Chapter 11

A rushed goodbye to her family and a few hours later, Bel arrived at the address Griffin sent her. Eamon had dropped her off at her car before taking Cerberus to his mansion so he wouldn't be alone, and she'd followed the GPS to a farmhouse so far out of the way that she was shocked she was still in Bajka.

"Thanks for coming." The sheriff greeted her as she parked next to his truck on the long dirt drive. "I'm sorry for calling you, but Gold flew home, so she can't make it back quickly."

"It's okay," Bel said as she studied the farmhouse, the reason for her presence obvious. An electric company truck stood beside a massive tree that grew dangerously close to the house, and it had fallen onto the power lines, snapping them before crashing into the home. "What happened?"

"We had a thunderstorm here last night," Griffin answered. "The electric company received an alert that power lines were down on this property, and they arrived this morning to find the tree had knocked out part of the wall. The charring suggests lightning hit it."

"Did it kill someone?" she asked, horrified that this had been someone's Thanksgiving. One minute they were eating turkey, and the next a tree was crushing them alive.

"No."

"Okay." Bel squinted at him. "You said there was a body."

"There is, but the tree didn't kill him."

"So, what are we looking at?"

"You should see for yourself," Griffin answered, and Bel's stomach dropped. The last time a man said that to her, she'd walked into Lumen's Customs to find a heartless man built into a gruesome chandelier. What had the electric company found inside this house?

Bracing for the worst, Bel donned the protective gear and climbed the front steps to the porch, where medical examiner Lina Thum waited.

"We wanted you to see the body before I removed it from the scene," she said.

"That bad, huh?" Bel asked.

"It's weird, that's for sure." Lina nodded toward the collapsed section. The deputies and electricians had cleared the dangerous tree branches from the wall, and deeming it safe to walk through, they beckoned Bel into what was once the living room.

"Where's the body?" she asked when no corpse caught her attention.

"Somewhere you wouldn't expect." Lina pointed to the collapsed wall. "There."

Bel followed her finger and cursed when she saw what Thum meant, for the body wasn't strewn about the floor like she'd expected. It protruded from inside the wall, tightly bound by plastic and tape.

"He was in the wall?" she asked as she approached the unconventional grave. The corpse was shriveled and black, and she didn't need the M.E. to confirm that the time of death was well in the past. "Someone doesn't end up wrapped in plastic and shoved into the wall by accident. This is either murder or an accidental death someone didn't want the police to learn about. Do we know who this is?"

"No," Lina answered. "The features are too decayed. We'll have to wait until I run his dental records for an ID."

"That looks like blunt force trauma." Bel pointed to the cracked skull.

"The autopsy will confirm, but I can almost guarantee that's what killed him," Lina said. "The skull damage is severe, but the plastic wrap is intact and there's no blood. He was dead before he was wrapped."

"We keep saying he," Bel said as she leaned closer to look deeper into the wall cavity. "I'm using it as an all-encompassing pronoun, but the remains are tall. I think this body is male."

"I agree."

"Whoever did this had enough skill to create a convincing false wall." Bel stepped back to get a bigger picture. "My guess is this death wasn't premeditated if it was a murder, though."

"Why not?" Griffin asked as he joined the women.

"I believe our victim died in this farmhouse," she explained. "Disposing of the body would require the killer to move the remains, increasing the risk of being caught or the burial site being accidentally discovered. I think our killer panicked and built the body into the wall because he didn't know how to dispose of it. The chances of the victim being discovered inside a private residence are low. If that tree had fallen a few feet over, we would've never found this because authorities would need both a warrant and insider knowledge to search the walls. Whoever did this felt it was easier to buy construction supplies than to bury a corpse."

"That theory works for an accidental death too," Lina said.

"It does." Bel spun slowly, taking in the rest of the house, and then she walked to the light switch and flipped it on. The overhead lights burned to life, and satisfied with the discovery, she strode to the kitchen. She turned on the faucet, and when water ran out, she checked the refrigerator. Cold air escaped when she pulled the door back to find some groceries on the shelves.

"What are you thinking?" Griffin asked from where he watched the scene.

