Lover's Bridge Pt. 01

"Leah, we'd like to ask you about a tattoo we believe you may have done about six months ago."

"Six months? That's a long time ago, Sheriff. I'm not sure I remember back that far," the woman said.

"She had a tattoo above her buttocks. I'm told it's called a 'tramp stamp'," Ray said.

"Well, that's different," Leah said. "Most women around here think it's daring enough just to get a tattoo, and it's usually a little rose or kitten on an ankle or someplace only a really close friend will see if you catch my meaning." Ryan nodded noncommittally, and she continued. "I certainly remember that one." She pointed to one of the hundreds of designs on the wall, an ornate Fleur-de-lis.

"Do you have any records of that?" Ray asked.

"The man who ordered the tattoo gave me the design and paid with cash. And he wanted an addition. As I recall, he gave me a handsome tip for my... discretion."

"Did he give you a name?" Ray asked.

"No, he didn't, as I recall. But he had a very distinctive French accent," Leah said. And he insisted that it be placed precisely like he showed me and exactly where," she replied. "It was on his wife. I assumed they were married since they both wore wedding rings."

"And where was this tattoo placed, exactly?"

"Right here," Leah said, pointing to a spot just above her heart-shaped ass. "You could call it a 'tramp stamp,' but it was the strangest one I had ever seen - or done."

"What else can you tell us about it?" Ryan asked.

"He wanted the number 47 tattooed around it. Really fancy, and I do good work. I have no idea what it meant, and I didn't ask."

"How long ago was this done?" Ray asked.

"I think it was about six months ago or thereabouts. I'd have to dig through my receipts to verify that, though," Leah told him.

"Could you do that, please?" Ryan asked.

"Sure," she said, pulling a book from under the counter. She spent a few minutes looking through it before showing them a copy of the receipt. Sure enough, the tattoo was paid for in cash. Ray and Ryan took note of the date - March 11, 2022. There was no name on the receipt.

"Can you give us a copy of that, please?" Ray asked.

"Of course. I'll be happy to," Leah said as she walked to her small copy machine. "Anything else?" she asked as she handed the receipt to Ray.

"What can you tell us about the woman?" Ray asked. Leah thought for a few moments before responding.

"I can tell you she was a looker. About my height, a little skinnier than me. I'd say she wore a really skimpy B-cup bra. Very nicely put together. Hell, I'd do her in a heartbeat," Leah chuckled. "But I hadn't seen her around here before. Him either. I guessed they were just traveling through and decided to do it on a whim." Ryan ignored the side comment and honed in on the description.

"Would you be willing to see a sketch artist, maybe help us get a good description of her?" Ryan asked.

"I'll do one better than that," Leah said. "I've got video from my surveillance system. And I keep all of my videos for two years - just in case. You never know when some asshole will try to sue you these days. And I take a picture of every finished tattoo. I'm sure I have it."

"That would be perfect," Ray said with a bright smile. Breaks like this didn't happen every day.

"Give me a few minutes, and I'll get you a copy," Leah said. "Would you care to step into my office?"

"Of course," Ray said. The two men followed Leah, taking note of her swaying ass as she walked. They entered her small office and watched her rifling through a row of DVDs on a shelf.

"Here it is," she said, pulling one from the shelf. She put the disk into her computer and brought up the video, fast-forwarding it to the point where the two customers entered the shop. They could clearly see the faces of both the man and the woman. Leah fast-forwarded it to the point where the two left the shop.

"Can you make a copy of that entire encounter?" Ray asked. "Starting from right before they come into the shop?"

"Sure," Leah said. She handed them a DVD a few mouse clicks after confirming the video had been copied. "By the way, the system captures audio as well as video. Can't be too careful, you know."

She pulled up an image gallery, clicked some more, and finally, a picture of the tattoo showed on the screen - a Fleur-de-lis nestled in numerals 4 and 7. She tapped again, and the printer whirred and spit out a sheet. "Here you go."

"No, you certainly can't be too careful these days. Thank you for your cooperation," Ray said.

"You're welcome," Leah said. "This woman - did she do something? Is she missing or something?"

"Only half of her is missing," Ray said, causing Leah to blanch. To him, that was a sign that she wasn't deeper involved in this case as a random merchant. From her talk, she might have been in a ménage a trois with her customers but didn't want to admit it. It was hard to fake that pasty expression, so she probably hadn't met up with them later. He would listen closely to the audio. "And I would appreciate it if you didn't spread that around or talk to the press."

