The Crucifix Killer (22 page)

Garcia and Hunter both looked at the corpse. The blisters had all burst, revealing dried and scabby flesh sores.

‘In 2004 a rare but even more serious form of the disease started to appear with increasing frequency, and the majority of those cases were found here, in California,’ the doctor continued. ‘In those cases, it was discovered that the bacterium causing the disease was a strain of the
staphylococcus aureus –
a much stronger strain of it.’

‘That’s the second slide we looked at, the green round things?’

Doctor Winston nodded.

‘I remember that story,’ Hunter said. ‘It didn’t really get the attention of the media. Just a sideline in the papers.’

Doctor Winston stood up and walked over to the autopsy table. Garcia and Hunter followed him with their eyes.

‘The way the disease works is as follows – the bacterium enters the body and reproduces itself. The more bacteria there are, the more toxins they release. The more toxins they release, the quicker and more painful the death. Unfortunately for our victim, these little bastards reproduce like crazed rabbits. They can double their number in the space of a few hours.’

‘Can it be treated?’ Garcia this time.

‘Yes, if found early enough, but that rarely happens due to how fast the bacteria spread.’

‘And how do you get it? How does the bacterium enter the body?’

‘Funnily enough, the bacterium is frequently found living on the skin or inside the nose of a healthy person.’

Garcia placed both of his hands over his nose as if he was about to blow it. Hunter couldn’t help but laugh.

‘It’s in a dormant state,’ Doctor Winston said with a smile. ‘But the bacterium can easily infect an open flesh wound. Sometimes it’s picked up in hospitals from infected surgery incisions.’

‘Wow, that’s reassuring,’ Garcia joked.

‘Necrotizing fasciitis is one of the fastest-spreading infections known to man. In regular cases it takes only three to five days for a patient to go from early symptoms to death. In the case of our victim, and I’m sure you both have probably guessed it, the killer has injected him with the
staphylococcus aureus
bacterium.’

A morbid silence took over the room. What else could this killer come up with?

‘But the dog race was only two days ago, how can a disease have such a quick reaction time?’ Garcia asked shaking his head.

‘Dog race?’ Doctor Winston frowned.

Garcia waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. ‘Too complicated to explain it now, doc.’

‘Anyway, as I’ve said, the bacterium multiplies fast and the more there is the more damage it causes. Our victim was injected with a phenomenal amount of it and straight into the bloodstream. Within ten to twelve hours he would’ve gone from healthy to knocking on death’s door.’

Doctor Winston approached the organ tray. ‘His liver and kidneys were thirty-five percent destroyed. There was also great deterioration of the heart, the intestines and esophagus, and that would explain the blood when he coughed, he was hemorrhaging internally very badly when we got to him at the park. It was probably his body’s last struggle before death.’

Garcia contorted his face remembering the images from the park.

‘And there’s one more thing,’ the doctor continued.

‘And what’s that?’

‘The victim’s nails on both hands are all broken, as if he’d tried to scrape his way out of somewhere. A wooden box probably.’

‘Wood splinters under the nails?’ Hunter concluded.

‘Yep. Under what’s left of them and on his fingertips.’

‘Wood analysis?’ Garcia asked excitedly.

‘Common pine wood. Very easy to come across. The killer could’ve nailed him shut inside a regular wardrobe.’

‘Why would the killer do that if he’d already injected the victim with the bacteria and death was a certainty?’ Garcia asked intrigued.

‘To speed up the process as much as possible,’ Hunter answered first.

Garcia frowned.

‘The heart speeds up when a person panics. Blood is pumped faster, so the bacteria spread faster.’

‘Correct,’ Doctor Winston said with a nod.

‘And what easier way to make someone panic than nailing him shut inside a wooden coffin.’

‘This killer knows the business of killing better than anyone I’ve ever encountered,’ the doctor said staring back at the body.

‘So if we’d gotten to the park earlier?’ Garcia asked.

