Blood and Bone

By Chris Bathory

Trouble finds rookie coroner Kate Grayson, both on the job and off.

Her first important death investigation centers around the puzzling case of a woman found mutilated on a beach. In a case marked by contradictions and confusion, it is up to Kate to uncover the truth. But when she tries to unravel the clues, she learns that things are even more complicated than they first appear.

But even that pales when compared to the dilemma she faces when she comes to the aid of a friend. Maggie’s husband has disappeared under disturbing and mysterious circumstances and Kate suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of another troubling investigation. One that sweeps her up in a storm of deceit and betrayal and leaves her questioning everything she knows. The terrible secret she eventually uncovers shakes her to the core and threatens to destroy everyone involved.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jan 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781483422794

Book preview

Author

PROLOGUE

If she had known what was going to happen that day, she wouldn’t have answered the phone. But she did answer, and then everything went straight to hell. That phone call started a sequence of events that would cause a lot of people, a whole lot of misery.

It had started off as a fine mid-summer day. Maggie had just settled into her favorite easy chair with a book she’d been reading off and on. It was a good book, but she just never seemed to find the time to read anymore. Today she was making a point of it, determined to finally finish it. She opened the book and managed half a page before she caught herself daydreaming, staring through the living room window.

She tried to read again but the small living room in their rancher was too warm. The heat from the last rays of the afternoon light was making her drowsy. Her eyelids grew heavier and she caught herself when her head started to bob. She shook herself, straightening up in her seat and tried to concentrate on the story. Another head bob. Another shake. Eventually, despite her best efforts, she drifted into a nap.

The sudden shrilling of the phone startled her awake after what felt like only a few seconds. It rang several times while she tried to regain her wits, rubbing at her eyes. Her book fell out of her lap as she sat upright, landing face up on the floor, pages hopelessly splayed in every direction. Her page marker lay several inches away- the page she had been reading lost in the fan of paper.

The phone drew her attention once again as it shrilled insistently and she snatched the handset up just before it went to voice mail. Hello?

Where’s Andrew? a man’s voice whispered low as if he was trying to disguise it.

Andy? He’s not here right now. Can I ask who is calling?

Tell him he’s late, the man said, ignoring her question. I warned him what would happen. He should’a listened. Tell him the first one’s up.

His voice sounded sinister, threatening almost. The last remnants of sleep cleared from her head and she felt her heart rate quicken.

What do you mean? Who is this? Nothing. Is that you Dane? She asked hesitantly, feeling a little foolish. If you think you’re being funny… you’re not.

Still nothing. Well, almost nothing. She could hear the guy breathing. Snuffling almost, like he was excited. She didn’t really believe it was Dane, although she certainly would have preferred that. She shifted and nervously glanced out her window, suddenly feeling conspicuous in front of the large clear pane, in full view of anyone out there. Anyone walking by; or watching. She scanned the street. There was no one there. The day outside looked just the same as it had a moment ago, sunny and calm.

Who is this? She asked again, uncertain.

Just give him the message, bitch!

Bitch? This asshole had just called her a bitch! Now she was angry. All I did was answer the phone for crissakes. That was completely uncalled for. Who the hell did he think he was anyway? If he was angry with Andy for some reason, well … don’t take it out on me! She silently fumed.

Full of indignation she finally managed to say, Look, I don’t know who you are, or what you’re trying to pull, but leave me out of it. Like I told you before, Andy’s not here, and when he is, you can tell him whatever you need to tell him, your own self.

The caller hesitated, and then growled, You don’t want to test me. Someone could get hurt. Just tell him what I said.

There was a click as the caller disconnected. What exactly had he said? Oh yeah, something about the first one being ‘up’. The first one what? she wondered. What the hell did that mean? She stared at the receiver in her hand for a second then slowly put it down. Must be a crank call she told herself again, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, Andy was in trouble.

Uncertain of what to do, she sat for a minute and puzzled it over. Should she call the police? Andy? No, not the police. What could she possibly say to them? Hey Officer, someone called looking for my husband. And he was rude. No crime there…. Although, maybe there ought to be, she reflected, remembering how the threatening voice had made her feel.

She ran the phone conversation over in her mind, looking for clues to what the caller had meant. "He should’a listened…tell him the first one’s up." What the hell did that mean? She wondered yet again. The first what? Up where? It just didn’t make any sense.

Frustrated, she picked the phone up again and pressed *69, to call the person back. A woman’s robotic voiced announced that her call couldn’t be completed as dialed. She replaced the receiver and thought hard for a minute.