"Oh my God," she breathed.

"Tell me, was there anything strange about either of them? Did she seem uncomfortable or scared to you?" Ryan asked. Leah thought for a moment before answering, then shook her head.

"No, as I recall, they seemed quite comfortable. Happy, even. Like two lovers," Leah said. "Wait a minute," she said, her face lighting up as she remembered something.

"What?" Ray asked.

"I remembered something else. It'll be on the video. As you know, the law requires that a person be 18 or older to get a tattoo without parental consent. I remember the woman looked to be pretty young, and I wanted to verify her age - just to cover myself. I verified she was over 18, but I remember her name didn't seem French to me. Holden or something like that. The guy she was with had a very strong French accent."

"Are you sure about the accent?" Ray asked.

"Absolutely. I spent five years in Paris. I know a French accent when I hear one."

"Holder?" Ryan asked.

"Yes, that was it. Holder," Leah said. "I know it's not much, but..."

"That's perfect, miss," Ryan said. "You've been a great help. Thank you very much." They left the shop and got into Ryan's truck.

"You're friends with some of the Holders, aren't you?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, I've been out hunting with Don several times. It's a pretty large clan. Old Ma and Pa Holder had nine kids - three girls and six boys."

"Damn," Ray exclaimed, shaking his head.

"I've met several of them, and they all seem like good people. One of Don's younger brothers, Dan, was in the service. Last I heard, he was coming home, but that was about eight or nine months ago. I've never heard anything more about him."

"You think our victim may have been married to him?" Ray asked.

"Don't know. Could be. Don's probably at work right now. Wanna go talk to him?"

"Sure, why not? Then I'd like to look that video over."

"Sounds like a plan," Ryan said. He drove to the county maintenance yard, where Don works as a mechanic. He parked, and they climbed out of the truck.

"Hey, Sheriff! What can I do ya for?" Bill Hanson, the shop foreman, asked when Ray and Ryan walked in.

"Hey, Bill. I'd like to speak with Don Holder. Is he in today?" Ryan asked.

"Sure, let me just call him in. Everything all right?"

"Yeah, I just have a couple of questions. I won't keep him long," Ryan promised. Bill called for Don over the intercom, and the three men saw Don amble to the office.

"Hey, Sheriff! Detective Hale! How y'all doin'?" Don asked as he wiped his hands with a red cloth.

"Doing okay, Don," Ryan said. "Mind if we talk to ya for a minute or two?"

"Not at all. Let's step into my office," Don said with a grin. Ray and Ryan followed Don into a small conference room, and Don closed the door after they were inside. "What's going on?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

"Don, I was just curious about something," Ryan began. "Have you heard from your brother Dan lately?" Don's face fell as he tried to answer. Ryan and Ray both sensed his reluctance to say anything.

"It's okay," Ray said, hoping to encourage Don to speak.

"Well, tell ya the truth, I haven't spoken to him in a while. Maybe two months. We was supposed to go coyote hunting this weekend. I stopped at the pawn shop to see if they had any new rifles in, and saw a couple I knew Dan had."

"Oh?" Ryan asked. "I know Dan was in the service. What's he doing these days?"

"He works for the railroad, and he could be anywhere between San Antone and San Diego. But he usually says something if he's going to be gone for more than a week or so," Don said.

"These rifles... what did you do about those?" Ray asked.

"I paid to get 'em outta hock. I know Dan loved those guns. I figured he must've needed the money for bills or something."

"He hunts about as much as you do, doesn't he?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, he loves to go hunting," Don said with a wide smile.

"Pretty good at field dressing and such?" Ryan pressed.

"That boy can field dress and case a coyote in no time flat," Don bragged. Ryan and Ray looked at each other, eyebrows raised, and each knew what the other was thinking.

"He's married, isn't he?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, he is. Good-looking woman, too. Met her in California. The whole family loves her," Don said.

"Have you seen her lately?" Ray asked.

"Come to think of it, no, I haven't. Reckon it's been about five or six months since anyone's seen her," Don said. "You think she's in trouble or something?"

"We don't know," Ryan said. "That's what we're trying to find out. Do you have a picture of her?"

"Sure do," Don said, pulling out his phone. He scrolled through his pictures until he found one of Dan and his wife, then showed it to Ray and Ryan. The woman in the photo looked much like the woman they saw in the video at Leah's tattoo shop.

