The Body Hunters (16 page)

 
           As she drove home in the Camaro, Danny had soft music coming from the local country station playing on the radio. Barely paying attention to it, she found herself absentmindedly humming along to an old Randy Travis song, 'Digging up Bones', which happened to have been one of her grand mere’s favorites. Stopped at a red light, one particular line kept reverberating in her head over and over, "Exhuming things better left alone." Like a broken record it kept repeating over and over in her head.

 
           Her ring finger was now shooting pain down its length and looking down for a moment she could have sworn the stone in the ring was glowing. There was the lightest tap on her shoulder. She found her eyes riveted to the rear view mirror right into a woman's azure eyes. She appeared to be in her mid-60's, with golden blonde hair draping her shoulders, a flowing white gown shrouding her body. The woman was classically beautiful with delicate facial features that most women would envy or pay a pretty penny to duplicate in an operating room.

 
           By the tell-tale chill in the otherwise hot air, Danny knew right away that the woman was an apparition. She could see right through her. The ghost only shook her head side to side, putting her right index finger to her lips. Danny gasped aloud, her eyes riveted to the ghost in the mirror. She was so focused on the spirit that she failed to hear the honking cars behind her.

 
          Startled back into reality, she looked forward and saw the green light. Looking back in the rear view mirror for her passenger in the back seat, all she saw now was the man in the gray Malibu behind her angrily saluting with his middle finger. Danny trembled before peeling off, leaving tire tracks on the asphalt
.

 
           This was the first time a ghost came through without her proactively searching for it. No picture was needed this time. Why this woman suddenly appeared to her boggled her mind. She didn't look like any of the victims she had been researching but yet seemed eerily familiar. She pulled into the drive of the mini-mansion and parked Lucille in her usual spot outside the garage. She ran inside the home and slammed the oak door behind her. Gerard had beaten her home
.

 
          "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you slam the door?" Gerard appeared from the kitchen looking rather peeved about the noise. "Geez, Danny take it easy that door cost a fortune!
"

 
          "Nice to see you too, Gerard! I'm fine thank you very much!" Danny glared at him, tossing her purse on the sofa
.

 
           "I'm sorry, come here." Gerard put his arms around her. "Where have you been darling? I've been home for a half hour already."

 
           "I need to tell you something, Ger." Danny continued the embrace, soaking up the much needed attention from her fiancé.

 
          A thin cloud of fog took shape in front of her. The blonde ghost woman appeared again, repeating the same motions as in the back seat of the Camaro and mouthing to her this time. "No!
"

 
          Gerard broke his grip, looking Danny eye to eye. "Sounds serious babe, what's up?
"

 
           Danny's brain stammered for a few seconds, before the ghostly vision vanished. "I've been thinking maybe we should get a hot tub." It was the first logical thing on her mind to say.

 
           "Oh, God is that all? I thought the way you ran in here someone was chasing you! God, Danny you scared the shit out of me! If you want a hot tub, then milady gets a hot tub!"

 
           "Ah, oh, good! I thought you'd be upset because I wanted to add something more to the house."

 
           Gerard seemed pleased with her suggestion. "I'll call the contractor tomorrow if you like."

 
          The idea that Danny finally suggested something for the house pleased him greatly. He hoped this was a sign she was finally settling in
.

 
           Danny took a deep breath, calming herself. She didn't know who the ghost was but was certain of what she was trying to tell her. Any talk with Gerard would have to wait until later. She had another mission to complete the next day and would hope that Sherry would make an appearance also
.

Chapter 1
0

 
              The next day began bright and early, and Danny was still musing over the previous night's events with her ghostly visitor. The woman's identity and her deciding to haunt Danny was at the forefront of her mind. Not one to believe in coincidence, she felt that the woman was somehow connected to the Sherry Cavender murder along with the dozen murder cases that had invaded her computer. For the umpteenth time she found herself wishing she could have at least one conversation with her grand mere. The old woman had been an expert at things concerning the spirit realm, and Danny would have loved to get her input on what was happening.

 
             She was grateful that Gerard had left early for the clinic, not even taking the time to eat breakfast or have a decent morning conversation. He had let her know that he was going to have a long day and not to expect him home for dinner. She was so used to his nocturnal schedule that she had opted to sleep in one of the guest rooms so he wouldn't disturb her upon his return in the dead of night. They were practically living as roommates, and this totally unromantic existence was not what she had envisioned when he proposed. This was supposed to be the most exciting time of their lives, and it was turning out to be less than magical.

 
           Gerard's absence gave her some time to go back over her research on Sherry's murder. Sitting in the ostentatious office Gerard had designed for her, she was going back through previous witness statements about the girl's disappearance. Danielle's cell phone vibrated on her desk. She instantly recognized the phone number as Agent Stone's. She had taken to leaving the device on vibrate not wanting Gerard to answer it and hear Agent Stone's deep voice on the other end. That definitely would be an awkward conversation that she did not want to have, given the recent tensions between the two of them.

 
          "Agent Stone, what can I do for you today?" Danny asked, twisting side to side in her office chair
.

 
           "Aloha, Nani!"Aiden Stone returned in his husky voice
.

 
           Obviously the agent had dialed the wrong number. "What? Who's Nani? Sorry, you have the wrong number Agent Stone.!"

 
          "It means 'Hello, beautiful!' in Hawaiian." He explained, letting Danny hear the smile in his voice
.

