Cat and Mouse
By Terri D. Thomas
Part 1
The ringing phone jolted her from her sound sleep. Untangling her right hand from the sheets, Cassy St. John reached out and fumbled for the phone trying to grab it before the evil sound could pierce her brain a second time. She failed.
The second ring caused her to cringe. Her hand finally connected with the receiver. She cleared her throat and brought the instrument to her ear. "Hello," she croaked.
"Rise and shine, Partner."
"God, Thomas, do you have any earthly idea what time it is?"
"Yep. Do you?"
Cassy opened one eye and looked at the alarm clock. "It's four o'clock in the morning. What do you want?"
"You, Sweetheart?" Thomas Ryan growled.
Cassy's second eyelid flew open. "What?"
Her partner's laugh echoed through the phone. "Knew that would get your attention." The voice was suddenly serious. "Dispatch just called. A DB washed up on the innercoastal. We're on call, remember?"
Cassy pushed herself up in bed with her free hand. "Where at?"
"Right under Flagler. I'm on my way now."
Cassy pushed the covers away from her body. "Give me thirty."
"See you there."
Cassy stifled a yawn and stretched. Glancing at the clock for a second time, she pushed down the slight regret that she hadn't picked a normal eight to five job.
Tom kneeled down in the sand and immediately felt the ground's dampness penetrate the knees of his jeans. He inhaled, instinctively holding his breath as he lifted the plastic sheet which covered the body. He had already pictured in his mind what the remains would look like before his eyes witnessed the horror. He had seen enough victims of drowning during his years on the force. The water and the sea life it contained always did a job on a corpse.
Sterling Morton had told him that judging by the deterioration of the body it had been submerged in the ocean for many days. Not a pleasant thought. His first glance at the victim confirmed Morton's conclusions and immediately caused the bile to rise in his throat. He swallowed deeply and pushed it back down. Closing his eyes, he pushed his disgust and shock aside, forcing his logical mind to take control.
He was looking at what was left of a woman. There was no way to tell her age. Most of her face was. . .missing. . .eaten away, probably. Fighting to keep control of his professionalism, he looked at the body from head to toe. She was tall. . .5'8" or 5'9". . .slender. Her hair was slightly damp, but streaks of dark blond and brown were apparent. Tom lifted a lifeless eyelid. A brown, unseeing eye stared back. Tom swallowed. He averted his attention to the rest of the body. She was dressed in a pale blue sweater and jeans. Morton had already made sure that her hands and bare feet had been covered with plastic bags to prevent any contamination of evidence.
He glanced back at Sterling, who was standing behind him, hastily writing notes. "Any ID?" Tom asked.
"No. . .nothing. She's a Jane Doe for now." The medical examiner kneeled next to Tom and gently lifted the victim's plastic-covered left hand, holding it up to the spot light which had been planted in the sand next to the victim. "I might be able to pull some partial prints. . .if we're lucky. There's a wedding ring. That might help."
"And if we're real lucky, she might actually be listed in the NCIC database." Tom shook his head. "But we're never that lucky. The chances of her having a record are slim to none."
Morton nodded silently. "I'll do the autopsy this morning."
Tom looked at the body again. "Cause of death?"
Sterling shrugged. "Other than drowning? At this point, your guess is as good as mine. There's no obvious sign of foul play. It may have just been an accident. She may have just fallen and drowned."
Tom glanced up at the Flagler Bridge which loomed overhead, connecting this part of Palm Beach to the mainland. "Suicide maybe?"
"Maybe. But I doubt if she jumped from Flagler. The current's too strong. Her body would have been carried a lot further down the coast. That is. . .if she wasn't snagged up on something."
"Who found her?"
"The couple over there." Morton pointed to a middle-aged couple standing near a patrol car.
He lowered the covering back over the body and pushed himself to his feet. Leaving Morton with the body, Tom made his way to the couple. The woman was leaning heavily into the man's protective embrace. Both looked pale.
The officer who had been taking their statement deferred his position to the detective. Tom gave the couple a reassuring smile. "I'm Sergeant Tom Ryan. You found the body?"
The man nodded. "I'm Frank Elder. This is my wife, Paula. We. . .we're here on vacation."
"I'm sorry that you had to witness this," Tom empathized.
"It. . .it was horrible," the dark-haired woman whispered.
"I know, Ma'am. I need to ask you some questions, though."
They both nodded their agreement. "Where was the body when you found it?"
"Right there. . .but partly. . .partly in the water. I pulled her. . .out. I thought maybe. . .I could help. . . she might be alive. But she wasn't." The man closed his eyes, clearly remembering the horrific sight.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing here. . .this isn't a popular tourist destination."
The woman gave him a guilt-filled smile. "We had a late dinner and decided to go for a walk. We were looking for someplace. . .someplace different. . .private."
Tom nodded his understanding. He saw the headlights of Cassy's Porsche as it pulled next to his Mustang. Tom waved the officer back over and then turned to the couple. "This officer will finish taking your statement. I'm sorry you had to see this."
The couple nodded and the patrolman continued the interview.
Tom walked towards his partner and smiled when he saw what she held in her hand. "Bless you," he whispered as he took the hot coffee from her.
"I figured you hadn't had a chance to get some on the way." Cassy glanced at the area of the beach which had now been encompassed by crime scene tape. "What do we have?"
He motioned for her to follow him to the body. "We have a woman. Morton guesses by the deterioration of the body that she's been in the water for a few days."
Cassy cringed at the thought. "Bad?" Tom nodded silently. "What else?"
"Not a lot. There are no apparent signs of foul play, but with the condition of the body. . ." his voice trailed off.
Cassy shook her head, knowing her partner's meaning. "Suicide?"
"It's a possible. Morton just can't say for sure until the autopsy's completed."
Cassy squatted down next to the tarp-covered body. She reached out and lifted the plastic from the still form. Tom had been telling the truth. It was bad. "Oh God," she whispered.
"I hate drownings," Ryan muttered. "They're almost as bad as fire."
Cassy nodded her agreement. She looked at the body. The clothing appeared to be intact. "Doesn't look like she was assaulted. . .sexually or otherwise." She glanced back at her partner. "ID?"
"Nope. Morton's going to try for fingerprints."
"That's a long shot."
"No choice. . .at least not for now," Sterling said as he approached the detectives. "You finished?" he asked.
Cassy stood. "Yeah." She turned her attention back to Tom. "Who found her?"
Her partner pointed to the couple. "Frank and Paula Elder. They're here on vacation. Some trip, huh?"
Cassy looked at the distraught couple. "No kidding. Did they tell you anything?"
"Nothing useful. The body was partly in the water. He pulled it on shore and tried to administer help."
Two of Morton's assistants moved past the blond detective. One spread out a body bag while the other began the process of preparing the corpse for transportation.
End Part 1
To Part 2