Chapter 6
Madison returned to her office and started jotting things onto her board. She added a new element to this case, Aspen. She posted Aspen’s name on the board, not because she was a suspect, but because she may know something and could be in danger. Under Aspen’s name, she added, lives on a trust fund, studies at the Art Center and volunteers at special exhibits. Then under Margaret Hill’s photo, Madison wrote: waitress, petite young woman, possibly belonging to missing earring, and was headed to the Art Center to meet someone the night she disappeared.
Madison stood back and looked at the board again. She needed more information on the other missing women before she could see a pattern, but she already saw a link. It was telling her Ms. Hill and Aspen had something in common; they both were planning to attend Tyler Kincaid’s exhibit.
The sudden sound of someone knocking on the front door startled Madison from her train of thought. She was engrossed in the evidence, or lack of it, and it was driving her to find out more that she forgot that Josh was coming.
“Hey, Josh. Thanks for coming by.” Wasting no time with small talk, Madison immediately led him to the board.
“Nice to see you too.”
“I’m sorry, Josh, but some things are not making sense. I feel we are on the verge of a break-through.” She continued to stare at the board with one hand on her hip and the other on top of her head.
“Well, let me fill you in on what I just found out at the coroner’s office. Doc Webb said the lab work came back on the blood. And based on his examination, our victim was not sexually assaulted. Apparently, she did not die of the gunshot either. She drowned. But the strange thing is, there are no defensive wounds and no marks on her body that would indicate she was held under the water. She must have been unconscious when she drowned.”
As Josh was telling Madison what he found out, she was writing all the information on the board under Ms. Hill’s name. “There’s more to this, and we’ve got to find out what it is before there’s another victim.”
“I agree.” Josh watched Madison frantically scribbling information across the board. “Who are these other women you have on the board?”
Madison began to tell him of Jim’s suspicions, without mentioning his name. “These are a few other women who are also missing. I need to find out what I can about them. I was planning to visit the home of one of these ladies this afternoon, but I want to make sure Aspen, the young lady I was with today at lunch, is okay first. What are you up to?”
“My time is yours. I’m as eager to get to the bottom of this as you are. Mind if I tag along?”
“No. As a matter of fact, I was hoping you would. I think your insights may be valuable, and together we may hit on something. Let me make a couple of calls, and we’ll take a ride.” Madison called the hospital and asked about Aspen’s condition. Of course, she introduced herself as Agent Hart, with the FBI and got immediate information on Aspen’s condition. Aspen had some bleeding in the brain from the fall that caused her to pass out, but she’ll be fine in a few days and would be staying in the hospital for awhile.
“Josh, I don’t believe that Aspen’s fall was an accident. That box was too conveniently placed there. Anyone coming into that room, especially holding an easel, wouldn’t have seen it. No, I think someone deliberately placed it there for Aspen, or me, to fall.”
Josh stood in front of the board with his hands on his hips. “Now I see why you have her name on the board. If she does have information, she could be in danger.”
Madison called the home of one of the missing young ladies and asked if she and Detective Logan could come to the house and look around. Her roommate was hesitant at first but then invited them over. All Madison had was a head shot photo, but it was a start. The roommate invited them into the modest living room.
“What can you tell us about your roommate? Anything can help.”
“Well, I moved in with Erin about six months ago. We both worked at the hospital as LPN’s. She worked in Peds, you know Pediatrics, and I worked in ICU. A friend told her I was looking for a place, and she was having trouble with paying all the bills on her own, so it seemed like a win-win situation. We didn’t run in the same circles, though. Erin had other ambitions and was taking classes at the Community College, and I just wanted to save up to get my RN license.”
“What did she do for fun?” Josh inquired. “Did she have any hobbies?”
“I don’t recall her mentioning much. She very seldom went out, but when she did, it was usually to some cultural event. She wasn’t one to go to the bars. She’d rather catch a play or musical, which I could care less about. It wasn’t my thing or my friends. I tried to invite her with us a few times, but she declined.”
Madison glanced around the room. “Do you mind if we check out Erin’s room?”
“Help yourself. It’s just down the hall. I haven’t been in there since the police came after I reported her missing. I didn’t think they cared. They told me since she was over eighteen, they couldn’t call it a missing person. They gave me some song-and-dance about how Erin could have just left the area to avoid paying bills or run off with a boyfriend. That’s why when you called, I was surprised.”
