Lover's Bridge Pt. 01

"Sure looks that way, Sheriff," Ron said. "Check this out." He turned the bag so Ray and Ryan could see a tattoo on the outer side of the ankle - a fleur-de-lis, just like the one on the female victim's torso. Except this one had a star above it with the number "1" inside the star. Ryan looked at the smooth cut of the ankle and glanced at the bandsaw.

"You think that saw was used to cut this off the body?" he asked Ron.

"Maybe," Ron replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "But I can tell you this was frozen a long time ago."

"What else can you tell me?" Ryan asked.

"Right now, not much. But I'll bet these were a succulent set of piggies once upon a time," Ron quipped with a smile.

"That's disgusting. You really scare me sometimes, Ron," Ryan hissed as he shook his head, as his stomach churned a bit. Ron chuckled at that.

"I'm just saying, Sheriff. Whoever did this probably has quite the foot fetish."

"What can you tell us about those?" Ryan asked, pointing at the two body halves on the floor.

"One is the upper torso of a female, and the other is the lower half of a male. Minus his manhood," Ron stated in a neutral tone. He pulled the wrapping paper from the female half to reveal the frozen face of the same woman in the video Leah provided. Ryan saw the thin red line around her neck, just like the one they saw on the man's neck. And the burn marks of a taser set on 'high,' just like the man's torso.

"Looks like we got us a serial killer on the loose," Ryan said as he looked at the woman's face. "No telling how many more bodies are out there."

"We'll do a search of the entire property," Ray said. "He might have more bodies buried out there." He winced. "We might need that ground-penetrating radar after all."

"Reckon so," Ryan replied. "Let me go check up on Sanders. Keep at it, Ron." Ryan left the shed and went into the mobile home, where he met with Deputy Sanders. Other deputies were busy dusting the place for fingerprints. "What have you got, Deputy?"

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here for a while, Sheriff," Sanders said. "Most of the stuff in the refrigerator is out of date. Gun cabinet is empty, but we did find this," he added, holding up a plastic bag with a hand-held taser. "We pulled some fingerprints off of it."

"Don said he picked up some of his brother's rifles at the pawn shop," Ryan said. "Anything else?"

"We confiscated a desktop computer and boxed up his files," Sanders said. "Might be something there. Other than that, we found nothing."

"All right, Deputy. After you finish up in here, why don't you help Ron and Detective Hale search the rest of the property?"

"Think there might be more bodies?" Sanders asked.

"Possibly," Ryan replied as his phone buzzed. He answered the call, seeing it was from Elaine.

"Sheriff, I'm just reminding you about your appointment with Commissioner Barnes this afternoon," she said. Ryan almost forgot about the appointment. Frank Barnes, elected after Bertram's murder a year ago, was called a "fiscal conservative" by local politicos - meaning he was a tightwad. One of his pet peeves was the budget of the Sheriff's Department.

"Thanks, Elaine," Ryan said. "I almost forgot."

"He'll be here in about a half hour and you know how he feels about punctuality."

"Yeah, I know," Ryan said. "All right, I'm heading out now. Thanks for calling."

"Any time, Sheriff," Elaine said before they ended the call. Ryan put the phone back in his pocket and went to see Ray.

"I need to head back. Got a meeting with Commissioner Barnes," Ryan told his chief detective.

"The old skinflint, huh? Sure, no problem. I'll stay here and get a ride back with Sanders," Ray replied. After saying farewells, Ryan climbed into his truck and returned to the office.

...

Dan Holder sat in the front seat of his pickup, his body shaking from fear. After positioning the two bodies as instructed, he continued to the designated rendezvous point, stopping only when he was nearly out of gas.

He pulled into a little-used gas station, filled his tank, paid with cash as instructed, then continued. When he reached the rest stop, he pulled in and parked behind a copse of trees so no one could see him from the road.

He lit a cigarette and tried to calm down, but he was still scared beyond anything he had ever experienced. If only Carmelita hadn't gotten involved with that damn Frenchman, he thought, she would still be alive, and they would still be happy.

But Dan realized it would probably be someone else if it weren't Dupont. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and thought back over the events of the last several months.

Carmelita took the job Phillipe Dupont offered while he was working on the railroad, and he learned about it only when he returned. He wasn't happy about it - hell, he made enough money to care for them both.

According to her, Dupont ran a newly-opened local office of a global import and export company and needed an office manager. It helped that she was bilingual, as much of his work would take him south of the border.

Moreover, she told Dan she needed adult companionship when he was working. So he gave in to her. Of course, it helped that she was naked and riding his cock wildly when she told him. A month after she told him this, Dan caught her screwing the bastard in their marital bed and laid down the law after running the bastard out of the house.

"If I ever catch you with another man, so help me God, I'll gut you like a fish," he snarled as she cowered in the corner.

A month later, his life got turned upside-down. Two hard-looking men with foreign accents entered the cafe and sat across from him as he ate breakfast. They didn't even introduce themselves.

"Bonjour, monsieur." one of the men said.

"Morning," Dan replied. "What can I do for you two fellers?" The man who spoke first smiled. Dan was reminded of an actor he had seen in a movie but couldn't place the name.

