Blue Magic by David Hesse - HTML preview

Epilogue

Two bodies were on the ground covered in white sheets. A new, white Chevrolet Impala convertible with red interior, was parked along the side of Menomonee River Parkway, with its top down.

Hap and I were watching Harry and a guy from the Milwaukee Police Department’s crime lab, named Cal Davis, pour some white liquid on the ground.

Hap asked, “What are those?”

“Moulages,” Harry answered.

“What are moulages?” Hap asked.

“Plaster castings. Unfortunately, these are too rough for identification. But, we can still tell from the size and depth of the footprints the murderer is tall and heavily built but that’s about all.”

Harry bent over and pushed aside the tall grass, growing alongside the freshly poured moulages. He took a pencil out of his pocket and stuck it in a shell casing. “Hmm, a .243. The killer must have dropped it.”

“What’s it used for?” I asked.

“Varmint hunting, Coyotes mainly. A lot of kids and women use it for deer hunting because it has less recoil than the .30-06 or the .30-30. It’s popular with small-framed hunters like you and women, Max. It doesn’t cause over penetration. Some of our training officers have been testing it in the Browning A Bolt .243.”

“So, how many does this make?” I asked. Harry wasn’t listening.

“What?”

“I said, how many murders does this make that you attribute to the Midnight Rider?”

“Come on, follow me. We’ll let Cal here finish up.”

Hap and I followed Harry back to the road.

“Nice wheels, don’t you think? Only 150 miles on it. If you look closely, you can see a shit load of blood on the red vinyl seats but don’t touch nothing. The blood has already dried and turned black.”

Neither Hap nor I had any intention of getting a closer look. We took him at his word. Harry pulled out a package of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum and unwrapped a piece and stuck it in his mouth. “Kathy made me quit smoking and now my teeth are going to rot out from all the sugar in this fucking gum; plus I gained ten pounds.”

“It looks good on you,” I lied.

He looked at me and frowned, “Sure it does. To answer your question this couple makes numbers seven and eight but there is a slight difference. They were shot from a distance and then dragged out of their car. It looks like the girl was sexually assaulted. We found her with her panties next to her body and her skirt hiked over her head. Finger marks along the side of her neck leads us to believe she was strangled. She was also shot in the right shoulder. My guess? He wanted her alive while he played with her. Her boyfriend was shot once in the face. Whoever it is, he’s a pretty good shot. Cal will get a trajectory and distance so we can scour the area for any evidence. Maybe he dropped a Twinkie’s wrapper or something. I’m surprised we found that shell. Uncharacteristically sloppy on his part, if it’s the same guy, but I have my doubts. This is a first involving a rifle. The only things that match are the location, the time of the attack, and the fact the girl was sexually assaulted.”

“Isn’t there any other place around here for young people to park? Don’t they read the papers or listen to the news?” Hap asked.

“Good question. I don’t know. By the way, Max, Dr. Lundgren stopped in to see me yesterday. I can see why Rocco lies on her couch and lets her manipulate his mind. She is hot.”

“She doesn’t manipulate minds, Harry. She tries to get patients to come to terms with issues that cause them to have certain fears mostly sexual in nature.”

“She must have fun with you.”

“What was she doing in your office? Did you ar