Madison and Josh headed down the hall and opened the door. Erin’s room was immaculate and well-organized room. Her bed was made up like a 5-star hotel. The sheets were turned down and tucked under the spread with a comforter arranged perfectly. It didn’t even look like anyone ever slept in the bed. Her closet was arranged by color, from pastels to darks and each section of colors by the length of sleeves. The lower section had matching pants under the blouses, and below the pants were the coordinating shoes. She didn’t have many dresses, but they, too, were organized. Every item hanging in the closet was on wooden hangers that were exactly two inches apart.
When Madison opened Erin’s dresser drawers, the patterns followed suit. All the clothes were folded and color coordinated. “I have never seen a young woman’s belonging so neatly arranged. She must have OCD in a bad way. Even the girl’s jewelry is organized. It’s almost scary. No wonder she didn’t socialize much.”
Josh was looking through the built-in bookcase at the variety of books. They were alphabetically placed. Even her journals were the same sizes and in numerical order. He reached in for one of the journals. “I’ll bet this woman knew where every single thing she owned was at any given time. You’re right. This is weird, especially for someone so young.”
It was the journal Erin was writing in when she went missing. Josh flipped through the pages until he came to the last entry. It was written a week before she disappeared. “Hey, Madison, look at this. Her last entry was written a week before she was reported missing, yet the rest of the journal reads like a day-by-day summary of what she did in her life. Why would it just stop then?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but it still doesn’t answer why she stopped writing. This woman was a creature of habit to the extreme. So why did she quit at that point? The last thing she wrote about was that she thought her new relationship was leading somewhere. She talks about working with the most incredible and talented man who accepts her for who she is, and didn’t care about her idiosyncrasies.
Josh turned the page in Erin’s Journal. “Listen to the last words she writes.”
Josh began reading Erin’s entry. “He wants to see me again. I can’t wait to be with him again tomorrow night. I hope he feels the same way I do. He must, or why would he send me this message to meet him.”
Madison picked up the book and read Erin’s last entry. “I think she wrote this just before she went missing. This entry may be crucial to the timeline. Let’s bag this and take it back to my office. I want to see if we can find out anything else that may tie her with Margaret Hill.”
Madison walked into the living room to talk to the roommate. “Did Erin always keep her room that neat?”
“She was obsessed with everything being perfect, all the time. That w
as a contention with us because when my friends came over, she couldn’t even walk through the room without hyperventilating. I swear I thought she was going to faint and the minute my friends left, she’d come out of her room and start cleaning. I remember one time she stayed up half the night cleaning. I just went to bed. It drove me crazy. No wonder she didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“She never mentioned seeing anyone?”
The roommate popped opened a Diet Coke. “No, but then again we didn’t talk much. Erin spent most of her time in her room or running off to some cultural event or night classes.”
Josh came out of Erin’s room and thanked the roommate. He handed her his card and asked if she thought of anything else, to please give him a call. She took the card and tossed it on the counter. “Yeah, okay, but I doubt I’ll hear from her anytime soon.”
“Why do you think that?”
“The rents due, and she’s a stickler for paying it on a certain day; it never fails. I guess I’m going to be stuck with the whole damn thing. What should I do with her things if she doesn’t come back?”
“Leave everything as it is for now, and we’ll get back to you. If you have to move out, please call us first.”
Josh and Madison left the two-bedroom apartment with the journal. They were going back to Madison’s office first to add more data to the board and start a timeline on the missing women. To build a profile, they needed to know when each woman disappeared in the hopes that more evidence would reveal a pattern that would connect them.
As they drove toward Maitland, Josh turned to Madison. “I know you’ve got something stirring. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Well, Margaret Hill had a mystery man in her life, who she was supposedly meeting the night she disappeared. Now, we find out that Erin also had someone secretive in her life. By her last entry in her journal, she too was meeting someone the night she disappeared. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. Do you?”
“No, I don’t.”
They pulled into the parking lot in front of her office. Josh shook his head. “This is the sparsest office I’ve ever seen, but it looks like it’s working for you.”
“It’s all I need right now.” She opened the door, and Josh walked into the one-room space that held nothing but a 4 x 6-foot white board, a table and a couple of chairs and another small table. There was one very small space in the back, where Madison had set a bed. She separated the space with a curtain to define the area where she slept.
Madison stood glancing around the small space. “I’m not here to impress anyone. I’m here to get the job done and find these women. And if they have been murdered, get the bastard off the streets.”