"I hate being the bearer of bad news, especially at breakfast, but your wife is still screwing Phillipe Dupont," the man said as he dropped some explicit timestamped photos on the table. "And she's not the only one."

"Thanks," Dan snarled, glancing at the pictures of his wife fucking her boss and wrinkling his face in disgust. He noticed the dates were relatively recent. "Reckon I'll be seeing a lawyer, then."

"No, you won't," the second man said in a thick French accent.

"Well, I'm not going to sit here and let her disrespect me like this," Dan he had told the two men. They looked at each other, nodded, and then returned to him.

"Of course not, m'sieur," the first man said. "You will help us... solve a problem instead. And in doing so, we will help you. You're familiar with your country's history, no?"

"Uh, yeah," Dan replied, wondering what the Frenchman was getting at.

"The French and the Americans have helped each other for years, no? It was our General Rochambeau who helped your General Washington defeat the British, was it not?" the second man asked.

"Yeah, reckon so," Dan admitted. "And as I recall, it was our General Eisenhower who helped you fellers kick the Nazis out of France."

"Yes, it was," the first man replied.

"What has that got to do with me?" Dan asked.

"We have a mutual problem, m'sieur," the second man stated. "We would like your help, and in return, we will help you deal with your... problem."

"What do y'all have in mind?"

"Not here, monsieur. Meet us here in one hour," the first man said as he wrote something on the back of a business card. Dan looked at the card and saw the men wanting to meet him at the Sunset Motel on the edge of town.

"And what do I call y'all?" Dan asked, placing the card in his pocket.

"You may call me Jean-Pierre," the first man said. "And this is Thierry," he added, pointing to the second man. "One hour, monsieur. We will be waiting."

"I'll be there," Dan replied as the two men stood. They left without another word. Dan finished his breakfast, then met the two men, curious to know what they had in mind.

"Do we understand each other, monsieur?" Jean-Pierre asked after they explained their plan. Shocked at their stated plans, Dan simply nodded his head. He had a bad feeling about this and knew they would probably kill him if he backed out.

"Good," Thierry replied. "You will get the first half when they are dealt with. The second half will come after you follow our directions. You understand that you will wait until you receive our message?"

"Yes, I understand," Dan stated.

"And you understand the need for silence?" Jean-Pierre added.

"Of course," Dan replied.

"Go about your day as normal," Thierry said. "We will inform you when it is time."

Three days later, Dan got the text he had dreaded: "It is time. Your place. Now." Dan told his foreman he had an emergency at home and needed to take the day off. He had plenty of comp time, so his foreman let him go.

Dan drove home as quickly as possible and found a strange car in his driveway. Another vehicle pulled in behind him, and the two Frenchmen got out. Jean-Pierre handed him a small taser.

"Place this end on the skin, then press the trigger," he told Dan. He led them to his front door, which was unlocked, and found his wife being skewered by her boss. He pressed the taser against Phillipe's neck and squeezed the trigger. After the large man slumped down, Dan turned his attention to Carmelita.

"Ah tol' ya what would happen if ah ever caught ya cheating on me," he growled.

"Please, it's not what it looks like. I only love you," Carmelita begged. "It was only the one time. You have to believe me. Please..." Angry beyond words, Dan silenced her in mid-sentence with the taser. The rest of the afternoon was spent in Dan's shed. Only Dan, Jean-Pierre, and Thierry walked out when it was all over.

"Remember, wait for our message, and follow our directions to the letter," Thierry said. "It may take some time, so be patient. You will be paid the balance once you have completed our instructions. Use this time to clean up. If anyone asks, say that your wife is traveling with her boss on business. Understand?"

"Yes," Dan said quietly, barely holding his stomach in check. He had seen a lot during his time in the service, but nothing could compare to the nightmare he had witnessed in his shed. After cleaning himself, he turned to his shop. There was so much blood...

The next several months were hell for Dan. He slept on the couch, not wanting to use the bed his wife defiled with Phillipe. But his sleep was filled with nightmares, most of them of Carmelita begging him to release her from the freezer.

He barely made it through the days and distanced himself from his family, much to the chagrin of his brother. He never returned to his shop but could tell someone had been there from the footprints in the dirt.

About six months after that horrible day, Dan got a text from Jean-Pierre: "Do it. Early in the morning. Then meet us at the rendezvous point." He sent a "thumbs-up" emoji to tell them he understood.

He started at midnight, placing the two body halves on a tarp in his truck's bed. Tears fell down his face as he placed Carmelita's lower half on the tarp.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He drove to Eastland bridge, positioned the body parts as instructed, then continued down the road. He seriously considered going in the opposite direction but remembered the stern warning Jean-Pierre gave him.

He shuddered as he recalled how the two Frenchmen dispatched Carmelita and Phillipe. It was as if they enjoyed what they were doing - a little too much. Dan's reverie was broken by a sharp rapping on the window.

"Bonjour, monsieur," Thierry said when Dan rolled the window down.

"I did as you asked," Dan said.

"Oui. Yes, you did."

"So, can we conclude our business?" Dan asked. Thierry nodded his head.

"Of course," the Frenchman said. Dan ground his cigarette out, then felt something slide across his throat.

"Oh, shit," he thought before everything went black...

...

To be continued...