"Could you send that picture to me, please?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, hang on here. I'm still learning this newfangled gadget," Don said.

"Let me," Ray offered. Don handed the phone to Ray, who quickly sent the photo to Ryan and himself using the phone's Bluetooth connection. He handed the phone back after verifying the transfer was successful. "Thank you," Ray said.

"These darn gadgets get me so frustrated sometimes," Don said with a nervous smile. Ray and Ryan chuckled at that.

"I know how you feel," Ryan said. "Don, can you give us Dan's address? We'd like to go see if he or his wife is there."

"Sure, I'll write it down. He's got a doublewide on five acres out there on Sunset Ridge." Don wrote the address on the back of a small card and handed it to Ryan.

"What's his wife's name?" Ryan followed up.

"Uh, Carmelita, I believe. Something Hispanic like that. Dan introduced her to the family when they returned from California, but she hasn't been by much since then. Dan told us she's kinda shy," Don said. Ryan and Ray found it interesting that Don couldn't recall his sister-in-law's name. They had said the whole family loved her but seldom, if ever, saw her, but neither one said anything.

"Do you know if she had any tattoos?" Ray asked.

"None that I saw, Detective," Don said. "If she did, they were hidden."

"Do you think she was prone to, you know, run around? Maybe go bar-hopping or something?" Ray asked, following up on his previous question.

"No idea, Detective. Like I said, I never did get to know her very well. None of us did."

"Don't you find that to be a little odd? Given how close y'all are?" Ryan asked.

"Actually, yes, I did find it strange," Don said. "But, I reckon to each his own, right? Live and let live and all that stuff? Isn't that what they say on all them television shows?" Ryan sensed Don's increasing nervousness and simply nodded his head.

"Reckon so," Ryan said quietly.

"Well, is there anything else I can do for you fellers? I really need to get back to work," Don said, shifting from one foot to another. Ray and Ryan looked at each other before answering.

"Not right now, Don, but we may have some questions later," Ryan said quietly.

"Of course, Sheriff. Any time," Don said.

"Thank you, Mr. Holder," Ray said, extending a hand. Don nodded as he shook Ray's hand, then left the room as quickly as he could.

"I think we need to go visit Casa del Holder right away, don't you, Ray?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," the big black man replied quietly. They climbed into Ryan's official truck and headed for Dan Holder's residence.

"Is it just me, or did Holder seem a little... nervous?" Ray asked as Ryan drove.

"He did, and more than a little," Ryan replied. "I've known Don Holder for years, and I've never seen him like this before. Kinda like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

"You think he knows more than he's saying?"

"Possibly. But I've never known Don to lie. It's just not in him." They reached Dan Holder's residence, a five-acre plot of land on the outskirts of town. A doublewide mobile home sat in the middle of the property. Ryan parked in front of the house, and the two men exited the vehicle.

"Sheriff's Department! Open up," Ryan shouted as he banged on the front door. There was no answer, and neither heard any activity in the house nor a barking dog. Ryan pounded on the door a second time but received no response.

"Maybe he's out back," Ray said. "There's an outbuilding behind the house."

"Could be," Ryan agreed. "Let's check it out." They walked around the mobile home to the shabby building made from poles and corrugated metal sheets.

"Mr. Holder?" Ryan called as he cautiously entered the already-open door of the shop. There was no response, and Ryan looked around the shop's interior as his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside. They walked inside and took inventory of the place.

The floor was concrete, but dirt ran through cracks throughout the shop. A large table in the middle of the shop held a bandsaw - the kind used by butchers. A metal cabinet stood against one wall, and a padlock secured the doors. A long freezer sat against an opposite wall, a padlock securing the door.

"Does that look like blood to you?" Ryan asked rhetorically. He had seen enough dried blood to know what it looked like. And this certainly looked - and smelled - like it. Ray looked where Ryan indicated and slowly nodded in agreement.

"Sure does. But it could be animal blood, you know," Ray offered. "If you have some bolt cutters, we could take a look inside. We do have reasonable cause."

"Reckon so," Ryan said quietly. "Just the same, I'd feel better if we got a search warrant."

"I'll take care of it," Ray offered.

"Thanks," Ryan said. "While you're at it, have Elaine dispatch the forensics people. Just in case..."

"On it," Ray said as he left the shop. While Ray took care of the warrant and the forensics team, Ryan looked around the shop. Standing before the metal cabinet, he caught a whiff of... something. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't pleasant.

