Picking up pieces, p.15
Picking Up Pieces, page 15
Thomas rubs his eyes; he’s getting kind of wiped out for the night.
“That’s enough for the night. We really can’t do anything more until we get the listing of other personnel who worked in the psych ward. Hopefully, everything will stay quiet until we do,” Thomas says as he rises and puts on his coat.
Kayla puts her files down. She’s ready for a drink, actually.
“Where are you going to go?” she asks.
“Don’t know, someplace where I can just think.”
Kayla puts on her coat, too.
“Want me to wake you in the morning?”
Thomas smiles at her as they walk out of the office.
“You know, I think I’ll be okay,” he says.
Chapter 41
Brian frantically pulls the tote carrying Father Isaiah’s body down a slopping icy sidewalk that leads to the railroad tracks behind the cathedral.
He slips and slides as he struggles to keep the tote from tipping over as he rolls it up and over a snow mound and onto the tracks.
Once he gets the tote on the tracks, he pulls it into the tunnel where there isn’t any snow. The one thing he doesn’t notice as the tote wheels pound against the wood ties is the homeless man scurrying off into the darkness to escape detection. The man huddles in a crevice as he watches Brian’s silhouette come to a stop.
Brian tips the tote over and pulls the body out of it. He places Father Isaiah’s head on one rail and his upper thighs over the other rail until he’s completely stretched across the tracks. This way, when a train comes, he thinks, it will mutilate the body and possibly disguise the knife wound. After he’s satisfied he’s laid out the body just the way he wants it, Brian grabs the tote and wheels it out of the tunnel, and goes back up to the rectory.
His mind reels as he walks. Thoughts shout at him inside his head: This should not be happening; It’s just not part of the plan; The father wasn’t supposed to die; He never did anything wrong to me! He just tried to give me a new and better life. A life I've just thrown into the river!
The thoughts turns his stomach. A fire burns in his head with every heartbeat. He runs into some bushes and heaves his guts out. Sweat pours from his face and forehead. What the hell have I done? he screams to himself.
Then a different sort of panic rises in him. What if he can’t finish his mission? It’s all he has left that give his life some purpose. He’s got to finish. He knows what he has to do. He just has to be quicker about it now to make sure he gets it done.
Yep, that’s what he has to do. Speed up the timetable.
Chapter 42
Back in the train tunnel, the homeless man sneaks over to the body after he’s sure Brian is gone and won’t come back. He uses a match to light up the body’s face. The homeless man recognizes Father Isaiah and starts to cry as he recognizes the face of one of the only people in the area who treated the homeless man as if he was someone; As if he really counted even though he lived in a confined world of solitude, darkness, and dirt.
Grabbing the body by the ankles, the homeless man uses every ounce of energy his malnourished body can muster to pull Father Isaiah’s remains off of the tracks. He places it against the wall of the tunnel. Then he sits down next to the body and puts its head on his lap. He strokes Father Isaiah’s hair as the tears rain down his cheeks. He stares into the dead man's face as he remembers the nights Father Isaiah would quietly make his way to the tunnels with warm bedding and food for the souls stranded there. He never made a show of it. He just did what he had to do to remain true to his faith and do what he thought was right and needed.
The homeless man stays with the body long enough for it stiffen up and turn cold and blue before he decides to let it go. Then he gently rests it against the wall, gets up, and walks out of the tunnel into the full light of day.
He walks past the back part of the cathedral and around the corner to police headquarters. He steps inside and makes his way to the front desk.
Within seconds, a full response by police fire, and EMS head to the train tunnel.
Chapter 43
Thomas sits in his mother's room while staring at the falling snow outside the window. There’s a small pile of garbage from a take-out meal on the plastic hospital table next to him. The squeaky wheels of a rolling cart comes to a stop in the corridor just outside the room.
A nurse’s aide enters. Thomas studies her; tries to smile. She moves quickly as she grabs the small garbage can by the bed. Then she spies the garbage on the plastic table.
Thomas notices and starts to clean it up.
“I’m sorry,” he says quietly.
“That’s all right,” she smiles warmly, “I can get it.”
“No, it’s not your job to clean up after me.”
Thomas gathers everything up and places it in the garbage can she’s holding in her hands. A look of appreciation comes over her face.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you for looking out for my mom.” The words hit him like a gut punch. He said the same words to Marcie just a few days ago.
“You’re welcome,” she says with a sweet young voice.
Thomas quietly watches as she replaces the full bag with an empty one in the can and leaves.
The sound of the squeaky wheel fades as she pushes the cart down the hallway.
About an hour or so later, Thomas is wrapped up in his coat to keep warm while resting on the chair. He slowly becomes aware of a voice trying to speak over the sounds of the machines beeping and humming. It's instantly familiar
He moves to the side of the bed and takes the mask off his mom’s face; peers lovingly into her eyes.
“Mom, you’re back!”
