Dead Girls Tell No Tales

“Detective Gray?” 

Thea’s head turned toward the voice of a crime scene tech. “That’s me.” 

The tech wiped his brow with the back of his coverall sleeve, despite the cool autumn air. “This way.”

The man turned and began walking toward a vast field. Thea fell into step beside him as he filled her in. “Jasper Hastings, a local farmer, bought this land a little over a month ago, but it was considered public property before that and hadn’t been touched. Hastings was in the middle of plowing the field when he hit something.” They were nearing a tent and Thea could see a shallow hole in the ground. “He stopped to check it out and found a human femur, which is when he called us. We’ve uncovered almost an entire body. The forensic anthropologist thinks, from her initial examination, it’s female, likely in her teens to early twenties.” 

They finally reached the hole and she saw it– or rather, her. She paused for a moment, her breath catching in her throat. Eight years in homicide and it never got easier seeing a dead body. She shook it off and bent down to take a closer look. The bones–the girl–were lying in a haphazard fashion, arms splayed out at her sides and one of her legs bent at the knee, as if she were pushed carelessly into the hole. 

“She was definitely murdered,” a voice said from behind her. Dr. Aryan Hellman, resident forensic anthropologist, positioned herself beside Thea. “She was shot. Three times, in the chest.” Dr. Hellman pointed out the marks on the girl’s ribs that helped her to come to that conclusion and for a moment, Thea had to marvel at how impressive it was that she could know that from just bones.

“Jesus… Poor kid. Any remnants of clothing or jewelry? Anything that might help us identify her?” Thea asked. Dr. Hellman shook her head. “Not yet. Obviously, I’ll have to wait to give an actual report until I can do my official examination, but if I had to guess, these bones are from the seventies or so. Generally speaking, if she were wearing anything, with the conditions of this soil, we’d have found at least pieces or fibers of clothing. Which leads me to the conclusion that…” Hellman trailed off, but it was obvious what she was implying. 

“She was naked,” Thea finished. Somehow, that revelation added a degree of hideousness to the whole thing. This girl was sloppily discarded in a shallow grave, miles outside of town, likely stripped of her clothes and jewelry, along with her dignity. She must have been terrified.

As she studied the bones, she watched a tech carefully unearth her left hand. It was small and delicate, and it was clutching something tightly. “What is that?” Thea grabbed a pair of gloves and pulled them on, stepping gently into the grave. She bent down over the small fist and after letting the photographer snap a few shots, she very carefully pulled the bones away to reveal a small square object she didn’t recognize. She handed the object to one of the techs to dust off and climbed out of the hole, walking over to the table at the side of the tent to examine it. 

After having the debris removed, it became more clear to her what the object was. The young tech, however, was not so clear. She furrowed her brow and picked up the object, turning it over gently in her hands. “What is this? It looks so old.” 

Thea laughed. At thirty-two, she was far from old, but the comment made her feel decrepit. “That, my dear, is a floppy disk.” When the girl stared at her, still perplexed, she explained further. “It’s like the old version of a CD. Or a USB drive.”

“Oh, that’s… cool.” The tech smiled and slid the disk into an evidence bag to be examined in the lab later.

She knew the girl was only being polite, but a spark of excitement flared up inside of her nonetheless. This could be huge.

***

“What did you find on that floppy disk?”

“Good morning to you too, Detective Gray. I’m great, thanks for asking.” Eric Cuthbert, the lead forensic scientist gave Thea a pointed look.

Thea’s expression softened. “Good morning, Eric. Sorry, I’m just on edge today.

“So I hear. Lisa Talbot. Are you okay?” Eric looked at her worriedly. He had known her since she first started at the River Valley Police Department and had spent many long nights with her in her days with the cold case unit, rifling through evidence that couldn’t tell them anymore than it already had. One of those cold cases had been Lisa Talbot’s, the teenage girl the bones had been identified as. There had never been enough evidence for an arrest, but she had been so invested in the case, determined to bring Lisa’s parents closure. She’d been so obsessed, in fact, that it took a serious toll on her marriage and mental health. She’d been assigned mandated therapy sessions and transferred from the cold case unit. 

She nodded and smiled at Eric. “I’m fine. I just want to catch this guy. The Talbots deserve that.”

Eric studied her for a moment longer, likely deciding if he should press the issue further. Ultimately, he decided it wasn’t worth it and turned back to his computer. “The disk was pretty badly damaged from the elements, but I, in my infinite skill and wisdom, managed to pull this off of it.” He stepped aside to let her look at the screen. 

It appeared to be a typed letter to someone known only as M. As Thea read through the letter, nothing of note caught her eye until the last line. The letter was signed, “Spider.” 

