Body of Bones: A June Williams County Coroner Murder Case

Body

of

Bones

A June Williams County Coroner Murder Case

Edward W. Easton

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© 2010 Edward W. Easton. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 12/8/2010

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9969-9 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9967-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4520-9968-2 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010918466

Printed in the United States of America

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

DEDICATION

Prologue

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

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Epilogue

DEDICATION

To: Quincy

Special thanks: Debbie Winks and Clark Billings

This is an entirely fictional work. All individuals and places in the book are solely the author’s creation and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dear are purely coincidental.

You can contact me at maxxeaston777@yahoo.com

Prologue

The killers didn’t understand why the girl’s body hadn’t been found. There hadn’t been anything on TV or in the papers for the past three days. Hogman, the leader, had been particularly upset that their recent actions were so far unrecognized. Billy, his partner, never really understood what was going on in Hogman’s mind. He was just along for the ride, having a great time traveling through the country, eating good food, and staying in motels. Since leaving Florida they had already robbed four convenient stores and killed a young woman for no reason. Billy didn’t seem to mind; he just followed Hogman without question and was totally dependent on him for everything.

The two killers had met in a Florida state prison two years ago. Although Billy was actually twenty-one, he had the mind of a child. They were the ideal pair to unleash the stream of terror that had just begun. Lying on the bed in the motel, Hogman was still lit up with the thrill of her death. The way she had cried and pleaded for her miserable little life intoxicated him. Please, I beg you, don’t hurt me. Don’t do this. I’ll do anything you want. Please listen to me. She was crying, shaking with a terror she had never known in her short life.

The Hogman was behind her, one arm around her waist, the other pulling her hair back for leverage. Get on your knees, bitch.

The girl did as ordered. I’ll do anything you want, she pleaded again. Why are you doing this?

As he continued to push her down with his left arm, he pulled the knife from his right pocket. She struggled to turn her head around just as the knife blade snapped open. She screamed and tried to get up, but he grabbed her around the top of her head. His strength was so powerful that there was nothing she could do to escape. The last thing she saw of life was the steel blade as it moved slowly across her throat. It was over in a few seconds. Her short life had been taken by a brute who now stood over her limp body and just laughed.

It really wasn’t the way Hogman had wanted it. He wanted to take more time to savor and enjoy the feeling of total control. Don’t let them scream the next time, he told himself. It was great, Hog, the way we had sex with her, said Billy. I never knew it was like that, Hog. You said we could keep doing it, Hog. Why did you kill her? You told her she was going with us.

You’re a jerk, said the Hogman. Shut up and keep watching the TV. You’re driving me nuts. I told you we’d do it again after we leave this dump water town.

Sorry, Hog, don’t be mad. How come it’s not in the papers yet, Hog? You said we would be famous. You said it would be in the papers and on TV. Are we famous yet, Hog?

If you don’t shut your mouth, I’ll shove this paper up your ass.

Sorry, Hog.

You’re always sorry. Just shut the shit up.

Finally, after waiting three days for the body to be found, Hogman made the 911 call. It wasn’t going like he had planned. He wanted the publicity before moving on to the next city. He needed to know they had found her body before they split.

I’m hungry, Hog. Can we go to Kentucky Chicken?

You hungry or horny, dipshit? You want to eat or get some of that sex you like so much?

I like the sex, Hog, but I’m real hungry.

Okay, Billy, let’s get something to eat and a few beers. Maybe we’ll find another lady or two and get in some real trouble. A big smile came over the Hogman’s face as he opened the motel door.

Walking to their van, the Hogman’s mind started twisting and turning with impatience and excitement. Once inside the van, the Hogman’s heart started pounding. The more he thought about his next victim, the faster it beat. He laughed aloud while starting the engine.

The ride was going to be great. He would be daring and clever. He would outwit the police at every turn. The crime and murder spree he was planning would be the greatest in history. The control was even better than he had expected.

Chapter 1

My pager went off at 2:00 a.m. that Monday morning. I fumbled around for a second or two trying to find the light and phone. Bill, my chief deputy, was on call and rarely needed me on his shift. When awake enough to read the pager, I was surprised to see that it was from County Radio and not Bill. Even though I was not on first call, as county coroner I must be available 24/7 when in town. Anytime there is an unnatural death, suicide, or homicide, I get the call. I’ve received many such calls in the middle of the night; it’s just part of the job. Death doesn’t always happen between nine and five.

I received little information from my call to county. There was a body found at an isolated location by the Rock River called Back Rock. The location was very familiar to me, a popular hideaway for drugs and prostitution. While getting dressed I thought about the death that awaited me. There were a number of deaths on the river each year—the usual drowning, boat collisions, even a suicide or two. For some reason I had a bad feeling about this one. There was no way of knowing that the investigation ahead would change my life forever.

