Author's Note: The author does not condone unsafe sexual practices and their use here should not be construed otherwise. As the saying goes, "Cover the stump before you hump."
*
Dana Wartenburg had been a cop for twenty years but scenes like this never got easier. She was standing in a heavily wooded area of Sundem's Nature Preserve gazing at the decomposed body of a teen-aged girl. It took every ounce of self-control she had not to turn away and get sick to her stomach. The scene would bother most people but was even worse for her because, despite the condition of the body, she 'knew' it was Jennifer Butler, a girl who'd been missing for several months.
She remembered being called out to investigate the girl's disappearance back at the end of summer break. Jen had gone out on her bicycle one Saturday morning and never returned. Though Dana never admitted it to anyone other than her diary, she knew from the outset that they'd never find the girl alive. She never claimed to be psychic but after all these years, she had learned to listen to that inner voice when it spoke to her. Even 'knowing' what she did, she still worked the case vigilantly. In the end, it was a pair of hikers who found Jen's naked body, dumped in the woods.
"Dana."
The voice came from behind her to the left. She turned and noticed her partner, Shawn, standing with a gentleman she'd never seen before.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"This is Dr. Darryl Johnson. He's a forensic entomologist from the university."
Out of habit she extended her right hand to him in a greeting.
"Nice to meet you, Dr. Johnson. I'm Dana Wartenburg," she said, taking a long, appraising look at him.
He appeared to be in early 50's with fairly short brown hair and inquisitive brown eyes that he hid behind fashionable glasses. She guessed him to be about 5'11" tall and figured he'd probably weigh in at a trim 175 pounds. He was certainly dressed appropriately for tramping out in the woods. Well-worn hiking boots encased his feet and his jeans bore the evidence of kneeling at length. He wore a jersey knit turtleneck under a plaid flannel shirt and a khaki vest with many pockets over that.
"Oh, please call me Darryl."
"Okay, Darryl, I've never met a forensic entomologist before so I have no clue why you're here."
"Well, I'm here because the Commissioner asked me to come and help out."
His voice was serious but she detected a slight twinkle in his eye.
"And how do you do that?"
"I study the insect life in the area to help determine the time of death as well as other factors that could lead you to your killer."
Her eyebrows shot up in amazement. The case still hadn't been officially labeled a homicide and yet this man assumed that the victim had been murdered.
"Killer?"
"This isn't my first case, detective."
"Well," Shawn said, "Now that you two have finished sniffing each other."
She shot him a look that she hoped would quiet him.
"Okay, Darryl," she said pointing in the direction of a tall dark haired woman who was wearing a blue baseball cap, "That's Amy Eisenhour, who is heading up our forensics investigation. She's the one you need to talk to."
Someone else called her name and she excused herself before wandering off to learn that the press was waiting for her statement. Even though the nature preserve was over seventy-five miles away from the last place Jen had been seen, the speculation was high that the body they'd found was hers. She spent five minutes giving half answers to questions about who and what they'd found. The media assumed that since she was there and that she was the lead investigator in the disappearance of this college sophomore, the police had to have found her. She assured them that as soon as they were able to make a positive identification, they'd release the name of the victim but at the present time they just didn't know enough to say for certain. She had done this enough that she generally didn't get caught off-guard by questions but one reporter managed it that day.
"Detective Wartenburg, why is Dr. Johnson here?"
"Who?" she asked, momentarily unable to figure out why anyone would be asking about him.
"Dr. Johnson, the bug expert."
"He's here at the request of the Commissioner Carradine and we welcome his expertise."
Fortunately, at that moment, she saw Shawn waving his arms wildly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm needed elsewhere now. We'll keep you updated with any information we discover," she announced and then walked away.
That night Dana sat in her office and stared at her computer. She'd just finished writing up all her notes and there was one final thing she had to do before going home. She started her investigation of Dr. Johnson and was mildly surprised by what she found. Degrees from Auburn and Louisiana State Universities were somewhat surprising, as he bore no trace of a southern accent when he spoke. She poked around some more and finally discovered the real reason why the commissioner had called him.
Four years ago a developer had discovered the body of an elderly woman buried in a shallow grave on land that was slated to become a housing addition in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dr. Johnson was teaching at North Carolina State University at that time and he helped in the investigation. "Bug Doc Solves Murder Mystery" was the headline of the article from the Charlotte Observer.
She sat back in her chair and recalled the stains on Darryl's jeans. She knew when she saw them that they hadn't been acquired locally. Then she remembered a friend who lived near Charlotte talking about the red clay soil they had out there and the pieces of the puzzle all fell together.
"Okay, Dana," she said to herself, "Maybe you can cut this guy some slack since he obviously knows what he's doing."
A few days later dental records confirmed her gut instinct that they'd found Jen and the autopsy revealed some gruesome facts about the case that led the police to rethink a lot of the assumptions they'd made which had her feeling like she was back to square one. Just when she was ready to bang her head against the wall of her office one morning the phone rang.
"Wartenburg,"
"Detective, this is Darryl. Do you have some free time this afternoon?"
"What's up?"
"I've found something you'll want to see."
She glanced at her watch and saw it was almost noon.
"Sure thing. I'm going to grab lunch on the way over. Can I bring you anything?"
"No thanks."
This wasn't the first time she'd spoken with Darryl since their initial meeting in the woods. He had been very good about keeping her apprised of his progress, or lack thereof and every conversation they had seemed to get a little friendlier. One night they even found themselves having supper at the same diner and decided to share a table.
They talked about North Carolina and his work at the university. She wasn't surprised to hear he knew her uncle who had been a Chemistry professor there for many years, but he seemed surprised that she was related to Hal even though she didn't think he should have been. In addition to sharing a last name, both of them had the ability to get completely wrapped up in a project to the exclusion of everything else. He commented that he had seen that trait as she doggedly worked to find out who had killed Jen.
They were both surprised to find that a long time had passed while they talked about how they'd gotten to their respective positions in their careers. She admitted that her single-mindedness had cost her marriage since her husband had wanted a more traditional wife. The way in which he indicated his sympathy indicated that his own marriage wasn't exactly rock-solid at the moment though he didn't mention specifically that this was the case.
They sat for several minutes not saying a word, just sipping their drinks and trying not to admit that there was a cloud of unresolved sexual tension swirling around them. She finally suggested that they'd better leave before the cook threw them out. As she walked out of the diner, she was surprised to see Darryl follow right behind her all the way to her car. She supposed he was just being chivalrous though she thought it was a bit unnecessary as the well-lit parking lot was virtually empty and she was an experienced police officer.
