“I’d say shot in the chest, then the drywall went up,” Whistler said. “A lot of stuff was shoved in there with him.” He indicated a makeshift table sitting under a window. “That’s where we’ve put what’s been lifted out so far.”
“Thanks,” said David.
Evie moved to the table with David. Items were being cleaned off by hand, using a small, soft brush to remove the cat-litter gunk. Another technician was taking photos and writing up an inventory. Evie was elated to spot a litter-caked camera, one of the older professional types with a motor drive. “One of Saul’s cameras was with the remains? That’s going to be a rich find if any photos can be recovered.”
The technician paused to point with his brush. “The lab might be able to restore some images either from the film or the memory card, depending on which he was using. It’s a dual-type camera. The battery compartment looks like battery acid ate through it, but the vacuum seal of the body has held together.”
“Care to give odds?”
“Better than seventy if he was using film. An exposed negative is going to be good until it decays. Forty percent might be high if he was using the memory card, but images on those older cards are actually more retrievable since they used thicker memory cells.”
“I’ll take those odds.”
They saw the wallet’s leather had mostly survived, including its contents of ruined cash and business cards, plus two stained credit cards. David used his pen to gently shift a photo still intact under the plastic sleeve. “Cynthia and her son. Saul’s sister,” he noted when the technician glanced over. “This wire spiral”—David pointed with the pen to an encrusted ball of gunk—“is it the edge of a notebook? The guy was known to carry one.”
“Could be,” the technician answered. “There are some remains of his shirt in there. You can see the collar, the front line of the pocket. We’ll peel apart the layers at the lab. Maybe you’ve got a readable notebook inside.”
“And this?” Evie asked, studying a larger piece.
“That looks like what came out of a car’s glove box. You can faintly make out a vehicle registration card on top, and on the side, part of an insurance card—see the logo? I think the thick mass at the back is a car manual.”
“So,” David said, “they tossed everything he had with him into the wall, cleaned out his car and threw those items in as well. Both efficient and fast.”
“What else might be here with him?” the technician asked.
“A phone is likely, and maybe some folders of case materials,” David guessed. “He wasn’t one to regularly carry a handgun, but he was licensed for concealed carry.”
“We’ll keep you informed on what gets found.”
Evie walked with David back over to watch the work being done at the wall. Technicians were carefully recovering items around the bones. If they removed a piece too soon, the lattice of cat litter would cascade down in a heap, and with it the bones. The lead technician eventually took hold of the skull and with great care eased it out of the vertical tomb. Evie turned away, not needing to see this part.
Captain Whistler came to join them. “How far along was your investigation?”
David slid hands into his back pockets but kept watching. “I’d filled in the timeline on Saul’s disappearance to Saturday, eight p.m., when he was looking for a card game here in Englewood. A client’s wife thought her reformed gambler of a husband had relapsed but didn’t want to confront him without being certain. I’d guess from what we see here that Saul was working that case when he ran into trouble.”
“A useful lead,” the captain responded. “It’s going to take the day to get the remains out of there, factor in lab time on the recovered items, medical examiner’s report, putting together the history on this building to figure out who might have thought it harmless to entomb him here. We’re looking at several days just putting our arms around this scene and what it can tell us. Consider this a shared investigation for now. I’ll want your take on the items found with him, whatever else you have for leads. So talk to anyone you like, read any reports you want to see. In a few days we’ll have more information to guide how everything proceeds.” He paused, smiled. “I’m guessing we take the bones and homicide off your hands once you’ve done all the work and can tell us what this all means. Your boss is on her way to sort that out.”
David simply smiled. “You’ll find me in agreement with that plan, Captain. I’d like to stay with the case long enough to see the details, button down some open questions I have, but you’ll find me eager to hand it off to your homicide detectives. I’m one guy, and this is going to get very involved. We’re in the middle of a hot chase on another missing person that equally needs my attention.”