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  The Gravedigger

  The Cold Case Chronicles: Book Four

  Kacie Clement

  Contents

  Shadowbank, Mississippi

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  About the Author

  Also by Kacie Clement

  All Copyright Reserved ©

  2020 by Kacie Clement

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission.

  Kacie Clement 42936 State Highway 210 Aitkin, Minnesota 56431 www.kacieclement.com

  Publisher's Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author's imagination: localities and public names are used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The Gravedigger was written by Kacie Clement. –

  1st ed. ASIN: B092TQGJSK

  Kacie Clement is a fiscal year 2021 recipient of a Creative Support for Individuals grant from the Minnesota States Art Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, and by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

  Created with Vellum

  Shadowbank, Mississippi

  Prologue

  The gravedigger was out in the cemetery late at night, digging the grave for the pastor’s wife. Hard work kept the gravedigger’s mind at ease. Faye Chestfield, the pastor’s wife, had been good to him since he arrived in Shadowbank. She was the one who had found him sleeping behind the library and had taken him to Clara’s Café to buy him some breakfast. When he met her husband, Pastor Charles Chestfield, and his brother Father Adam Chestfield, the priest at the Catholic church, he found it odd that the two brothers both preached God’s word but in different religions. By the time breakfast was over, Faye and the two brothers had arranged a place for him to stay in the Shadowbank Baptist church, and Pastor Chestfield had given him a job. Grave digging.

  It was hard work, and he did it only at night. It kept the nightmares at bay.

  He remembered that fateful morning on March 16, 1968. Charlie Company had moved into My Lai in Vietnam.

  Their initial orders were to find the Vietcong Battalion. Still, by the end of the next hour, groups of women, children, and older men were rounded up and shot at close range. His fellow soldiers, thirsty with blood, committed many rapes. The buildings were destroyed, and any remaining survivors were shot and killed. Over 500 Vietnamese civilians died that morning.

  When he closed his eyes at night, he smelled the blood in the air. He heard the screams. Daniel watched as civilians were led into a trench and killed by his commanding officer with a machine gun in his dreams. He found solace in digging the graves at night. Of laying those who had perished to rest in forever peace. Something he knew he would never experience.

  Tonight was hard. Faye had taken good care of him over the last years. She made him cookies, bought him clothes whenever she thought he needed them, and she took him to the vet’s hospital when he had his panic attacks or hadn’t slept in days.

  Faye was the only other person he told of the reason for his nightmares and who he was. First Lieutenant Daniel Billings. Everyone else only knew him as Danny the Gravedigger.

  It was 1:00 a.m. Danny had just finished digging Faye’s grave. This one was personal. Looking up, he saw the pastor’s office light on in his office at that church. He thought, maybe I should let Pastor Chestfield know that I have finished.

  He wiped his brow with the dirty bandana in his back pocket. His mind clear. He felt deep in his soul that Faye didn’t take all those sleeping pills. She wouldn’t do that to her two daughters.

  He remembered she had been edgy the past month, but when he asked if she was okay, she told him she was fine. He figured if she wanted him to know something, Faye would talk to him when she was ready. He was going to miss her.

  Walking back to the toolshed, he put his tools away. His thoughts drifted. Maybe now was a good time to move on. Faye Chestfield was dead. There was no reason to stay any longer.

  Quietly entering the church not to disturb Pastor Chestfield, he heard a noise in the sanctuary. Moving to the closed door of the chapel, he opened it.

  Surprised, he saw Pastor Chestfield and a woman from the church having intercourse in front of the church’s altar. Stunned, he stepped back and knocked over a vase of flowers from the tall table.

  Daniel watched as the pastor and the lady sat up, staring at him, breathing heavily. The woman screamed, her face becoming a deep red. She stood, grabbed her clothes, and ran out the side door of the church.

  Daniel could hear a car start and race out of the church’s parking lot. Turning, he went down the stairs to his room, not saying a word to the pastor. He bypassed the construction debris going on outside his room. The construction crew was replacing the drywall the past week because of the mold building up from the damp basement.

  Sitting down hard on his bed, he realized that his friend Faye didn’t take all those sleeping pills. Her husband, the pastor, had killed her. He pulled his duffle bag out from under the bed and threw his few belongings into the bag. He was right. It was time to move on.

  Daniel didn’t hear the pastor come into his room. Daniel heard nothing again, except the hanging of the sheetrock closing him into the wall.

  Chapter 1

  Kamira turned to look in the full-length mirror in the Sunday school room of the Shadowbank Baptist Church as Keisha finished spreading her veil down the length of her wedding gown.

  “My God, Kamira, your dress is stunning, you're beautiful,” Keisha stated.

  Kamira smiled at her image as she heard the door open. Turning, she found Father Chestfield from the town’s catholic church entering the Sunday schoolroom.

  Father Chestfield gasped at the sight in front of him and said, “Kamira, you are a vision of perfection. I wanted to let you know I was here and apologize again for the church not being available on your wedding day. The Ladies Bazaar is the biggest fundraiser of the year.”