She dialed Andy’s cell phone. It rang three times before switching to voice mail. The message to please leave your name and number… blah blah blah played through to the end and was followed by an ear splitting beep, causing her to pull the phone away as she winced.

She quickly left a message for Andy to call her as soon as he could. She clicked off again and sat back, puzzling over the call. If not Dane, who? Todd came to mind, one of Andy’s poker buddies. He was a joker all right. Unfortunately for him, no one else seemed to find him very funny. Or maybe it really was Dane. After a moment’s consideration she dismissed the idea again. Her cousin Dane wasn’t much of a prankster; he was far too serious to play tricks.

She finally gave up trying to figure it out. Truthfully, she just couldn’t picture any of Andy’s friends doing something like that. Especially not calling her a bitch. One thing she did know for sure, if this was supposed to be a joke; it was a very lame joke. Even for Todd.

Maggie glanced at her watch and decided to call Andy’s hotel. Her husband Andy had left that morning for what should be a four-hour drive to Seattle. Allowing for stops on the way, he should be at his hotel by now. She looked up the number for the Holiday Inn where he always stayed, and dialed it. A young man answered, Holiday Inn, may I help you?

Maggie asked to be connected to her husband’s room. His name is Andrew Marks.

There was the sound of fingers typing quickly. A pause.

I’m sorry Ma’am, we don’t have any guests by that name.

You mean he hasn’t checked in yet? Another pause. More typing.

I’m sorry Ma’am, we don’t have any reservations in that name either. Might he have checked into a different hotel?

She was confused. He always stayed at the Holiday Inn. Maybe they were full she thought. And she wished that he’d quit calling her Ma’am. It made her feel old, and she was only twenty-nine. Almost thirty really, but still not ready for Ma’am, thank you very much.

Are you all booked up? she asked.

Pardon?

Do you have any rooms available? she rephrased the question.

Sure Ma’am. Lots of’em. Would you like to book a room?

No. Thanks. She sighed and disconnected. No sense in getting snappy with the guy.

She got up and walked to the picture window overlooking the immaculate front yard. A big spruce in the neighbor’s property was dropping needles on their side again. Andy wouldn’t be pleased and would likely see the needles as a personal affront. He was proud of his yard. A little bit too proud, in her opinion. It was just grass after all. A bird flew out of the spruce, flapped once and was gone.

She spun around and faced the room again, searching with her eyes as if it might offer up a clue to Andy’s whereabouts. Her annoyance at the phone call was rapidly being replaced by annoyance at Andy for not being available. Annoyance was followed by worry.

What if he had hurt himself? Anything could have happened. Images of Andy lying in a water filled ditch, hanging from a seatbelt in an overturned car filled her mind. These were replaced by thoughts of Andy being carjacked at gunpoint by a drug crazed lunatic. Or maybe he was in the hospital, horribly injured in a car crash, unable to speak? She knew he liked to go fast. Especially on the open highway.

She realized that she was steadily whipping herself into a state of panic and she forced herself to calm down, take a few deep breaths and close her eyes for a minute. This is ridiculous, she thought. He just forgot to tell me where he went. He never would have left for Seattle without booking a room first. He was downright obsessive about it in fact.

Once he had gone on a trip without pre-booking and when he got there he found there were no rooms available due to some doll collectors’ convention. He’d had to stay in a fleabag joint in the ‘burbs, far from where he had to meet his client. He’d vowed to never let that happen again.

She sat back down on the couch, picking up the forgotten book and placing it on the coffee table. She chewed on her fingernail until she caught herself and sat on her hand. She pondered what to do. What could she do? She couldn’t exactly call his boss for an itinerary; Andy worked for himself.

She thought it over for a few minutes. Then she had an idea. She moved to the small wooden desk in the corner of the dining room, where the computer was set up. She nudged the mouse to wake the screen and settled into the desk chair. The hard drive whirred and the screen flickered twice before it came to life, showing a blue login page.

It had crossed her mind that maybe something in Andy’s business files would tell her which hotel he was at. She was probably worrying for nothing anyhow. The caller sure sounded like a crank. But whoever it was had known Andy’s name, but she hadn’t recognized the voice. Of course, one of his friends could have found someone to help him out, though she secretly doubted that any of them would go that far.

Crank or not, the caller had threatened her husband. Hadn’t he? What if it was serious? She should at least let her husband know that there was a nutcase out there looking for him, or at the very least that he needed to seriously re-evaluate some of his more questionable friendships.

She might not be a computer whiz like Andy, but she certainly knew how to do online banking and she could certainly look for hotel charges on the business credit card account. She was listed as one of the account holders after all.

