SACRIFICES (9 page)

              Todd smiles and looks at his watch. “Yeah that’ll work. I’ll see you then.” Todd walks to his office while Brad walks to the elevator carrying his favorite coffee cup that has
#1 DAD
printed on one side and a little league picture of his son on the other side.

BRAD ARRIVES AT THE LAB TO TALK TO OFFICER DENT

             
“Where’s the little guy?” Brad asks Stacey the lab assistant as he walks past her desk.

              “He’s in his office Mr. Jostler. He has those results you wanted all done.” Stacey smiles as she continues to enter data at her keyboard.

              Brad walks to the office of the ‘little guy’, a reverse nickname given to the biggest officer in the precinct, maybe the whole city. Lyle Dent’s a former linebacker and college wrestler at the University of Texas. He stands 6’ 4”, and weighs in at 305 pounds of pure unadulterated muscle. He religiously works out. A six foot four muscle bound black man that tips the scales at over 300 pounds you’d expect to be doing a different job then looking through microscopes and analyzing data on a computer screen.

              The truth is he loves it. His IQ exceeds the genius level, Valedictorian in college, National Honor Society, High School and College, National spelling bee champion every year of grade school, just to name a few accolades, and you could have a worse partner if you were ever in a bar fight. He’s known as the forces biggest teddy bear.

              “Knock, knock.” Brad taps the door to Lyle’s office.

              “Come in.” Lyle voices out in a deep baritone voice.

              Brad slowly opens the door and peeks around the edge of the door. “Little man, how’s it going?” Brad walks in and closes the door. He walks over and shakes the massive hand of Lyle and sits down in the chair in front of Lyle’s desk. Lyle smiles at his old friend.

              Brad leans back and asks as he kicks up his feet on the edge of the desk. “How’s that beautiful wife of yours doing? You know at the last picnic I could have sworn she was checking me out.
I saw her looking.”
Brad winks as he settles into his seat.

              “I thought I noticed that too. I gotta watch you especially now since the media women are referring to you as the
Sexy Chicago Detective.
” Lyle explains as he inter-locks his fingers behind his bald head and leans back in his oversize high back leather chair specially ordered to fit his huge body by the department.

              Brad frowns and lowers his eyebrows. “Where on earth did you hear that?” Brad reaches for a piece of hard candy in the dish on Lyle’s desk.
              Lyle smiles as he slowly rocks. “My wife and I heard it on some tabloid show the other night; you’re sort of like a rock star these days, without the musical talent that is.” Lyle smiles and continues to rock as he and Brad chuckle. “You know,
now
that I take good look at you,” He tilts his head. “You really are a good-looking man.”

              “Thank you…
I appreciate that
, now as much as I’d love to sit around and talk about how good looking I am…I’d really like to know what you found out for me on that letter.” Brad grins as he takes a sip of his coffee smiling from ear to ear.

              Lyle stands up and walks over to his filling cabinet. He pulls out a piece of paper and then sits back down in his chair. “Not much. I mean no prints besides Tammy’s on the letter it self. The envelope had several sets of prints. Most were hardly readable. The few that I was able to lift and print I ran through the system. Now as you know all federal postal workers have to have there fingerprints registered with the national database.” Brad nods his head. “So I only found the other prints to be those of registered postal workers.” Lyle leans back again and mentions. “There was one other thing. It’s probably nothing but I did find it. The ink that was used to print the letter as well as that particular font comes from an
incredibly
old printer. I mean with computers being so mainstream now a days this letter was printed on a
very
old printer with very old ink. The samples matched that of an old IBM Tri-Stars. It was one of the first personal home printers out on the market many years ago.” Lyle sighs. “I know it’s not much but it’s all I got buddy.”

              Brad stands up and says as he reaches back over his desk and shakes his hand again. “I do appreciate it.” Brad smiles and says. “And by the way, if anyone ever gives you any shit or bothers you, you just tell me about it. I’ll take care of it. You just come get me and I’ll protect you.”

              Lyle walks over to the door where Brad is standing. “Thanks a lot, that’s awfully nice of you. And sometimes I do get a little scared so the next time I’ll just give you a call to protect me.” Lyle smiles as he shakes Brad’s hand as he towers over the good size detective.

              Brad jokingly says. “If you can’t find my number just hit the speed dial at home. Your wife has me under sexy detective. I think it‘s number one.” Lyle smiles and puts him in a headlock and starts to mess up his hair. Brad pats him on the back then rubs his bald head. “I’ll see you later buddy.” He walks out carrying the report and the letter.

BRAD RETURNS UPSTAIRS TO TODD’S OFFICE

             
On the way to his office he stops by Tammy's and tells her as he lays the report on her desk. “There’s nothing on the letter so file this for me.” He hands her Lyle’s report and the letter they received.

              Tammy takes the report and the letter and tells him. “Ok.” She smiles and continues typing.

              Brad walks into Todd’s office and sees the chief and Betty Downs seated. He approaches Betty and leans down and gives her a hug. “Hi stranger.” Brad takes a seat next to her.

              Betty Downs, a 14-year veteran that majored in psychology at the University of ITSU. Betty thinks, eats, and sleeps police work. Not to keen on the day-to-day operations of a normal policewoman, she deals mostly with the silent job of the police force. That is what goes on in the head of suspects and victims.

              Outstanding at her job she's been responsible for finding flaws in testimonies as well as finding facts without much to go on. She’s been married for 15 years with one child, a stepdaughter that her husband had from his first marriage. Betty treats her like her own raising her since she was seven. Betty spends a lot of time with her grand daughter who just turned two. Being a very young thirty-six year old grandmother she gets teased a lot by other officers. Many friends on the force call her 'Granny'. A nickname she wears with great pride.

