“Good morning, Evangeline.”
“Malo lava i le taeao, George, Andi.” She looked at Geena. “You must be Agent Davis. Shireen told me about you. I’m Evangeline Melcourt, coroner for the Charleston PD.”
“Hi, Evangeline. Please, call me Geena. Considering what we’re facing, I think a first-name basis is called for.”
The women shook hands.
“I like you, Geena.” Evangeline winked at Andi. “You’re a lot more sociable than a certain someone I know.”
George watched as Andi rolled his eyes. George still hadn’t figured out his relationship with Evangeline. It was almost like brother and older sister, with a few twists here and there.
“What can you tell us, Evangeline?”
All amusement vanished from her face. She slumped back in her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Her thick black hair was in a messy bun, as almost always, a few ringlets bouncing around her face.
“I have seen my fair share of mass graves, oh yes. But let me say, this makes number three on my Top Five of Things I Never Ever Want to See Again.”
George was too experienced to ask for the two top spots. Evangeline was a seasoned coroner, had done excavations in several areas of war, present and past. If she thought their crime scene was bad, he didn’t question her. She got up, her movements as graceful as ever, something he deeply admired. It was like watching a cat walking around.
“I have already sent you everything via email, but let me explain what we’ve found so far.” She dug around between the mountains of paper until she held up a remote control with which she activated the screen on her office wall. Further rummaging revealed a tablet with numerous scratches on the surface, a sight that would give Shireen a heart attack. Some brutal stabbing of the poor screen made an image appear. It took George only a moment to realize it was a blueprint of the bunker.
“We’re still in the process of identifying all the victims, which can take a few more days. Here you see the bunker. We have measured it with laser technology to get the most precise numbers possible. The whole thing is ten feet underground. The hall leading to the living room, where the secret chamber is located, is six point five feet long. To the left there are two rooms, some kind of pantry with nonperishable food and a shitload of weapons, thirty-two point eight feet long and thirteen point one feet broad. Next to it is a bedroom, sixteen point four feet long and as broad as the pantry. Opposite of the bedroom is a bathroom, also sixtten point four feet long and as broad. Behind the bathroom is a room with a generator and ventilation system. It’s as broad as the bathroom and thirteen point one feet long. These rooms haven’t been disturbed for a long time. There was dust on the floor, no footprints. All the doors were locked. We found the key for them in the living room, next to the sewing machine, where the opening mechanism for the secret chamber is.
“At the end of the hall is the living room, nineteen point six feet long and twenty-six point two feet broad. Behind the shelf at the far end is the entrance to the secret chamber, which is the same size as the living room. The difference is that the chamber was obviously added later and is not secured like the rest of the bunker, where we find lots of concrete. The ceiling is supported by wooden beams that are in a state of decline. As far as I can tell, no maintenance has been done since the chamber was built.”
George stared at the screen. “I assume that was the nice part of the news?”
“Ioe.” Evangeline tortured the tablet screen again, and a blueprint of the chamber appeared. “The bodies were in four squares, each four point nine feet broad and six point five feet long.”
“Big enough to bury people of all sizes,” Geena muttered.
“Exactly. Mixed with the soil we found traces of white chalk, presumably the killer’s way of marking the place where he had to dig.”
George looked at Andi. His partner had been a little stressed about not knowing what the chalk could be for. Now the mystery was solved.
Evangeline swiped, and the picture on the screen changed, showing bones in each of the squares. “As I said, we haven’t identified all of the victims yet, but when Shireen told me about the missing persons reported by House Cusabo, I asked one of my assistants to cross-reference the teeth of each skull with the medical files of the missing people.” Her expressions darkened. “We found matches for each.”
Geena made a sound of distress followed by a heartfelt “Fuck.”
“Ioe.Ta’i. The good news is, and I’m using the word ‘good’ in a very loose sense here, that we were able to determine the order of the squares.” She pointed with a pen. “The one at the right side of the door at the back is square number one, followed by number two at the door. Then number three left, and number four left at the far end. We found seven bodies in numbers one and two, six in numbers three and four. TJ Ross and Celia Murdoch, who were both reported missing by House Cusabo in 2013, we found in squares number one and two. With TJ, we identified Lucas Mellen, who went missing in 2018. With Celia, we found Lori Heller, who was reported missing in 2020. In square three were Samuel Grand and Lola Monarch, vanished in 2014 and 2021. Square number four held the remains of Izzy Whitewall, Kesha Raport, and Lydia Bloomenberg, reported missing 2016, 2018, and 2019, respectively. We were also able to match Kesha Raport’s bones because of her prosthesis, and those of Samuel Grand and Corporal Hamed Beshora due to the distinct injuries they suffered during their service. It’s quite the puzzle, because every time the killer digs anew, he disturbs the bones already in the earth.” Evangeline sighed. “We’re almost sure we have all the bones matched to the right bodies by now, and identification is underway, as well as the time span. Judging simply from the people we know went missing from House Cusabo and ended up in the chamber, we’re looking at an escalating serial killer. And we may or may not have found his single burial ground.”
George groaned. A serial killer was bad enough. An escalating one who was as well-organized as this one seemed to be was worse. One who had lost the place of his obsession? A nightmare. The easiest thing would be to just wait until the man appeared at the bunker again and take him then. Unfortunately, that would mean accepting another victim. And even though Andi was sure he only came to the bunker to bury the bodies, they didn’t know if he dropped by occasionally without entering. In fact, it would be strange if he didn’t visit in-between kills to relive whatever perverted joy he got from murdering other people. No, they had to assume he already knew that his space was compromised.
“There’s one more thing.” Evangeline had changed the picture on the screen. It now showed an enlarged skeletal foot. “You’re looking at the left foot of TJ Ross. As you can see, he’s missing hisdigitus minimus, his fifth toe, as are all the other victims, with the exception of Kesha Raport, where he cut of the fifth toe of the right foot, since her left foot was amputated from the knee down.”
“He’s taking souvenirs.” Geena was grim.
“I can think of no other explanation. As soon as I find out more, I’ll give you a call.” Evangeline carelessly put the tablet on top of a stack of papers built on what looked like a shoebox, which in turn sat on a chair. For a moment, gravity and hope had an intense discussion if such an arrangement should be possible before gravity threw up her arms and left the room in a fit.
“Thank you, Evangeline.” George went to open the door.
Geena waved at the coroner, while Andi just grunted. Evangeline grunted back, her eyes sparkling with amusement.Yes, definitely sibling vibes there.
On their way back to their desks, George realized suddenly that Geena would need her own. He felt immediately bad for thinking about it only now. Pondering furiously how to broach the subject, George came to an abrupt stop in front of their workspace. Somebody had put a table next to his desk, complete with a laptop and phone. The Post-it with the broad smiley face told him he had to thank Shireen for this. Making a mental note to bring her something sweet as soon as possible, George went to the whiteboards. Tobias and Sandra sauntered over when they saw them. Andi was already sitting on his chair, switching his computer on. Geena whistled.
“My very own desk. Thank you!”
“Don’t thank me. I’ve only thought about it now. It was Shireen. She likes panna cotta,” he added helpfully.
