The Chambers Files

By Charles R. Rogers

As a detective in Lake Ridge, Virginia, Bobby Chambers deals with crime on a daily basis. But as more and more of the criminal activity of nearby Washington, DC, spills over into Northern Virginia, he finds he is seeing more and more crime in his suburban community.

And after his niece moves to Wyoming, he becomes more aware of how often criminal activity around the country is connected.

Follow Detective Chambers as he helps connect and solve crimes in Northern Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Wyoming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9798889434177

Book preview

cover.jpg

The Chambers Files

Charles R. Rogers

ISBN 979-8-88943-416-0 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-417-7 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Charles R. Rogers

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Hidden Secrets

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Desperation and Greed

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chaos Out West

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Southern Connections

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

The Trip

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

As Chambers and the others on the road kept firing at the fleeing truck, Deputy LaFell radioed to the men at the intersection what was happening.

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

About the Author

Hidden Secrets

Chapter 1

Detective Bobby Chambers saw snowflakes in the air as he stepped from his car. They had gotten four inches of fresh snow yesterday afternoon and last night. Was it starting again, or was it blowing off the trees and roofs? Both ways, it was still overcast, and the January wind off the nearby Occoquan River was cold blowing down his neck.

In his midthirties, Chambers could remember when dead bodies were rare in Lake Ridge, Virginia. But as more and more people moved out of nearby Washington, DC, crime seemed to move with them. His quiet life as a police detective in the suburbs was becoming more like big-city life every day.

He adjusted the collar on his coat as he walked across the commuter parking lot toward the pile of snow surrounded by police personnel.

What a way to start a Monday! he thought. What we got? he asked Sergeant Jacobs as he approached.

Sgt. Ben Jacobs had been Chambers right-hand man since he made detective. In his early forties, Jacobs had grown up in the area and had joined the Lake Ridge police force shortly after high school. He was Chambers first partner when Bobby joined the force, and they had been close friends ever since. When Chambers was promoted to detective, he insisted on having Jacobs assigned to his unit.

A slug found her, Jacobs said as he motioned to the middle-aged man standing with another officer a few yards away.

Slugging was very popular in the Washington, DC, area. The law requires there to be at least two or more people in the cars using the faster HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes during rush hour. Commuters who don't want to take their car into the city or pay to ride the bus or train line up at predetermined locations throughout the Virginia and Maryland suburbs. Those who do want to take their car to work but need another body, or slug, to use the HOV lanes stop announce what part of Washington they are going to and take on as many passengers as they can accommodate. In the evening, the slugs line up at predetermined corners in Washington to catch rides back to the commuter lots where they started. The practice has never been officially sanctioned or recognized, but some people in the area have been doing it successfully for years.

Said he saw a shoe on the ground, Jacobs continued. When he got out of his car to move it out of the parking space, he saw the woman's foot sticking out of the pile.

Any ID? asked Chambers.

No, replied Jacobs. We're trying to search the rest of the snowbank and the parking lot. The snow plows came through about five o'clock this morning, and of course, all these cars are just in the way.

Detective Chambers squatted down to watch as the coroner's team finished digging the woman's body out of the snow. She looked to be in her midtwenties. She was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt with Georgetown arching across the front in blue. He made a mental note to call the Washington Police to see if any Georgetown University students had been reported missing.

Any idea how long she's been dead? he asked the assistant coroner.

Not sure, he replied. Looks like she was strangled though. Got some nasty bruises and abrasions on her neck. The cold from the snow's going to make time of death difficult to pin down, but we'll give you our best guess as soon as we have one.

It's just a good thing someone found her when they did. The plows just keep piling the snow higher every time they clear the lot. It could have been months before this snowbank melted and we found her.

Detective Chambers stood up and started over to where the man who found her was standing with an officer.

Detective Bobby Chambers, Lake Ridge Police, he introduced himself as he approached the man. I need to ask you a few questions.

Don't really know anything, said the man. Like I told the officer, I didn't want to run over the shoe, so I got out to move it. When I saw a foot sticking out of the snow, I called the police.

Did you check to see if she was alive? asked Chambers.

I checked, said the man. Her foot was cold and stiff when I touched it, and the snow was packed pretty hard, so I kind of assumed she was dead. Can I go now? I'm already late for work.

Do we have his information? Chambers asked the officer.

As the officer nodded, Chambers said, We may need to talk to you again, so don't leave the area without letting us know.

Chambers watched as the man walked over to the bus stop sign on the other side of the lot. It was almost nine o'clock now, and most of the people needing a slug had come and gone.

Anybody see anything? Chambers asked as Sergeant Jacobs walked up.

No, he replied. She was probably already in the snowbank before the morning commuters arrived. They found this in the snow under the body. He handed Chambers a plastic bag containing a small pendant shaped like Texas.

Looks like our woman, or the killer, had some kind of Texas connection, Chambers said. File it with anything else you find. He handed the bag back to Jacobs. Anyone talk to the crew who plowed the lot this morning?

Yes, I had one of my men go over to the VDOT (Virginia Department of Transportation) yard and interview them, replied Jacobs. They claim they didn't see anything or anybody. The way I figure it, someone dumped the body on the snowbank, covered her with some loose snow, and was going to let the plows do the rest. Thought we wouldn't find her till spring.

