Chapter 4: Coincidences and Connections
Travis County Medical Examiner's Office
Austin, Texas
12:30 PM
John Doggett entered the first autopsy room at the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office to find two bodies on separate autopsy tables. Fox Mulder, meanwhile, sat on a wheeled stool off to the side, curiously and quietly observing the goings-on. He was still dressed in his white cotton t-shirt, jeans, and black hiking boots from before, but he also now had a sterile green autopsy gown on to protect his clothing
The first body was that of the slain Texas Game Warden Boyd Aikens. With his body now having been thoroughly searched for trace evidence before being cleaned just prior to autopsy, the savagery of his wounds became much more evident.
On the second table was the skeleton that Agent Mulder had discovered in the back of Harker's Cave. With all the dirt that had once coated the remains having either been scraped for evidence collection or completely washed off, the skeleton looked to now be in very immaculate condition.
Both sets of remains were currently being visually examined by Travis County's Deputy Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Claudette Jerritz. Dr. Jerritz was a short blonde haired white woman in her mid-50's who was clad in a sterile green autopsy gown with a set of blue scrubs underneath as well as a blue surgical cap on her head, blue nitrile exam gloves on her hands, protective goggles over her eyes, and blue booties on her feet that protected her white running shoes.
"Doctor Jerritz", Doggett said, "How are things going in here?"
With that, Dr. Jerritz looked behind her to see Doggett standing there. "Hello Agent Doggett", she replied, "Well, it appears your pal Agent Mulder over there found somebody's skeleton in the back of that cave."
Doggett then turned to Mulder and eyed him curiously. "Holy shit", he said, "How'd you manage that?"
"I went to do my own search of the cave while Detective Willmore went to interview some of the neighbors who resided near there", Mulder began explaining, "Initially, I didn't find anything that was all that remarkable aside from what the crime scene unit people had already found. I walked about twenty-five feet from where that set of regurgitated fingers was discovered and I found 'Mister Bone Daddy' over there." He then pointed to the skeleton on the second table.
Doggett happened to look over to Mulder's left and saw the aforementioned severed fingers sitting in a jar containing a preservative chemical solution. "Regurgitated fingers, huh?" he said, "That fits with what Agent Scully and I found during the original case in Idaho eighteen years back. This thing seems to yack up anything it can't manage to swallow."
"And exactly what 'thing' are you talking about?" Dr. Jerritz inquired.
Mulder chuckled. "Do yourself a favor, Doc" he said, "Hold that thought for now, okay? Anyway, those fingers belonged to our late friend Warden Aikens over there, right?"
"Correct", Dr. Jerritz replied, "I was able to rehydrate the fingers and roll a decent set of prints before they ended up in that jar. They matched his exemplar prints that I got from the folks at Fish and Game."
"What can you tell us about what happened to our fallen game warden?" Doggett asked as he stepped to the right side of Aikens' autopsy table.
"In addition to the very obvious tearing off of his right pointer and ring fingers", Dr. Jerritz began explaining, "I noted the presence of fang-like bites and tearing on his head, torso, and both hands. I also swabbed saliva from inside his torso wounds before I transported the body from the scene and sent it to the lab."
"And it was the salivary DNA that registered a hit in our system that, in turn, brought us here", Mulder inferred.
"Right", Dr. Jerritz said, "I also found traces of gunshot residue on Mister Aikens' left hand."
Doggett nodded in response. "The crime scene technicians found his nine-millimeter Glock G-Seventeen service weapon in the cave", he said, "It looks like he managed to get off five rounds before he was taken down."
Mulder then looked to the late Warden Aikens' face. "Good man", he said softly to the deceased before turning his attention to the skeleton on the opposite table. "What's the story on our skeleton over here?" he asked.
Dr. Jerritz crossed to the second autopsy table and picked up a clipboard that held her notes. "I've got a colleague of mine coming in from the University of Texas here in Austin", she said, "She's a forensic anthropologist. She should be here within the hour. I have determined that we are dealing with a male."
"Based on?" Doggett inquired.
"For one", Dr. Jerritz began explaining, "The pelvis is closed. Female pelvises are always wider to make room for the birth canal." She then pointed to the eye sockets of the skull. "Additionally," she continued, "His brow ridges are much larger, his forehead is sloping and less round. His chin is square, and the angle of the jaw is vertical. These are all characteristics specific to men."
Mulder cracked half a smile, impressed with the doctor's cursory yet thorough assessment. "Interesting", he said, "Is there anything unique that could begin to tell us who this guy is?"
Dr. Jerritz nodded. "I found evidence of a hip replacement on his right hip", she replied, "It was what the replacement was made from that caught my eye. I excised a sample of it and rushed it to the lab. It's acrylic bone cement."
