Tortured Dreams

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter 15

The plane ride was uneventful. Alejandro was silent, brooding. He smelled of whiskey and coffee. Lucas looked bright eyed, busying himself in a book. Xavier went back to sleep the moment we boarded. Michael sat playing video games.

We landed about an hour later in a small airport just outside of Chicago, Illinois. Alejandro barked orders at the pilots as we exited the plane. Outside was a small army. I counted four local police cars and an SUV. We were herded into the SUV.

Alejandro and the driver of the SUV made small talk about the case, but nothing important seemed to be said. I didn't tune them out, but I wasn't sure how they could be talking so calmly. I felt like I was about to crawl out of my skin.

Lucas gave me a wink. I gave him the best smile I could manage. I was going to the first crime scene where I wasn't involved. It was different to be sure.

The car stopped. The driver looked at me as we stepped out of the car.

"It's not pleasant," he said to Alejandro.

"She's our torture expert." He responded. The driver shrugged and we began trekking through the woods.

Light was beginning to brighten the sky, which seemed to make it darker on the ground. Even without their leaves, the trees cast extensive shadows on the undergrowth. Xavier walked right next to me, a flashlight on the ground. Silently I thanked him from keeping me from tripping over a stick and making myself look like an idiot.

We entered a clearing. There was a small, wood cabin that looked at least a hundred years old. Planks were missing out of it.

"Some bow hunters found it. They are at the hospital and can be interviewed there. Although, I think it might take a while before the sedatives wear off." The driver said to us.

He opened the door. I was let into the cabin second. They had set up flood lights. It made the scene even more gruesome and surreal. There was nothing in the room that looked like a torture device. There were ten bodies though.

Each seemed twisted and broken. Several were in a fetal position. There was a bruise visible on one of them across the back. It seemed about two inches in width.

"Xavier?" I motioned him over.

"What?" He asked, kneeling down.

"I think it's a Scavenger's Daughter," I pointed to the band. "But I won't know for sure until the autopsies. I need a catalogue of every broken bone. If I'm right, there will be lots of them."

Xavier picked up a hand. The arm flopped wrong as he did it. He dropped it.

"I'd say there's at least four fractures to that arm," he looked at me.

"What are you two whispering about?" Alejandro asked.

"I think I know what did this. It's called a Scavenger's Daughter. Basically, it's a hoop. You put the victim inside and a screw on top allows the hoop to tighten. It was rarely fatal, but when it was, they died of either trauma to the spine or suffocation. Everywhere the band touches, it breaks. So victims have multiple fractures."

"Why would a hoop cause multiple fractures?" Xavier asked.

"Oh, it isn't a hoop like you are thinking. It's like an upright hula hoop. The victim was forced to kneel in it; the bottom of the hoop would be just below the knees. The arms were tucked in at the sides. And the top of the hoop went over their backs. It was common to dislocate the knees, break the tibia and fibula, break the arms in multiple places and break the spine. In some cases, it would cause multiple spine fractures because once it broke a vertebra; the stress on the spine could be increased. The increased pressure caused more damage to the spine."