             
Chief Jason Carlin leans back. “I think we finally found something.” Todd stands up and hands Brad a folder that has a bunch of old headlines in it. The first one he takes out says.
‘SEARCH FOR MISSING COUPLE CONTINUES.’
The second one he turns over says.
‘ILLINOIS PLAYERS QUESTIONED IN DISAPPEARANCE.’
Brad continues to look through the faded old headlines from the Champaign Gazette.

              Brad looks up and asks. “What’s all of this about?” He continues to look through the many headlines and articles and comes to the one on the bottom of the stack that reads.
‘ILLINOIS PLAYERS EXONERATED IN DISAPPEARANCE.’

Betty speaks up and says. “Back in 1985 when I was a sophomore at the ITSU, there was a story that came out around the time of the Championship season. The rumor was at a big party shortly after the National Championship a couple turned up missing. They were
never
seen again. Some of people at the party said that they seen the two kids there at the
bond fire-slash party
. Since it got a lot of press and so did the football team, obviously since the couple was last seen at the party everyone just kind of linked it together? The press tried to say that some of the players were involved. Nothing ever came out of it but there were rumors that the team might have had something to do with it.” Betty explains as she looks at the guys.

              “So what’s the connection?” Brad raises his hands in confusion and wonders as he looks at the chief.

              The chief leans forward from behind Todd’s desk and says. “That’s what we need to find out.” Todd walks over and takes a seat by Betty and Brad.

              Betty continues. “It just so happens that some of the people at the party said that some of the players got really drunk and started to bully on some of the guys. One of those guys just so happened to be one of the kids that turned up missing,” Brad, Todd and the chief listen to her every word trying to piece this puzzle together. “When these rumors started to make it into the press the Dean of the Athletic Department used his influences to get the story shelved and keep it out of the press. His name is Dr. Charles Speck. He had a brother on the police force and convinced the Champaign Police that the stories were just that,
stories
. Now a lot of parents and people of the community thought that the stories should have been checked into a little more and since he didn’t they tried to get him fired. They said he was more interested in protecting these star athletes then finding the missing kids.”

              Brad crosses his leg and puts his hand on his chin as he glances at a few more headlines. “I’d bet he’s the Speck that the letter I got was referring to.”

              The chief grins and explains with a touch of sarcasm. “I would bet
yes
myself. The Illinois State Police just found his body after an anonymous call brought them to the sight of the big bond fire years ago. He was found naked over a fallen tree, with two gunshot wounds to the back of the head ‘execution style’, that’s not all Brad, this son of a bitch also cut off his dick and shoved it down his throat. ‘
Sorry Betty’
, and I’d bet the farm that those slugs they pull match the others.” The chief sighs loudly.

              Brad stands up and walks toward the window. He shakes his head. “I wonder why he was naked, Jesus Christ. Is there some kind of significance there?” Brad sighs and then looks at Betty with a smile. “How come you never mentioned this story before?”

              Betty shrugs her shoulders. “The story has taken on a sort of urban legend. But the truth is I never linked the story to what was going on. How could I have? It wasn’t even mentioned in the press until yesterday about the guys that were killed playing on the team together.”

              “I guess your right. So what did the students think happened,” Brad holds up a few articles. “I can see what the press was saying.” Brad inquires hoping to find anything to help them solve this case.

              Betty turns toward him and explains the not so flattering story. “The students thought that some of the guys raped the girl and then killed them both. But that was just stories from people going off of the rumors.”

              “What do you think happened? I mean personally not as a cop.” Brad hopes that with her being a student at the university during the time of this story maybe she has some idea about its authenticity.

              “Last week if you’d ask me that question I would have said it was just crazy rumors. But now after what’s happened to the guys on the team I really don’t know. I never knew any of the team, or the kids that turned up missing so my view is just someone who heard stories and rumors and what I’ve read. That’s all I can base my opinion on. I do remember the community being outraged when the guys were all totally
exonerated
without a real investigation, I do remember that much.”
              The chief stands up. “Now kids let’s go with this. Let’s try to find anyone that might have been at that party that night. I want to know whom the police talked to back then and I want us to talk to them
now
. I want to know everything we can about the original investigation and dig up everything until we find
something
. Does everyone understand me?” Everyone nods his or her head. Before he closes the door he sticks his head back in. “Let’s find out what the hell is going on.”
 

CHAPTER 7

PEORIA, ILLINOIS OUTSIDE THE LOOMIS RESIDENCE 9:37 P.M.

    
I can see the unmarked squad car parked across the street. The heat is suffocating. The temperature is about 90 degrees on this sultry evening. Peoria’s finest are about two or three minutes away from taking a coffee break at the doughnut shop just down the road. From the bushes next door to Jessica and Josh’s home I watch the police. I know their every move. Yet they don’t even know I’m here.

              When the police leave they will be gone for about seven to eight minutes. That’s all the time I need to take care of the business I’m here for. Jessica is gone for the evening at a friend’s house. I know she won’t be back until at least 10:15-10:20 max. That means that as soon as the men in blue make their call to Mr. Loomis and pull away I have about five minutes to be safe and get away undetected.

              I can see the light from the officer’s cell phone as he dials the Loomis residence. After letting Josh know their going to be gone for a few minutes they'll start their unmarked car and make the short trek to the doughnut shop to fill there thermoses with coffee and their guts with donuts; most likely jelly filled.