He pulled up one of the chairs to the table. “Well, let’s get to work, then.”
“Okay, here’s what we have so far. We have five missing women. One of them is now a dead body. Madison started a new section on the other side of the board that read Timeline. “So far, we have a report of a woman missing on July 23rd, one on September 6th, and then Erin on October 12th. Margaret Hill was reported missing on November 23rd and found dead on November 28th. This last missing woman was reported on December 22nd.” She wrote each one on the board.
Josh interjected. “It looks like they came up missing approximately six weeks apart, but only one body was found. They all live in the general area around Winter Park, but the body of Ms. Hill was located in Maitland. I know there is a connection here, but I don't see it yet. What makes you think the Art Center has something to do with these cases?”
Madison stood staring at the board. “I’m not sure yet. It’s one of those gut feelings, and it’s nagging at me. I’m not saying the Center is the connection, but something is telling me to keep digging there.”
Josh leaned back in his chair studying the board and wondering if Madison’s feelings were on target. The women were from the Winter Park area, but since they found the body in Maitland, he had to agree she could be onto to something.
He stood up and started toward the board when his cell phone rang. “Logan.” Then there was a long pause. “We’ll be right there.” He turned to Madison.“Got another body in the canal near the old covered bridge on Horatio.”
Madison raced behind him, slammed the door, locked it and jumped into the squad car. She barely got the door closed before Josh started backing out of the parking lot. It wasn’t that far from where they were, and it only took about five minutes to arrive at the entrance to the old Horatio Drive. An officer was directing the cars around to the main road. They blocked off the bridge while they waited for the coroner.
Madison and Josh walked down under the bridge towards the weed-thickened shoreline where another officer was waiting with two fishermen who had found the body. Josh approached and introduced himself as Madison surveyed the area. The badly decomposed body was caught up in the tall reeds lining the canal. It would be hard pressed for anyone to notice the body if they were just boating through that part of the canal. It looked like a woman’s body, based on the clothing. She was well dressed and wore upscale jewelry, nothing too fancy, but something someone would wear on a casual date. The body was bloated from being submerged in the water so long, and it was hard to make out any of the features. Madison estimated, based on her expertise; the woman had been in the water for a very long time, maybe even months. It was hard to tell because much of her flesh had been eaten away by fish or maybe an old gator. The myth of gators not eating dead meat was just that, a myth.
It appeared that the body had snagged on some wire, and that might have been the reason it didn’t float through the canal or be dragged away by a gator. Madison would know more once the coroner’s office had a chance to do an autopsy, so she made her way back up the bank to where Josh was interviewing the two old men. They had been rowing their small fishing boat under the bridge, hoping to catch some catfish. They were still shaking as Josh was asking them to recap what had happened.
“I was just about to toss my line in on the other side of the boat when a speedboat came by and nearly turned our boat over. Luckily we were close to the shore, and our boat slammed into that patch of grasses. That’s when James hollered out to me. I turned around and saw what I thought was an arm, sticking out of the grass. I nearly lost my pole and almost fell overboard. We both paddled as close as we could to see if it was a manikin, but, it was a body. I’ve never seen a real dead body before. James lost his bologna sandwich, and I nearly lost mine. I pushed away from the shore as fast as I could. I’ve seen CSI on TV and knew not to disturb the scene. That’s when James called the police. I hope you won’t need us too much longer. My stomach ain’t feelin’ so good right now, and I think James needs to get home and change. He had a little accident.” He whispered to Josh.
“That’s fine. We’ll have an officer drive the two of you home. If we need anything else, we’ll get in touch. We may want to talk to you later, but we’ll call first. Thank you for your help.” Josh patted them each on the shoulder and then turned to Madison.“What do you think?”
Madison continued scanning the area. “Since you asked me, I think I can formulate a profile, but I want to find out what the coroner says first. One thing I can tell you for sure is this person is familiar with the area. They just didn’t happen on two perfect, out-of-the-way sites to dump these bodies.”
“That makes sense.” As the corner’s van pulled up. Madison and Josh walked back to the dumpsite and watched as the medical examiner checked the body. Doc Webb looked up at Josh. “She was shot too, and by the looks of it with a small caliber weapon. I’ll know more when I get her onto my table.”
“Doc, do you think you’ll have something this afternoon?”
Doc Webb turned and looked up at Josh. “She’s in pretty bad shape and I’m still working on the other body you brought me. You think you can give me a little more time? I’m good, but I’m no miracle worker.”
