boys and girls.

Which led his thoughts to Angie. He pulled out his phone. “I’m going to try to get away, but don’t make plans.”

“Something serious?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. Dog found a bone, and it might be human. We’re required to call the coroner, so I’m stuck waiting for him—at least until Solomon gets here to take over guard duty. With luck, I’ll be at your place within the hour.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Her voice was a combination of sultry and teasing.

“I already am.” He disconnected before things escalated.

Minutes later, Solomon called. “Hey, Chief. I’m parked behind you. Where do you want me?”

“Hang tight. I’m on my way.” In lieu of crime scene tape, Gordon tied his handkerchief to a branch. He retraced his steps, trotting the final yards to the street. Solomon leaned against the fender of his cruiser. “Sorry to call you out,” Gordon said.

“Comes with the territory. Who’s on call at the Coroner’s Office?”

When Gordon told him, Solomon groaned. “Glad I took my dinner break. Asel’s definitely got an attitude problem when it comes to small towns. Why should we always have to wait on him because we’re not high-profile?”

Gordon grabbed his flashlight from his SUV and took one more deep inhale of its barbeque-scented interior. “Yeah, well wait until I have to explain to the bean counters why I have to pull an officer from patrol to watch over a bone until Asel finishes his dinner, and God knows what else before he gets his rear in gear to show up in Mapleton.”

Solomon snorted. “Hey, tell me how you
really
feel. But, to be fair, it’s only Asel who’s an asshole. The rest of them are prompt enough. At least we don’t need to call them very often.”

“Thank goodness for that. Grab your camera and some tape.” Without waiting, Gordon headed toward the scene. Solomon’s footfalls sounded behind him.

“I’m thinking breadcrumbs might have been a good idea,” Solomon said as they picked their way through the overgrown path. “How’d you find this place?”

“Didn’t. A dog did.” Gordon spotted the white handkerchief. “Over there. Where the dirt’s dug up. Tell me what you think.”

Solomon paced the perimeter of the site, aiming his flashlight, crouching, pacing some more. “I’d say some animal tried to bury this bone. And since you have an eyewitness who says that animal was a dog, I’ll go out on a limb and say it
was
a dog.”

Gordon shook his head. “Duly noted.”

“This the only bone?” Solomon asked.

“Only one I saw. Short of digging up the area, which I won’t do until we get the word from the coroner, we’re babysitting. Meanwhile, get some shots so I can show Mayor Alexander that we’re doing our jobs.”

Gordon’s stomach knotted, and this time it wasn’t from hunger. He felt trapped between the proverbial rock and hard place. If he didn’t delegate manpower to follow procedure and this turned out to be a legitimate investigation, he’d be called on the mayor’s fancy Oriental carpet for neglecting his duties. But if it turned out to be nothing, he’d end up on that same carpet for wasting Mapleton’s resources. He already dreaded the inevitable memo—as if the mayor was collecting them to use as ammunition when Gordon’s contract was up for renewal. And, as he had done so many times before, Gordon wondered if it would be that bad if he were fired. He’d only accepted the position as a favor to Dix, his mentor. He still hadn’t figured out why Dix had pushed for him to take the job.

But he had, and Gordon would damn well do his damn best, no matter what the damn mayor threw at him.

The woods took on an eerie quality as Solomon snapped pictures, the bursts of light from the camera’s powerful flash making trees and branches stand out in stark relief. He lowered the camera. “I’m no criminalist, but this appears to be a secondary site—or tertiary, or whatever the next dozen “aries” are.”

“Agreed. Best guess is that the bone came from the woods in the vicinity of the Kretzers’, which is where the dog’s involvement began.”

“A shame he can’t talk,” Solomon said. “Save a lot of time and effort.” Solomon slipped on a pair of gloves and picked up the bone. “Too bad the ends are chewed up. Might be a deer, might be human. I wouldn’t put money on either one.” He smiled. “That’s Asel’s job.” He poked at it with a fingertip. “Old, though.” He held the bone out to Gordon. “See how it’s brittle, and my fingernail leaves an indentation.”

“Old as in five years or fifty?” Gordon asked, his mind already trying to search back through time.

“Can’t be precise—that’s why the forensic anthropologists get the big bucks. But based on what I know about buried bones, I’d say at least thirty.”

Gordon did a mental comparison of his arm and the length of the bone. “Adult?”

“Be my guess there, too.” Solomon set the bone back where he’d found it. “You know anyone who disappeared thirty years ago? I didn’t grow up here the way you did.”

“Thirty years ago I was six. I don’t remember, not that my folks would have included me in any news like that. I’d have to go through the archives. But not until the coroner tells us this is a human bone.”

“Life would be easier if he confirms it’s a deer.” Solomon scratched his chin. “How much due diligence do you think is reasonable before we find out? I mean, should we already be making an effort to figure out where the dog found the bone, even if it ends up being a deer? In case it isn’t. What if there’s an entire skeleton there? Or a mass grave?”

Gordon’s phone interrupted Solomon’s far-fetched speculation. “Chief Hepler.”

Asel’s voice snapped at him. “I’m turning onto Lakeview Circle.”

“Turn left where it heads around the lake. You’ll see our two units. I’ll meet you there.” He disconnected and stuck the phone in its holder. “It might not be such a long night after all.” Gordon flipped on his flashlight and struck out for the street.

“Unless he says it’s human.” Solomon called after him.

But it was Solomon’s question of due diligence that followed Gordon to his SUV.

Gordon pasted on a smile as he approached the coroner’s van. Asel was already waddling toward him. Gordon’s attempt at a civil greeting was swallowed by Asel’s impatient scowl.