  Kamira smiled gently, placing her white-gloved hand on the priest’s arm. “It’s fine, Father, all that matters is that this day is perfect.” Turning toward Keisha, she said, “I think I am ready to get married, Keisha. Will you find Terrance? I don’t want him getting lost on our wedding day.”

  Keisha smiled broadly and rushed to the sanctuary finding Terrance, Jack Thomas, and her husband Billie talking with Willie Mae. “Gentleman, the bride is ready if you could move to the front of the church. Jack, join me at the sanctuary door. The priest is talking with Kamira now, and she should be at the doorway momentarily. Then it will be time for you to walk her down the aisle."

  Billie grinned at Terrance. “Ready to get married?”

  “More than ready,” Terrance replied. He smiled and winked at Willie Mae.

  As the four-piece quartet played quietly in the background, Terrance and Billie moved to the church’s front. Terrance held his breath in anticipation to see his bride walk down the aisle towards him and their future.

  Back in the Sunday schoolroom, the pastor of the Shadowbank Baptist Church entered the room. Kamira smiled, ready to thank him again for the use of the church. Just as she spoke, she saw that the pastor’s face was
white as a sheet.

  The pastor, his hands shaking, said, “I am sorry, Kamira, for interrupting your time to prepare for your most important day. But there is a problem in the basement. A week ago, we had a water pipe break, flooding the basement. The plumber is downstairs finishing his work, tearing the drywall out of the room where the leak began.

  Kamira, if you could take a minute and wouldn’t mind coming downstairs. The plumber needs to see you. I have to insist you come downstairs, Detective.”

  Kamira looked at him quizzically, feeling deep in her gut that her perfect day was about to hit a snag. She carefully removed her veil, gently laying it over the table. Lifting the front of her gown, she released her Sig Sauer handgun from the holster attached to her leg.

  The pastor, eyes going wide, said, “Why on earth are you wearing a gun to your wedding?”

  Kamira laughed, “I do not go anywhere without being prepared. If you and Father Chestfield could hold the train of my dress up while we go downstairs, I would appreciate it."

  The two ecclesiastics carefully picked up the train of her wedding dress. The pastor gave Kamira verbal directions on where to go in the basement.

  As she followed the pastor’s direction, her mind raced. Not today, not on my wedding day. What in the world is so essential a plumber needs to see me?

  Kamira spotted the agitated plumber who was pacing up and down the hallway.

  The plumber stopped dead in his tracks, seeing a woman in a wedding dress holding a handgun.

  Assessing the situation quickly, Kamira lifted her dress, replacing the handgun into the holster. Smiling as she did so.

  Kamira looked directly at the plumber, smiled, and said, “Good afternoon, I am Detective Kamira Jackson, the bride. There is a problem you insisted I see you about?”

  Silently, the plumber pointed to the wall at the end of the hallway.

  Kamira carefully walked down the hallway, filled with sheetrock debris. Standing in front of the hole in the wall, Kamira sucked in a quick breath as she gazed inside. My wedding day is perfect, and there is a skeleton buried in the wall in the church’s basement. Can this day get any better?

  Kamira turned to the pastor. “They are waiting for me upstairs. Could you go up and find Terrance, my groom-to-be, and tell him I need my work bag out of the trunk of my car?”

  Turning back to the skeleton in the wall, she shuddered, remembering her three months of captivity. Pulling her thoughts back to the scene before her, she noted that there was duct tape over the remains of the skeleton’s mouth, and someone had bound the bony wrists with the duct tape. They placed this man in the wall alive and left him to die. She pulled out her phone and immediately started photographing the remains.

  Keisha and Willie Mae were at a loss. They couldn’t find Kamira anywhere. They had been searching for ten minutes with no luck.

  Willie Mae, flustered, said, “Now, where do you think Kamira has gone? The wedding was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago.”

  Hearing a noise, Willie Mae turned to find the pastor coming towards her. “What is going on, Pastor? Where are Kamira and the priest?”

  “Willie Mae, there is no time now for questions.” The pastor, looking in the sanctuary, saw a nervous Terrance and Billie standing at the altar awkwardly. “I need to speak to Terrance and Jack.”

  “Oh, dear god, what kind of trouble could that girl found herself into today?” Willie Mae asked.

  “I will get them.” Keisha walked purposefully down the aisle, looking firmly at Terrance. Suddenly stricken with panic, Terrance wondered, did Kamira change her mind about getting married?

  Keisha whispered to Terrance. “The pastor needs to see you both- you and Jack.”

  Terrance nodded. Looking at Jack, he said, “The pastor needs to see us.”

  Terrance, Jack, and Keisha walked back up the aisle and out of the sanctuary to hear Willie Mae barraging the pastor with questions.

  Seeing the pastor’s frustration, Jack looked at Keisha and asked, “Could you please seat Willie Mae in the first pew with the Bellow sisters?” Looking at Willie Mae, he continued, “Now Willie Mae, let me and Terrance handle this. Your job is to let everyone in the church know the bride is running behind, and we will start this wedding shortly.”