 
          "Um, hello back, but I'd appreciate it if you kept it professional Agent Stone." Danny couldn't believe he had the nerve to start being that informal. He was behaving like he had been up all night with a liquor bottle
.

 
           He sounded offended. "Wow, didn't mean anything by it, OK? I didn't mean to offend you so early in the morning. Usually I don't make an ass of myself until later in the day. Forgive me?"

 
           "Look, I don't mean to be sensitive. It's just I am engaged now, remember?"

 
           "Ah, yes, the good doctor!How could I possibly forget? Alright, alright you don't have to get the ruler out and rap my knuckles. I get it!" He grumbled
.

 
          "Now that that's out of the way; How can I help you today Agent?" said Danny keeping her terse tone
.

 
           "I thought us and, I mean all three of us, you, me and Agent Ramirez, because I don't want you to be compromised by being alone with me, could get breakfast and discuss Sherry again. Would that be OK or do you want to discuss it with your old man first?"

 
           Danny ignored his sour mood having already made her point. "Sure, but I have a better idea: I want to try to contact her again. See if she will come through today. Can both of you meet me at the apartment in an hour?"

 
           "We'll be there, see you then .....Nani!
"

 
           "Agent!"Before she could continue Agent Stone had hung up. "Ooh that man infuriates me!" She said aloud as a lazy smile crept across her face
.

 
           If Sherry hadn't fallen into drugs and prostitution, she would have been a heartbreaker. The striking girl appearing before Danny looked nothing like the putrefied skeletal corpse in the autopsy photo that Agent Stone had provided. Her manifestation in the spirit realm reflected her as she would have been had drug addiction not touched her life. Her avocado green eyes sparkled with intelligence, while her wavy golden hair cascaded down her back. She was genuinely pretty, the type of girl who would have men vying for her attention. The fact that this vibrant young woman had succumbed to the streets and let herself beused to slake the lust of strange men made her story even more appalling
.

 
          Together, Danny and Sherry were standing on the corner of Lenox and Marble in a rundown section of Dallas, dilapidated housing all around them. The area had been as it had the day Sherry was abducted and slain, even though they were in the spirit realm. Everything from the pedestrians walking up and down the block to the flashing neon lights of the corner liquor store had been successfully recreated as Sherry saw it down to most minute detail
.

 
          Like the director on a movie set, Danny stood on the sidelines while things unfolded before her. Narcotics were traded for money in the open, citizens in fear of their lives ignoring the blatant obvious crimes around them. The drug addicted Senator's daughter stood outside the liquor store in a pack with other women of the night. Danny noted that most of the women in the group were Asian, Haitian, and of Mexican descent. Like Sherry, the other women appeared to be drugged their eyes glazed and unseeing. Sherry was the only white girl in the group and probably the only one that knew English. A Hispanic man, that Danny assumed was the women's pimp, looked on unconcerned. He sat on the hood of a square-shaped, Japanese import car, accented with tacky chrome accessories
.

 
           The car carrying Sherry's personal grim reaper appeared at the curb, smoke from the tail pipe indicating possible engine problems. Danny rounded the jalopy, noting the last eight numbers of the vehicle's VIN number displayed through the driver's side window. It may be possible for Stone to trace the vehicle using the VIN. She also memorized the license plate number, which more than likely had been stolen off another vehicle. She leaned into the driver's side window of the 1980s era Ford, eyeballing the face of the killer. Darkness was his ally because Danny couldn't discern much from his face savefor the scruffy wig and facial hair. There was no denying that his appearance was a deliberate disguise
.

 
           At first, an Asian woman approached the beater car, but the driver quickly shooed her away pointing directly at Sherry.

 
          So, he was looking for Sherry. Danny mused. Why the killer singled out Sherry was still a mystery. Her intuition told her that the killer wasn't just out to kill a white girl. There was definitely more going on than just a random serial killing. Something seemed out of order. There was a back story here, but it wasn't quite clear yet
.

 
          Despite still being a teenager, Sherry tried her best to walk seductively to the rattletrap. In seconds, Sherry and the man were gone, the wreck of a car leaving smoke in its wake
.

 
          For the fourth time Danny re-experienced Sherry's hard-hearted murder. With just a swift flash of the silver blade, the girl was on the ground in the makeshift grave, her life's blood seeping into the freshly dug earth. There was no emotion in the slaying as was typical with most serial killers. There was no rage, no anger, no hatred, just frigid, almost mechanical, motions
.

 
           Of course, he had protected his identity with latex gloves, the kind anyone can buy in any drugstore. This erased any chance of them retrieving any fingerprints. Danny dropped her head in her hands out of frustration. There wasn't a lot of information to go on, but she now had more Intel than those who had initiated the investigation. It was at least a start.

 
          Crouching beside Sherry's lifeless body, Danny felt a light touch on her shoulder. Though she wasn't able to verbalize her message, the girl had something to tell her
.

"What is it Sherry?" Danny asked
.

 
          Sherry touched a spot in thin air, the spirit realm returning them to the decrepit neighborhood. Their surroundings shifted like puzzle pieces falling into place. Like a desert mirage, the atmosphere became wavy and distorted, the environment resetting itself. Danny realized that they were just a block from where Sherry had been working her corner. A couple churches rested on opposite ends of the block surrounded by urban staples like a beauty supply, a check cashing store, and a cell phone retailer. Sherry's attention was drawn across the street where a family clinic was located
.