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    Devil's Chair: The Iron Eagle Series Book Six
    Devil's Chair: The Iron Eagle Series Book Six
    Devil's Chair: The Iron Eagle Series Book Six
    Ebook227 pages2 hours

    Devil's Chair: The Iron Eagle Series Book Six

    By Roy A. Teel, Jr.

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    About this ebook

    From the Back Cover:

    “Four bodies in under a month and no sign of foul play — what the hell’s going on in Devil’s Chair?”

    In the past two months, Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim O’Brian along with FBI Profilers Special Agent Steve Hoffman and John Swenson have been called out to Devil’s Chair in the Los Angeles County Mountains where multiple bodies were found in the remote location. There are no signs of foul play, all of the victims were nude and uninjured, with the exception of post-mortem trauma caused by wild animals, and all victims died due to “exposure” — but none of these men believe this is the whole story. O’Brian, Hoffman, and Swenson need to find out why young, healthy adults are winding up dead in the hills of Devil’s Chair and Devil’s Punchbowl, and the answer is one that no one could have foreseen.

    From the Inside Flap:

    Rollins Industries is one of the nation’s largest distributors of organic food products, but Adam Osborn, a highly successful sales manager and the head of their sales department, has disappeared. Amelia Farrell, the head of human resources and Osborn’s love interest, has just terminated Gaston Reed, a senior salesman with a less than stable personality, after he made threats against Osborn and others in the company. What begins as a routine missing persons report quickly turns into anything but as LA County Sheriff Jim O’Brian and FBI Special Agents John Swenson and Steve Hoffman are drawn into the investigation when the Osborn investigation reveals that he was brutally murdered. Reed tops everyone’s list as the prime suspect; however, a deeper mystery begins to unfold as bodies pile up, and an unseen force is suspected of pulling the strings. Just when the men think they are closing in on the killer, a stunning development sends them careening into an unforgiving world of cruelty and torture — a world so depraved that only the Iron Eagle dare tread.

    CONTENT WARNING: PLEASE READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING ANY IRON EAGLE SERIES NOVEL:

    ***Content Warning: While the Iron Eagle Series can be read out of order as a stand-alone novel, the reader should be advised that backgrounds and details of the characters may be confusing if the reader choose to do so, as this series has a natural maturation. The Iron Eagle Crime novel series contains mature subject matter, graphic violence, sexual content, language, torture and other scenes and subject matter that may be disturbing to sensitive readers. This series is not intended for anyone under the age of eighteen, reader discretion is advised.***

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNarroway Press
    Release dateAug 7, 2015
    ISBN9780990363767
    Devil's Chair: The Iron Eagle Series Book Six

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    • 5/5
      I had grown immune to the brutal murders and vengeance dealt out by the Iron Eagle, so I was taken back when I experienced a gagging reflex moment at one gruesome scene. I regained my composer I kept on reading. This book instantly took me back to the first book. It was just as shocking and had the same type of intensity. My favorite thing about this book however was that I got to see Steve in action again. He had been out of commission for quite some time due to ALS. Steve brought back the human aspect to the story as he did not have the hardened shell like John and Jim. Although, Jim could never be on the level of John. The crime in this book was horrific but I was glad that it did not focus on young children. As much as I like these books the heinous acts that happen to the children are really rough to digest. Again, the Iron Eagle comes up on top.

    Book preview

    Devil's Chair - Roy A. Teel, Jr.

    Devil’s

    Chair

    A Novel
    Roy A. Teel Jr.

    Devil’s Chair

    A Novel

    Roy A. Teel Jr.

    The Iron Eagle Series: Book Six

    An Imprint of Narroway Publishing LLC.

    Copyright © 2015 by Roy A. Teel Jr.

    Smashwords Edition

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews, without prior written permission of the publisher. ®The Iron Eagle Logo is the copyright and registered trademark of Roy A. Teel Jr. and used by permission.

    Narroway Publishing LLC.

    Imprint: Narroway Press

    P.O. Box 1431

    Lake Arrowhead, California 92352

    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

    First Edition

    ISBN: 978-0-9903637-6-7

    Teel, Roy A., 1965-

    Devil’s Chair, The Iron Eagle Series: Book Six /

    Roy A. Teel Jr. — 1st ed. — Lake Arrowhead, Calif. Narroway Press

    c2015. p. ; cm. ISBN: 978-0-9903637-6-7 (eBook)

    1. Hard-Boiled – Fiction. 2. Police, FBI – Fiction. 3. Murder – Fiction.

    4. Serial Killers – Fiction. 5. Mystery – Fiction. 6. Suspense – Fiction.

    7. Graphic Violence – Fiction. 8. Graphic Sex – Fiction.

    Title.

