Chapter IX

uck is something we all speak and joke about, and, we've all claimed to be lucky.  Whether unlucky or very lucky, we are all familiar with the term.

But the truth of the matter is that luck is merely a matter of coincidences.  And some people don't believe in coincidences.  Danny was living, or rather, dying proof of same.

We are all victims of circumstance.  Most of the time the circumstances are all of our own doing, resulting from choices we've made.  The person looking back at one in the mirror is the person who chose the way that person would go, and, while a lot of collateral damage is done, the person in the mirror is the one who will ultimately receive the rewards of the choices they made.

You win some, you lose some.  But time and chance happens to all.  Keep playing with fire and you will get burned.  And Danny, had played with a lot of fire.  But he played with too many when he played in Mary's garden.  Even though he called her mom, and even though he told her about the disks and the weapons, she still knew she would take him out when the time was right and she'd had her fun with him.

But she never figured on her own self being taken out.  And she was by far the worst of the lot.  She had framed her husband, Alex and the state had taken him out for her.  The two 'he' killed, had actually been killed by her.  How else could one put a stiletto through the heart of someone still buckled into their car?  They had to have known the person to whom they were speaking.

William had figured out a lot of these details, and had proof Alex hadn't killed her two lovers.  Because the results of the knife attack of the third man she killed with her stiletto was identical to the first two.  And Alex knew it, but wouldn't rat her out.  But she made the mistake of killing another man after Alex had already been executed.  The evidence?  The same knife wounds.

Len and William had met for lunch a couple of days after Lane told them of all that was going on with Mary Padian.  Lens phone rang just as they got their sandwiches.  "Ok, I'll be there in thirty minutes" he finished.

"Some kids were playing around an abandoned mine and one fell in.  The rescue by the Confined Spaces Authority contacted the Sheriff stating he smelled something dead in the mine.  His mission at that time was to rescue the kid so he didn't take the time to look around, but knew the smell of death" Len explained.

"Since there was a hint as to one of the victims being thrown in a mine in relation to this case, you wanna meet me out there and be present when they bring whoever it is out?" he asked.

"Yeah" answered William.  "I think that would be very interesting."

In less than an hour William had picked up Sharon and pulled up to the old mine just a few minutes before Len and Melinda arrived.  The body recovery team already had two filled body bags laid out behind the coroners vehicle, and were just emerging from the mine with the third and a fourth had been located.

Sheriff Jimson was conversing with Chief Coker as the two couples walked up.  They stayed back from the Sheriff and the Chief until they were motioned forward.  Chief Coker moved toward them as they strode up and said "three in bags, one going in as we speak, and two more that are in plain sight.

The body they were putting into the bag at that time was cut down the chest, sternum missing with the ends of ribs which been cut probably with garden shears, and the eyes were gone. Beyond that, the flesh of corpse was pretty far gone to tell more without the knowledge an ME.

"Unless I miss my guess" Chief Coker was saying.  "That would be Danny Grayson."

The corpse was on a light litter and was placed on the ground by the rescue team.  The coroner was scissoring the pockets open, then cut the straps holding the belt on.  Pulling the belt from around the corpse, he begin to go over the belt and found a little strip of paper tucked into a little sheath sewn on the inside of it.

He unfolded the piece of paper which was readable although stained with body fluids.  There were two addresses and a number on it.  William copied the information and then took a picture.  In less than an hour the final body was removed from the cave.  It was a female right around twenty or younger.

She had a gunshot wound to the right shoulder just under the collar bone.  Certainly nothing to die from.  But her back left side had been excised.  "Probably a kidney 'harvest'" thought William.

Len checked the coordinates of the addresses written on the piece of paper found on Danny's body and told William, "you take that one and I'll take this one.  If either of us finds anything of significance, we can give each other some help.  See ya at our place for dinner 'bout six?"

Lane and Raine, as they had become affectionately called, were at Len and Melindas place when William and Sharon pulled into the drive.  William had begun parking out away from all other cars and backing in giving him the first out opportunity in case of some emergency.  It had already proven valuable to him a couple of times.

They were nearly through with dinner when the doorbell rang.  Melinda returned with Victor & Janice Bension.  "Just thought we'd drop by since we were in town" Victor said then finished with "supper ready?"  Before they sat down Melinda had them a plate and silverware settings in the empty places around the table.

After seating, Victor started helping himself.  He was 'home' and proved his comfort there with his 'family' friendly behavior, passed his plate and William started dishing food into his plate.  "Ok," he said.  "Bring me up to speed."

All were adding into the story as each thought of things the others had forgotten.  Victor ate and grunted 'uh huh' as he packed away as many details in his brain as he had bites of supper in his belly.  As of yet the Coroner had not began to work on the cadavers as far as identification and autopsy.

Three of the corpses were long enough dead that they would yield few details, but they were sure about Danny.  And according to a quick go over on the corpse, he hadn't died from the bullet wounds.  Not by a long shot.

The address Len had run down was a little shack of a house on the east side of the tracks.  The occupant yielded nothing when she came to the door.  She knew of no one named Danny nor any of the Padians, Bradshires nor Blantons.  Stony faced and tight lipped, she had answered each question with a simple nod of her head.

Len and Melinda thanked the woman and turned to go.  As they turned, Len said "Oh, by the way, we found Danny's body today."  The woman burst into tears and sobbed violently for a few gulps, then got almost into the house when she collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

Melinda immediately dropped down beside her putting her arms around her.  After a few seconds they got her onto her feet, then into the house.  Grabbing some tissues she sat down at the table with her while she cried.  Len was looking around as much as he could standing beside Melinda seated at the table.  "Is there anything we can do for you?" she asked.

The woman, nearly through sobbing at this point, with downcast eyes, tears still flowing readily down her face, shook her head.  Melinda was still trying to get some information from her.  "Did Danny have any scars that could positively identify his body?  Or tats?"

The woman looked at Melinda and said "he had a tat on his right upper arm of a pearl handled revolver entwined in a red Rose."  Then she simply got up from the table, walked over to the door, opened it and just stood there waiting for Len and Melinda to get the hint and leave.

Melinda dropped a card on the table as she stood up and as she stepped through the door, said "if you want to talk give me a call.  Danny had several organs missing."

Tears instantly rolled down her face as she pushed the door to.  They could hear her wailing behind the closed door.  The lady would self destruct within the week if something weren't done to intervene.

Melinda then began to speak in a soft voice from outside the door.  "Can we take you somewhere, call someone, do something for you?"  The woman did not even answer and shuffled forlornly out of sight into another room of the little shack.

Now at a meeting with the The Team, Sharon was explaining "The address we found was a deserted commercial building that was once a Pep Boys Store, probably closed within the last year.  We'd like to do a search on that building.

Victor said "I can get you your search warrant so we can search it as thoroughly as you want.  I'll make the call in a few minutes and we can start tomorrow on the search.  You have any ideas William?"

"Yeah, I think they will be found somewhere around the vent of the women's restroom, probably in the attic under the floor" Will responded.

"OK.  That pretty much lines out our day tomorrow.  See you there at eight."

William looked at his watch and they'd sat around the table jawing for over three hours, speculating, throwing ideas back and forth.  But they left with a plan.

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