She quickly logged onto the business account with City Bank and clicked on the ‘credit’ link. She scrolled down the list of merchants where the card had been used recently. The last charge date shown was two days previous. It was only Tuesday and the latest charges from the weekend apparently hadn’t hit yet. But he would have booked the room at least a week ago.

Then she looked up the page to the line above the credit link and stopped. Her finger froze on the mouse. All of a sudden she felt like she couldn’t breathe. How could that be? No! There must be some kind of mistake!

The line showed the balance in their savings account. At present, there was less than five hundred dollars where there had previously been over ten thousand. Where was all of their money?

Identity fraud came instantly to her mind. She felt panicky and quickly checked the withdrawal date. It was an in-bank withdrawal since it exceeded their daily limit. That meant someone had to have gone in and signed for the money. They’d also have pictures from surveillance cameras she thought. That’s it. She’d call the bank. At least it would give her some time to think about what to do next. She started a search for the phone number.

Just then, the phone rang again. She started at the sound, expecting the weirdo again, and then relaxed a bit when she saw the call display. It was Andy, calling her back. She snatched the phone up and nearly screamed into the mouthpiece, Where are you? But she held back at the last second and instead asked the question in a carefully controlled voice.

At the same time, she was thinking he must be in his car. His response sounded tinny and distant like he was using hands free mode. Plus she could hear traffic noise in the background. I’m …. Static cut the line and she missed what he said, his voice cut back in: I was…

What? I’m losing you… what did you say? she cut him off.

Look, I’m driving. His voice was faint but clear now. I’m just calling you back…… to see if…. The line crackled again.

Maggie couldn’t stand it anymore and demanded to know what happened to the money in the savings account. I was just online Andy, and there’s practically nothing left. Did you take that money without discussing it with me? What did you do with it?

For a second he said nothing and she wondered if she’d lost him again. Then he spoke, sounding defensive. He asked, Is this what you want to do right now? Pick a fight?

She couldn’t believe her ears. All she did was ask what happened to the money. Didn’t she have a right to know? Andy could be such an asshole sometimes.

No! No. I don’t. But I do want to know what’s going on. I mean, I just got this really weird phone call from this guy who said to make sure to tell you you’re late, and that the first one was up. Whatever the hell that means, she snapped. Frankly, he was quite rude about it all… she went on, and then stopped, realizing that she was talking to open air. Either the signal had dropped out, or he had already clicked off, she wasn’t sure which. And he hadn’t even told her where he was, or what he did with the money! Nothing! Damn him!

She sat there holding the receiver in her hand. This was sure shaping up to be a hell of a day she thought, exasperated. She was puzzled and hurt at first, then, as she thought about it more, she got totally and royally pissed at him. Though if she had realized then, that it was the last time she would ever talk to her husband, she might have felt differently.

CHAPTER 1

I stared down at the woman’s body. She’d been horribly mutilated, possibly tortured. She lay amongst the rocks, wedged in between two boulders jutting out of the waters surrounding the Stanley Park seawall. Her dark hair dangled in the water, moving with the current, bobbing around her head like black snakes.

The horror of her body lay in stark contrast to the sparkling August day, with the sounds of kids laughing, dogs barking and cycles spinning nearby. The beauty of the day made it so that she didn’t look real.

Like a grotesque doll, her skin was pale and waxy with a dark mottling that spanned the torso and spilled onto her legs. Ugly dark gashes marked her chest and groin, where the parts of her that had made her female were so strikingly absent. Elastic straps still circled her chest and waist. Strips of dirty, ragged material flapped freely from both bands. Her bra and underwear, or what was left of them.

My victim appeared to be a middle aged Asian woman. She had been found this morning by an unlucky couple, out walking their dog in Stanley Park. Or more accurately, she had been found by their dog. I glanced over to where the pair was huddled together on the rocks.

The man sat rigid, face stony, though his shaking hands gave away his distress, while the woman simply looked stunned with shock. Both appeared thoroughly traumatized. Even their dog seemed subdued. Instead of joining the other dogs, joyously bounding about, sniffing and digging and chasing insects. He sat at their feet with his head hanging low as if he could sense the somberness of the event.

The wind picked up and brought a putrid scent with the breeze. Decay mixed with the briny scent of seawater. The flies buzzed busily around the body, landing, then lifting off again, jerking into the air in crazy zig-zags, landing again. As I watched the frenzied insect activity, I wondered again what had happened to the woman. Who did this to her? How did she come to be here? Was she sexually assaulted? And again I felt saddened by my lack of horror, puzzling briefly at the sense of detachment I felt.