‘It would’ve made no difference. Our victim’s fate was sealed the moment the killer injected him with the bacteria,’ Hunter said. ‘It was all part of his plan. Nothing was left to chance.’

‘How can someone come across this bacterium? Where could the killer have gotten it from?’

Doctor Winston and Hunter both understood where Garcia was coming from. The killer had to have had access to the bacteria from somewhere, a hospital, a laboratory perhaps. They could check visiting and employees’ records and maybe come out with a lead.

‘Our problem is that every hospital and lab in California will probably have a sample of the bacterium,’ the doctor explained. ‘As I’ve said, it reproduces itself extremely fast and the killer would’ve only needed a few drops of infected blood. No one would’ve missed it. No one would’ve reported it. Cultivating it and transforming the few drops of infected blood into the deadly amount that was injected into our victim is also very easily done. This was a very clever death. Not very difficult to achieve if you know what you’re doing, but very, very hard to trace the source.’

‘So it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack?’

Doctor Winston nodded.

‘We’ll look into it anyway,’ Hunter said. ‘At this point I’m not discarding anything.’

‘Why didn’t the killer wait for the victim to die like all the previous ones before calling in?’ Garcia asked.

‘The shocking effect,’ Hunter shot back in a calm voice. ‘A person dying of flesh-eating disease is a very disturbing and powerful image. Blisters bursting open to release pus and mucus, the victim hemorrhaging from the eyes, nose, ears, gums . . . the putrid smell, the certain and imminent death. This is his show. He’s showing off. And it all adds to my guilty feeling. He wanted me to see what I’d done when I picked the wrong dog.’

‘What’s this dog thing you keep on talking about?’ the doctor asked looking puzzled.

Hunter gave him a quick explanation of what had happened, how they’d come so close to saving the victim.

‘Do you think the killer would’ve really let him go if you had picked the winner?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Hunter said shaking his head. An uneasy silence followed.

‘What did he take?’ Garcia asked rubbing his chin.

‘What do you mean?’ Doctor Winston looked hesitant.

‘You said the killer always removes a body part from the victim, like a trophy.’

‘Ah yes.’ He lifted the small white sheet, revealing the victim’s groin region.

‘Oh God!’ Garcia brought both hands to his mouth. He knew that had been done while the victim was still alive.

Half a minute went by before Hunter spoke. ‘Let me guess, the forensic team found nothing inside the car, right?’

‘Ah-ha!’ the doctor replied, lifting his right index finger with an enthusiastic smile. ‘They found a hair. And it isn’t the victim’s.’

As they approached the Vanguard Club entrance on Friday night, Garcia was surprised to see such a big crowd waiting in line to get in.

‘I can’t believe this club is full, this is supposed to be a massive club.’

‘The club ain’t full,’ Hunter replied confidently.

‘How do you know?’

‘It’s a psychology trick,’ Hunter continued. ‘If they make you wait in line it increases your expectations of the club. You’ll be more eager to get in. A busy club usually means a good club.’

‘That’s true.’

‘But the trick is to make you wait in line just long enough. Get the timing wrong and it’ll put punters in a bad mood. No one likes standing in line for too long.’

‘That’s also true.’

They ignored the line of people and walked straight up to the two muscle-bound bouncers at the club’s entrance.

‘Sorry, gentlemen, you gonna have to join the line like everyone else,’ one of the bouncers said, placing a hand on Garcia’s shoulder.

‘Oh no, you see we’ve got special VIP passes,’ Hunter said in a funny voice and producing his detective badge.

The bouncer checked Hunter’s police credentials and removed his hand from Garcia. ‘Is there some sort of a problem, Detective Hunter?’

‘No, we’re just looking for someone.’

The two bouncers exchanged a worried look. ‘We don’t want no trouble here.’

‘Neither do we, so if you get out of our way, we’ll be off to a good start,’ Hunter said, pinning the bouncer down with a firm gaze. Without losing eye contact, the bouncer took one step to his right and opened the door.

