The Dark Rift: Ascension (The Dark Rift Book Series 1) (8 page)

Bob moved to the kitchen to open the wine. "Yeah, but Nelson is crazy and crazy people can change their perspective pretty quickly and in irrational ways. You did say the woman was cold, so whoever put her on the road likely threw her out there to dispose of her. That's consistent with his MO."

"That road is so lightly traveled, she could have been there most of the day," Jodie said. "Usually, there's only one or two vehicles using it each day, early in the morning and again during the evening when they're coming down from the mountain."

"What's up at the end of that road, anyway?" Isaiah asked.

"Nothing, as far as I know. It's just an old logging road people use to get into the forest to collect firewood, pick mushrooms and hunt," Jodie said, remembering a crisp fall day long ago, when she'd walked up that road with her grandfather to select colorful fall leaves for a school project.

"Well, even if it isn't him, there's a lot going on here that doesn't add up. The local PD isn't gonna be able to work these cases and we woulda been called anyway. Don't feel bad about bringing us up here," Bob said. A sucking pop sounded as Bob pulled the cork out of the bottle. He selected two dusty wine glasses out of the cabinet. Needing to rinse them, he leaned against the counter and waited as the water ran and cleared the stagnation out of the pipes. "We'll check it out tomorrow, which is, by the numbers on my watch, only moments away. By the way, Jodie, maybe you'd better have that looked at, too," Bob said, pointing at the growing redness on her arm.

Noah woke up late. The morning sun glowed outside the window and the curtain waved in a gentle breeze. He could smell the freshness in the air and felt hopeful until memories of visiting the hospital last night filled his mind. The Emergency Room doctor told Noah and his mother that Noah was burned. The rash on his arm wasn't poison ivy and all the Calamine lotion in the world couldn't cure him. In fact, Noah's mother said she felt bad because her treatment of what she thought was a rash actually made the irritation worse. The whole situation was confusing because Noah couldn’t remember being burned at all. His mother questioned him repeatedly about when it could have happened, yet he could resurrect no memories that would explain the condition of his arms.

The doctor told Noah he would likely heal fast, but he would need to wear a moisturizing dressing for the next several weeks. Most importantly for Noah, this meant no fishing. He thought about it for a minute and realized he didn't want to fish anyway if Fester couldn't be with him. Then, the full force of the previous day hit him, making him feel sad and anxious about not being able to find Fester. Noah sat up in bed, thinking he should get started on looking for his friend, but realized he wouldn't be going anywhere soon. Dizziness and nausea overtook him and his head fell back down to his pillow. Just then, his mother came in the room and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You need to stay in bed, young man. Don't you remember what the doctor said? He said you need to get some rest. You look like you're not feeling well at all," Noah's mom said

Noah rolled over and put his head in his mother's lap. "I need to find Fester. He could be in trouble." His mom rubbed his back gently.

"You let me work on that. The FBI lady said she was going to contact us today. If she doesn't call us in a few hours, I'll call her. She seemed really nice, like she was really interested in helping. Now, go back to sleep." She got up to leave the room as the phone started ringing. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while."

Noah could hear his mother answer the phone. He couldn't quite make out the words, but she talked to the person for what seemed like a very long time. The sound of her soft voice lulled him back to sleep.

* * *

Jodie talked with Bob and Isaiah until the early morning hours, going over and over what she remembered about the woman she hit. With nothing more to discuss and a lot of unanswered questions, they retired for a few hours of rest. Four hours later, Jodie was up and making coffee. She needed it. Bob and Isaiah made a tofu scramble and toast. "It's not what my wife makes for me, but it'll have to do," Bob said.

"At least you can keep your eyes open eating it," Jodie said. The trio laughed. After breakfast, they cleaned up and were on their way.

Still wary, they exited the cabin much the same way they entered, with guns drawn and a stepped approach to the Camaro. Jodie checked inside and underneath the car. "Sure would be nice if I had a garage to lock this up," she said. The three got in and drove to the police station.

"Well, good morning there, Agent Watts. I'm so glad you stopped back in to see me. You forgot your citation yesterday," Officer Wending said, handing Jodie a yellow slip of paper as they walked into the dingy police station.

Jodie took the paper from Wending, doing her best to hold herself back from the reaction she really wanted to have. She thought, when in the hell will this guy quit? She knew that engaging with him would only prolong their encounter, so she stifled the need to tell him off, saving a string of expletives in the back of her mind for another occasion.