I realized that I was looking at this woman like a puzzle, pieces of a mystery to try to fit together. Looking down at the body, I was angry about the injustice of it, but also intrigued by the mystery of it. I worried for a minute that I was becoming too jaded. Maybe I was burning out again. Then I brushed the thought aside as something to be examined later. This was no time for introspection.

You okay Kate? Detective Rajsan Sing, or Raj, as he preferred to be called, suddenly appeared at my side. His eyes were a warm, soft brown. Shiny black hair, with a hint of wave curled softly over the tops of his ears. He was clean-shaven and neatly dressed in a grey suit with matching shirt, and a maroon tie with tiny squares of color on it.

Yeah, fine. Just thinking.

Raj wasn’t of East Indian descent as one might expect from his name. His family had actually emigrated from Thailand decades ago. I’d heard that his name was really Sakulsinghdusit, but no one could pronounce it so he’d shortened it to Sing. Thank god. Frankly, the thought of even having to write that name in my reports left me feeling exhausted.

Find anything interesting? He glanced down at the body, his expression mostly unreadable. I mean aside from the obvious? He flapped a hand half-heartedly at the body. He was referring to the wounds.

I turned my attention back to the body. The woman had been in the water for a while, but despite the August warmth, the cold water temperature had helped to preserve her. Her face was bloated and battered but still identifiable. At least by someone who had known her well.

I had examined the body inch by inch, and made particular note of the fingers on her right hand. Two fingertips were good candidates for yielding prints, which made me uncharacteristically optimistic about identifying the woman.

I squatted and held up the limp hand for Raj to see. I think you might get some prints here, index and thumb look pretty solid. And you might get an ID on the face, if you’re really desperate, but I don’t recommend a viewing if you have another choice.

I let the hand drop back to the sand. All the teeth are there too, if we get some X-rays for comparison. Should just be a matter of time before we know who she is. I felt a drop of sweat snaking down my back and I ran a forearm over my brow to remove the beads that had formed there.

I squinted at the cuts along her hairline and along one cheek. I think a lot of these marks come from being in the water, bumping against things, but some of them….I dunno. We’ll have to wait for the autopsy ...

Yeah, okay. He looked sadly at the remains in the water.

I’m almost done here. Can someone help me roll her into the body bag? And where are the snatchers? They here yet? I was using the nickname for the body removal service, commonly called the body snatchers by those at the Coroners Office. Raj raised a hand and waved someone over.

Moments later, I found myself fighting opposite a slim young man, trying to maneuver the victim into the body bag. We finally succeeded and I pushed myself upright, feeling old and creaky. Both of my knees popped.

Raj’s partner Harlan Dickson, whom everyone referred to as Harley, materialized beside me just then.

His jaws were working hard on a tired piece of gum. Secretly, I believed that his nickname stemmed from the fact that his mouth, when talking, was reminiscent of the pipes on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. I shuddered involuntarily. Count on Harley to wait until the distasteful work was done before showing his face.

So what’cha got Katey? Chomp, smack.

A dead body Harley.

Raj made a choking sound as he tried to stifle a laugh. And not a bad one at that, Harley said as he looked down at the still unzipped, body bag lying at my feet. But she’s a little flat chested for my taste. Raj grimaced and turned away from his partner, obviously annoyed with Harley’s comment. Harley snapped his gum. I wished that he would just leave.

I sighed. She appears to be Asian, looks like she’s been in the water for a few days. Probably didn’t jump from a bridge or anything, she doesn’t have broken bones. Well nourished, well cared for, good teeth. Probably not a street person, or if she was homeless, she was new to the life. No identifying marks left on the body, if she ever had any. Breasts and external genitalia have been excised. Looks like a small knife, maybe a paring knife, but we’ll have to wait on the autopsy to confirm. These are all guesses right now, I told them.

Yeah, I know. Standard disclaimer. Raj nodded. Appreciate whatever you can give us right now though.

Well, then I hope some of that will help, because that’s all that I have for you right now. I’ll call you with the details of the autopsy, once I get it booked.

I pulled off my latex gloves, each with a loud snap, as if to emphasize that that was indeed all that I had for now. I tossed them into a disposal bag that Raj held out for me.

Sounds good. Thanks for coming out, Raj said as he tied a knot at the top of the bag. We shook hands and trudged to our respective vehicles. The remaining police officers would handle the rest of the scene.

It was early afternoon but already I felt exhausted. And I needed another shower to wash the smell of death out of my hair. I spread the ‘scene’ blanket that I carried on the car seat to protect the upholstery from my clothes, and spritzed some Odor-B-Gone in the air and on myself. Then I just there for a minute, not thinking or seeing anything, just zoning out until the heat got to be too much and I started the engine to get the air conditioning going.