‘Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.’

The two detectives stepped into the luxurious lobby entrance. The thumping music instantly caused an impact. It was loud, very loud. There were a handful of people standing around in this first room, some dancing, some just chatting. Hunter and Garcia made their way through the small mob and into the main dance floor area.

The music in there was twice as loud as in the entrance hall and out of instinct Hunter placed a finger in each ear.

‘What’s the problem, old man, can’t handle the younger generation’s music?’ Garcia said with a cynical grin.

‘Music? This is just . . . loud repetitive thumping noise. Give me heavy metal any day.’

‘This place is enormous!’ Garcia said as the giant dance floor inside the 20,000-square-feet venue stood majestically in front of them. Hunter widened his eyes to try and take in the enormity of the place. The dance floor was busy with a colorful and vibrant crowd moving to the beat of the latest ‘drum ’n’ bass’ and dirty-funk sounds. The club lights and lasers cast different shapes on the crowd as they danced. The atmosphere in the Vanguard was contagious. People came in here to have fun and it showed. Hunter and Garcia weren’t in the Vanguard to appreciate it or to take part in the fun, they needed to find D-King.

To the left of the dance floor they saw a small, cordoned-off flight of steps that led to a separate upper level.

‘Over there,’ Hunter said, pointing to the stairs. ‘That’s gotta be the VIP area.’

Garcia nodded and frowned as he noticed the two pro-wrestler look-alike bouncers standing guard at the bottom of the stairs. Hunter’s eyes searched the upper level for D-King. The file they’d picked up from the District Attorney’s office had everything they needed to know about the famous dealer, including several photographs. It didn’t take long for Hunter to spot him seated comfortably accompanied by four women.

‘I got him, last table on the right,’ Hunter said, pointing to the VIP area.

They negotiated their way through the dancing crowd fighting off bumps and pushes from the mobbed floor. An attractive brunette placed both of her arms around Hunter’s neck as he walked past her.

‘Umm, I love a man with muscles,’ she said, pulling him closer. ‘And you’ve got beautiful blue eyes. Dance with me, gorgeous.’ Her lips found his and she kissed him passionately, spinning him around in a half-moon twist.

It took Hunter a few seconds to pull his lips free from hers. Even through the flashing lights Hunter noticed her dilated pupils.

‘I’ll dance with you in a sec, babe. I have to go find the bathroom.’ He gave her the first excuse he could think of.

‘Bathroom? Would you like some company?’ Her eyes had moved down to his groin.

Hunter gave the brunette a confident smile. ‘Not this time, babe.’

‘Faggot,’ she hissed as he walked away leaving her to look for her next prey.

‘She looks nice . . . classy,’ Garcia commented. ‘Maybe you could come back later and share a Slow Comfortable Screw Up Against the Wall with her.’

Hunter ignored his partner’s sarcasm as they approached the steps that led to the exclusive upper level and the two bouncers standing guard.

‘Sorry, gentlemen, this is for VIPs only, out of bounds,’ one of them said, looking down at the two detectives.

‘It’s OK, we’re VIPs,’ Garcia said producing his badge and waiting for Hunter to do the same.

‘Gentlemen, you can’t just use your badges to push your way into places,’ the taller of the two musclemen said, keeping his eyes fixed on Garcia.

‘Do we look like we’re here for our own entertainment?’ Hunter cut in. Both bouncers shifted their stare in his direction. ‘We’re here to see someone,’ he continued.

‘And who would that be?’

‘We’re here to see Mister NoneOfYourDamnBusiness. Now step aside or I’ll have you for obstruction of justice.’ Hunter’s voice was threatening and firm. Without waiting for the bouncers to move out of his way, Hunter stepped in-between them and muscled his way through, Garcia following his lead.

Jerome had been watching the whole scene from the table closest to the top of the stairs. As the two detectives stepped onto the VIP upper level Jerome got up to obstruct their path.