Chapter 6
Precinct 9
“What do you think about our little Ms. Castillo?” asked Det. Christian.
“She seems genuine. It almost broke my heart when she realized it was her friend Kim that was killed. The devastation on her face won’t leave my mind for a while,” said Det. Johns.”
“I didn’t know you had one of those,” chuckled Det. Christian.
“What a heart or a mind?”
“Either one,” replied Christian jokingly.
“Once a comedian, always a comedian.”
“I wasn’t buying her act at first about just suddenly waking up. Has anything like that ever happened to you?” inquired Christian.
“Yeah, it’s hard to explain. But it’s like that feeling you get from that dream. You know the one where you’re falling off a cliff and you suddenly wake up. Your senses are on high alert and you’re in tune to everything around you. You’ve never had that dream?”
“Everybody’s had that dream before. I don’t think you’re human if you haven’t had that dream. Still, I wonder why she went up the fire escape instead of down?” said Det. Christian.
“Do men ever understand anything that women do? Have you figured your wife out yet?”
“Point taken,” replied Det. Christian.
“Heads up, here comes Vasquez.
“Christian, Johns, I just wanted to let you know Ms. Castillo’s laptop is missing from the apartment,” said Vasquez.
“Did she notice anything else missing?” inquired Det. Johns.
“She never made it into the apartment. She broke down at the door. I had to go in to get her things,” said Vasquez.
“So how do you know her laptop is missing?” asked Det. Christian.
“She wanted me to get her jump drive out of it. When I went into her room to get her things, the laptop wasn’t there. I scanned the room, but didn’t notice it in plain sight or where she said it would be. Nothing else appeared to be missing or disturbed,” said Vasquez.
“Now we have a robbery homicide on our hands,” said Det. Johns.
“Thanks Vasquez,” said Christian. Vasquez turned to walk away. “Hey Vasquez, did she mention where she would be staying for the next couple of days?”
“She said she was going to check into a hotel. She said she’d let you guys know which one. Let me know if you need anything else?” replied Vasquez as she walked away.
“Sure thing,” said Christian.
Johns’ cell phone rang. “Hello. Hey Katz what do you have for me?”
Christian sat at his desk tapping his pencil, contemplating the events of the night while Johns listened to Katz.
Johns said, “We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“What’s up?” Christian asked as he grabbed his coffee off of the desk.”
“Katz is done with the autopsy. He’s found some unusual things concerning our vic’s murder. He wants us to stop by ASAP so he can show us what he has,” said Det. Johns. Christian and Johns exited the building and hopped into their cruiser. John was the designated driver for their team. He said he couldn't trust Christian not to break every traffic law when they were on the streets.
“What do you think he found?” queried Christian.
“I’m not sure, but it must be something out of the ordinary. He actually sounded excited and freaked out at the same time, if that’s even possible for Katz?” said Det. Johns shaking his head.
“Nothing fazes Katz. He’s seen so many weird things in his time.” Christian shook his head in wonder. “He once told me that nothing surprises him anymore. He said he’s seen some of the vilest things that humans could do to one another. Now when a dead body hits his morgue he expects the worst,” said Christian.
Christian and Johns arrived at the coroner’s office in less than seven minutes. Det. Johns parked in the rear of the building. They entered through the employee entrance. They found Katz outside his office door taking a smoke.
“You know this is a non-smoking building Katz. What’s got you smoking again?” asked Det. Johns.
“Sorry Johns,” Katz said in a shaky voice. “I just needed to light one up. I haven’t smoked in three years.”
“So what’s making you start back now?” inquired Christian.
“I’ve seen some weird things in my time, but this guy is extremely wacked. Before this, nothing ever surprised me anymore, but this case gives me the creeps. Normally I am the one creeping people out,” said Katz between puffs of his cigarette.
“Put that thing out, Katz!” Det. Christian yelled. “Pull yourself together. This isn’t you. Get your head back in the game, and tell us what’s going on!”
