Chapter 11

******Author's Note: I am a little behind because of my Master's class. If I am late next week this is why - that and the midterm ***************

Nate hadn’t been oblivious to the reporter vans outside. He’d heard everyone of them. Very few police vehicles have a slide door and he’d heard at least four slam shut in the last hour. Not that he could actually hear cameras rolling but somehow he knew they were.
As the ranking officer in charge Nate knew he should say something to the press. But what and how much? Nate made his way across the living room and nodded at Ashley who was still sitting on the couch, her head in her hands. She still appeared to be shaking. Nate wished he could take back what she saw but he knew that would be impossible. He couldn’t send her back to Baltimore. He still needed her here to help. Three days was not enough time to solve this case even though he certainly wished it was.
Nate opened the living room door and stepped outside. Light bulbs flashed from everywhere. Microphones seemed to come from everywhere as well. How many news people were there in this city anyway?
“Agent Zimmerman can you give us a statement?”
“Is this Emma Sykes?”
“Do you think she was killed like Daisy Brandt?”
“Do you have any leads?”
Nate raised his hand for silence, “There’s not much I can say at this time. We can positively identify the body we found yesterday as that of Daisy Brandt. I am not at liberty to speak about the investigation nor can I share what we have found in the house behind me other then to say we will be here for a while.”
“What about my daughter? Have you found my daughter?” This voice Nate recognized. He looked beyond the crowd to see Michael. “Did you find my daughter inside?” Michael was getting closer to Nate as he spoke. “Has your great detective work found another girl dead? Is it my daughter this time?”
Nate decided the best approach was to say nothing. Anything he did say would be recorded by the media and they might not be nice words.
Fortunately, Michael quickly turned away from Nate and towards the microphones himself. “I just want to say that my daughter is one of the girls missing and I vow to you that we will find whoever has killed these girls and bring them in. These fine detectives behind me are doing a wonderful job. They are tracking down leads…”
Nate walked away. Michael seemed quite at home in front of the microphones which suited Nate just fine. His real purpose was inside looking for clues.
“That went well,” Eric said as soon as Nate came through the front door.
“Just great. I know we need the media but how do they know to pounce so quickly?” Nate shook his head. “Anything new?”
“The coroner should be here any minute so no one has touched the body. But we are more certain then ever that this is Emma Sykes.”
“Why’s that?”
“We found her clothes in a drawer. They were neatly folded. The same ones she was wearing when she was reported missing. We also found some extra locks outside the master bedroom closet door. I have a feeling that the girls were held inside the closet.”
“Have we reached the man renting this place?” Nate asked.
“Not yet. We’re tracking him down but I don’t have any listing for a Jonathan Gardner,” Eric said.
“And we have no news or sign of Jessica Rappaport or Kayla Fleming?”
“None whatsoever. Maybe he has them with him.”
“That’s a lot of girls for one guy.”
“Maybe he has an accomplice.”
“That’s still a lot of girls for two guys. Where are they holding the girls? Why did they kill these two?” Nate was talking to himself as he paced the floor. Ashley hadn’t moved from her spot on the couch but now she was watching Nate and listening carefully. Nate certainly wished she had gotten more out of Kyle. He hadn’t expected miracles but what could the boy be hiding after three days?
“We know there’s evidence of sexual assault on Daisy. I’m going to guess it’s the same with Emma. Dr. Folek indicated that there were multiples donors…”
“Could it be gang related?” Ashley asked from the couch.
“Unlikely. It feels more like someone is selling girls. Maybe farming them out to the highest bidder,” Nate said. “What doesn’t make sense is why or to whom or who has them. Did you get anything out of Kyle?”
“Nothing. I think he knows something but he’s not saying. I need more time with him.”
“And you’re going to get it…” Nate’s reply was interrupted by Michael Fleming entering the house. “What are you doing here? You can’t be inside this crime scene.”
“Is it my daughter?” Michael made a move towards the kitchen. Nate stepped in front of him. “Is it my daughter in there?” Tears were visible on his face and Nate couldn’t imagine the pain he must be in. Nate had no children of his own but he intimately recalled Ashley’s voice so many years ago when she relayed to him of Aidan’s passing. The loss of a child ran deep.
“No, Michael, we don’t believe this to be your daughter.”
“Who then?”
“We think it might be Emma Sykes but we can’t be sure. The coroner should be here in a minute and we’ll know then.”
“He’s here now,” Eric said. Nate turned to see Kelly Brekken, the county coroner enter the room pushing a gurney. Kelly’s black hair was cropped very close to her chin. It was stick straight and Nate imagined she ordered it in place every day and it obeyed because it was scared of her. Not that Kelly was an intimidating woman. At just over five feet it was more the opposite but when she was on a mission there was little that could stop her. Nate had worked with her before and her determination was amazing. Her blue eyes held fire.
“Where is she?” Kelly asked. She had to leave her gurney in the middle of the living room because the house wasn’t big enough to maneuver it into the kitchen. Nate motioned to Kelly and she followed.
Two officers were in the tight space with the girls. They had managed to peel back enough floor to expose her tiny body and Nate was able to get a better look at her face. There was no doubt this was Emma Sykes. There was also no doubt the girl had taken a beating. Her eye was swollen and her lip was cracked. This was especially strange since Daisy’s body looked relatively untouched besides the strangulation marks.
Kelly jumped down in to the hole and for the first time someone laid hands on Emma’s body. Kelly rolled Emma on to her back and began to examine her body. She put paper bags over her hands and tied them shut.