"The utilities are on, which means the bills are being paid," she said. "And there's food in the fridge, suggesting someone lives here. The bank hasn't repossessed the property or that truck out front, meaning someone is paying taxes and car loans. Whoever killed this man hid him inside the wall and lived their life as if a body wasn't feet away from the couch. Who owns this farmhouse?"

"A Harris Walker… seventy-one, single, no kids," Griffin read from his notes.

"I could be wrong, but I think Mr. Walker is our killer, or at least the one who hid the body," Bel said. "The utilities still work, meaning someone walled up this corpse and moved on with his life. It makes the most sense it's Walker, since he pays the bills."

"He was just living here with a human being inside the walls," Lina shuddered. "Uff, that makes my skin crawl. Especially since this body has been here for years."

"Maybe this death was an accident to a certain extent," Bel said.

"Blunt force trauma and concealed in the house's construction?" Griffin said. "It feels more like murder to me."

"It might be, but can you imagine living with a dead man in your walls?" Bel strode to the debris-covered couch and settled before it. "Can you imagine sitting here watching TV knowing that a body decayed feet behind you?" She glanced over her shoulder, illustrating how the fake wall stood in the perfect line of sight of the sofa. "If I murdered someone, I wouldn't want my victim hovering over me. If you violently killed someone, wouldn't you hide them in an out-of-the-way location? Somewhere you wouldn't see every waking hour?

"That wall is visible from the kitchen and living room, meaning Walker constantly looked at the burial site. It would've been a daily reminder of death, so I think whoever that man is, he died by accident. Walker didn't want the police to find out, but his guilt encouraged him to keep his companion close."

"So, the victim was close to Walker?" Griffin asked.

"Why else would he preserve their remains in his home?" she asked. "You said Walker had no kids. Did he have any other family members or friends?"

"I couldn't tell you," Griffin said. "I didn't know him. I don't think I ever saw him around, either. This property is closer to the next town over than it is Bajka, so he probably ran his errands there."

"We are pretty far out," Bel agreed. "I didn't realize this was still Bajka."

"So, I unfortunately don't know Walker. I couldn't tell you if he has friends or family without research," Griffin said. "I'll put an APB out for him, though. Even if he didn't kill this man, he knew he'd been built into the wall. He should be able to shine some light on what happened here."

"We got the photos we needed, so I'll transport the body to the morgue and perform the autopsy in the morning," Lina said. "Will you be there?"

"Yes," Bel said. "I'm eager to figure out who this John Doe is."

"Do you need another look, or can we remove him?" Lina asked as Griffin stepped outside to place the All-Points Bulletin.

"Sure," Bel said. "I'll stay with the techs to document the scene, but between the debris and the years, I doubt we'll find anything. Any evidence of what happened to him is probably long gone."

"Hopefully, the autopsy has enough evidence for the both of us." Lina gestured to the deputies to help her free the body. "I can't believe someone like this lived in our midst unnoticed. Even if Walker didn't murder this man, he still wrapped him up and hid his remains. It scares me how many monsters walk among us undetected."

Bel slid a comforting hand against the M.E.'s back. If only she knew the truth of her statement.

"Good morning," Lina greeted as Bel walked into the morgue the following day. "You ready?"

"Yes, and I'll stay for the autopsy, if you don't mind," she answered. "I've never seen one of a body this old."

"Well, I'm happy to have you." Lina led her down the hall, where they donned their protective gear. Detectives always joined medical examiners at the autopsy's start to preserve the evidence chain of custody, and with the thick plastic and tape wrapped around this John Doe, Bel had plenty to gather. Staying for the rest of the exam wasn't required, but in some cases, detectives remained for the entire procedure. They'd found nothing at the farmhouse, but Bel had expected that. The crime was too old for any evidence to remain, and with Harris Walker still in the wind, this autopsy was their only lead.

The women spent the first few minutes photographing the body and preserving the plastic death shroud, and when the evidence was secured, they moved on to the remains.

"He looks worse unwrapped." Bel was thankful Lina couldn't see her grimace below the protective masks.

"He actually might've been dead longer than we initially guessed," Lina said. "The level of decay and dehydration has me reconsidering how long he was in that wall."

"We estimated a few years," Bel said. "Are you thinking longer now?"

