A Psychic Sleuth Mystery Book Series

Marie Bartek & The SIPS Team by Robin Murphy

Series Excerpt

Marie pulled the covers tightly under her chin and stared into the dark. “Gale, are you still awake?”

“Hell yeah. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to sleep. Not only am I keyed up over the investigation, but I'm freaked out that they found another dead girl. Do you think they're related?”

Marie sighed and sat up. “I don't know. I was supposed to go to breakfast with Cory tomorrow, I mean today, but I have a feeling he's going to cancel.”

Gale switched on the lamp. “Hey, if you're up for it, why don't we go over some of the evidence we caught. I'm dying to hear what that whisper was in your ear.”

Marie got out of bed. “Sure, why not. It's not doing us any good forcing ourselves to sleep. Gee, considering its three in the morning, should I put on a pot of coffee or open a bottle of wine?”

Gale yawned. “Well, normally I'd go with wine, but let's try coffee. With the state I'm in, neither is probably going to affect me.”

While the coffee brewed, Gale started pulling out the digital cameras and voice recorders. Marie began uploading the EVPs and photos into the paranormal software on her computer. They tracked the personal experiences and matched them to the times and places on the videos.

Marie poured their cups of coffee. “Did you find the tape of us yet?”

Gale was busy scanning through the videos. “Not yet. I think I need a new pair of earphones. Mine keep cracking.”

Marie set their coffee on the dining table. “Here, use these. It's an extra pair I just bought.” She quickly spotted the video tape. “Wait, stop the tape. That's us in the children's section. Let me plug in my earphones while you rewind the video back. We need to be able to place them together.”

Gale slowly rewound to the exact spot on the video showing Marie jumping and brushing at her ear. “There it is. Okay, are you ready? Let's play this thing back and see what we can make of it.”

As they listened and watched the video, Marie's eyes widened as she whipped off the earphones and almost knocked over their coffee. “What the heck was that? Did that just say what I think it said?”

Gale stared at the computer screen. “Well, if you just heard the words, save Christy, then yeah, that's exactly what it said.” Gale stopped the tape. “Who the heck is Christy and why does she need saving? Better yet why was it whispered in your ear?”

Marie slowly blew on her coffee and took a sip. “I don't know. Geez, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Let me put my earphones on and listen again.”

Marie rewound the tape and listened to the repeated words and then removed her earphones. “Let me mark this on the report so we know when to play it back for the team. I wish Myra were here. She didn't mention any names. Did she write anything down in the log?”

Gale started to review the notations in the log when a knock on the back door made her jump. “Who could that be?”

Marie set her coffee cup down and walked over to the back door and turned on the porch light. “It's Tim.” She unlocked the door. “Hey, come on in. What are you doing here?”

Tim stepped into the sun porch still wearing his tightly fitted T-shirt and blue jeans. He smiled when he spotted Gale. “I knew Gale was over here and I wanted to check on you both to make sure you were okay.” He greeted Gale with a kiss. “What are you two doing up?”

Gale wrapped her arms around his waist. “We couldn't sleep. We were too freaked out over the call you got and the investigation. Hey, you have to come in here and listen to this EVP. It's the whisper that Marie heard.”

Tim walked into the dining room while still entwined with Gale. “I smell coffee. Could I bother you for a cup?”

Marie smiled. “Sure. Cream and sugar?”

Tim stood behind Gale at the computer. “No, black please.” He looked back at Gale. “Now, what is this EVP you heard? Were you able to make it out?”

Gale grabbed her earphones and handed them to Tim. “Here put these on, and I'll rewind it back.” She pointed to the screen time. “Watch when it hits nine fifty-seven and fourteen seconds.”

Marie handed him a cup of coffee. “Mind you, it's pretty freaky. Let's see if you hear the same thing we did.”

Tim stood staring at the screen with the earphones on and waited until the time hit the exact spot of the EVP. When he heard the EVP, he almost choked on his coffee. “No, no, this can't be real. Did it just say, save Christy?”

Gale jumped up and hooted. “Yes! That's exactly what we heard. Why is your face all white and pasty?”

Tim took off the earphones and sat down in the chair without taking his eyes off the computer screen. “Because the name of the girl they found outside of the marina tonight was Christy Lang.”

Chief Cory Miller sat and waited for Sue to arrive in the basement of the morgue. He was glad to have the solitude from the horrific display of emotions and hysterical screaming from Christy Lang's family. The sister recognized her immediately and began to wail and hang onto Cory for dear life. He couldn't get the image of Christy's head being snapped and hanging backward while her tongue protruded from her mouth. Viewing her from the front, it appeared she had no head at all.