“I see strangulation marks here as well,” Kelly said pointing a gloved finger at Emma’s neck. “I would guess she died the same way.”
“Great. I have two dead bodies and no suspect,” Nate said. This investigation is not going at all like he had planned.
“Julia, if I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times, put your seatbelt on as soon as you get in the car.” Marie Lambert shot her daughter a stern look through the rearview mirror. “What if we got in an accident?”
“Mom, we’re not going to get in an accident!” Julia huffed in the backseat. When had her little girl been replaced by this big one? Eleven years old but she seemed so much older. Marie wouldn’t be surprised if she would be sending her to college the following year. At least that’s what it felt like.
“You don’t know that Julia. It’s better to be safe then sorry.”
Julia didn’t reply but Marie heard the clicking of the seatbelt as she pulled through the intersection. “Thank you.”
“Why do I have to go to this stupid doctor’s appointment anyway? My eyes are fine.”
“We don’t know that for sure. It’s possible that you may need glasses.” Deep breaths Marie. She’s not a teenager yet. Don’t get worked out. Stay calm. How am I going to survive her when she actually is a teenager?
“I don’t want glasses! I’ll look like a dork.”
“You could never look like a dork. You’re beautiful.”
“You have to say that. You’re my mother.” Julia crossed her arms and looked out the window. Marie couldn’t help but notice that her daughter still looked beautiful even when she was mad. If Marie had to say it she would certainly agree that Julia was the most beautiful one in their family. Of course, her other siblings were all boys but still Marie knew that Julia would be more beautiful then Marie someday. Maybe homecoming queen or prom queen. Julia could do that. Her auburn hair fell in perfect waves down her back and she had her father’s charming smile with a perfect dimple on her right cheek. Hazel eyes that relayed every emotion she ever felt rounded out her face.
It took just a minute of looking away for Marie to realize that she hadn’t been paying attention to the road. She slammed on her brakes and barely missed the car in front of her.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“I’m fine honey. Just a little distracted.” Marie calmed her nerves and moved off the freeway and onto a side street. The eye doctor they had used since Julia was a small girl was now twenty minutes further out of their way but he had such a way with children that Marie just couldn’t give him up.
Fifth light then right or was it fourth? Marie could never remember. Thankfully her navigational system could guide her to her destination.
“Turn right at light.” The woman’s voice stated. Marie reached up to the wheel when she felt a bump from behind. It was more like a tap. Should she stop? Was it an accident?
“Mom, that guys been following us,” Julia said.
“What are you talking about? What guy?”
“I swear. He was on the highway when we were and he pulled off just when you did.”
Marie’s heart began to race. Wasn’t this on an episode of Oprah? If you’re heart tells you something’s wrong then something is wrong. Instead of getting out to exchange insurance information Marie continued to make her turn. If she could get to the eye doctor she would call the police from there. Let them be present for the insurance exchange.
Marie made the right turn on to Chestnut Street but the car followed. It looked like an SUV but she didn’t know enough about cars to determine what kind although the word “Ford” was visibly displayed on the front bumper.
“Mom, I think he might hit us again.”
“Don’t worry. We’re almost to the eye doctor. We’ll pull up here and have the doctor call the police.”
“What’s wrong with your cell phone?”
“It’s out of batteries.”
“I have mine.” For once Marie was grateful they had given Julia a cell phone for her birthday. “Yes, we’ve been hit by a car and now the man is following us. We’re…where are we mom?...Chestnut Street in New Port Richey. Oww!”
Julia screamed.
Marie screamed. The SUV had hit them harder. Marie felt her head slam into the steering wheel and bounce back. When she looked in her rearview mirror she saw a man exiting the SUV. Marie didn’t want to face this guy alone. The eye doctor was just a block away. She hit the gas again.
Something flashed in front of her. It was a large truck. He was boxing her in. She looked to her left ignoring the searing pain shooting up her neck. She tried to move around the truck but it moved with her. She had no where to go.
A loud pop came from behind. The back window shattered. “Get down, Julia! Cover your head.”
“Help us. I think they’re shooting at us.” Julia was still on the phone. Shooting? Was that really a gun? Two more pops sounded. Now Marie’s neck was the least of her worries. Her back hurt. She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t fill her lungs with air.
“Mom! Mom! You’re bleeding! You’ve been shot!”
It certainly felt like it. Marie had no idea what to do. She couldn’t leave her daughter unprotected with these men. What would they do to her? What did they want? The man’s hand reached the driver’s door and Marie used every ounce of effort to try and hold it shut. But it was no use. The man’s arm was much stronger then hers.
He pulled the driver’s door open with no effort. Marie tried to push her foot down on the gas but it wasn’t responding. She wasn’t sure if it was the car’s fault or her foot’s. “Julia run!”
She heard Julia jiggle the door handle in the back seat and she heard the door open. But Julia’s screams indicated she hadn’t gotten very far. “You leave my girl alone! You leave her alone!”
The man’s arms were now around hers and he was pulling her from the vehicle. She knew she was losing blood but she didn’t care. She kicked against the car door and pushed the man down behind her. She fell on top of him with a huge thud.
Couldn’t breathe. The loss of blood and the fall had taken away every ounce of energy she had in her. She heard a gun cocking. This she only knew from the movies but it was too distinct to miss.
“Quit screwing around Jonathan and get the job done,” were the last words she heard before the popping sound and before her head jerked back in a pool of blood on to the pavement.