"Officer Wending, meet Agents Bob Cramer and Isaiah Thomas. They're here to help with the investigation of the woman I hit yesterday. Based on her condition, we'd like to check out whether John Nelson had anything to do with her death. Agent Thomas is a forensics investigator. He'll want to work with the coroner in examining her. Where exactly is the body?"

"It’s at the County Coroner’s office, about a twenty minute drive from here. But, first of all, I know I don't hafta tell ya that you don't have any jurisdiction here, especially with Agent Watts bein' involved with the car accident and all. But, seein’ as how we got no missing persons reports for a middle-aged woman and how the County Coroner don't come in again until Friday, well, I guess you can go ahead and see what you can find," Wending said.

"Friday? You'd leave a body sitting for three days before having an autopsy done?" Isaiah sounded incredulous. "You'd be responsible for delaying the investigation and possibly even destruction of evidence."

"Well, she ain't goin’ nowhere, so we got her over there in the freezer and that'll have to do until Friday," Wending said, his voice trailing off as he walked into the next room.

Turning to Jodie, Isaiah said, "I'm not a coroner. An autopsy, if it's warranted, needs to be done by a coroner. I can assist in collecting evidence, but we'll need to get her somewhere with proper equipment where the procedure can be done."

"I'll call McKinley right now and get everything we need to transfer the body back to the city," Jodie said. "You can fly back with the transport and call us with what you find." Jodie was steaming inside. She wanted to sit in on the examination and see the body for herself. Time was of the essence and this jackass, Wending was still screwing around.

"Well, I'm gonna need to see some paperwork," Wending bellowed from the adjoining room.

Bob looked at Jodie. She stared straight ahead. "Let's go," she said, leading Bob and Isaiah out the door.

"Just what in the hell is his problem?" Bob asked Jodie.

"Ugh. I really don't know. Although, I did find out yesterday that he spent a whole lotta time in the sixth grade. Maybe he's still pissed over failing long division," Jodie said. Bob's face wore a profoundly confused expression. "I don't know what the problem is exactly. He’s been like this since yesterday. I guess he remembers me from high school."

Bob and Isaiah exchanged looks. "You mean to tell me, you had a thing with him in high school?" Bob asked, smiling.

"No, I most certainly did not." Jodie realized the tone of her voice was unduly harsh and corrected herself. "Uh, I mean, no, Bob. I don't even remember him, but apparently, he had a thing for me without me knowing. I have no idea what's on his mind. He must be trying out for idiot of the year, or something."

Bob and Isaiah burst out laughing.

"Well, I'm glad you two can find some humor in all of this," Jodie said, realizing she'd be laughing too if she wasn't so worried about everything else.

"Okay, well, unless you make a pass at him, he probably isn't going to cooperate with us, so I'll go ahead and get the order to have the body transferred and we'll go from there. After we get the paperwork in place and Isaiah on his way, maybe we can go and talk to those people, the woman and her son, you met at the station. Unless, of course, you'd like to stop and order some flowers for Officer Wending, first," Bob said. He barely made it through the sentence before laughter overtook him again.

"Go to hell, Bob," Jodie said, trying hard to control her own laughter.

An hour later, Bob presented a faxed copy of the paperwork to Officer Wending as Jodie and Isaiah looked on. "Gotta call the EMTs to go retrieve the body with their ambulance. Got no other way of transporting it to the airstrip. They'll have a key to get in the coroner’s place," Wending said.

"Great. One of us will ride along with them to the airport to maintain the chain of custody," Bob said.

"Up to you. EMT's office is two doors down. You can follow them to the coroner's office if you want. I'll call and let 'em know you're coming," Wending said.

"Well, thanks, Officer Wending," Bob said, sounding surprised.

Jodie led the agents back out to the Camaro. "Officer Wending seems very happy to hand over his troubles to us. Let's get going," Jodie said. "If the same EMTs are on duty as yesterday, I'd like to ride with them, if that's okay. They helped me out quite a bit and I'd like to thank them. I know it's not standard, but I also wouldn't mind seeing the woman's face again before you take her to the lab," Jodie said.

"Fine by me. Let me know what you find that might be consistent with Nelson's MO. If this is a murder, we'll need whatever we can get from her for evidence," Isaiah said.

"We'll follow you in your car," Bob said. Jodie was glad Bob was taking precautions. If Nelson was there, he could be waiting for her anywhere.

They got into the Camaro and drove over to the EMT office. When they arrived, Jodie handed Bob the car keys.

