Long time gone, p.1
Long Time Gone, page 1
Books by Charlie Donlea
SUMMIT LAKE
THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN
DON’T BELIEVE IT
SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS
THE SUICIDE HOUSE
TWENTY YEARS LATER
THOSE EMPTY EYES
LONG TIME GONE
Published by Kensington Publishing Corp.
CHARLIE DONLEA
LONG TIME GONE
www.kensingtonbooks.com
Table of Contents
Also by
Title Page
Copyright Page
Cedar Creek, Nevada - July 13, 1995 9 Days After . . .
PART I - Genealogy 101
CHAPTER 1 - Raleigh, North Carolina Monday, July 1, 2024
CHAPTER 2 - Raleigh, North Carolina Monday, July 1, 2024
CHAPTER 3 - Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday, July 2, 2024
CHAPTER 4 - Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday, July 2, 2024
CHAPTER 5 - Raleigh, North Carolina Wednesday, July 3, 2024
CHAPTER 6 - Raleigh, North Carolina Wednesday, July 10, 2024
CHAPTER 7 - Raleigh, North Carolina Wednesday, July 10, 2024
CHAPTER 8 - Raleigh, North Carolina Wednesday, July 10, 2024
CHAPTER 9 - Raleigh, North Carolina Thursday, July 11, 2024
CHAPTER 10 - Raleigh, North Carolina Thursday, July 11, 2024
CHAPTER 11 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
CHAPTER 12 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
CHAPTER 13 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
CHAPTER 14 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
CHAPTER 15 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Saturday, June 24, 1995 10 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Saturday, June 24, 1995 10 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Saturday, June 24, 1995 10 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Saturday, June 24, 1995 10 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Monday, June 26, 1995 8 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Monday, June 26, 1995 8 Days Prior . . .
Reno, Nevada - Tuesday, June 27, 1995 7 Days Prior . . .
PART II - Undercover
CHAPTER 16 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, July 19, 2024
CHAPTER 17 - Raleigh, North Carolina Saturday, July 20, 2024
CHAPTER 18 - Raleigh, North Carolina Sunday, July 21, 2024
CHAPTER 19 - Raleigh, North Carolina Sunday July 21, 2024
CHAPTER 20 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, July 26, 2024
CHAPTER 21 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, July 26, 2024
CHAPTER 22 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, July 26, 2024
CHAPTER 23 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, July 26, 2024
CHAPTER 24 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Saturday, July 27, 2024
CHAPTER 25 - Charlotte, North Carolina Saturday, July 27, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 6 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 6 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 6 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 6 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Wednesday, June 28, 1995 6 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Thursday, June 29, 1995 5 Days Prior . . .
PART III - Reunion
CHAPTER 26 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Saturday, July 27, 2024
CHAPTER 27 - Indianapolis, Indiana Sunday, July 28, 2024
CHAPTER 28 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Sunday, July 28, 2024
CHAPTER 29 - Raleigh, North Carolina Sunday, July 28, 2024
CHAPTER 30 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Sunday, July 28, 2024
CHAPTER 31 - Raleigh, North Carolina Monday, July 29, 2024
CHAPTER 32 - Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday, July 30, 2024
CHAPTER 33 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Wednesday, July 31, 2024
CHAPTER 34 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Wednesday, July 31, 2024
CHAPTER 35 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Wednesday, July 31, 2024
CHAPTER 36 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Wednesday, July 31, 2024
THE PAST
Lake Tahoe, Nevada - Saturday, July 1, 1995 3 Days Prior . . .
Lake Tahoe, Nevada - Saturday, July 1, 1995 3 Days Prior . . .
PART IV - From the Shadows
CHAPTER 37 - Reno, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 38 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 39 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 40 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 41 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 42 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 43 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 44 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 45 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 46 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 47 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Sunday, July 2, 1995 2 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Sunday, July 2, 1995 2 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Sunday, July 2, 1995 2 Days Prior . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Sunday, July 2, 1995 2 Days Prior . . .
