Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows) (16 page)

“Memory foam!” A man shouted jovially from the deck. “Captain Phil Parker. How ya doin’?”

They all exchanged handshakes and introduced themselves to the perky Captain Parker.

“What do you mean by memory foam?” Lou finally asked.

“This particular material melts after it hits a certain temperature. The burn turns it to super glue. Held everything in place.” Parker beamed a smile at them. “Your coroner is going to have some serious fun with this one!” He chuckled.

“That is just weird.” Vinny stated the obvious.

“We should be out of your hair in about an hour but I can tell you what you need to know now if you like.” Parker stepped back out on to the deck and Lou noticed the rain had stopped. “It’s pretty cut and dry, no pun intended.” The man pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

“I’ll never understand why so many firemen smoke.” Lou hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

“We inhale the shit anyway, may as well enjoy it!” Parker chuckled then took a long draw from the smoke.

“Can’t argue with that logic.” She shrugged. “OK then, what’s your report going to say?”

“Your medical examiner and forensics team is going to find that the love birds were bound together with some sort of nylon fabric. I saw traces of melt around their ankles, waists and shoulders. Accelerant was plain old unleaded, available at your nearest gas station. The pour patterns suggest your fry cook walked all the way around the bed and the credenza over there, soaked things good.” He paused to take another drag from his smoke, as casually as if he were talking about what he had for breakfast. “Then he doused the mattress itself and it soaked up the gas like a sponge. A whole lotta gas too. Sucker probably made one solid roar when he dropped that Zippo over there.” He pointed to the bed.

“Zippo?” Vinny asked then moved closer to the bed at the same time as Dillon and Lou.

On what was left of the mattress, right below the feet of the couple was a blackened hull of a Zippo lighter with it’s lid opened. Clearly the point of ignition.

“Pretty damn effective if you ask me. It’s a good thing we were just up the road or that blaze would have roasted a hole straight through the roof in no time at all.”

“Shouldn’t it be burned far worse then that?” Lou was looking up and saw a badly blackened tongue and groove ceiling but it looked fairly in tact to her.

“Composite. New construction. It’s all the rage in fire zones and beach areas if you got the money for it. Builds like wood but it’s fire and rot resistant. That and the piss-ant sprinkler system prevented it from getting hot enough to burn through.” Parker pointed to what looked like a knob in the center of the ceiling’s main beam. “Didn’t do shit for these folks but it helped the structure stay sound.”

“Why were you up the road?” Dillon asked.

“Sand bagging.” Parker chucked his cigarette over the railing and yelled for someone below to step on it. “This rain is supposed to get worse and with the high tide, people freak so we do sand bag patrol to soothe the feathers.”

“You didn’t happen to see anyone high tailing it out of here on your way in did you?” Lou was actually joking but it never hurt to ask.

“Big black SUV almost ran me into someone’s yard.” Parker grinned. “One of my guys got a partial plate but all we got was three digits. It was definitely something American made and it was definitely black. Tinted windows too but the rain was so bad it could have been the Vice President driving and I wouldn’t be able to tell you one way or another.” Parker’s radio squawked and he tilted is head to listen. “Your coroner and forensics team are here. My guys will help them out as soon as we’ve packed up. I’ll get that report to you this afternoon.”

“Thanks Captain.” Vinny extended his hand.

“No problem. It’s what I’m here for. Call me Phil, please.” He winked at Lou as he shook her hand. “Holler if ya need anything else. I’ll be on site for a little bit longer.”

No sooner than the fire captain disappeared down the hall, the symphony of snaps began as the three detectives donned their gloves and got down to business. Lou walked through the debris and mush to the other side of the bed and crouched down to get a closer look at the heads.

“Fuzzy poached eggs on toast, spray painted black.” Dillon said as he squatted down on the opposite side of the bed from Lou. She stared at him for several seconds then burst out laughing.

“You are a freak.” Vinny announced as he walked the perimeter of the room carefully. “And you are just as bad for laughing at him!” He waggled a finger at Lou.

“Oh come on!” Lou grinned at Vinny. “You gotta admit he’s not far off.”