Becoming county coroner over twelve years ago had taken my medical career in a totally new and exciting direction. I was the first woman ever elected to that political position and the first with a medical background. Prior to my election, the office of coroner was part of the old-boy political network. It was a payoff job to a loyal mortician in the party. Deciding to run for the office was a difficult choice. I had been an emergency room nurse for twelve years with a BS in medical technology without one ounce of political experience. Was I nuts? A number of my family members and friends thought so. With a few close friends I put together a hardworking and dedicated election team. When the campaign and election were over, all the hard work had paid off. I received the highest vote total ever in the history of Rock River County. I was now an elected county official. It took me a few weeks for it to totally sink in. Since then and without opposition I have been reelected three times.

I love my work, even when it’s most difficult and demanding. I truly believe the coroner’s office under my direction has become the finest in the state of Illinois. Every coroner’s office develops a personality of its own based on the coroner in charge. Working very hard over the past years I have attempted to project professional competency and compassion, no matter where the trail of death leads us.

I’ve never been comfortable leaving my girls home alone at night, but that is just part of the job. Since Jim and I got divorced, there was little I could do. I had to go out.

My girls are great and have always understood that being a single mom is never easy. Debbie is twenty and in college. Patty is seventeen and a senior in high school. I took a quick peek in both bedrooms, left a short note, and headed for the door.

Rock River is about fifteen minutes from my house. Even though it was two thirty in the morning, it was still very hot. There were a number of heat records broken this July, and the temperature was over ninety degrees yesterday. I could only hope that this death was recent. Approaching the location I saw two squad cars and a medical unit with their lights still flashing. There was a full moon reflecting over the river, and combined with the flashing lights it seemed like an eerie dream instead of a real-life drama.

Stopping my car about ten yards from the squads I saw the silhouette of John Phillips walking toward me. There was no way of mistaking John, a huge man at six foot four and about 250 pounds. I was glad to see that John was on the scene; we had known each other since high school. There were few men who were not intimidated by John. However, I knew him as one of the kindest and well-liked officers on the Rock River Police force.

Hi, John, I said while getting out of my car.

Sorry you had to come out on this one, John said with a look on his face that I had seen before.

What have you got? I asked.

It’s a real bad one, June. All we can tell is that it’s a woman from her clothes. We just got the area roped off, put in a call to the state crime lab, and had County call you.

Working a death scene is never easy, but a badly decomposed human being requires the most challenging effort. Most people think I can handle the sight and smells of death without feeling. I’m not supposed to react like normal people; it’s my job, right? Well, I do feel. I just try not to show it.

Well, I guess I had better put on protection. I opened my trunk and began putting on my disposable protective gear. It took me about four minutes and I was ready to go. There wouldn’t be much to do at this time, except to take a quick look before the state crime guys arrived. I wanted to see what assistance would be required to move the body. If the body was as bad as John had said, we had to be extra careful with my preliminary investigation.

Ready, John, let’s see what she looks like.

John and I started down the lane toward the lights and control tape. I ducked under the tape and noticed that John had stopped about five feet behind me. I knew why John hesitated, and I couldn’t blame him. Aside from the physical appearance of a decomposed body, the odor was like nothing else you could imagine in nature. Slowly moving to the body I could see that John had not exaggerated its condition. After spending over ten years in the emergency room, you think that you have seen just about everything one human being can do to another. A body in this condition once again made me realize you’ve never see it all.

As I moved closer to the body I could only wonder how long it had been there. I agreed with John; it looked like a woman, and there wasn’t much more to examine at this point. Thank goodness there was still some soft tissue left. She must be transported and cooled as soon as possible to prevent any further tissue loss. A body allowed to decay developed its own process from nature. Because of the recent heat wave, this process was accelerated. First come the flies, then larva start feeding on the flesh, which produces more flies, and the progression of decay continues. After a day or so, beetles and other ground insects join in on the feast. Throughout this process mammals and birds continue to ravage the body without regard that this was once a living human being; it is just part of nature’s extraordinary way.

It didn’t look like there was much tissue remaining, mostly bones. This would make our examination extremely complicated. With little soft tissue, the cause of death might never be known. I could only hope that the crime scene technicians would find something.

I walked around the body looking for a way to transport it. I was sure that if we did not take extra precautions the remains would just fall apart. All that remained was the skeleton covered by what she was wearing. With this recent heat wave there was no telling how long this poor woman had been lying dead. If this was a drug-related death, we might never know why she died. We might get some evidence from the remaining skeleton, but I was sure we would need a bone specialist. Bones can tell us the relative health of the person and sometimes show marks related to the death. I continued to examine what was left of the body but saw nothing that would indicate the cause of death. What I would need was a good bone man, a man who was experienced in dealing with skeletons. Even then we might not know the cause of death.

I was so hot in my suit that I could hardly stand the heat. Sweat was dripping down my face and making it very difficult to concentrate. I spent a little more time and that was it.

Chapter 2

I told John that I would be back in a few minutes and started for my car. I was so uncomfortable in the protective suit that sweat was burning my eyes and making it hard to see. Pulling off my hood was like a fresh breath of life. Was I hot! I got into the front seat and