PART V - Into Focus
Chapter 48 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 49 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 50 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 51 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 52 - Bend, Oregon Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 53 - Bend, Oregon Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 54 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Thursday, August 1, 2024
CHAPTER 55 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 56 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 57 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 58 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 59 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Tuesday, July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Tuesday, July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Tuesday, July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
CHAPTER 60 - Reno, Nevada Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 61 - Reno, Nevada Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 62 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
CHAPTER 63 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
CHAPTER 64 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
THE PAST
Cedar Creek, Nevada - Tuesday, July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
Cedar Creek, Nevada - July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .
PART VI - Soaring
CHAPTER 65 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 66 - Cedar Creek, Nevada Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 67 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 68 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 69 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 70 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 71 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 72 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 73 - Bend, Oregon Friday, August 2, 2024
CHAPTER 74 - Bend, Oregon Thursday, August 15, 2024
CHAPTER 75 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, September 6, 2024
CHAPTER 76 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, June 27, 2025
CHAPTER 77 - Raleigh, North Carolina Friday, June 27, 2025
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
900 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Copyright © 2024 by Charlie Donlea
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023952647
The K with book logo Reg. US Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2718-3
First Kensington Hardcover Edition: June 2024
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2722-0 (ebook)
“Photographs open doors into the past but they also allow a look into the future.”
—Sally Mann
Cedar Creek, Nevada
July 13, 1995 9 Days After . . .
A BLACK TAILED COOPER’S HAWK WITNESSED THE DEATH OF SHERIFF Sanford Stamos.
The majestic bird glided down from the heav ens and landed on the front of the police cruiser, perching like an ornate hood ornament. It squawked once during the battle that took place inside the vehicle, fanning its wings as the car rocked. When the scuffle ended, the hawk folded its wings into its body as Sheriff Sanford Stamos sat in the driver’s seat and looked his killer in the eye. The sheriff’s icy glare came not from an intense determination to lock eyes with the man who was about to kill him, but rather from the paralytic drug that coursed through his body and prevented even his eyes from moving.
He wanted to do a thousand things other than gawk at the man next to him. His training told him to either engage his attacker or put distance between them. He wanted to escape his vehicle, to draw his gun, to call for backup. But the needle hanging from his neck had robbed him of the ability to move and brought on a profound weakness that infected every fiber of his body. The drug finally stole the function from his eyelids and they fell shut. Sitting behind the wheel of his squad car, Sandy’s chin slumped to his chest. The odd angle brought on a raspy snore when he breathed. Sandy had no doubt he was about to die. The things he had discovered during the last few days of his investigation into the missing Margolis family guaranteed it.
He heard the passenger-side door open and close as his killer exited the vehicle. Sandy’s door opened next, and he felt the shirtsleeve of his left arm being tugged upward. A tight band cinched the skin of his bicep before a sharp pinprick on the inside of his elbow jolted his eyelids open. There wasn’t much there besides brightness. His vision was blurry, like someone had smeared Vaseline into his eyes.
A localized burning assaulted his arm as the syringe was emptied into the vein. A moment later he felt something else entirely. Something foreign and exotic and more sensational than he’d ever felt before. A cloud of euphoria descended over him, or perhaps he rose up into it. Either way, Sheriff Stamos forgot about the confinement of his vehicle. He forgot about his inability to move or talk. He worried not about his killer, but instead relaxed into the bliss that filled his body and mind. His soul, too? Was his soul being touched?
“You’re just another Harrison County junkie now.”
Sandy couldn’t tell if the voice was his own or someone else’s. If it originated from inside his head or was spoken to him. But he didn’t really care. A second syringe was emptied into his arm before the door to his squad car slammed shut and another level of ecstasy took control of his faculties. So powerful was the pull of the drug coursing through his system that it disengaged Sandy from his body. He floated above the scene in a way that allowed him to see where he was and what was happening. Seated in his squad car with the seatbelt tight across his chest, he watched from his elevated perch as his vehicle rolled down a shallow hill toward Cedar Creek. Just before the patrol car speared into the water, the Cooper’s hawk that was balanced on the hood took flight. Two strokes from its powerful wings lifted the bird into the air until the creek breeze allowed the hawk to hover overhead, wings outstretched. The car continued until the hood sunk beneath the water. The slow creep persisted and Cedar Creek eventually swallowed the automobile, ingesting it fully until only the taillights peeked from the surface.
