Page 5 of Unnatural Death

“There’s much that’s not making sense yet,” I reply. “But the victims were attacked at some point after three o’clock this morning while it was dark and rainy. That much seems indisputable. The tent is flattened, belongings flung everywhere, the scene extremely violent and chaotic based on images Marino and others have been sending. Let me add that we haven’t confirmed the identities.”

“Who do we think they are?” Henry asks.

“They’re believed to be outdoor enthusiasts Huck and Brittany Manson. Lucy says they were under investigation by federal law enforcement for massive cybercrimes involving the Russians, possibly the Chinese. Apparently, the Mansons had retreated deep into the woods where it was harder to monitor everything they were up to.”

“What about spying?” Henry asks. “I’m wondering if they were doing that on top of everything else.”

“I don’t know all the details. Lucy will fill me in further when she’s taking me to the scene,” I reply. “But she said the Mansons were tied in with very bad people who shouldn’t be underestimated. I want to make sure I’m clear about that, Henry. If you don’t want any association with this, I’d understand.”

It’s only fair I warn him of the liabilities, and this won’t be the first time we’ve handled sensitive situations together. Last summer it was the murder of someone who worked for the CIA. Before that it was an FBI-protected witness whose cover was blown after relocating to nearby Arlington.

“What are you thinking?” Henry asks. “Do you have a clue what might have happened to them?”

His eyes are uneasy as we talk by his hearse. Both of us keep glancing out the wide bay door opening, making sure nobody walks in and overhears a word.

“A bear or more than one?” he’s saying. “If they’re big and riled enough they can do a lot of damage. So can a pack of wolves or even a lone one, especially if it’s rabid. I’ve seen these kinds of fatalities up close and personal, as have you. No open casket in the cases I’ve had.”

“Based on the information I’m getting, I don’t believe we’re dealing with bears, wolves, bobcats, feral hogs,” I reply. “There appears to have been no interest in the food stored at the campsite, none of the usual telltale signs, including the expected tracks or scat. The victims had been living at this same location for months. I don’t deal with a lot of wild animal attacks, but one wonders why now?”

“It wouldn’t make much sense if food didn’t seem to be a motivation,” Henry says. “Almost always that’s what draws a wild animal close to where people are camping. And bears, wolves and such don’t have babies this time of year. So I doubt it was something protecting its cubs or pups. Do we think the victims were asleep inside their tent when attacked?”

“Presumably the Mansons were alerted when their trail cameras’ motion sensors were triggered by the intruder,” I reply. “Whoever or whatever it was didn’t show up on the thermal imaging trail cameras the victims had set up. Lucy says you could hear something trudging along but not see what it was.”

“Well, that’s bizarre.” Henry looks slightly unnerved.

“It also appears to have been bulletproof when fired upon at close range with large-caliber weapons.”

“Even more bizarre and what the hello?”

“Deformed slugs on the ground indicate ten-millimeterbear loadlead bullets hit something and bounced off.”

“My Lord, it’s all sounding stranger and stranger,” Henry says. “What condition are the bodies in? Pretty grim, I have a feeling.”

“They’ve been in the elements for hours, and I don’t expect them to be in good shape. We also don’t know what they’ve been exposed to that might be dangerous to the rest of us, including poisons and microscopic organisms I don’t usually encounter.”

I explain that I’m treating the deaths like a potential biological and chemical hazard. It’s important the bodies are isolated as much as possible. We can’t be certain what threats might lurk inside Buckingham Run. I’m mindful that the water and soil likely are contaminated by arsenic, cyanide, mercury, lead and other heavy metals associated with abandoned mining operations.

Of more concern are pathogens in the unlikely event the victims have been exposed to wild animals. They could have been in contact with all sorts of things that can find their way into the human population. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is believed to have been spread by bats. Monkeypox is transmitted by rodents. Bears, wolves, bobcats can carry rabies. Armadillos can cause leprosy.

CHAPTER 3

THE SECRET SERVICE IS in charge of the investigation and will be working closely with you as they have in the past,” I tell Henry as we talk privately next to his hearse. “If you’re willing to help.”

“As long as we ensure the safety of our staff and all involved, that’s always first and foremost. Especially in this particular situation you’re describing,” he says. “We don’t need our businesses, our client databases hacked into by the Russians, the Chinese or who knows what? And they’re capable of doing far worse things than that. You and I both know that anything can happen. Bodies have been stolen and held for ransom. Other unfortunate things have been done to them.” Henry places a folded blanket on the stretcher’s mattress pad. “Not to mention assassinations.”

“The state police will assist in keeping everything secure here and at your place,” I assure him.

I explain that the bodies will never be inside my building, and special measures will be implemented in the labs for evidence tested. The examinations will be conducted inside the Remote Mobile Operating Theater Environment, the REMOTE, as we refer to the mobile autopsy facility’s fifty-foot semi-trailer. I helped design the government prototype with other experts, including Henry, Lucy and Benton.

We serve together on the National Emergency Contingency Coalition. Better known as the Doomsday Commission, it’s a collection of professionals appointed by the White House to help ensure the safety of the planet. We’ve been involved with the REMOTE’s research and development for several years; the Biosafety Level 4 trailer moved into my parking lot in early summer.

It gives me the ability to handle human remains in extreme circumstances such as suspected radiation deaths from a nuclear attack or mass fatalities by an unknown plague. To date, the REMOTE hasn’t been needed often. Most recently was a month ago when eleven people were found dead at a tourist motel, overdoses from fentanyl, as it turned out. Before that it was a regional jet crash with twenty-two fatalities, the bodies burned and contaminated by fuel.

“You have similar bio-level capabilities at your mortuary. Otherwise, I wouldn’t ask you to handle something potentially risky,” I explain to Henry, and technically I’m not supposed to make referrals, doesn’t matter the circumstances.

It’s considered a conflict of interest for the chief medical examiner to influence the handling of funeral arrangements. But I can’t function without a network of experts that I trust. In business since the mid-seventeen hundreds in Old Town Alexandria, Addams Family Chapel & Mortuary is the funeral service of choice for dignitaries, the rich, the famous and notorious.

Henry is accustomed to dealing with the Secret Service, the FBI, CIA, the Pentagon and other enforcement entities. He’s buried gangsters, undercover agents, celebrities, four-star generals and former presidents. A sworn peace officer who carries a gun, he holds a high-level government security clearance.

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