Sue walked through the metal swinging doors wearing the same ball cap she had on the other day. “Hello, Cory. It appears we meet again under horrible circumstances.”

Cory rose up from the bench. “Hi, Sue. I was just trying to get Christy's image out of my head, but it doesn't seem to be working.”

Sue escorted him into the morgue and turned on the huge halogen lamp over where Christy's body lay on a steel table with a sheet over her. “Well, you're not going to be able to get it out of your head any time soon.” She moved the sheet down to Christy's waist. “I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to either.”

Cory winced and turned away to keep from gagging. “Wow, you weren't kidding. I think it looked better from a distance and in the dark.” He took out his handkerchief and placed it over his mouth and nose. “I forgot my Vicks salve. So, what can you tell me?”

Sue slipped on her latex gloves and began to point out the marks on Christy’s wrists and neck. “She was obviously tied up at the wrists. From the ligature marks, I think she may have been dragged by the cord or rope that she was tied up with. The perpetrator must have released her hands before hanging her.”

Cory spotted a butterfly tattoo on the victim's hip. “Is it a coincidence that this girl has a tattoo also?”

“I'm not sure. It could be something to add to the file.”

Cory asked, “What kind of a hanging could cause the neck to snap like that?”

Sue pulled Christy's long, matted, blonde hair back away from her neck. “This is what is known as a long drop method of hanging. The long drop method was designed to break the victim's neck by allowing the victim to fall a predetermined distance and then be brought up with a sharp jerk by the rope. At the end of the drop, the body is still accelerating under the force of gravity, but the head is constrained by the noose. If the eyelet is positioned under the left angle of the jaw, it rotates the head backward, which combined with the downward momentum of the body, breaks the neck, and ruptures the spinal cord causing instant deep unconsciousness and rapid death. It is only in the last six inches or so of the drop that the physical damage to the neck and vertebrae occurs as the rope constricts the neck and the force is applied to the vertebrae. The duration of this part of the process is between two- and three-tenths of a second, depending upon the length of drop given. Generally, the diameter of the noose is found to have reduced some five to seven inches after the drop.” She looked up at Cory. “This was a very calculated hanging. The killer knew what they were doing. It was well-planned and thought out.”

Cory shuddered. “Not that this is worth anything, but at least it was rapid.”

Sue shook her head. “There were no signs of sexual assault, which was the same case for Chelsea. Neither of the girls had been raped, and there are no signs of any other types of abuse.”

Cory pulled the sheet over Christy's head. “I'll read the full report when you've finished. I'd like to try and release the body to her family as soon as possible. I think we need to hustle the paperwork and try to avoid the media mob that's going to appear at their doorsteps and ours.”

Sue sighed. “I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you need to get some rest. You look how I feel.”

Cory smiled. “Yeah, I'm not sure how sleeping is going to work for me right now. It's already four-thirty in the morning, and I'm supposed to have a breakfast date in three hours.”

Sue walked him out of the morgue and turned off the lights. “Considering the amount of paperwork you have to fill out right now, I'd say you'd be better off canceling. Do you even feel like eating after seeing all of that?”

Cory shook his head and followed her outside. “Canceling isn't an option right now. The paperwork can wait until after breakfast. And no, food may not be a good idea, but the lady I'm having it with is worth stomaching it for.”

Sue smiled. “Well, good night then, or should I say, good morning? I'll send the report over as soon as I can.”

Cory opened her car door. “Thanks, I appreciate that. Be careful, and I'll talk to you later.”

He didn't feel as good as he had expected this time and he almost got caught. Christy was a biter, and he needed to tend to the open bite marks in his forearm, but not before he uploaded his digital pictures. The throbbing pain made it difficult to unlock the door, and he winced when the lock released. Carefully, he turned on the light and basked in the sight of the walls. Soon he would be able to add these photos to his collection to admire. He inserted the flash card and opened the file. His eyes glazed over as he began printing the photos of Christy bound and gagged with tears streaming down her face. Hanging her from the railing on the dock was the perfect height to snap her neck. He took great lengths to measure the distance to where her body would hit the water. After all, he didn't want her to suffer.

As he taped the newly printed photos to the wall, he compared them with a gleam in his eyes. “Christy was a fighter like you. She almost got me caught, but I contained her, just as I will contain you.”

He needed to clean and bandage his arm but decided to first sit down in the chair and reflect on his masterpiece and stare at the 1996 photo. “The time is nearing when we will meet again. I believe I'll have a special place to hang you.” He tilted back in the chair and began to laugh.