A foggy comprehension told Sandy he was submerged under the surface of Cedar Creek, but the feeling of euphoria and exhilaration that ran warm through his veins brought with it a weighty apathy that was impossible to overcome. He cared little about the water rising up his chest and lapping at his chin, threatening to crawl up his face and over his head. Instead, he was anxious to fly into the stupor that waited somewhere off in the by-and-by. He was mesmerized by the brightness he saw in the distance. He ignored the scene of his body trapped beneath the surface of Cedar Creek, and instead followed the black-tailed Cooper’s hawk as it soared toward the light. He flew and flew and flew, until the brightness absorbed him and ushered him away.
PART I
Genealogy 101
CHAPTER 1
Raleigh, North Carolina Monday, July 1, 2024
SLOAN HASTINGS WALKED INTO THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL Examiner fifteen minutes prior to the 9:00 a.m. start time that marked the beginning of her forensic pathology training. She and three other fellows were about to embark on a challenging two-year fellowship that would culminate with each of them being crowned a medical examiner. That was, of course, if they could handle the trials and tribulations that waited for them. Sloan was sure she could. Becoming a forensic pathologist was all she’d ever dreamt of doing.
A Duke graduate with a dual degree in criminology and forensic science, Sloan had cruised through medical school before completing a four-year anatomical and clinical pathology residency. Now, she was twenty-nine years old, and all that stood in the way of accomplishing her dream were two intense years of fellowship. The first of which was a grant-sponsored research year that required Sloan to explore an area of forensic pathology, advance the subject in some meaningful way, and write a thesis paper on the topic. After her research year, she would embark on a twelve-month clinical program at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner studying under the renowned Dr. Livia Cutty. There, she would perform hundreds of autopsies on her way to becoming a medical examiner. She was anxious. She was excited. And she was hungry.
Dressed in a sleeveless black blouse that showed off her CrossFit-built athletic frame, white slacks, and high heels, Sloan showed her new ID card—which proclaimed her to be one of four first-year fellows as of 9:00 a.m. that morning—to the woman at the front desk. The door adjacent to the desk buzzed. She walked through and headed for “the cage.”
Inside the OCME, and to new fellows in particular, the cage was infamous. Closed in by chain-link fencing and filled with rows and rows of forward-facing chairs, the cage was where fellows presented their cases each afternoon. Standing before the attending physicians and bathed in the glow of the SMART Board was like standing in front of a firing squad. Rumors and folklore ran rampant of fellows being crucified as they squirmed at the front of the cage while they stumbled through their cases and fielded questions from the wizards they were training under, who caught every misstep, highlighted every oversight, and corrected every misguided thought. It was a place Sloan feared, and couldn’t wait to conquer.
Sloan knew the morgue was located in the basement, that the attending physicians’ offices were located on the second floor, and that the cage was somewhere on the first floor. She wandered only for a moment before she found it, walking through the entrance at the back of the room and taking an aisle seat. Thirty or so folding chairs lined the room, each facing a screen that captured light from a projector that hung from the ceiling and greeted Sloan and her colleagues:
Welcome First Year Fellows !
The other fellows soon arrived, introductions were made, and conversations started about where they had each completed their residencies and what they thought they were in for during the next two years. At exactly 9:00 a.m., a woman wearing green scrubs and a long white coat walked into the cage.
“Good morning, newbies,” Dr. Livia Cutty said as she made her way up the middle aisle and took a spot in front of the SMART Board. “Good to see all of you again.”
Dr. Cutty had interviewed every candidate that applied to her prestigious forensic pathology fellowship, and had handpicked the four who sat before her.
“It seems like a lifetime ago that I was sitting where you are today—as a first-year fellow nervous and excited about what lay ahead. In reality, it was only seven years ago.”