  Before Willie Mae could respond, Keisha took her hand and led her back into the sanctuary.

  Terrance stepped closer to the pastor, his eyes glaring. “Where is my bride?”

  “Yes, yes, your bride. Well, she is in the basement with the plumber.”

  Taking a step closer to the pastor, Terrance quietly hissed, “And you’re going to tell me why she is in the basement with the plumber?”

  Pastor nervously replied, “Well, there is a slight problem in the basement. I think you should see this for yourself. Detective Jackson has requested I ask you to retrieve her work bag from her car’s trunk and bring it with you. It’s all just too much to bear, this and a bride with a gun in my church…”

  Jack, surprised, roared, “Please tell me she is not processing a crime scene in her wedding dress on her wedding day?”

  With a look of guilt, the pastor said, “Gentleman, if you will follow me.”

  Jack looked back into the church, hearing laughter and witnessing Willie Mae sharing stories with the guests on how Kamira was always late for everything. He didn’t miss the glare in Willie Mae’s eyes directed towards him.

  Catching up with the others, Jack followed the pastor and Terrance down the stairs to the basement. Reaching the hallway at the bottom of the stairs, Jack observed Kamira taking pictures with her phone. The priest was trying to keep up with her movements while holding the train of her wedding dress.

  Walking with Terrance down the hall, the two men came to stand beside Kamira. Terrance and Jack looked at each other, then looked quizzically at Kamira. Terrance asked, “Who is that?”

  “Not sure,” Kamira replied. “He has been here a while, though. I didn’t find any ID on him. Did you bring my bag down with you?”

  Terrance, kneeling in front of the skeleton, said, “He’s barefoot. He could have been sleeping. Wait, why would he be sleeping in a church?”

  Kamira quietly responded, “He wasn’t sleeping when embedded in this wall. He was very much alive. Hence the duct tape.”

  Jack, staring at the skeleton, said, “Jesus. Look, Todd Carter is upstairs. I say we find him and get him down here to secure the crime scene, and the two of you get married. Until we identify the remains, there is nothing we can do at this moment.”

  Kamira looked at Jack while saying, “Oh no, we have a church full of guests. Guess that slipped my mind for the moment. I wonder how long this man has been in the wall. Terrance, look here. It looks like his skull has a fracture on the backside.”

  Terrance looked at the skull, being careful not to disrupt its placement in the wall. “You’re right. I would guess he was incapacitated and then bound and placed in the wall. I am sure glad Ben left the State Lab and accepted the medical examiner position. He should be able to tell us what happened here. Damn it. My phone is in the dressing room.”

  Kamira held out her phone and said, “Use mine.”

  Jack grabbed the phone out of Kamira’s hands. “Okay, you two, there is a church full of people upstairs waiting to witness your marriage. Let’s get that out of the way before beginning the investigation, shall we?”

  Terrance looked at Kamira and said, “Well, I think Jack is right. There is not a lot we can do till we have the body identified.” He smiled lovingly at Kamira. “Shall we get married? You look stunning but keep the Sig in the holster. We don’t want to scare our guests.”

  When everyone made it back up the stairs, Jack searched for Todd Carter, Head of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Finding him seated with the other guests, Jack said, “Todd, could you follow me? We need your help.”

  Todd squinted his eyes suspiciously, “What kind of help? You know it’s my day off, right?”

  Once out o
f the sanctuary, Todd looked suspiciously at Kamira, Terrance, and the priest.

  Jack said, “Todd, we have a dead body in the basement. Can you call in your team to secure the crime scene?”

  Todd shook his head, not surprised. “What’s with that woman? It’s her wedding day, and she’s finding dead bodies?”

  Kamira smiled and shrugged her shoulders at Todd, remaining silent.

  Chapter 2

  “Are you ready, Kamira?” Jack asked, taking her arm in his. Jack could see the wheels turning in Kamira’s brain.

  “Kamira, focus. Detective, it’s time to walk down the aisle. It’s your wedding day. The case will be there tomorrow.”

  Kamira gently touched her mother’s necklace around her neck and smiled. “I know what day it is, Jack.” Looking through the doorway, Kamira saw Terrance waiting for her at the sanctuary.

  “Just taking a deep breath. Wishing my mother was here today. She would have liked Terrance.” Kamira leaned down, kissing Jack’s cheek.

  “Thank you, Jack. I couldn’t ask for a better…” Kamira’s eyes went wide. A flush of adrenaline tingling throughout her body.

  “Is that Vittoria DeLuca and Frank Gallucci sitting there? And who are those people with them?” Jack, why is the New York Mafia at my wedding?”

  Jack laughed loudly. “Willie Mae invited them to your special day. The silver-haired man is Vittoria’s husband, Howard Graystone, and the redhead is Frank’s wife, Maeve.”

  Terrance, knowing what Kamira was thinking even from the altar, smiled and then shrugged at her.