Then he remembered Ron's words when he examined the man's hands on the bridge. Something about fingertips burned with acid. He left the shop and saw Ray, microphone in hand, at his truck.

"Have them send a hazmat crew as well," Ryan called out. Ray nodded his head in acknowledgment and relayed the request to Elaine.

"Done," Ray said when he replaced the radio's microphone.

"Good. Now we wait," Ryan said.

...

Forty-five minutes later, two vans - one from the hazmat unit and Ron's forensics lab - and three patrol cars pulled onto the property. The hazmat unit and the forensics team went to the shed as two deputies placed crime scene tape across the driveway.

"Let the hazmat folks secure that shed first," Ryan instructed his deputies.

"Here's your warrant, Detective," Deputy Sanders said, handing Ray a folded paper. "Covers the whole property, inside and out. Even includes ground-penetrating radar if you need it. Walked it through myself so it wouldn't get sidetracked."

"Thank you, Deputy," Ray replied approvingly, reviewing the paperwork. "Nice job."

"Sanders, why don't you and a couple of deputies take a look through the house," Ryan said. "You know what to look for."

"Got it, Sheriff," Sanders said, tipping his hat. Turning, he pointed to two deputies. "You two, with me," he instructed. "Get yer gloves and evidence bags." Ryan watched Sanders with a smile.

"That boy's gonna make one helluva sergeant," he told Ray. Ryan had been considering Sanders for promotion for some time. An hour later, the fully-suited hazmat crew came out of the shed, wheeling blue plastic drums, which they staged at different spots for pick-up.

"Good thing you called us out, Sheriff," Ben Fry, the hazmat supervisor, said as he removed his mask.

"Oh? What did you find in there?" Ryan asked.

"Some pretty nasty stuff," Ben said darkly. "Whoever had it obviously didn't know how to store it properly. Could've been catastrophic."

"What was it?" Ray asked.

"Pretty much all the makings of a meth lab," Ben said. "And enough ingredients to make some pretty nasty bombs."

"Bombs?" a shocked Ray asked.

"Yes, Detective," Ben said. "We didn't find any detonators, though."

"That's a relief," Ryan said. "Is it safe for my deputies to go in there?"

"Unless there's something toxic in that freezer, yes," Ben said. "We didn't see anything else in there. All the same, I'd feel better if y'all wore masks in there. We brought plenty. If you'll excuse me, I need to arrange transport for this stuff, Sheriff. I'll get you a detailed inventory when I get back to the office."

"Thanks, Ben," Ryan said. "Maybe one or two of your guys should stay for a while until we're finished."

"Good idea, Sheriff," Ben said. "I'll see to it." Ryan and Ray grabbed a mask from Ben, put them on, and entered the shed. A deputy followed them inside, carrying a pair of bolt cutters.

"Cut that lock off," Ryan instructed. The deputy cut the lock, placing it inside an evidence bag. "Let's verify this freezer isn't booby-trapped before we open it." Ray, Ryan, and the deputy examined the freezer closely but found no evidence that it had been wired.

Satisfied that it was probably safe but mindful of the word 'bombs,' they slowly opened the door with an extended length of rope from behind the table. The door opened without incident, so they breathed easier, then went and looked inside.

The top of the freezer contained packages of meat wrapped in butcher's paper. After pulling the top layer out, they saw two large bundles underneath. One was in the shape of a human torso, and the other looked long enough to be the lower half of a male body. They stepped outside, and Ryan called for Ron and his crew to retrieve the body parts.

Wearing masks and protective clothing, Ron and three forensics technicians went into the shed.

As Ron and his techs worked in the shed, Ray contacted Elaine, instructing her to issue a "be on the lookout," or BOLO, on Dan Holder, and asked her to arrange an arrest warrant. Ray and Ryan's attention were directed back to the shed when Ron called out.

"Sheriff! Y'all need to see this," Ron called from the door of the small outbuilding.

The two men walked to the shed, donning their masks before entering. They saw the two frozen body halves on a tarp laid out on the floor by Ron's technicians and noticed a large bag in Ron's hand.

"What's that?" Ryan asked.

"Well, off-hand, I'd say it's a left female foot," Ron said, holding the bag so Ray and Ryan could see its contents.

"So there's a third victim somewhere," Ryan observed, looking at the frozen foot. He didn't need Ron to tell him the foot had been frozen for a long time - he could tell that from the freezer burn and the discoloration. The press was going to have a field day with this.