Thea’s blood ran cold. She had studied multiple suspects in Lisa’s case, but there was one man she could never let go of her suspicions for: David “Spider” Nelson. 

Nelson had been given the nickname in the army before he was dishonorably discharged along with two of his colleagues for sexually assaulting one of the female soldiers in their company. 

The original detectives on the case had questioned him several times and linked him to Lisa in that he frequented the coffee shop she was last seen at and eye witnesses had supposedly seen him talking to Lisa on several occasions, but it hadn’t been enough for an arrest and they’d had to drop it. But now, Lisa had been found with his name in her hand. 

She turned to her friend and said, “Eric, you’re a genius.”

***

Thea pulled up to 2646 Bayside Dr. and put her car in park. Spider Nelson’s house was unassuming from the outside. Plastic flamingos protruded from the well-manicured flower garden, windchimes tinkled at the edge of the porch, and a “Welcome” sign hung from the red door. It never ceased to amaze Thea how murderers could appear so ordinary. 

She walked up the short walkway to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal a large man. He had gray hair and dark eyes. He was tall and, for a man in his late sixties, fit.

“David Nelson? I’m Detective Thea Gray.” She flashed her badge at him and he studied it for a moment before she continued. “Do you have a moment to speak with me about an ongoing investigation?” 

Nelson half-snorted. “I’m retired, I have all the time in the world.” He opened the door wider and moved aside. Thea stepped over the threshold and he closed the door behind her, leading her to the living room.

Thea sat down on the sofa as Nelson sat adjacent to her in a worn recliner. “Can I get you anything, officer? Coffee, water, something stronger?” He grinned at her, but appeared to have no intention of getting up. 

“It’s detective, actually,” she corrected without returning his smile. “And no, I’m fine, thank you.” 

Nelson lifted his hands up as if surrendering. “My sincerest apologies, detective. What can I do for you?” He leaned back in his chair.

“Mr. Nelson, do you recall a girl named Lisa Talbot?” Thea watched his face closely for any signs of emotion, but he displayed none. Instead, he pretended to think for a moment. 

“Talbot… Isn’t that that girl that went missing in the eighties? They never did find out what happened to her, did they? Shame, that is.” Thea’s blood boiled. The nerve of this man.

“It is. You were questioned a few times about her disappearance, were you not?”

Nelson paused before he feigned recollection. “Ah, so I was, wasn’t I? As I recall, they thought I had something to do with it because I frequent the coffee shop she went to. A ridiculous jump to conclusions, don’t you think?” He flashed her a sinister smile.

Thea ignored the question and cut to the chase. “Lisa’s body was found in a field two days ago.” There it was: his nonchalant façade wavered for a moment before he collected himself again and sat forward, leaning on his knees.

“Well that’s a shame, I’m sure her parents are devastated. I fail to see what this has to do with me, though, officer.”

“Detective,” she said through gritted teeth, but regained her composure, pulling a photo of the disk out and sliding it across the coffee table toward him. “This,” she said icily, “was found with her body.”

Nelson glanced down at the photo and back up at Thea. “A floppy disk,” he said.

“A floppy disk,” she repeated, setting a copy of the letter on top of the photo, “with this letter, signed by you, on it.”

He looked at the letter for a moment too long before standing up. “I think it’s time for you to leave, detective.” He presented her with a smug smile that said, you’ve got nothing on me, and gestured to the door. 

Thea smiled sweetly at him. His reaction told her everything she needed to know. She took her time standing up and walking toward the entryway, turning before she got to the door to tell him she’d be seeing him again soon, but before she got a word out, something caught her attention. At the end of the hallway, there was a small bottle of pink nail polish sitting on a table by what she assumed was a basement door. Next to it sat two take-out coffee cups.

“Mr. Nelson, do you have daughters?”

“No, I don’t have daughters,” he huffed, clearly agitated, stepping into her line of sight. “Why?”

“Just curious,” she replied. “Thank you for your time.” She stepped outside and he shut the door quickly behind her.

Nelson wasn’t going to talk. She needed to search that house. 

***

Eric set a gas station sandwich and a bag of chips on the desk in front of Thea. “You’ve got to eat something, Gray.” 

She glanced at the clock on the wall. 2:37am. She’d been sitting at this desk in Eric’s lab since she’d returned from David Nelson’s house, trying desperately to find anything to give her probable cause to search his home. Not a single thing about Nelson sat right with her, and she wouldn’t waste another second sleeping until Lisa Talbot’s kidnapping-turned-murder was solved. 

She eyed the soggy turkey on rye with distaste, but her stomach growled loudly in protest and she realized the only thing she’d consumed that day was her morning coffee. Reluctantly, she unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite.