"I'll go see who's on duty." Jodie walked into the EMT office. As she entered, Nick looked up and smiled at her.

"Hi, Jodie. Come to get a refund, file a complaint, or cause general havoc?" Nick asked. He stood, towering over her, extending his giant paw.

Jodie laughed and grasped his hand. "Well, no, none of those, actually."

Mei peeked out of an adjoining office and smiled at Jodie. "She's come to take a ride with us, Nick. Wending just called. They're flying the body of the woman Jodie found last night to San Francisco for an autopsy."

"Hi, Mei," Jodie said, walking toward her and shaking her hand, thankful for the careful wording, since she’d actually
found
the woman with her front bumper.

"Hi, yourself. You sure look like you feel a lot better than you did last night." Looking past Jodie into the parking lot, she said, "I see you've got reinforcements today, too."

"Thanks. They're from the Bureau. They're here to give me a hand figuring out what happened last night. Do you mind if I ride along when you go to collect her? I'd like to explain a few things," Jodie said.

"I can answer that," Nick said. "Yes, we'd love to have some company. We need someone new to talk to up here in nowhereland. I sincerely doubt if the woman we're picking up is going to lead us in any sort of stimulating conversation."

"Not likely, Nick. Thanks," Jodie said.

"Well, let's get on the road before the rush comes, then," Mei said in a monotone voice. Nick and Jodie looked at her. "Just kidding. Let's go."

"I can see being serious isn't really an option with you two," Jodie said.

Walking to the back of the building, Mei opened the door for Jodie and showed her how to fold down the jump seat. "Actually, in the year I've been here, this is the busiest we've ever been. Day before yesterday, we took the corpse they found at the dam to the coroner. He was in six pieces by the time they got done trying to retrieve him from the river with a grappling hook."

Jodie wasn't sure she really wanted to know that particular detail, but was starting to realize what poor police work was being done in this one horse town. "You know, I met one of the kids who found that corpse. He was at the police station with his mother. Did they find out who the man was and how he ended up in the river?"

"No. Guess we'll be waiting to find out more until Friday when the coroner gets back. Not to change the subject, but have you had that looked at?" Mei said, pointing to the blisters forming on Jodie's arm. "Did you burn yourself? Sure looks like it."

"I don’t know what it is, but it seems to be spreading. I'll have to get it looked at when we get back," Jodi responded.

"Don't be silly. Mei can fix you up whilst I chauffer you to our destination," Nick said in a regal tone of voice. He pressed the overhead door button and started the noisy diesel engine.

Mei opened up the first aid toolbox. Her voice much louder now over the noise of the engine, she said, "You need a compress to keep it moist. I wonder what you got into. Did you touch anything last night?"

"I briefly touched the woman's head to see if she was alive, but I fell in the ditch on the way. I thought I must have landed in poison ivy or on some sort of plant that had a chemical or phototoxic response. Did anyone who handled her body last night get this, too?"

"I don't think so." Mei turned her head and called up to Nick, "Did you hear anything about anyone getting a burn like Jodie has? She thinks she might have come into contact with something near or on the woman she found."

"No, but if they were picking up a body, they'd be in protective gear. The cops woulda been covered in PPE. Personal protective equipment, you know, gloves, face mask, apron, booties," Nick responded.

Mei snapped on latex gloves and pulled the sleeve on Jodie's shirt all the way up past her elbow to get a clear view of the red inflammation, which spread from her hand up through the middle of her forearm. "Well, let's see what we can do for you. That has to hurt. Have you rinsed your arm off since yesterday?"

Jodie smiled. "Why, yes, Mei. I do shower daily."

Mei laughed. "I mean, did you wash it thoroughly with soap and water? Because if you were exposed to a chemical, it could still be burning your skin."

"Oh. Yeah. I washed it off two or three times because it kept stinging. What's really weird is that it looks a lot like the rash that kid I met at the station has on his arms. You know, the kid who came into contact with the dead body in the river." Jodie looked up at Mei, trying to focus on their discussion, but found herself having other thoughts instead. She mentally chastised herself for her attraction, with everything that was going on at the moment. Still, the sensation was palpable, making her shift a bit in the jump seat. She noticed the milky green of Mei's eyes. Jodie looked away and tried to re-focus on what Mei was saying. She trained her view on the back window of the ambulance and saw Bob and Isaiah behind them in the Camaro. A dark-colored vehicle followed the Camaro in the distance.