After he alerts the night staff to her awakening, Thomas sits in amazement watching his mother sip ice water from a little straw. Her voice might be raspy, but it’s the most beautiful sound he’s heard in a long time.
His heart sinks when the phone in his pocket starts to vibrate.
The phone keeps on vibrating, and then it stops, then it starts, stops, and starts again.
He reaches into his pocket and puts it to his ear.
“Shea here,” he says disappointingly.
Kayla’s on the other end.
“We’ve got another. In the train tunnel by headquarters.” He hears her voice say.
Thomas instantly sounds resigned, “Okay, be there in twenty.”
Thomas regretfully hangs up the phone and slides it back into his pocket. He looks adoringly at his mother.
“Hey, Mom, I’ve gotta go for a little while, but I’ll be back.”
She reaches up and weakly strokes his face. She struggles to speak.
“I love you,” she forces out.
“I love you, too.”
As Thomas steps out in the hallway, the attending physician motions him over to the nurse’s station.
“We all loved Marcie. She made this place better when she got here a couple of years ago. I hope you find whoever did that to her,” the doctor says. “I also know she was the one who kept you updated on your mother’s condition.”
“Yes, she did,” Thomas sadly replies.
“I want you to know what’s going on. Her brain activity is peaking, and that’s why she’s awake right now, but it won’t last.”
“How long?”
“Probably not more than a few days. A week at most...possibly.”
“And then she fades away again?”
“Actually, Detective, this type of activity, when it happens in advanced cases like this, typically signals the end of her life’s journey.”
“So, she dies?”
“Usually, I’m sorry,” the doctor says as comforting as he can.
Thomas shakes his head knowingly as he walks toward the elevator. He really doesn’t like whomever this killer is. As a matter of fact, the killer taking precious time away from his mother is really pissing him off.
Chapter 44
The tracks have been shut down, and police have flood lights up and running, when Thomas comes walking down the tracks. Kayla walks out of the bright lights to greet Thomas.
“We’ve found the body of Father Isaiah,” she says sadly.
“Ah, no,” Thomas responds, his voice flat. “How’d we find the body?”
“One of the homeless guys living in the tunnels saw the body get dumped. He came into headquarters and reported it.”
“What did he see?”
“Not much. A man pulled the body in here inside a garbage tote. He tipped it over, pulled the body out, and placed it on the tracks. The homeless guy said he pulled it
off the tracks after the man left. It was then he realized who had been killed. The guy’s in bad shape, in more ways than one.”
“Where is he?”
“At the station, he doesn’t know any more than what he’s already told us.”
Thomas looks around at the activities going on. There’s nothing left for him to do here. He walks out of the tunnel and looks around at the snow near the entrance. He spots the two-wheel tracks of the tote in the snow.
He looks at the tracks. They go across the street and up an unshoveled sidewalk on the other side. He walks across the street and follows the tracks up to the rectory of the cathedral.
The tracks stop at a wooden fenced area. Thomas opens the gate to find several garbage totes neatly lined up together. Except for one facing backward in a corner.
Thomas steps into the fenced-in area and pulls the tote out. He spins it around. There’s blood all down the front. He steps back out so he doesn’t touch anything else and gets on his phone.
Kayla answers her phone.
“Harrison.”
“Kayla, Thomas, get a crime scene crew up to the rectory. I believe I’ve found the tote used to move Father Isaiah’s body.”
“Will do.”
“Oh, and Kayla, there are shoe prints along the wheel tracks of the tote on the sidewalk. They seem completely isolated from any other prints. Make sure a technician takes images and casts of them.”
“That’s clear,” Kayla responds. “We’re sending a crime scene crew up to you now. We’ve also sent additional backup.”
“Okay,” Thomas hangs up as he looks around. He walks to the back door and tries the handle. It’s locked. As backup arrives, he rings the doorbell and knocks on the door. Nothing.
As an officer walks up to him, Thomas motions for him to follow.
“Let’s see if we can get into the rectory through the cathedral,” he says.
The officer follows Thomas around to the front and through the cathedral and vestry to the door of the rectory. Thomas tries the handle. It’s locked as well.
“Okay, well, we’re going to need to get a search warrant. I guess this might have to wait,” he says while wishing he could just go in like he did at the grain elevator.
The officer follows Thomas back out. He stops as the smell of bleach strikes him. . He knows that smell is not always a good sign.
He follows his nose to where the smell is the strongest. As Thomas studies the floor, he notices white stains in front of the statue of Mary. He bends down and rubs his finger in it. Then he dabs his finger against his tongue to get a taste. It’s salty, as he expected.
“Chlorine bleach was used here recently,” he says.
“How do you know?” the officer asks incredulously.
“I think this white chalky substance is caused by bleach breaking down into its parts after it dries. One of those parts is salt, and salt leaves a white residue if the bleach hasn’t been properly mopped up. Also, bleach is used to remove blood stains. So. we need to test this entire area for blood to see if some got away,” Thomas says to the officer as he rises. “Stay here and make sure nothing gets disturbed before they can do their tests.”