    Book Editing: Finesse Writing and Editing LLC.

    Cover and Book Design: Adan M. Garcia, FSi studio

    Author Photo: F. E. Arnest

    In memory of James Cavanagh – you always lifted my spirits and made me think – may you rest in peace.

    Also by Roy A. Teel Jr.

    Nonfiction:

    The Way, The Truth, and The Lies: How the Gospels Mislead Christians about Jesus’ True Message

    Against the Grain: The American Mega-church and its Culture of Control

    Fiction:

    The Light of Darkness: Dialogues in Death: Collected Short Stories

    And God Laughed, A Novel

    Fiction Novel Series:

    Rise of the Iron Eagle: Book One

    Evil and the Details: Book Two

    Rome Is Burning: Book Three

    Operation Red Alert: Book Four

    A Model for Murder: Book Five

    All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

    — George Orwell

    There are things which a man is afraid to tell even to himself, and every decent man has a number of such things stored away in his mind.

    — Fyodor Dostoevsky

    Seal of The Iron Eagle ®

    Table of Contents

    Chapter One

    Chapter Two

    Chapter Three

    Chapter Four

    Chapter Five

    Chapter Six

    Chapter Seven

    Chapter Eight

    Chapter Nine

    Chapter Ten

    Chapter Eleven

    Chapter Twelve

    Chapter Thirteen

    Chapter Fourteen

    Chapter Fifteen

    Chapter Sixteen

    Chapter Seventeen

    Chapter Eighteen

    Chapter Nineteen

    Death’s Valley

    About the Author

    Chapter One

    "I got a body, and it’s off a missing

    persons report, and just my fuckin’

    luck, it’s in your county’s jurisdiction."

    Jade Morgan was dictating her autopsy findings, which Special Agent John Swenson of the FBI had requested for quick processing. Subject appears well nourished. Physically fit. There are superficial lacerations and bite marks on the subject’s legs and arms. These wounds are post mortem and most likely inflicted by animals that came in contact with the body. The subject was found nude in twenty-one degree temperatures. Cause of death: exposure. No foul play is suspected. She pulled the sheet back over the remains, pushed the microphone away from the autopsy table, and had her orderlies place the body back in the morgue’s refrigeration unit. She cleaned up then placed a call to Swenson.

    Swenson. Hi, John, it’s Jade. I finished the autopsy report on your John Doe. I found no sign of foul play. The guy died from exposure. I figured as much based on the scene. I’m trying to figure out what the hell a guy in his early twenties was doing out in the Devil’s Punchbowl in the middle of January. Well, if he was going out to hike the trails, he was ill prepared. That drew a laugh from John. Yea...he was ill prepared all right. We have had five ‘ill prepared’ deaths in the bowl in the last two months with the same M.O. Something is wrong out there. Jade asked if there was anything else he needed from her. He asked her to email him the report. No problem. Are you and Sara going to be home tonight? As far as I know. Why? I wanted to stop by the house and give you both a little thank you gift. That’s not necessary, Jade. I want to do it; it’s the least I can do for the kindness that you two have shown me over the past couple of years. There was a pause on John’s end of the line, and he said, Why don’t you give Sara a call. She knows our schedule better than me. Will do, said Jade.

    An Irvine police car pulled up to the Rollins Industries building and a patrol officer stepped out. He entered through the main entrance and was waived through security. He approached the receptionist’s desk and asked for Amelia Farrell. Only a few seconds passed, and Amelia came out to greet him. As she approached, she looked at his nametag, but he spoke before she could say anything. Ms Farrell? She nodded. You called the department to file a missing persons report? She nodded again and invited him back to her office. He followed her to a bank of elevators, they stepped in, and she pressed the button for the twentieth floor. There was silence as the elevator ascended, and they walked into her office. Thank you for coming, officer… Sergeant Hoskins, Ms. Farrell. Are you related to the missing person? He was reading the placard on her desk that had her name and job title on it. No, sir. I mean we were dating, but that’s all. Hoskins took out a tablet and pushed a few buttons and started to speak into the microphone.