CHAPTER 2

I was just drying off from a shower and trying to avoid stepping on the cat that was winding between my ankles, leaving black fur on my wet legs, when my phone chirped. I glanced at the screen, pressed a few buttons, and read the short note from my best friend, Mora Cassavetes.

Hi K8 - R U free 4 din? dks? M.

Hi Kate, are you free for dinner? Drinks? Mora.

Mora was fond of texting abbreviations and I didn’t mind as long as I could figure them out. Maybe I’m getting old, because most of the time, I can’t figure them out. I can understand’ R U free’ well enough though. ‘M’ seemed pretty obvious too.

I found myself inordinately pleased to have something to do. Maybe going for drinks with my oldest friend was just the ticket to shake off the doldrums I’d been feeling all day. Sure beats sitting in front of the TV eating ice cream for dinner. Tres depressing! I quickly dialed Mora’s number. Unlike Mora, I preferred live conversation to abbreviated messages. She answered on the second ring sounding breathless.

Sorry, did I make you run for the phone? I asked.

Yeah, but that’s okay. I was just finishing a work out. She breathed a heavy sigh. I pictured her with her dark hair pulled back, wearing her usual workout getup of a tank top over yoga pants. Both from Lululemon of course.

What time and where do you want to meet up? I asked her.

Roxie’s. One hour?

Done.

Roxie’s was a small diner-type bar and grill, not far for either one of us. Due to its convenient proximity, we find ourselves at Roxie’s more than at any other place. The food was nothing exceptional but it was satisfactory and filling, and the prices were decent. Besides, the size of the drinks made up for anything the food might be lacking. Best of all, the tables were separated by lots of big leafy plants and tall folding dividers that supplied some privacy.

I had just tucked my phone into my purse and picked up my jacket, when my purse chimed again. I repeated my actions in reverse, putting my jacket back down, and pulling the phone free and checked the screen, which read, ‘Eleanor Camp’. My mother.

Against my better judgment, I pressed a key, and said, Hi Mom. I braced myself for Eleanor’s latest escapade or drama.

Eleanor’s voice filled my ear. Hi darling! I picked up a lovely roast for dinner tomorrow night. Will you come by? I’ll have it ready for six. I want to tell you all about Philip. He’s really a wonderful man! So exciting and such a gentleman, she gushed.

Philip? I hadn’t even known she was seeing someone new.

You’ll love him, you really will. You’ll see. So will you come dear? She paused expectantly.

I sighed. Eleanor was never lonely for long. She collected men like a hobby and liked to go over all their faults and charms with me in excruciating detail. I started running through all the things I had to do tomorrow. Did I really have time for this? Visits with Eleanor were never brief.

I considered it for a moment, thinking that if Eleanor ever changed her mind about her moratorium on marriage, I wanted to know what I was going to be getting for a stepfather. I told her, Sure, I’ll come by. What time do you want me there? Right at six or before?

Whenever you get here, she practically sang. He must really be a hot one, I thought. At least he’s making her happy. I smiled to myself and prepared to go meet Mora.

CHAPTER 3

Maggie sat in the darkened room, shades drawn, lights off, waiting for the phone to ring. Wanting it to ring, and somehow dreading it at the same time. She desperately needed to talk to Andy but she was also worried that the mystery caller would call back.

She didn’t know why she felt so uneasy about a voice on the phone. The words were designed to intimidate, obviously, but they were surprisingly effective. More so than she would have expected. She didn’t scare too easily, but for some reason that call had unnerved her. She didn’t think it was just a prank anymore. No one had called to say ‘Just kidding! Did I scare you?’ Plus there still hadn’t been another call from Andy. And the money was still gone.

Since Friday, the phone had stayed silent. Sitting there like a paperweight, both useful and useless at the same time. She’d picked up the phone once or twice, putting it to her ear then dropping it back on the table - not wanting to call anyone, just reassuring herself that the phone was still working.

It had been four days since she’d heard from Andy, but she still hadn’t notified the police. She wasn’t entirely sure what held her back, but she reasoned it out by telling herself that the bank had verified that is was Andy who’d withdrawn the money, so there wasn’t any crime. And who’d really care if a grown man hadn’t called home?

Andy operated his own computer servicing company called Innovative Solutions, which often took him on the road. He claimed that going to client locations was more efficient than setting up a shop, because he could drum up new business while performing service calls at the same time. Plus, he didn’t have to rent shop space. The