The queen sized memory foam mattress had shrunk down to half it’s depth with the heat and melted to a gooey texture that allowed the three heads to sink down to about nose depth. The not so happy couple were also melted into what remained of the mattress and were a melange of charred flesh, bones and what Lou expected were once sheets and blankets. The mattress appeared to be just as the fire captain said, fused into the flesh, melted together. It was going to be a mess getting things separated enough to do forensics. The room had burned hot and fast in a very short period of time. Lou could only imagine what the level of damage would have been if the firemen hadn’t been just up the road. The perpetrators never anticipated such intervention in their scheme and more than likely had expected the fire to continue to burn, reducing everything to a pile of ash. But then the rain came. Sprinkles, drizzle and spring showers were not uncommon in Southern California at the end of March but a full blown, heavy duty winter storm lasting days was completely out of the norm. With all the fire fighters and emergency responders trampling in and out of the house, any forensics on that end were long gone but Lou had hope that something was trapped underneath the carbon and ash that could tell them who they were dealing with.

“What a freaking mess!” Caroline announced from the doorway.

“You are going to love this one.” Lou snickered as she straightened up from examining the bodies. “Not sure how this is gonna play.”

“Well hello Detective Cole.” Caroline batted her lashes as she approached the remnant of bed.

“Good morning Doctor Devereux.” Dillon stood up and greeted her with his full attention and a brilliant smile.

“Oh geez.” Lou muttered, making Vinny laugh.

Caroline huffed and refrained from scolding them. Instead she took a good hard look at the melted mattress. It was going to be difficult preserving things and the scene was so badly damaged that attempting to sort the evidence there was not an option. Caroline stepped in closer and surveyed what she had to work with as a small army of forensics personnel started filing into the room wearing rubber boots and clean suits. Two of the techs came to rest behind Caroline, apparently waiting for her directions.

“We are going to have to cut this into sections very carefully then wrap them and send them back to the lab.” Caroline walked all the way around the bed area, clearly contemplating how to accomplish her goals.

“At least there is a break in the rain.” Dillon tried to brighten the dilemma.

“Yes but it’s not going to last for long.” Caroline started digging in to her tool kit, snapped on a pair of rubber gloves and then began issuing orders. “You guys need to hurry up and get out of the way. We need space to get this dissected and out of here as fast as possible.”

“Sheesh.” Vinny grumbled.

“No offense but if you want to get the most out of this, there is no way around it.” Caroline balanced herself over the remains and began delicately manipulating tiny fragments around the severed heads. One of her techs positioned himself next to her and stood at the ready with evidence jars.

“Anything in here is going to have to be carefully sifted through by forensics.” Dillon said as he scooted out of the way. “Maybe we can find something in the rest of the house. I’ll check the other rooms up here then head downstairs.”

“Good call.” Vinny agreed with his plan.

“Take a tech with you to assist.” Lou suggested. “I’ll be down in a minute to help.”

“Will do.” Dillon snapped off his gloves, stuffed them into his back pocket then fished out a new pair from his jacket as he headed out the doorway.

Photos were being taken, sketches were being made, the small army of forensics people were doing everything that could possibly be done.

“Wait a minute.” Lou blurted and all the techs stopped dead in their tracks. “No, no. Keep working. Something is off though.”

“Like what?” Vinny walked carefully towards her as she stood in front of the open glass doors.

“Wouldn’t the fire blow out all the windows? I mean heat does that right?” Lou took a closer look at the large glass doors that were folded on top of one another, accordion style. She pulled the handle of the first door and it slid in the track, unfolding the stack as she went. “You see this?” She looked at Vinny.

“Yeah. Interesting.” He inspected the doors closer.

When Lou unfurled the doors it appeared as if only the first panel had been broken and sustained the worst of the fire damage. As the remaining panels expanded out of the stack it was clear to see that the glass was in tact and the frames all had nominal scorching. The bulk of it was from the inner edge that was facing the interior of the room, not the portion that stuck out on the deck when completely folded. The very last panel that was affixed to the wall was almost pristine.

