one set from his cleaning lady. She’d spent some time in jail a few years ago, but she said the Reverend wanted to give her a chance to make an honest wage. I believed her, but we’ll run a deeper check on her just to cross our t’s. No women are going to be involved in this. This is a good ole’ boys club. Women are as much of a minority to them as anyone.”
“I can’t see him opening the door and inviting in a group of men without some hesitation,” I said.
“No, but I could see him opening the door for one man. Especially if it was someone familiar. By all accounts, Oglesby was devoted to the church and his job of helping people. He wouldn’t have thought twice about getting a late start or his trip being ruined.”
Jack walked around the small space of the kitchen, painting the scene as I stood there quietly and let him think. It always amazed me that he wanted the slower pace of this job, because he was just so damned good at it.
“Oglesby was a friendly guy. He’d want to put his guest at ease.” Jack gestured to the two white coffee mugs. “The killer would want to get it done quickly though. The others were waiting on him, and there was always the chance a neighbor could come by. And the longer the perp waited, the more likely Oglesby would feel something was off. You can feel that kind of buzz in the air. So when Oglesby turned away to grab a couple of mugs and pour the coffee, he was given a quick injection to the back shoulder. He’s down before he can feel the sting.”
“There’s no way Oglesby could be moved by one man,” I said.
“No, that’s when the others showed up.” Jack walked to the back of the house and I followed. “They would have pulled the truck back here,” he said. “The treads match the ones we found at the dump site. They were gloved and they came up the hall to the kitchen to grab the body and take him out back. We found soil in the carpet in the hallway. They didn’t leave everything as tidy as they thought. I’ve got that blood sample taken from the ground. I’ll send it off to the lab in Richmond to see if it matches Oglesby. If it doesn’t, it could belong to one of our killers.”
I nodded as I followed him out the back door and down the three wooden stairs that led to an unfenced pack yard with patchy grass and plenty of shade trees. Jack turned on his flashlight and the beam settled on the ground not ten feet from the door. The tire tracks weren’t deep—just an impression surrounded by dozens of footprints in the dry dirt—but they were visible.
Jack stood with his hand on his hip with his jacket pushed back over his weapon so it didn’t get in the way. He shook his head and said, “All they’d have to do is throw a tarp over him until they reached the place they tortured and killed him. A three-man job. Two in the cab of the pickup and then the one who delivered the injection drove his own car. The whole thing wouldn’t take fifteen or twenty minutes from start to finish.”
“Something else about the drug they used on him,” I said. “Diprivan is only used during surgery by anesthesiologists. It can’t be acquired over the counter, and I’ve never heard of it being sold black market. There’s no demand for it.”
“So I’m looking for a doctor?” Jack asked.
“I’d say it’s a good possibility one of the killers has access to a hospital.”
“That’ll be fun,” he said. “Doctors are usually assholes. No offense.”
“Can’t argue with the truth.”
“We’ll hit the hospitals tomorrow. I can’t fit much more into one day. Let’s pack it in for the night.”
We headed around the side of the house and Jack relocked the front door with the deadbolt and made sure the crime scene tape was secure.
“You left all the stuff for S’mores at the funeral home,” I said once we were back in the car. “Don’t think you’re getting out of that one, my friend. I demand S’mores.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I
“I can’t see him opening the door and inviting in a group of men without some hesitation,” I said.
“No, but I could see him opening the door for one man. Especially if it was someone familiar. By all accounts, Oglesby was devoted to the church and his job of helping people. He wouldn’t have thought twice about getting a late start or his trip being ruined.”
Jack walked around the small space of the kitchen, painting the scene as I stood there quietly and let him think. It always amazed me that he wanted the slower pace of this job, because he was just so damned good at it.
“Oglesby was a friendly guy. He’d want to put his guest at ease.” Jack gestured to the two white coffee mugs. “The killer would want to get it done quickly though. The others were waiting on him, and there was always the chance a neighbor could come by. And the longer the perp waited, the more likely Oglesby would feel something was off. You can feel that kind of buzz in the air. So when Oglesby turned away to grab a couple of mugs and pour the coffee, he was given a quick injection to the back shoulder. He’s down before he can feel the sting.”
“There’s no way Oglesby could be moved by one man,” I said.
“No, that’s when the others showed up.” Jack walked to the back of the house and I followed. “They would have pulled the truck back here,” he said. “The treads match the ones we found at the dump site. They were gloved and they came up the hall to the kitchen to grab the body and take him out back. We found soil in the carpet in the hallway. They didn’t leave everything as tidy as they thought. I’ve got that blood sample taken from the ground. I’ll send it off to the lab in Richmond to see if it matches Oglesby. If it doesn’t, it could belong to one of our killers.”
I nodded as I followed him out the back door and down the three wooden stairs that led to an unfenced pack yard with patchy grass and plenty of shade trees. Jack turned on his flashlight and the beam settled on the ground not ten feet from the door. The tire tracks weren’t deep—just an impression surrounded by dozens of footprints in the dry dirt—but they were visible.
Jack stood with his hand on his hip with his jacket pushed back over his weapon so it didn’t get in the way. He shook his head and said, “All they’d have to do is throw a tarp over him until they reached the place they tortured and killed him. A three-man job. Two in the cab of the pickup and then the one who delivered the injection drove his own car. The whole thing wouldn’t take fifteen or twenty minutes from start to finish.”
“Something else about the drug they used on him,” I said. “Diprivan is only used during surgery by anesthesiologists. It can’t be acquired over the counter, and I’ve never heard of it being sold black market. There’s no demand for it.”
“So I’m looking for a doctor?” Jack asked.
“I’d say it’s a good possibility one of the killers has access to a hospital.”
“That’ll be fun,” he said. “Doctors are usually assholes. No offense.”
“Can’t argue with the truth.”
“We’ll hit the hospitals tomorrow. I can’t fit much more into one day. Let’s pack it in for the night.”
We headed around the side of the house and Jack relocked the front door with the deadbolt and made sure the crime scene tape was secure.
“You left all the stuff for S’mores at the funeral home,” I said once we were back in the car. “Don’t think you’re getting out of that one, my friend. I demand S’mores.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I
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