Tribes of Time, page 7
“Doc, I think I have something.”
“Either you have something or you don’t.” she replied, but not in a sarcastic manner. She understood that young archeologist get excited over little things, and want to be the one to find something significant. Dr. Hearne walked over to the plot where the student was working and knelt down; being cognizant not to trample anything. She looked down into the grid pane the student was referring to and saw what she believed to be an ankle. She took her brush and forceps to clear away more of the debris; and discovered it was the right ankle of a Caucasian; sex unknown. She stood up and instructed the student to keep working while she went to notify the Sheriff of their findings. When she arrived at the command post, she waved Vernon away from the rest of the men.
“Have you found something Doc?”
“Yes we have, it’s inconclusive right now as to the identity or sex of the person; but we have uncovered a human foot as of this moment.”
“When will you know more Doc, I have a personal stake in this. One of the missing men is related to me.” She didn’t know that Vernon was personally involved with this case other than being the Sheriff.
“I didn’t know Sheriff, I’m sorry to hear that. We’ll do our best to get as much uncovered today without diminishing the integrity of our work. I hope you can understand that.” Vernon thought about asking her if he could come down to the site and assist with the recovery, but remembered her ground rules prior to assuming the scene.
“I understand Doc, I know you’ll do your best; I don’t want you to cut corners on my behalf. Just work as fast as you can without compromising yourself.” She didn’t particularly care for him, but she felt a pang of empathy for his situation. It would be hard working a scene not knowing if the body you found was a family member, she just knew she couldn’t do it. She walked back to the site and resumed assisting the student on her side of the algorithm. After about an hour, the entire leg up to the hip was visible. The process was painstaking due to the necessary evidence recovery procedures. Each piece of evidence that was recovered directly from body had to be collected and placed in appropriate containers marked with the case number, sample number and what type of specimen it contained; the date and time collected, who made the collection, where on the body the sample was recovered from; the town nearest the body recovery site and state. Dr. Hearne called the remaining students and had them assume their role in the recovery process. She pulled one of them from their assignment and had him assist with the excavation. At about 7:45 pm the light was quickly fading and she had the lights brought in and set up. The team continued working through the night until they became physically exhausted from being stooped over and the humidity. At about 2:00 am she called the work to a halt so they could rest before someone made a critical error. They covered the excavation site with a tarp and retired to the housing tents to rest.
Early the next morning they resumed their work with earnest. By 3:00 pm the team had uncovered a mass of entangled bodies, she believed about six in total. She photographed the bodies in place before anything else was done to them. She then contacted the Medical Examiner and informed him of what the team had discovered and that the scene was ready for him. She and the team were done for now, at least until the bodies were removed. Once the bodies were removed they would collect samples from underneath the body pile. While the team was policing up the area of their tools and samples, Dr. Hearne observed Vernon walking in her direction with two other Deputies. She quickly dropped what she was doing and briskly walked over to intercept him. When she reached him, she placed the palm of her hand on his chest to stop him.
“Sheriff, I don’t think you want to go over there. Can one of your Deputies make the identification?” she asked.
“Why do you ask that? Move out of my way.” Vernon said as he attempted to brush her aside.
“I’m trying to save you from seeing him like that, if he’s one of the bodies. Don’t make me pull rank on this one Sheriff.”
“What you do you mean, pull rank?”
“Some of the bodies sustained head and facial trauma, and I’m sure you don’t want to have your final impression of him to be like that.” She was adamant in conveying her wishes as she grabbed him by the wrist to stop him.
“I hear you Doc; I’m just beside myself with despair. If there are six bodies in there one has to be my brother-in-law. I’m not looking forward to calling my sister.” He then asked Bougalaise to follow Dr. Hearne and identify the bodies the best that he could. As Bougalaise and Dr. Hearne walked back to the site she informed him to remain outside of the taped area. Bougalaise stopped at the edge of the pit and began identifying the bodies by the faces he could see. He easily identified Frank and Jesse Billingsly, Cecil Miller, Kenton Moore and Paul Bailey. The last body he believed to be Delbert Cutts, but identification was hard due to the massive damage to his face and head. All that remained was a partial eye socket and the lower mandible. She and Deputy Bougalaise walked back to the command post to inform Vernon of the positive identification. When Vernon received the news his head dropped and he took a moment to compose himself before calling Clara.
“Hey sis.” Vernon said with obvious sorrow in his voice. When Clara heard him through the receiver she began a mournful gut-wrenching cry. Vernon did the best he could to console her and said he was going to send his wife to sit with her until he gets there. The Medical Examiner arrived while Vernon was on the phone with Clara. Vernon had his men assist in the removal of the bodies. After the Medical Examiner removed the bodies, Dr. Hearne and the team finished up their collection of evidence. She informed Vernon that they would remain at the site for a few more days’ laser diagramming the area and would be forwarding him their conclusions. The rest of the search party also began breaking down their barricades and road blocks. Vernon posted four Deputies in a perimeter around Dr. Hearne and the crime scene, he knew once the barricades came down the media would be fighting to be the first to obtain visual footage of the area for the evening news.