“This door was completely open before the fire started.” Lou looked at both sides while one of the techs took numerous photographs.

“The glass shattered inward.” Vinny had walked to the other end of the doorway where the first panel fastened shut. “This is our point of entry?”

“I’ll bet ya lunch on it.” Lou walked over and poked around in the mush just in front of the threshold of the broken door panel. She reached down and pulled up a patch of shattered glass that was still connected but malleable, as if the glass had been glued on to a piece of fabric. She pivoted on the balls of her feet and ran her fingers along the deck floor, just at the outside of the threshold and brought up a coarse dusting of broken glass. “Hurricane glass.” She announced.

“Oh we had that at our beach house in Hilton Head!” Caroline exclaimed. “Its got three separate panes, two are fused together with a polyvinyl. Super strong stuff.”

“Firemen probably trampled the shattered pane to pieces coming in and out there.” Vinny shook his head. “No way we are going to piece it back together to figure out what they used to break in.”

“I’m going to see if I can catch the captain and see if he or his guys did anything with the door.” Lou stood up and headed for the stairs. “At least so we can confirm whether or not the door was already open before they got here.”

“OK, I’ll head in to help Dillon then meet you downstairs.” Vinny followed her out.“Have fun Doc.” Vinny grinned at Caroline.

“Gee thanks.” She scoffed. “I’ll give you guys a ring as soon as I have something.”

“Thanks Caroline.” Lou shouted as she headed down the stairs.

Lou was able to catch the captain and confirm that the door was in fact totally opened when they arrived. He had found it odd but didn’t pay much attention as he and his men were focused on containing the fire. His sights were set on the fact that they had a perfect spot to nail the flames from. It didn’t make sense to Lou though. If the intent was to burn the bodies and destroy all evidence, why leave the door open so the rain and damp could inhibit the blaze? For that matter, why pick the rainiest day of the season to commit such a crime if that was the plan? Even Lou’s mother knew when there was going to be a break in the rain, it was easy enough to check if you had a smart phone and the right app. Lou’s theory was that the deck was the point of entry and that the suspect shot his way through the hurricane glass door. She was betting the techs were going to find shell casings in the rubble. The placement of the heads, who the heads belonged to, the fact that there were heads at all, it was looking like some sort of drug cartel hit. At least that is what they wanted it to look like but Lou was thinking otherwise. The doors were all the way opened for a reason, she just needed to figure out why.

Before Lou went back into the house, she ducked around to the side of the building and called Frank. She hadn’t heard back from him on Angela Boone but now she needed him to do more digging for her. It was his own fault. He was the one that told her he was there to help her too if she needed.

“I haven’t forgotten you I’m just not at my computer yet.” Frank answered the phone without saying hello.

“That’s totally fine. I know you are super busy but I was hoping I could ask you to look into something else for me?” Lou tried to make her voice sound as sweet and humble as possible.

“You bet. Want to text me the details or you think I can answer off the top of my head? I have about five minutes before I have to get inside.” Frank’s voice sounded like he was walking while talking.

“Where are you?” Lou was curious.

“Building and Safety.” He lowered his voice a little. “Pushing through the plans for the HQ building so we can break ground as soon as the weather clears up.”

“Ah. Good luck with that.” It occurred to Lou how may things Frank, Abby and the whole Council had going on all at once. She suddenly felt guilty for imposing upon him.

“So what do you need?” He spoke with his normal tone now.

“I was wondering about the South American Dominor and the Principates.” Lou was the one who lowered her voice now when a pair of firemen came around the corner. “Sec, coast not clear.”

“Well I gave you dossiers on everyone. Not sure what you want specifically.” Frank could hear Lou greeting someone then a pair of male voices greeting her back. “Where are you?”

“Angela Boone’s former residence that someone tried to torch ineffectively.” Lou moved behind a tree before she continued. “I think it was staged and my gut is gnawing at me on this. Is there any way you can pull up any reports or chatter on the Sanguinostri side with regard to cartel activity?”

“What kind of cartel activity?” Frank wasn’t following where Lou was headed.