“Sorry, Doc. Just give me a call if you find out anything tha
t will help us.”
“Will do.” Doc Webb and his assistants bagged the body.
Madison headed back up to the bridge to check the area above the canal. She saw a torn piece of fabric that had been ripped and snagged between the concrete boulders that lined the bridge.
Josh marked the spot and photographed it, and then bagged it in an evidence pouch. “I’ll have this sent to the lab and see what they find. It may belong to some kids just fishing off the bridge, but we won’t rule anything out right now.”
Josh was checking the surroundings too. There were no drag marks or any other signs near or around the body, but it had been awhile, and with all the rain and time that had passed, evidence might have been destroyed. There wasn’t much to go on at that point, and Josh and Madison were counting on Doc Webb to come up with something.
Josh dropped Madison back at her office and returned to the police station to write up his report. The more he thought about what Madison said about the killer being familiar with the area, the more it angered him. Someone who lives in his hometown, and might even be one of his neighbors is killing people. He was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this case.
The days were getting hotter, and by early evening it was nearly 93 degrees. Everyone was leaving the station, but Josh couldn’t shake the case. He was anxious and began pacing his office. He wasn’t going to get any sleep that night, so he called Madison. “Agent Hart, this case is bugging me. Would you like to join me for a beer and discuss this further?”
“If you had called an hour ago, I would have said yes. But I’m already on my way to Cassadaga to see my sister this evening. I’m sure I told you that my sister has been ill. How about getting together for coffee in the morning around 8:00 a.m.?”
“Yeah, that will be fine. Hope your sister is okay?”
“She’s getting better every day, but I haven’t seen her since we found Ms. Hill and I need to check up on her and won’t be back until late. I’ll see you in the morning,”
“She doesn’t pull any punches. Says what’s on her mind, to the point, and that’s it. She’s a headstrong woman on a mission. I kind of like that about her, and she’s not bad looking either.” Josh finished up his report but was still restless and wasn’t ready to go home. He called Doc Webb. “Hey, Doc. Would you mind if I swung by the lab?”
“Sure, but I don’t have much at this point. Why’s a good-looking young man like you, wanting to spend your Friday night in the morgue with an old doctor? You’re too young to be spending all your time working cases. Before you know it, you’ll be an old man with nothing to show for it but a bunch of lonely nights. These bodies will wait until tomorrow, and if I find anything, I’ll call you. Now go out and have some fun.”
Shit. Not even the coroner wants to hang around with me tonight. That’s pretty bad. Hell, I guess I do need to go out for a beer or two. I’m sure not going home and hang out in front of the TV waiting for the coroner to call.
Josh went home, showered and changed and then headed down 17-92 looking for a little lounge to have a beer and listen to some music. He came to Rocco’s just past the old Red Fox. He’d heard the piano player that was at the Red Fox was now playing there, so he pulled in.
There weren’t many people there, and that suited him just fine. He sat at the bar. The bartender was drying off a glass and walked over to Josh. “What’ll you have?” he asked, as he placed a cocktail napkin down on the bar and slid a bowl of peanuts towards Josh.
Josh leaned closer to the bar. “Do you have Guinness Draught on tap?”
“Sure do.” The bartender swung around and pulled out a cold glass, tilted it just slightly and pulled the handle on the tap. The foam poured over the top and then the bartender placed the mug of beer on the napkin in front of Josh.
By the time he finished his beer, more people had started arriving, and the piano player started playing. One lady hollered out, “Mark, would you please bring Jim and me a drink when you get a chance?”
“Sure will, Jessie.” Mark began to mix their drinks. It was obvious the two were regulars. The place had a homey and relaxed setting about it, and it was just what Josh was looking for. He was in no mood for loud music, or crazy young people drooling all over each other, especially when all he could think about was how two young women’s lives were cut short.
The place started to liven up a little as the night progressed. The crowd began to sing along with the piano player while he played and sang many of their requests. Josh found himself singing the familiar songs, but more quietly than most of the others in the room.
It was getting late, and he had put down more beers than he had intended. He paid his tab, tipped Mark and started toward the door. He pushed the door just as someone else was pulling it from the other side. He nearly fell head on into the person coming in the door, from the other side. “Josh, is that you?”
He looked up, and there was Madison.
“Oh, Hi, Madison. What are you doing here?” Josh tried to straighten up and sound sober.
