Key West Gone into the Night by Elizabeth Hilleren (universal ebook reader .TXT) 📕

“I understand. I’ll go back the way I came and see what’s up that end.”

A police boat pulled up and the officer on the boat radioed back to Rosario.

“The medical examiner and Detective Sharkey are on their way. We’ll wait for them to give the okay to move the body.”

Sharkey pulled up and headed for Rosario. “What have we got here?”

“He’s out there. A floater possibly, the depth of the water is low. He might have landed on a submerged tree branch or something.”

“Great.” Sharkey shook his head. “I have a bad feeling coming that I can identify the guy.”

“He’s part of the murder case of the woman?” Rosario asked.

“Yeah, that’s my bet.”

Frank Demonte pulled the coroner’s van up and he looked out into the water. The aquatics boat came over and picked the man up. He recorded the weather conditions and the temperature of the water.

“Okay, let’s get the exact GPS coordinates and the depth of the water.”  The men climbed down into the water and secured the body on a gurney.

“Load him up and take him back to where you picked me up,” Frank said.

The men took the gurney and set it on the edge of the embankment. Becky pulled up in her car and headed toward them.

“Crap,” Sharkey murmured. “That’s Carl Abbott. They’re playing with us. They left him to be found.”

“You sure that’s him?”

“Yes. I know his face, and that’s his wedding ring. It’s Black Hills gold and unique. I’m surprised they left it on his hand.”

“Maybe you’re right, they wanted you to recognize him,” Frank said. “Help me turn him over, Becky.”

Frank examined the body. Well, he’s been in the water for at least six hours. Look at his neck,” Frank said, tilting the head away from him. “There’s a small hole, made by what, I don’t know.”

“We have a syringe in evidence, found where he was last seen,” Sharkey said. “Do a toxicology on him. I’m betting they will match.”

Becky and Frank turned the body over and found a wallet in his pocket.

“We have an ID. It says Carl Abbott.” She reached into the front pocket and found change and a set of keys.

“All right, let’s get him into the van and I’ll start the autopsy as soon as I can.  I’ll be in touch, Sharkey. There are some things about this case that need answers as soon as possible.”

Frank drove off and Becky followed in her car.

Officer Rosario walked over to Sharkey. “We now have the coordinates where the body was found. There’s a road that follows the canal. Want to take a look at it?”

“Sure, I’ll follow you.”  Sharkey followed Rosario around to the opposite side of the canal.

An area had been cordoned off to the entrance of a dirt road that went down to the water’s edge. They walked along the edge of the road to the water line. Sharkey took pictures. There were two sets of footprints going towards the water and back to the main road.

Casts were taken of the shoe prints and tire tracks while Sharkey went to the water’s edge. At the water’s edge the grass that grew close to the shore was trampled. He took more pictures then walked back to his car.

Rosario walked over to Sharkey. “I’ll get the casts to the lab.”

“Okay, I’ll be at the morgue for awhile if you come up with anything else.”

*    *    *

Frank met Sharkey at the door to the autopsy room.

“Well, you were right, there was no attempt to hide the identity of the body. Becky has what we found on the table over there.”

Sharkey moved over to the table. A wallet, watch, and ring were on absorbent paper drying out. Next to them was a set of keys and loose change.

“I’ll take these over to the lab and get them processed.”

“I can tell you this. There was no water in his stomach. I’d say that means he was dead before he hit the water. That would support your thought that they killed him then dumped him. I examined his neck carefully. The needle penetrated the carotid vein, the drug went directly into the bloodstream and the heart stopped.

“If you’re assuming that both fathers and the mother of the children are dead, they may think that they’re in a better position to deal with the children. Who’s left to get in their way?” Frank asked.

“The grandparents. That’s it,” Sharkey said. “And that’s Harris and his ex-wife.  I’ll check about Carl’s next of kin. I better get going. Thanks, Frank. Let me know if anything else comes up.”

“Will do,” Frank said. “By the way, give Harris my best. He’s in our prayers.”

“He’ll appreciate that,” Sharkey said. He took the evidence and headed straight to the processing lab.

“Gretchen, can we get duplicates of the keys on the ring here?”

“Sure, I’ll send them down to the automotive lab. It will only take a few minutes.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in my office.”

Sharkey called Stephanie to see if Carl had any next of kin without raising suspicions.

“Mrs. Williams, I’m trying to fill out the background details for my report. The paperwork is a pain and I had one quick question about the children’s relations. What do you know about Carl’s parents?”

“As far as I can remember his parents are older.  Carl is older than Susan by about eight years. They came to my house for Christmas when Tyler was just born. They were nice enough, but I got the impression that they didn’t approve of Susan. Betty is not well, you know.  I think she had him later in life and she said she had heart problems after that.  That was the only time I saw them.”

“You know where they live?”

“Yes, Scranton, Pennsylvania.