Word of the discovery and the identities of the men had reached town already, and the town’s folk were gathering around the Medical Examiner’s office; which sat perpendicular to Vernon’s. To avoid media frenzy, Vernon prearranged to have the bodies taken to La Grande, the next town over. While the bodies were being driven to La Grande under Police escort they passed a rust-colored truck traveling in the opposite direction. One of the escort vehicles saw the vehicle and knew it belonged to Cyrus Davies; the last person believed to have seen the men alive. Vernon’s cruiser radio crackled.
“Sheriff, this is Deputy Hall. Come in.”
“Standing by Deputy” Vernon responded
“I have visual on Cyrus Davies, what would you like me to do?” Vernon thought for a few excruciating seconds.
“Don’t do anything right now, just let him go ‘bout his business.”
“10-4 Sheriff.”
CHAPTER 10
ANALOGUS
C
yrus and Haines had returned to Cyrus’ house and burned the clothing, and were returning to town to meet with Vernon. During their drive into town, they passed two Medical Examiner vans being escorted by Sheriff’s cruisers.
“Do you think they found them already?” Cyrus asked of Haines as they watched the vehicles pass them.
“Looks that way; I think we better turn around and head back to the house.”
“Yeah, me too, the town must be full of people by now.” Haines had a myriad of thoughts going through his head. Right now he was debating if he wanted to call his friend Roderick and have him recommend a seasoned lawyer.
“Change of plans Cyrus. They for sure will be coming back out to question us about what happened the other day. We will be going with our agreement of me taking the blame for everything.”
“I’m still not comfortable with that, but if that’s what you want to do then, I’m with you.” Cyrus turned the truck around and sped back towards the house. Ella saw the truck rambling down the lane and returning only after leaving 10 minutes prior. The truck stopped in the driveway and the men entered through the front door.
“May I use your phone to make a long distance call?” Haines decided he would make that call to his friend.
The Medical Examiner’s van pulled into the forensics bay and the doors quickly closed behind them to prevent anyone from capturing a glimpse of its gruesome cargo.
The body bags were extracted from the back and carried into the building and laid out adjacent to each other on examining tables. The Chief Medical Examiner was Divac Kantzebedian, an astute Pathologist. He casually walked into the room and surveyed what lay before him. He was not particularly pleased about being thrust into a murder case of such magnitude; which would surely keep him in court for years to come. Dr. Kantzebedian began to suit and scrub up for what he knew would be a long night at the office. He had called another Pathologist from a neighboring county to assist with the forensic examinations after receiving Vernon’s request, and was just bidding time until his arrival. When the other Doctor arrived, he asked the non-essential personnel to leave the Autopsy room. Both men began their examinations of the corpses laid before them; documenting the findings from their external examinations, and then each case was documented verbally and videotaped from an overhead audio-visual console. Once the examinations were completed, Kantzebedian called for Vernon and the Prosecuting Attorney to give them his findings first hand. Once all of the pertinent Parties had arrived; he then gave them a quick overview of his findings.
“Well Sheriff, it’s pretty cut and dry as to the manner of death. All of them were killed by Gunfire, four by medium caliber rounds and two by a 12 gauge shotgun with double-aught buck shot. I’m sending the projectiles over to the State Forensic Labs now for comparison.”
“Thanks Kantz, I’m sure you were thorough as usual and I’ll be awaiting the results.”
Vernon turned to the Prosecuting Attorney and stated that he expected to have a suspect within a few hours, and that he will be calling him for a search warrant.
“Explain how you’re going to have a suspect within a few hours, do you have some leads that I’m not aware of Vernon?” He asked with a grandiloquent expression on his face. Vernon thought for a moment to make sure he phrased his words correctly.
“I’m just saying this is a small county and the person or people
who committed this crime had intimate knowledge of the sloughs.”
Vernon knew damn well who had committed the crimes, or at least was privy to the name of the person he believed committed them; that person was Cyrus Davies. He will be making that his first stop after leaving the Medical Examiner’s office.
Vernon and the Prosecuting Attorney walked out of the office together, Vernon grabbed his elbow to stop him before he walked to his car.
“Terrance you do know why they were out in the slough don’t you?”
Vernon said as he panned the area making sure no one was within ear shot.
“I have a pretty good idea, but don’t tell me anything more: just leave it as an understanding.”
“So I will have the cooperation of your office during this investigation knowing that?” Vernon asked.
Terrance McClendon had grown up in Ocelia, but attended schools out West, and did not participate in the traditions of the South when it came to certain fraternal orders. That was the major reason he chose to leave the South, to prevent his family from pulling him into such a group.
“You will have my full cooperation, but like I said don’t give me information that I may have to disclose during Discovery; I’m not getting disbarred for any shenanigans.”
“That’s good to know, I’ll have to holler at you later ‘cause I got things to do.”
“Good day Vernon” Terrance stated as the men parted ways and walked to their vehicles. Vernon got into his vehicle and drove back his office. While driving he was processing how he would proceed in bringing in Cyrus and still keep his men safe from scrutiny regarding their activities.
