Chapter LIII
CHAPTER LIII
Donnie Ray Dolfe arrived at the barn at the same time as the deputy medical examiner from the Northern District office in Manassas. It turned out the DME had been staying over at a motel in Leesburg after a conference and so was barely a hop, skip, and a jump from the body. She nodded to Donnie Ray as they exited their vehicles together, the law in Virginia not being unacquainted with him, and he fell in step with her. Nobody tried to prevent Donnie Ray from approaching the barn. Frankly, some actions just weren’t worth the effort, and his children and nephews, who were more likely to kick off, were congregated at a safe distance, with Schuler keeping an eye on them. If any more Dolfes appeared, Wen thought, it would resemble a clan reunion.
Two detectives had reached the scene before Donnie Ray and the DME, and they were currently in the barn. Wen knocked on the door, which was now nearly closed to discourage the lookie-loos among the Dolfes.
“Medical examiner’s here,” he said. “And Donnie Ray.”
Hicks, the more senior of the two detectives, turned to the younger, Elkins.
“You stick with the medical examiner,” she said. “I’ll take a moment with Donnie Ray.”
“I won’t fight you for the pleasure,” said Elkins.
They exited together, Elkins making a beeline for the deputy ME and Hicks moving to block Donnie Ray, indicating that Wen should join her. Since Wen had briefed the detectives on everything that had happened so far, he knew as much as anyone on the scene and would, therefore, be useful to have at hand.
Although he was nearing eighty, Donnie Ray Dolfe remained an imposing figure. Age might have diminished him, but there’d been a lot of Donnie Ray to start with, so he still had a couple of inches and more than a few pounds on Hicks. He had been handsome once, and the ghost of it still haunted his features, and only some disfigurement below his left ear hinted at the damage the fire had done to the rest of him.
Donnie Ray didn’t look displeased to see Hicks. She might have been Black, female, and partly responsible for putting some of his people behind bars over the previous decade, but Donnie Ray wasn’t a racist, respected women, and didn’t take legal reverses personally. The Dolfes had their issues with the sheriff’s office, but Donnie Ray regarded Hicks as someone who played the game fair and square. Hicks, in turn, respected Donnie Ray, but respecting wasn’t the same as liking.
The Dolfes—or their agents, at any rate—were among those pressing legislators to establish a legal marijuana market in the state and were making progress. In the meantime, they continued to grow cannabis deep in their rural fastnesses, supplementing the crop with narcotics purchased from elsewhere, including cocaine and fentanyl. Their major supplier, according to the latest DEA briefings and local scuttlebutt, was Devin Vaughn, a local boy made good who was happy to help his own, for a price. The fentanyl-and-cocaine angle had caused Hicks to sour some on Donnie Ray, even if she suspected Clemmie had pushed her old man in that direction.
“Detective,” said Donnie Ray, “my daughter tells me you found a body.”
By now Clemmie had joined her father, but didn’t interrupt.
“On land your daughter is claiming for the Dolfes,” said Hicks. “If that’s the case, it would complicate matters.”
“My daughter may be mistaken,” said Donnie Ray, “if only on an issue of detail. We’re in the process of purchasing this land, but for the present, it isn’t ours. We have no issue with how it was entered or why. It’s none of our concern, not on that level, so it’s nothing to get pressed about.”
“Well,” said Hicks, “ain’t that a relief for all?”
She wasn’t being entirely sarcastic, either. Donnie Ray was canny. No one had ever denied it. He was already distancing the family from his daughter’s earlier claim while making it clear to Hicks that he was retaining an interest in whatever had occurred or might yet unfold as a consequence. In other words, he wouldn’t make life difficult for the investigators so long as he was kept in the loop.
“You have a name for whoever’s in there?” Donnie Ray asked.
“Not so far, but we will soon enough. It’s hard for a body to remain anonymous in this day and age.”
“You think I could take a look without stepping inside? Might be I’ll recognize the face.”
Hicks didn’t immediately reply. Given that at least two kids had already seen the corpse and perhaps snapped a few images with their phones—she’d have to set Schuler on it to ensure they weren’t circulated on social media—it wasn’t as though the fact of its existence was a state secret. She couldn’t have Donnie Ray traipsing around the barn, but she didn’t see the harm in letting him view the body from a distance. It might even prove advantageous.
“How about you and Clemmie both ease up to the door?” said Hicks, finally. “We have some lights on the decedent, which should help. A note of warning: Whoever killed him took their time, and his features are distorted. If either of you are going to be sick, be sure to do it in the bushes. I don’t want my people stepping in it.”
Clemmie looked as though she might have preferred had the offer not been made, but she wouldn’t show weakness in front of her father or Hicks. Donnie Ray’s features, by contrast, were impassive.
Hicks led them to the barn and asked Wen to use his frame to block the gap when the door was opened wider, so only Donnie Ray and Clemmie would be able to see inside. The deputy medical examiner was shining a flashlight on the wound to the chest, and the area was further lit by a couple of additional flashlights set on their bases with the bulbs exposed, rendering the corpse visible and potentially identifiable, even from a distance. But Hicks wasn’t looking at the corpse. She was watching Donnie Ray and Clemmie.
“My God,” said Donnie Ray. Clemmie just put her hand to her mouth.
“Well?” asked Hicks.
Donnie Ray shook his head. A few seconds later, Clemmie followed suit. She then headed directly for a pile of stones dug from the earth years before and assembled into a cairn, but she didn’t puke, or not that Hicks noticed.
“It was worth a try,” said Hicks, “but we’ll be knocking on doors over the next twenty-four hours. I know we can rely on the cooperation of you and your family. Right, Donnie Ray?”
“We’ll answer any questions we can,” he said. “Until then, we’d best let you get on with your job.”
He gestured to the three Dolfe men, indicating that they should follow him off the land. Like Clemmie, all were now unarmed, Hicks, on arrival, having advised them to store their weapons. Clemmie, Hicks noted, was already walking ahead of the rest. She gave the impression of wanting to vacate the property as quickly as possible.
Elkins joined Hicks.
“We going to start selling tickets next?” he asked.
“Donnie Ray offered,” said Hicks, “in case he could help with the identification.”
“That kind of public spiritedness is out of character for him.”
“We’re all God’s children.”
“Even Donnie Ray?”
“Him, maybe not so much. He said he didn’t recognize the victim.”
“And Clemmie?”
“She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to.”
Elkins squinted at Hicks.
“You saying she knew who he was?”
“Oh yeah,” said Hicks, as the Dolfes disappeared from view. “And if Clemmie knows, you can be sure Donnie Ray does too.”