Katz put the cigarette out on his shoe. He took a couple of soothing deep breaths and signaled for them to follow him into his examination room.
“Guys, this autopsy isn’t for the faint at heart. If you need a minute to get yourself together let me know. ‘Cause when I need one, I’m taking it." He pointed to the body of a young mixed heritage female. "This is Kim Dubois. She was a twenty-five year old female, 5’9, 140 pounds. Although the time of death was between 1:30 and 2:30, I found evidence that Kim was tortured for several hours prior to her death. The perp probably grabbed her between 9:30 and 10:00 last night. The friend last saw her when?”
Christian pulled out his notes and replied “Ms. Castillo said they left the coffee shop at about 9:00.”
“So my original timeline is pretty accurate. Ms. Dubois sustained multiple punches to the left side of her face. The blows to the face were so severe it appears that part of her face was caved in. She also received several blows to the chest, legs, back, and vaginal area. The beating happened before she was sedated,” said Katz as he took a couple of deep breaths and glanced at Johns and Christian.
“She was sedated. Why’d he sedate her?” asked Johns while holding a handkerchief over his nose.
“I’m not sure, maybe because what he was planning next was extremely painful. He wasn’t ready for Ms. Dubois to die. He probably didn’t want her to pass out from the pain either,” said Katz.
“What did he do to her?” said Christian.
“I’m getting to that,” said Katz in agitation. Katz took another deep breath, walked to the other side of the room and then back. “After the beating, the perp sedated Ms. Dubois. He then bound her feet and hands with duct tape. He cut her stomach open. From there Ms. Dubois became lunch for your garden variety wood rat. He didn’t allow them to eat her alive. He removed her body from the wood rats after an unspecified period of time. He sewed her back up. Then the perp gave her a bath. This wasn’t your typical clean me up bath. It was an alcohol bath. And yes, to answer the question in your eyes, Ms. Dubois was still alive when the perp soaked her in the alcohol bath.”
“An alcohol bath, like the alcohol you drink?” inquired Christian.
“No, the kind you rub your body with to alleviate pain,” said Katz. “Her entire body, head and all were immersed in rubbing alcohol. There were remnants found in her hair. But he washed her face with soap and water. Lastly, our perp pierced Ms. Dubois’ heart with a thin circular blade.”
“Damn, he put her through hell. Are there any signs of sexual assault?” asked Christian.
“No, she wasn’t raped. There wasn’t any sign of sexual activity at all,” replied Katz.
“Geez, I need some fresh air,” said Johns.
“I’ll walk you out,” said Katz.
“This guy needs to be in a psych ward,” said Johns.
“That’s what we get paid for," said Christian. “Let us know if you find anything else.”
“I’ve got you on speed dial. I don’t want another one of these coming my way any time soon,” said Katz.
Johns and Christian exchanged a look.
Johns said, “This is only the beginning for him
. With what was done to her, do you think he’s done this before?”
“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing,” said Christian.
“We need to find out where Ms. Castillo is staying and put a protection detail on her,” said Johns.
“You think he’s coming after her next?” asked Christian.
“Who knows what a psycho will do, but he was in her apartment for a reason. I’m thinking he was going to snatch her next, but she escaped,” said Johns.
“Well, she said she was going to check into a hotel, do you think she’s found one yet?” asked Christian.
“I’m pretty sure she had one in mind when she was talking to us. One of her neighbors works at the Morae Hotel. I bet she went there,” he replied.
“What’s makes you so sure?” asked Det. Christian.
“Just call it a cop’s wisdom, besides the people in her building are like family. She can’t go back to her apartment, so the closest place to find that feeling would be the hotel. She knows Mr. Peterson works there and going there allows her to be near someone she knows.”
“So I guess we’re headed to the Morae Hotel?” said Christian.
“That’s a fact jack,” said Det. Johns.
“You are so corny,” said Det. Christian.
“Says the man using the word “corny”?” replied Det. Johns.