Page 30 of Corrupted By Sin
Chapter Thirteen
Brooklyn Sloane
December 2022
Tuesday — 2:19pm
“Wecanalwayswaitinside the Jeep,” Theo suggested as his breath dissipated in the cold air. He moved his shoulders up and down, as if that would create a bit more body heat. “There’s no telling how much longer they’re going to be at this.”
Brook was leaning up against the passenger side of Theo’s Jeep. She’d ridden with him so that she could concentrate on making a few calls, lining up some additional help if Ezra Adler actually found the remains of Natalie Thorne.
By the time they’d driven to their destination, Brook was able to have Officer Soerig on standby. Granted, she’d just been promoted, but she wouldn’t be the one covering a homicide. That responsibility would land with the homicide unit inside the sheriff’s department that covered this jurisdiction.
“I thought I spotted movement through those trees. We should wait.”
Brook and Theo had both dressed for the weather. She’d opted not to wear one of her usual pantsuits. Instead, she had put on a double layer of winter apparel underneath a pair of dark jeans and a black sweater. Her waist holster was secure on the thick belt that she’d thread through the loops of her pants. Instead of her dress coat, she’d opted for a winter jacket that could handle the cold temperature for an extended period of time. It also helped that she was wearing her winter boots with two layers of socks.
“You could have stayed behind, you know. This was merely a hunch, and it could turn out to be nothing but a waste of time,” Theo theorized as he turned his focus toward her. Even though she was wearing earmuffs, she could hear him just fine. “We should have brought a thermos of hot coffee with us.”
“Actually, I’m glad to be out of the office for a bit. There technically isn’t a profile for me to draft, and it’s driving me crazy. We have no victim, we’re not sure that Dr. Kolsby is the responsible party, we might have a connected crime, or we might not. It’s like we’re chasing our tails looking for a ghost.”
Although Brook had spent most of the drive making phone calls, they’d also had time to discuss the daily report sent over from DeSilva & Associates. Alex had been sending them over since his firm had taken over the protective detail. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred that was cause for concern, although Millie had attended a therapy session as directed by the hospital.
Not surprisingly, Millie had met with Catherine Kolsby last night.
Fortunately, Brook had the foresight to share with Millie what had occurred during the encounter at the office, and she’d been adamant that no amount of money would get her to change her mind.
“This is basic investigative work.” Theo shrugged off Brook’s concern. “As long as we leave no stone unturned, we’ll eventually figure out if this case has any legs to stand on.”
“I’m sure if we decided to open a closet door of every individual residing in D.C. that we would find something that others would prefer we didn’t,” Brook countered, uneasy with how this case had evolved over the past few days. “Think about it. I could be in Dr. Kolsby’s shoes right now. I could have had surgery, said something that stuck in my mind regarding my childhood with Jacob, and then woke up to find the police hovering over my bed slinging accusations concealing information dealing with a murder that he committed.”
“Your point being?” Theo asked, playing devil’s advocate. He shrugged again, this time using the movement to set himself into a rhythmic sway side to side in an effort to keep warm. “Jacob is a serial killer, and he’s on the FBI’s radar. We’re looking for him. You’re hunting him. It’s not like you are colluding with him. If Kolsby has information of previous murders, he has a duty to come forward and report what he knows.”
Brook didn’t often talk about her childhood with others.
Unless, of course, it benefited the search for Jacob.
“Dr. Kolsby wouldn’t need to come forward if what he said was in relation to a patient.”
“While there is such a thing as doctor and patient confidentiality, that is waived if said doctor believes that his patient is a danger to others and likely to reoffend,” Theo pointed out.
He shifted to the side when a gust of wind came from the West, ending up side by side with Brook. They were now both staring into the desolate woods. Brook once again caught sight of Ezra’s bright red jacket. He must have left his technician and the large machine they had brought with them back aways.
“What if that’s what we’re dealing with in this situation?” Brook asked as she took a step forward. Theo fell into step beside her as it went unspoken that they would meet Ezra near the tree line. “What if Dr. Kolsby brought up something from a past patient, but who would—“
“Rehabilitated?” Theo asked wryly with a shake of his head. “Serial killers are a special breed of monsters, Brook. You know that more than anyone. They don’t stop until they are made to stop. There’s something wrong inside their minds. A disconnect, of sorts. It is Kolsby’s responsibility to come forward if he’s aware that a patient went on some killing spree, especially if Catherine Kolsby is being truthful about her father’s prognosis. Time is of the essence. He owed it to humanity to be honest about what he knows.”
Brook agreed with Theo’s opinion, but it still didn’t negate the doctor and patient bond if Dr. Kolsby didn’t feel there was an immediate threat to others. It was a fine line, much like the one Bit was walking when it came to gathering pertinent information during an investigation.
“Brook, you’re going to want to call in the police,” Ezra stated in his usual nasally tone.
Ezra Adler was approximately forty-five years of age, and no more than five feet and five inches. There was a bald patch on top of his head, he constantly had a red nose that leaked, and the lenses of his glasses were constantly smudged with skin oil. He might have a unique way of doing things, but he was the best in his field.
After parking behind Theo’s Jeep in the clearing behind them, Ezra and his colleague had unloaded a ground penetrating radar set. It worked basically on the density of the ground and the ability of the radar to penetrate the soil. Disturbed ground allowed the radar waves to reach deeper into the ground quicker. Thus, the correlated data created a picture of the surrounding underground, possibly down to bedrock if the earth was shallow enough. Fresh bodies absorbed radar waves and returned as a void or darker images. Bones buried in shallow graves came back as very distinct reflections.
“You found a body?” Theo inquired before Brook could ask the question. “Seriously?”
“Most likely skeletal remains, to be more exact,” Ezra corrected as he motioned behind him. “Four, at last count.”