“Yes, sir,” the officer replies.
Thomas walks out into the growing darkness of night as the officer assumes his post.
Chapter 45
Brian is startled by the sound of Thomas’ pickup truck coming to a stop on the wet street in front of Shelly’s house. He's been watching her through a side window covered with bushes as he gets ready to make his move. He sinks further into the bushes to hide from Thomas. He’s not quite sure why Thomas has come here, but he knows he can’t step out now and do what he was planning to do when he got here.
Thomas goes up the steps and enters right in. This strikes Brian as odd. Then he watches as Thomas moves across the living room into the kitchen and straight into Shelly’s arms.
“My mom’s awake!” Thomas says to her.
“She is?”
“Yea, that’s why I can’t stay long. I want to spend as much time with her as possible,” Thomas says. “I’ve been told this won’t last long.”
“Oh, I completely understand,” she says as she gives him another huge hug.
“I also wanted to go over some of the things I’ve been learning about the prison to see if you can add anything.”
“Sure,” she says as she steps back. “Fire away.”
“Did you know a Jennifer Irving? She was an inmate there around the time you volunteered.”
“Actually, I do, or I should say more about her than I actually knew her.”
“What did you know?”
Shelly leans back against the kitchen counter and thinks. He likes how she shifts her hips so she stands slightly askew. It’s sexy, he thinks.
“Not much, really. She was quiet. I think she had been terribly abused through life. I tried communicating with her a couple of times but I was just forcing it and decided to leave her alone. She seemed to relate more to men than women anyway.”
“Are you aware she was murdered?”
Shelly shakes her head; this is news to her.
“No. When?”
“About a month or so before your husband quit.”
A knowing look comes over Shelly’s face. Thomas notices.
“What,” he asks.
“That was also the time when Teddy didn’t want me to come to the prison anymore. Now I know why,” she says.
“He never told you about Jennifer getting killed?”
“Not a word, but that’s to be expected. News of what goes on in there never really gets beyond the old stone walls. He should have shared his pain. It might have made him feel better. How’d she die?”
“A woman mutilated her by cutting her up into pieces.”
“Oh, God!” Shelly exclaims.
Thomas rubs his face. It’s been a long day.
“To top things off, a priest from the cathedral next door to headquarters was found dead earlier today.”
“St. Joseph’s Old Cathedral?” Shelly says intriguingly.
“Mean something to you?”
Shelly struggles to remember.
“There was someone from the cathedral who helped out at the prison back when Jennifer was killed. He was a volunteer.”
“Do you remember his name?” Thomas asks.
Shelly thinks harder.
“Umm...Bob, Bart, something like that.”
The connections Thomas is making in his head are growing stronger.
“Brian, maybe?”
“Brian, yes, definitely.”
“Do you remember his last name?”
“No, we referred to him as Brother Brian. He was entering the priesthood and lived at the cathedral.”
A light bulb goes off in Shelly’s head.
“Now that I think of it,” she says, “Brian was adamant that Jennifer was in danger from some woman on the ward. I guess he was right.”
The connections are too tempting to pass up. He pulls out his phone and calls Brian.
Brian crouches down in the bushes as he watches Thomas and Shelly through the side window. The sight of them happily together unnerves him even more than he already was after killing Father Isaiah. The whole thing makes his heart sink. He doesn’t know what to do now.
Everything’s falling apart, he thinks. If he kills Shelly, will it make Thomas fall back into despair? If that happens, then who will he save in order to save himself?
All of a sudden, his phone starts ringing. He quickly pulls it out of his pocket and hits the silent button. He peers back in the window; it appears nobody heard the phone from inside the house.
Brian lets out a sigh of relief.
As he relaxes a little, he hears footsteps on the porch of the house next door behind him.
“What are you doing?” the nosy next-door neighbor demands loudly as she looks at Brian hiding in the bushes. Brian jumps up and covers his face with the hood of his coat. He runs from his hiding spot and takes off down the street, leaving clear footprints as he darts across the front lawn.
“Hey, where are you going?” the neighbor screams.
Her yelling captures the attention of Thomas and Shelly inside the house. Thomas looks out the window in time to see the backside of Brian disappear around the corner. He then goes out front. Shelly follows him.
“There was a man hiding and watching you guys from the bushes over here,” the neighbor says.
Thomas comes down off the porch and checks out the bushes. He’s very careful not to disturb the shoe prints on the front lawn as he takes out his smartphone. He clicks on the flashlight app and inspects the prints. A chill runs down his spine as he recognizes a familiar wear pattern in the snow.
He gets back on his phone and dials up Kayla.
“Kayla, Thomas, can you come over to Shelly’s house right away? Bring a crime scene unit with you,” he says over the phone.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“We’ve had a visitor at Shelly’s, and I need someone here to oversee the collection of evidence. That’s you.”
“Is she okay?” Kayla asks.
