Burning Lights

Chapter 4: Confrontational

After I dropped Ben to the hospital, we both wish each other good luck then shifted my car to the crime scene. Before Ben and I left the house, Jason had given me the address to the crime scene and the address to the hospital to which Ben already knew the location.

For me, I used the Navigation System which led me from out of the streets of San Francisco to a rural county farm. Strangely, I looked at the brown grassy fields then back to the directions. I was sure this was the place. Closing the door behind me, I tugged my knapsack over my shoulder as I scoured through the countryside. 

Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. "Excuse me, but this is a crime scene." I swivel to look at a  squat police officer, peering at me. "Sorry, sir." I began. "But I can assure you that I will be some assistance." "Hey," he said. "Aren't you the girl who saved Chinatown?" "And stopped Dennis from killing everyone in the precinct?" I added. "Yeah," that's me and my friend, Luke."

His eyes grew big with wonder. "Luke is in the hospital to talk to some witnesses who survived in the fire." I said. "The gender bender of Lisbeth Salander?" he guessed. He must have recognized the title, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. "Something like that," I chuckled. 

I followed the officer to a massive purple tent, which was standing out in the middle of nowhere. "This is a county farm," I said. "So, why isn't there any farmers or cows?" "The fire got to them before the San Francisco police could." the officer explained. 

"Right now, we have police accompanying the burnt victims and a bunch of cow corpses to send over to the lab before we could get something that will link us to our killer." The cop then reached into his pocket and showed me a photo of a dead cow with a huge, gnarled burn across her back. 

"Her name is Betty," he replied. "The farmer who took care of her died in the fire." "Oh my gosh," I mumbled. "That's terrible." The cop didn't respond, he just put it back into his pocket then disappeared into the tent. I shook the horrifying image out of my mind and followed him.

Inside the tent were at least twenty police officers surveying the burned corpses of the witnesses. Yellow crime tape surrounded the area like some sort of box. "Someone found the tent like this?" I guessed. "Now, you're talking like a detective." the cop beamed. 

We slid under the tape then inspected the bodies. I took out my phone from my bag then snapped a picture of the barbecued bodies.  "How come outside has been cleared up?" I asked. "Weren't there any bodies?" The cop shrugged. "Nobody knows."

I cranned my neck and saw an old dogtag around one of the corpse's neck. Chiseled on the tag was the name Chester M. Field. Where have I heard that name before? Normally, dogtags belonged to men and women who volunteered or served in the army.

So this corpse is a retired army veteran, and the other corpse must be related to him, maybe a family member or a friend in the army? "The bodies belonged to an old couple," another cop said. "Chester M. Field and his wife?" I guessed. 

The another cop looked at his buddy, who urged him to continue. "The girl is right," he continued. "Chester served in the army for many years then became a farmer. His wife however worked as a seamstress." "Did these two live here?"

The first cop shook his head. "No," he said. "Apparently, they burned the couple and their home, dragged them here, and left them to die." "Wow," I whistled. "That's sadistic. I'll go to the hospital and spread the word to Luke." The first one nodded while the other glanced in my way.

"She shouldn't be getting involved in this," I heard someone whisper. "She seems to be too young to handle this on her own." "Cole and her friend doesn't mind." I dialed Ben's number then held it to my ear. "Hey Gorgeous," he called. "What did you find?"

"The cops found two burnt corpses in a tent," I said. "The killer must have burned them and their house, kidnapped them, and left them to die out in the wilderness. "Crap," Ben muttered. "Did you get the names?" "Chester M. Field and his wife," I answered. 

"The army veteran and the seamstress?" he guessed. "How did you know that?" I asked. "It's a Sherlock thing," he stated. "Right," I laughed. "Did you talk to some witnesses?" "Yeah," he answered. "They say a man with a dark hoodie drove them to the county farm site and dumped their bodies there."

A man with a dark hoodie? I thought. Could it be the man we saw in the footage earlier? "I'll might head down to your place," I said. "Maybe we could look at the lab?" "Sure," Ben answered. "Be sure to not to let Seth touch anything."

"Got it," I said. "See you soon, Irene." "You too, Sherlock." I beamed. After we stopped talking, I hung up the phone and walked back to my mother's green car. I got into the front seat then used the car keys to activate it. Starting the ignition, the vehicle crawled out of the fields and onto the gray road. 

The journey to back to my home has been long: I got honked on by obnoxious idiots, waited for the stoplight to turn green, and now the gas tank is starting to run low. Luckily, I had found a nearby gas station on the right next to Burger King. 

I swerved the car and wedged my bar in between the teenaged boys who were filling their vehicles with endless amounts of gas. They both looked like they belonged to a football team. The boys wore school blue jerseys, long khaki pants, and black sneakers. 

They also have dark brown hair and blue eyes. The boys looked so much alike that I was starting to wonder if they were twins. Fetching my wallet, I got out of the car, pulled out my credit card, and slid it in the slot. I then took the nozzle out of its holder, opened the gas compartment, and stuck the nozzle in there.

I watched impatiently as the numbers suddenly increased on the screen until one of the football jocks noticed me. "Hey, cutie!" one of them whistled. I didn't pay any much attention to him. I still stared at the flying numbers. 

"Sweetheart," another called. "Come over here." "No thanks," I called back. After the car is finished, I placed the nozzle back to its holder and took my credit card. Suddenly, one of the jocks grabbed me by the arm and twisted it. "Girls like you should be respectful when someone talks to you." he hissed. Annoyed, I kicked him hard in the crotch. 

The jock let out a painful moan then hurried back to his car while his friend stared at me.  "Come on James!" his friend yelled. "Leave this crazy chick alone." James nodded, got into his car, and drove after his buddy. I closed the compartment door of the car then climbed inside the driver's seat.

I started the ignition then drove straight home.