"What's so special about that, Doc?" Doggett asked.
"Modern day hip replacements are made from cobalt-chromium metals", Dr. Jerritz said, "Acrylic bone cement was used back in the early Nineteen-Sixties when hip replacement surgeries were first becoming a viable option for people."
"So, this guy probably got his hip replaced a long time ago", Mulder said, "Probably as a younger man. What condition would necessitate a hip replacement at a younger age?"
"There's the kicker, Agent" Dr. Jerritz said, "I found evidence of an overall weakened bone density in the skeleton, most likely caused by osteoporosis. Assuming that this gentleman died within the last few years, I'm ballparking his age at Eighty-Five to Eighty-Seven years old. Doctor Green, the anthropologist, should be able to tell us a lot more when she arrives."
Doggett nodded just as his cell phone began to ring. "John Doggett", he promptly answered as he stepped off to a corner of the room, "I see. Is she alright? Okay. Have her meet us in San Antonio at the FBI field office around three or so. You should come along too. Thanks. see you then."
"Who was that?" Mulder asked as he walked over to his partner.
"Detective Willmore", Doggett replied as he turned to face Mulder, "Sergeant Lucia's rabies test was negative, so they discharged her from the hospital. He's on his way to pick her up there as we speak. Ideally, I'd like us to have a meeting with them at the Bureau office in San Antonio later today."
Mulder then stepped closer to Doggett and spoke softly. "That's fine", he said, "But let me ask you something. Do you think we should clue her and the detective in on this whole 'Bat Creature' thing?"
Doggett pondered the rather odd question for a beat before nodding affirmatively. "I don't see that there's any real way around it at this point", he candidly replied.
"What about Doctor Jerritz and this Doctor Green?" Mulder asked.
"Well," Doggett said, "With all due respect to them, I think that their scientific minds may a little too analytical to immediately let the cat…or should I say, bat…out of the bag just yet. Let's see what Doctor Green's analysis tells us later on before we loop them in about that."
Mulder/Scully Farmhouse
Eastern Virginia
1:30 PM
Meanwhile, a secretively bored Dana Scully sat up in her and Mulder's bed with two pillows tucked behind her back. She was again dressed in her emerald pajamas, Mulder's bathrobe, and slippers with her reading glasses on. Her laptop was somewhat awkwardly seated on her pregnant stomach as she typed and clicked away, meticulously scanning the photographs and case information from Mulder and Doggett's investigation in Austin. She was in the middle of reading Dr. Jerritz's findings in regards to the discovered skeleton from Harker's Cave when three soft knocks came at the bedroom door.
"Dana?" Charlie called out from the opposite side of the door.
Scully's eyes shifted from her computer screen and toward the door. "Yeah, Charlie" she replied with a slightly raised voice, "Come on in."
The door swiftly came open and Charlie entered the room. "Hey sis", he said, "You're out of paper towels for the kitchen. Do you guys have any more or should I go into Richmond to grab some?"
"Uhhhh", Scully said as she was momentarily caught off guard, "There should be two or three rolls left in the pantry. Hey, can I ask you a favor?"
Charlie good-humoredly shrugged his shoulders in response. "That's what I'm here for", he replied, "What's up?"
"Do you mind if we take a drive to Washington later?" Scully asked, "I could use some fresh air."
Charlie scoffed. "I know I haven't been here long", he said as he sat beside his sister on the edge of the bed, "But if my memory serves me correctly, you have a great big front porch out there."
With that, Scully removed her glasses and sighed before looking her brother in the eye. "I never could lie to you, Charles" she said with a smile.
"Not a day in either of our lives", Charlie replied before briefly eyeing Scully's laptop screen, "You want to help Mulder with this case he's working on in Texas. Why does this require us to go to DC?"
"Well," Scully began to explain, "Do you remember that hospital I told you I used to work at?"
"Sure", Charlie said, "'Our Lady of Sorrows', right?"
"That's right", Scully replied, "They have an incredible medical research library there. I think I might know about a rare genetic illness that may have something to do with Mulder's investigation. I'd just like to go there and go over some medical literature so I can get my thoughts in order before I pass the information off to Mulder."
Charlie nodded. "Is it the type of place where you can just walk right in?" he inquired.
"Not entirely", Scully straightforwardly said, "You have to be a physician or a researcher to gain access to it, but I still have my privileges there."
"I'm picking up what you're putting down, sis" Charlie said, "But that begs the question of who am I supposed to be? You can't very well tell people that I'm just your little brother who's just along for the ride."
Scully nodded. "That's why I'll introduce you as my research intern", she said with a halfhearted grin.
Charlie chuckled. "Dana Katherine Scully", he replied, "You are one slick mama. Get dressed."