    Sergeant Richard Hoskins taking a missing persons report from Ms. Amelia Farrell. Ms. Farrell, who are you reporting as missing? She explained that her boyfriend and employee, Mr. Adam Osborn, was missing. When was the last time you saw him? We had drinks two nights ago with some co-workers, and we parted at about ten p.m. Adam didn’t show up for work yesterday or today, and I have been unable to reach him. Have you been to his home? Yes, sir. He’s not there and neither is his car. Do you have access to his home? Yes, sir. I went in both days looking for him, but there is no sign of him. Hoskins took the report and asked, Is there anyone that you can think of that might want to hurt Mr. Osborn or some place that he may have gone and not told you? Adam would not have left without telling me. Sales is his life. He lives and breathes it. As for anyone wanting to hurt him…the only person who comes immediately to mind is an employee that he terminated two days ago who had made threats. What’s that person’s name? Gaston Reed. He was a part of Mr. Osborn’s sales team. He was terminated with cause for making threats against other employees. When did you terminate Mr. Reed? Two days ago on Monday morning."

    What kinds of threats were made? Um…he said, ‘there will be blood.’ He told it to Mr. Osborn regarding a sales deal he was working on. He was afraid of it ending up in the hands of another sales person. Had he made threats of this nature before? Yes. He had made the same threat on several occasions. Rollins Industries has a zero tolerance policy for workplace threats, and he had been warned several times before, so he was terminated. Did Mr. Reed make any direct threats to Mr. Osborn? Amelia got a thoughtful look on her face. No…not directly that I recall. They were just general threats. Hoskins finished typing some information into his tablet and then handed it to Amelia to sign. Please sign on the bottom line acknowledging that you are filing this missing persons report. I will need any information that you have on Mr. Reed. Amelia did as he asked then pulled up Gaston’s employee file and gave the information to him. What happens now? she asked. He said that he would turn it over to a detective who handles missing persons cases and someone would be in touch. He got up and Amelia escorted him to the main lobby, and he left the building. She watched the police cruiser pull out of the lot and whispered, I hope they move fast. I have a bad feeling.

    Steve Hoffman made his way into the office a little after nine a.m. He stopped by John’s office to see if he had anything new on the recent victims found in the mountains east of Los Angeles. Good morning, John. Have you heard back from Jade on the Devil’s Chair victims? John was reading something on his tablet intently when he had walked in asking the question. John never looked up while answering. Yes. I spoke to Jade this morning, and she told me that the victim died the same as the other four we found out there due to exposure. She said there is no sign of foul play. Steve walked in and sat down. Some strange suicide plot, you think? I used to hike the trails out there at the Devil’s Chair and the Devil’s Punchbowl years ago with Molly. It’s pretty rugged terrain. I can’t for the life of me figure out what anyone would be doing out there, nude, in the middle of winter. John put the tablet down and looked at Steve and asked, You used to hike out there? Steve nodded. Oh, yea. Many, many years ago. Molly and I used to be real outdoor people when we were young.

    John smiled. It’s hard to believe that you and Molly would be out in the middle of the desert and mountains. You don’t seem like the type. Steve laughed. Yea, well, we were hippies. We did most of that hiking with school friends and others I worked with here at the Bureau. Well, I was looking into the topography of the terrain out there, and it maxes out at about fifty-five hundred feet. So you would have had to have been in good shape to go from sea level to altitude to hike up there. Steve nodded and said, We smoked a lot of pot in those days, so that didn’t hurt. There was a laugh from John, and Steve moved to get up out of his chair but fell back down. There was an awkward moment of silence, and John instantly stood up and moved to help him. Steve waved him off. I have to keep doing this stuff by myself as long as possible, John.

    Steve pushed himself up with his arms and got to his feet. He had a slight shuffle in his walk as he went to leave John’s office. It’s progressing faster, isn’t it? John asked. Steve nodded his head and said, ALS is a bitch, John. Sara has me on the experimental treatment at UCLA, but I don’t think its helping. Steve kept moving to leave John’s office when he stopped in the doorway and turned around. When you have some time, I would like to talk to you about this situation. John looked on and asked, What would you like to discuss? Another time. I’m not ready yet. Steve walked out into the bullpen and on to his office.