"I'll need to run more tests, but I suspect our guess is too conservative," Lina said. "Plus, without knowing the exact weather and temperature conditions of the house, it'll be hard to estimate the rate of decomposition. His skin is leathery, which leads me to believe he was mummified to a certain extent. I wonder if he was stored elsewhere before he was wrapped. Dry air, good circulation, and heat could achieve this if someone new to act quickly."

"That makes sense, though," Bel said. "Unless Walker miraculously had the tools and supplies on hand, he would've needed time to shop for the materials and pull apart his living room. He wouldn't have wanted the body rotting, so he probably dried it out to prevent bacteria."

"I agree," Lina said as she rounded the table to examine the head. "It's what I would do if I had to keep a corpse in my house. That or freeze it. But unless you have a deep freezer on hand, a human male isn't fitting in a residential refrigerator. Plus, a frozen body melting in your walls would be foul."

"Not to mention that it's easier to spot remains in a freezer than in a wall," Bel added. "People see massive fridges, and they peek inside. No one is looking in the walls."

"Exactly, so rapidly mummifying him seems the most reasonable… Come here." She gestured for Bel to join her at the man's head. "I don't see any other injuries or defensive wounds on him. I'll need to run a toxicology report and open him up, but I'm still almost certain this blunt-force trauma was the cause of death. He was struck from behind, and the blow shattered his skull, the bone cracking inward. It looks like one strike with a long but rounded object killed him. Maybe a tire iron? Seems odd that Walker would be the killer, though. He would've had to hit incredibly hard to inflict this damage."

"You suspect the body was in the wall for longer than we guessed," Bel said. "Walker is seventy-one now, but he would've been capable of such an attack years ago."

"Good point," Lina said. "At least this poor man didn't see it coming. I'm going to open him up. Do you want to help?"

"Me, help?" Bel stared down at the shriveled corpse on the slab.

"Oh, come on," Lina teased. "You can't be squeamish after everything you've seen."

"I'm not. I've just never helped."

"Time to try something new, then. Let's get impressions and photos of his teeth first, so we can run his dental records."

Bel swallowed her anxiety and then gave herself over completely to the medical examiner. She wasn't sure if she'd ever get the chance to examine a mummified body again, so she might as well learn from it.

The women fell silent as they worked, speaking only to discuss their findings or Bel's help. Bel didn't perform any surgical work, but she handled her assistant's responsibilities with flying colors.

"Whoever this is, they aren't young," Lina finally said as they neared the end of their autopsy. "The bones are fused, signifying this is an adult, and if you look at the wear on his skeleton and joints, my guess is this is someone past middle age."

"A middle-aged Caucasian male, probably around five foot eleven," Bel said. "I would need to double-check, but I don't think we have any missing persons for someone who fits this bill."

"He might not be a Bajka resident, or the only person who realized he was missing plastered him into a wall instead of filing a report."

"I hope his dental records identify him. I need to know why someone built a man into their home."

"Maybe the same reason a woman built people into furniture," Lina said.

"Oh god, I hope we don't have another one of those cases on our hands," Bel said.

"I wouldn't worry," Lina said. "I'm almost certain this is a one-time incident. Weird, yes, but not a serial killer."

"Thanks for your help," Lina said as the women cleaned up. They'd finished the autopsy, and while Lina had more tests and exams to perform, they'd completed the bulk of the work. The middle-aged man had no clothing or ID on his person below the plastic, and his examination determined he was relatively healthy at the time of death. Just like the house, the body offered no evidence.

"I'll write my full report and share any new findings with you," Lina continued. "But we have a good start."

"Which isn't much," Bel said.

"Unfortunately, no. Hopefully, the dental records find more than we did. The autopsy took longer than expected. If you have a few minutes, we can check on them."

"Sure." Bel nodded, and the M.E. led her into the office where a tech sat before a computer.

"I found a match," he said as they approached.

"Finally, something useful." Lina leaned over the tech's shoulder to study the screen.

"What's wrong?" Bel asked when she remained silent. "Did it not find a match?"

"No, it identified the victim, but you're not going to like the results."

"Why not?" Bel's nerves fired in anticipation.

"Because our John Doe is Harris Walker… the farmhouse's owner."