Madison caught sight of Jessie waving. “I was on my way home, and a friend of mine asked if I’d like to join her for drinks. Why don’t you join us?”
“Sure.”
Josh followed Madison to the table just as Mark was bringing Jessie and Jim another drink and set one down for Madison. “Would you like another beer?”Mark asked Josh.
“No thank you, but you can bring me some coffee.” He was hoping Madison and her friends wouldn’t notice that he was a bit inebriated. He waited until Madison sat down and then he pulled up a chair and sat next to her. He was just about to ask her how her sister was when Madison introduced him to Jim and Jessie. “Josh, this is my sister’s best friend, Jessie, and her fiancé’ Jim. Josh is a detective with Maitland Police Department. I’m assisting him with a case he’s working on. Josh sat up straight in his chair, feeling like he just had his ego stroked with Madison referring to the case as his. Little did he know, she was giving Jim and Jessie a clue, and they caught it immediately and didn’t ask her anything about the investigation.
“Oh, how exciting. What case are you working on Josh?” Jessie asked as if she knew nothing about it.
“I can’t talk about it right now.” He was trying to be polite, but skirting the issue.
“I understand,” Jessie whispered.
Jim turned to Madison. “How’s Winter this evening?”
“She’s doing better every day, and why wouldn’t she, with Cole waiting on her hand and foot. She’s a lucky woman to have someone who cares for her the way he does, and I couldn’t be happier for her. They are still planning to host that big party at the Dupree’ home this fall, and Winter is determined to be well enough by then.”
Josh interrupted the conversation. “The Dupree’ home? Your sister is the one that broke the mystery of the Dupree’ sisters and the lost art?”
“The very one, and Jim’s paper is the one that printed the story.”
“Hart! Why didn’t I catch that? Winter Hart, Agent Hart. You’re sisters. She’s an investigative reporter, and you’re with the FBI’s criminal investigation department. I’ll be damned. I guess it runs in the family.” Josh sat shaking his head and sipping on his coffee.
Madison laughed out loud.
Josh grinned. “Wow, I didn’t know you could laugh.”
“I’m not always a hard-ass.”
“Could have fooled me.”
Jim and Jessie burst out laughing, making Josh and Madison laugh even harder; something they both needed with all the stress surrounding them. The next day it would be back to business and facing the possibility that the other missing women may be dead too, but for now, they could unwind a little.
As Madison finished her drink, Josh ordered her another one. She protested slightly, but Jessie encouraged her to stay longer. Mark set Madison’s drink down with a fresh napkin before she had a chance to change her mind.
It was nearly 11:
00 p.m. and Madison needed to be sober for what was lying ahead the next day. Josh had sobered up enough by then and was ready to call it a night. He walked Madison to her car. “Are you okay to drive home? I sure don’t want to have to get my partner out of jail to work on our case.”
“I’m fine.” She struggled to open her car door.
“I think I should drive you home. I can pick you up in the morning for coffee, and bring you back to get your car then. What do you say?”
“That might not be a bad idea. You’re right; I sure don’t want my boss finding out I was arrested for a DUI while on a case. Thank you.” Josh held onto her arm and guided her to his car. Madison tried to pull the seatbelt across her, but couldn’t lock it in place. Josh reached across her, took hold of the seatbelt, and snapped it into place. His hand gently brushed against her cheek. She turned toward him. “Thank you.”
There was hardly any traffic on the road, and it seemed they arrived at Madison’s office in a few minutes. Josh unsnapped her seatbelt, walked to the other side of the car and opened her door. She was wobbling a bit and almost lost her balance when Josh reached out and caught her. She fell into his arms and did not let go. She looked up into his steel blue eyes and Josh wanted to kiss her but didn’t. He led her to her door, took the keys from her hand, and unlocked it. She was in no condition to make it on her own. He walked her to the back and set her down on her bed, and she immediately fell asleep. He took off her shoes, pulled the covers back, slid her into bed and covered her. She gave a slight moan and turned over. She looked so peaceful and vulnerable as he stood over her. Madison had only allowed the tough exterior of her FBI agent be exposed. Josh leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, locked the door behind him, and then left.
As he drove home, all he could think about was Madison. Before that night, he had only seen her as the beautiful, but the hard-ass agent who wouldn’t let anyone get in her way, or overshadow her mission. But that night, he got a rare glimpse into the heart of the woman, and he liked it.