    Jim O’Brian was finishing up some last minute reports in his office when his cell phone rang. What? Is that any fuckin’ way to answer the goddamn phone, asshole? Christ, man. Was you born in a goddamn barn? Jim was stymied for only a moment and said, The last time I heard your fake southern accent I was picking pieces of your ass out of my shoe. Yea…well, spitting in my eyes during a fight is what you Irish fucks do when you can’t win fair. Jim laughed and asked, To what do I owe this most unwelcome phone call from you, Detective Joe Masters? I got a body, and it’s off a missing persons report, and just my fuckin’ luck, it’s in your county’s jurisdiction. Boo fuckin’ hoo…what do you have? A butchered sales guy reported missing by his girlfriend a couple of days ago. Someone hacked him up? NO, you ignorant mackerel snapper, they literally butchered him. Are you on scene? No…I’m calling from the fuckin’ Playboy mansion; Heff and I got bored with all the girls, so we’re hanging out by the pool. YES I’M ON SCENE, IDIOT! Jim started laughing and said, Give me a location, dumb ass, and I will send out one of my CSI units. Nope…you need to come out here and see this for yourself. Jim scowled. What the fuck for? It’s not my first dead body. There was a pause, and he heard a click, then his phone buzzed. Jim took it away from his ear and opened the .jpg photo. He looked at it and said, Holy fuckin’ shit…bagged, tagged, racked and stacked. Are you in a fuckin’ meat locker? Yea…and given that it’s colder than shit in here, why don’t you get in one of your plush cruisers and get the fuck up here? Jim got the address and called down for his CSI team to meet him in the parking lot.

    Chapter Two

    "You think he’ll die before

    we can question him?"

    Jim and his team arrived at 29831 Valyermo Rd. in Valyermo, CA at just after one p.m. He had noticed the population sign as they drove into the small Mojave Desert town, and when he saw Masters standing outside of the small building smoking a cigarette, he parked and jumped out saying, Population four hundred and fifty fuckin’ people. You just drug me and my team into the middle of the goddamn desert for a crime scene. Oh, Joe. It better be some kind of major fuckin’ deal. Joe took a hit off his cigarette as Jim pulled one out of his top left pocket and lit up. So how’s Barb doing? Mean as a pit viper. How about Vicki? The same, Joe said with a little levity in his voice. Jim took a few hits off the smoke then threw it on the ground and said, Well…let’s see this fuckin’ scene that I had to drive three hours to get to.

    Joe walked off and through the doors of Maxwell’s Meat Company and into cold storage. There were several employees going about their business cleaning up butchering equipment, and Jim asked if they were closed down. Joe nodded and said, Until we can figure out if the guy was killed here or somewhere else, then yea, they’re closed. The owner is really fuckin’ happy with this situation. He’s losing a lot of time and business. Joe pulled open the walk-in freezer, and they stepped in. Jim said, Well, you don’t need to look too far to know who the guy is. There, in the back of the freezer, were the butchered remains of a man. His skull was on top of the meat that had been cleaned off his bones, which were neatly stacked next to the remains. The meat from his face had been removed as well as his brain and eyes. The skullcap had been left half off, and written on white butcher paper in bold black letters was the victim’s name, ‘Adam Osborn.’

    Jim put on a pair of crime scene gloves and asked Joe, Where are his innards? Good question. His meat as well as his intestines are here, but the lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, spleen, and brain ain’t. Jim looked around a little more and said, We need to call in the LA coroner’s office. Joe stepped out of the locker, and Jim followed, yelling to the workers, Please stop cleaning. This is a crime scene, and we need to analyze your units to see if this victim was killed here. He followed Joe to a back office of the building and asked, Who found the body? There were three men sitting in the small office, and Joe pointed to an old man sitting behind a wooden desk and said, Sheriff Jim O’Brian, this is Peter Maxwell. He’s the owner of this business, and he found the body.

    Mr. Maxwell looked to be ninety. Jim whispered to Joe, You think he’ll die before we can question him? Joe stayed straight-faced. Jim walked in and sat down in front of the desk. Maxwell looked at him with his piercing blue eyes and said in a raspy voice, I found the body about six a.m. I always open the locker in the morning. I’ve been doin’ that for, oh shit, eighty years. I opened the locker, and there he was. Jim asked, Do you know the man? He shook his head. Do you have any idea who might have done this to him? Nope…it wasn’t done in my locker, I can tell you that. Jim asked, How can you be so sure? The old man laughed and said, That boy was hand butchered. Someone took a lot of time cutting him up. I figure whoever killed him split him into sides and then took him and butchered him. Split him into sides? Joe asked. The old man laughed and coughed. Yea…most likely split him up the middle with a band saw, stopped short of his head, then cut it off and hung him to bleed out. Yep, whoever killed that boy in there knew what the fuck he was doing.

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