It almost worked, Chambers said, shaking his head.

As he got back in his car to head for the station, Chambers took a slow look around. He could remember when this commuter lot was a department store parking lot. Now the department store was gone, the lot was filled with the cars of commuters, and he apparently had a murder to solve.

Chapter 2

As he drove back to the station, Chambers kept thinking about the victim. Nothing unusual about her. She was about average size and build, blond hair, not a beauty queen yet attractive. But there was something wrong, something out of place in the mental image he had of the crime scene.

As he walked into the station, he looped by the evidence room and told the officer on duty, Let me know as soon as the crime-scene photos are ready from the Jane Doe in the commuter lot.

Will do, replied the officer. Be about another hour.

Chambers went to his desk and began checking his email. Just the usual stuff. A reminder about the annual charity hockey game between the police department and the fire department next weekend, a couple of corny jokes that had been making their way around the station the past few weeks, and one from his wife reminding him to call the kennel about boarding their dog while they are out of town next weekend for her cousin's wedding in Texas.

Chambers immediately picked up the phone to call the kennel. He had been putting it off, hoping to find an excuse not to go to the wedding. But he knew if he didn't make those reservations soon, the kennel might be full, and then he would have an even bigger problem. Next, he called a friend he had at the Washington police department.

DC Police, Detective Miller, said the voice on the phone.

Steve, Chambers said, it's Bobby. How are things in the big city?

Oh, about the same, replied Miller. The president is out of town, Congress is still on recess, and the World Bank meeting is still over a month away. So it was pretty quiet this weekend. What's up?

Had a young woman with no ID show up dead in one of our commuter lots this morning wearing a Georgetown sweatshirt, Chambers said. Could be a tourist or a fan, but got any missing person reports on a female GU student in her twenties, five foot four, blond hair?

Not that I know of, Miller replied. But I'll call if I hear anything. You playing in the hockey game next weekend?

My hockey days are over. Chambers laughed. Besides, I've got to go to Texas for a wedding next weekend. We've got a couple of retired Capitals and one guy from the Maple Leafs in our police auxiliary. I figure they can handle the fire fighters without me.

Right. Miller laughed. I'll call you if I get anything on your Jane Doe.

As Chambers hung up the phone, a clerk walked over with a large envelope.

You wanted these crime-scene photos, she said as she handed Chambers the envelope.

Thanks.

As Chambers looked through the photos, he said to himself, What a waste. He had seen dozens of dead bodies over the years, but it still gave him a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach when he saw someone so young. As he stared at one of the photos of the victim, he couldn't help wondering, Who are you? What is your story? As he moved onto the next photo, he said barely audibly, I guess we'll just have to find out.

As he thumbed through the photos one more time, he couldn't shake that gnawing feeling something was wrong, out of place. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Chapter 3

Chambers's residence, Rebecca said as she answered the phone.

Hi, honey, it's me, said Chambers. I might be a little late getting home. I've got a few stops to make.

I heard about your unidentified woman, said Rebecca. "They had a sketch of her on the WUSA channel 9 News at Five. Any idea who she is?"

No, he said hesitantly. That's why we asked the media to run the sketch. We're hoping someone will recognize her and call us. I'll be home as soon as I can.

Did you call the kennel? Rebecca asked.

Yes, replied Chambers. It's all taken care of. But just keep in mind, depending on how this case is going; I may not be able to get away this weekend.

Bobby, you promised! she exclaimed. We already have the plane tickets, and they are expecting us. I'm supposed to serve cake at the reception.

I know, he said. I didn't say anything about you not going. But I may need to stay here. After all, it's your cousin. I barely know her.

Bobby and Rebecca had both grown up in nearby Manassas, Virginia. They had known each other most of their lives and had begun dating in high school. After graduating from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, they had married, and Chambers had accepted a position as a patrolman with the Lake Ridge police department in western Prince William County, Virginia. It had taken him over ten years to work his way up to detective, but it had been worth it. He loved what he did and looked forward to work almost every day.

One of Rebecca's uncles had moved to Texas in the early sixties to work in the booming oil industry, and now his youngest daughter was getting married.

We'll see, assured Chambers. I'll try to go, but we both knew all along this was a possibility.

He hung up the phone and headed for his car. He had asked that some officers to interview commuters as they returned to their cars during the evening rush hour and to continue searching the lot as it emptied.

Pulling into the commuter lot, he could see two or three officers talking to people as they exited their bus and another group of officers searching the areas of the lot already emptying.

Any luck, he asked as he walked up to where Sergeant Jacobs was standing.

Maybe a little, the sergeant replied. One guy we talked to said he thinks he saw our victim in a club down the hill in Occoquan Saturday night. Didn't know her name, said he saw her standing alone near the door and tried to start a conversation with her, but she shot him down. A few seconds later, a distinguished-looking gentleman in his early fifties approached from the men's room, and they left together.

The village of Occoquan, Virginia, was about a mile down the hill from the commuter lot. Founded in the early 1700s, it had been an important center of area commerce in past centuries. It was located along the Occoquan River, just a few hundred yards from where the river emptied into the Potomac. Its location, at the head of the tidewater, made Occoquan a natural site for waterborne commerce from the earliest days of the settlement of Virginia. It had its own post office and zip