Vernon called ahead to the office and spoke with one of his senior Deputies.
“Sheriff’s Department, how may I help you?” the voice on the other end said with a pleasant demeanor.
“It’s me Vernon. I need to you to get over to the prosecutor’s office with an affidavits for arrest and a search warrant for the Davies’ property.”
At this point Vernon did not know that Haines was still with him. He then informed the Deputy that he will be awaiting his call once the warrants had been secured. In the mean, time he staged along side the highway watching to see if Cyrus’ truck came or left the residence. About forty-five minutes had passed before the Deputy called him back relating he had secured the warrants, and was heading out to his location with four other Deputies. Once all of the Deputies arrived at Vernon’s location; he briefed them on how he wanted the arrest and search of the property to proceed.
“The most important thing we need to do when we get there is to locate Cyrus; we then need to arrest him and bag his hands to preserve any gunshot residue. Secondly, we need to search the house for any shotguns or handguns; is that clear?”
All of the Deputies nodded in agreement and loaded up in their vehicles for the short drive to Cyrus’ house. The caravan of Sheriff’s vehicle coming down Cyrus’ lane was not inconspicuous. Ella was in the kitchen when she observed the vehicles coming down the lane.
“Here here they come y’all.” She said with a slight shriek in her voice. Both Cyrus and Haines jumped up from the kitchen table and looked out of the window.
“Don’t say anything incriminating, let me do most of the talking.” Haines said as he looked into the faces of Ella and Cyrus.
“Aw’right we’ll do as you say, but They’se not gonna be kindly with us.” Ella said while removing her apron and laid it across the back of a chair. Haines started walking towards the front door and motioned for Ella and Cyrus to follow him.
“We want them to meet us on our terms, not theirs.” Haines said as he exited the front door. He did not want to appear obsequious in the presence of these men, regardless of their official authority. Vernon pulled into the driveway and exited his vehicle, then walked directly to Cyrus without displaying any civility.
“Cyrus get over here boy, I have a warrant for your arrest. I also have a search warrant for your property.”
The term “boy” struck a chord in Haines that prompted him to step forward to address Vernon.
“Sherriff may I see the warrants?” Haines asked as he stuck his hand out for the paperwork.
“Who the hell are you, this doesn’t concern you.” Vernon said with venom in his voice.
“I cannot stop you from affecting an arrest, but you will not enter the residence nor search the property unless I see a valid search warrant.” Haines retorted with as much disdain as he was given. This response threw Vernon and the Deputies for a minor loop, never had they been questioned of their authority by a black person, and now twice in as many days. Vernon gave Haines an up and down cursory check then responded.
“Who are you and what are you doing here. I can tell by your manners that you’re not from around here.” Vernon said as he rolled the warrants up in his hands.
“I’m a friend of the Davies and I’m looking out for their best interest.” Haines replied.
“If you’re looking out for their best interest, then I suggest you mind your business and stay out of mine.” Vernon said as he was directing his Deputies to place Cyrus under arrest. While Cyrus was being placed in handcuffs, Haines advised him not to make any statements until a lawyer was present. He also advised him not to accept any Public Defender that may be offered by the Sherriff or the Prosecutor; because they’re not looking out for his best interest. Two deputies were affecting the arrest of Cyrus and two more were simultaneously beginning to walk up the stairs to enter the residence. Haines observed this and again stated he needed to see a valid search warrant to enter the residence.
“Sheriff, I must insist again for proof of a search warrant for the residence before you are allowed to violate someone’s residence.”
Vernon turned and glared at Haines with utmost contempt, but eventually relented and gave him the paperwork. Haines instructed the Deputies to remain outside until he finished reading the specifics of the search warrant.
“I see here Sheriff that the warrant only covers the barn and other curtlege, but it does not include the residence. So, you’re free to search anywhere outside and the barn area; but you cannot enter the residence.”
Vernon snatched the paperwork back from Haines and read it again to make sure he wasn’t being manipulated. Sure enough the warrant had no mention of the physical residence; which meant his investigation was temporarily stymied. Vernon was beside himself and wanted to know who prepared the affidavit to secure the warrant. He rifled through the pages to the last page and saw that one of his junior Deputies had prepared the warrant. Vernon remembered that he had delegated that task to Deputy Bougalaise. Vernon looked around and found Deputy Bougalaise searching around the barn area. He called him over the radio and asked to meet by his vehicle. When Deputy Bougalaise arrived, Vernon slammed the warrant into his chest with enough force to knock him back a step. “What’s the matter Sheriff?” Deputy Bougalaise asked with sincere concern on his face.
“Read the fucking thang and you tell me what’s wrong!” Vernon gave Bougalaise a few minutes to read the warrant, but couldn’t contain his anger. “Didn’t I assign you the task of preparing the affidavit? If I had wanted someone else to prepare it, I would have given it to them.” Bougalaise finally caught onto what Vernon was saying, and read the warrant closer where he found the discrepancy in its entirety. His face became sullen and he didn’t even try to justify himself.