“I wish the security cameras at the coffee shop had been working when Lisa disappeared in the eighties, our lives would be significantly easier,” Eric halfheartedly joked. 

Thea paused mid-bite. “Security cameras,” she repeated to herself. “Eric, can you pull up the CCTV footage from the coffee shop?” 

He looked at her, puzzled. “Thea, I just said the cameras didn’t work.” 

She shook her head. “Not from Lisa’s disappearance. From today. This morning.”

Eric eyed her a moment longer before relenting, turning to his computer with a shrug. He typed a few things into the system and the footage popped up on the screen. Thea stood behind him, studying the multiple cameras before she spotted what she was looking for. “There. Bring up that camera,” she said, pointing to one of the frames. 

Nelson was careful. He parked in a spot where the camera could see little more than the driver’s side of the car. He walked into the coffee shop and about five minutes later, walked back out. “Pause it. Zoom in on his hands,” Thea said, then added, “please.”

Eric obliged and she felt a jolt of electricity run through her body. “He’s holding two cups. He lives alone, what does he need two cups of coffee for?” she mused. “Can you play the footage from this camera for the last few days at that time?”

The two of them watched Nelson park in the same spot every morning at 7:30am and go about his routine. They watched four days of footage, but when they got to the footage from five days before, something was different. 

There had been a car parked in his usual spot, forcing Nelson to park in the spot next to it. The whole car was now in view of the camera and Thea’s heart skipped a beat. “Eric, there’s someone in the car.” He had already taken the liberty of zooming in on the face and enhancing the image to the best of his ability. 

It was a girl. She looked to be in her late teens, but her hair was tied up in two pigtails with ribbons and she appeared to be wearing a pink babydoll dress. A teenage girl dressed up like a doll. She looked terrified. “Can you run facial recognition on her?” Thea asked.

“One step ahead of you,” Eric said, already typing furiously. In about thirty seconds, there was a profile on the screen next to the footage. “Jessica Lane… Thea, this girl has been missing for a week.”

“He’s still got her. Can you call the judge and get me a warrant? This is probable cause if I’ve ever seen it.”

Eric nodded.

Thea grabbed her gun and badge off of the table and ran through the double doors. Time was running out.

***

Thea’s car screeched to a halt in front of Nelson’s house and the procession of backup she’d brought with her followed close behind. She jumped out of the car, clutching the warrant that had been sent over in her left hand, placing her right hand on the gun on her hip. She didn’t even bother closing the car door as she and the others made their way to the front door.

She knocked, hard, three times on the door and called out, “David Nelson, we have a warrant to search your property. If you don’t open the door, we’re authorized to use force.” They waited for a minute, guns drawn. Thea was preparing to give the order to kick the door down when it swung open and a bleary-eyed Nelson in pajamas and a robe huffed agitatedly at the crowd gathered at his door. 

“It’s four in the morning, what the hell is this?” Nelson was indignant. 

“We’re coming in.” Thea shoved the warrant into his hands and pushed past him into the house, signaling the others to follow. “Check the main floor and the upstairs. You,” she nodded at one of the men. “You’re with me. We’re going to the basement.”

She walked straight down the hall to the basement door she’d seen earlier. Unsurprisingly, the coffee cups and nail polish had disappeared from the table. There was a padlock on the door and she nodded at her partner, who pulled a pair of bolt cutters out and broke the lock. Thea took a deep breath and opened the door.

The basement was set up like a little girl’s room. The dingy walls were pink with white accents. A pink and white bed with a canopy over it sat in the middle of the far right wall and in the far left corner sat a dollhouse and some other toys.

Thea walked down the stairs slowly, taking in the scene before her. Her flashlight beam caught a glimpse of something in the corner behind the bed and she stopped in her tracks.

“Jessica?” she said gently. “My name is Thea, I’m a police detective. You’re safe now, sweetheart.” 

The girl cowered for a moment longer, the terror still evident on her face, but then she stood up and ran to Thea. She embraced the girl, holding her tightly while she sobbed into her shoulder. “It’s alright, it’s alright… We’re gonna get you home now.” She turned to the officer behind her, fire in her eyes. “Get her somewhere safe.” 

She passed the trembling girl to him and walked back up the stairs. She found Nelson waiting with an officer in the living room.

“Stand up,” she ordered. Nelson did so, slowly, an evil smile spreading on his face. 

She pushed his face hard into the wall. “David Nelson, you’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Jessica Lane.” She clamped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists tightly. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

Thea led him out to the squad car and guided him into the back seat. Nelson said nothing. Before she closed the door, she leaned in and said quietly, “She caught you, Spider.”

He only smiled at her, replying simply, “Isn’t it a shame, though, that the Talbot girl’s parents will never know what happened to her?”