Page 18 of Girl, Bound

‘Once they're inthere, what?’ Ripley prompted.

Dr. Goodweatherblinked, seeming to come back to himself. ‘Well, it's just...have either of youever been inside a body bag? Just out of morbid curiosity, of course.’

Ella stared at him.‘Not recently.’

The coroner had thegrace to look abashed, his cheeks flushing. ‘I know, I know, it's a weirdquestion. But the thing is, some of these bags, they don't open from theinside. So, unless the victim had a way to rip through the heavy canvas...well,let's just say they weren't coming out on their own.’

Ella felt a wave ofnausea wash over her, the implications of the coroner's words sinking in like alead weight. It was a level of sadism that defied comprehension, acat-and-mouse game with the highest possible stakes. She turned to Ripley andsaid, ‘He’s trapping them. Burying them alive.’

Ripley shifteduncomfortably. Ella guessed they were sharing the same thought. Stab wounds andbullet holes were quick, often granting the mercy of a painless death if themarks hit the right places.

But suffocation wasanother story. Suffocation was hellish agony at best. Throw in a fast-actingsedative that paralyzed the nervous system, and these victims would haveendured a death that defied comprehension.

She swallowed hard,forcing herself to focus on the task at hand. ‘How easy is it to get your handson these body bags? Are they regulated, or can anyone just walk into a storeand buy one?’

‘Well, technicallythey're considered medical supplies, so there's some regulation. You can getthem online, but not the ones like your perp used. I’ve seen the pictures.’

‘What’s special aboutthe ones he had?’

‘They’re the kind Iwas talking about. Unopenable from the inside. Also the leather is heavy duty,whereas online ones are usually cheap imitations. The vendors of this kind ofstuff, they know better than to sell to the public. Sometimes you get freaks trappingthemselves inside for kicks and get stuck.’

‘Nice,’ Ripley said.’

Goodweather continued,‘But if you know the right people, have the right connections...let's just sayit's not impossible.’

Ripley shot Ella aknowing look, her jaw tight with unspoken words. ‘Alright, thanks Doc. We'vegot everything we need.’

The coroner nodded,looking all too relieved at their imminent departure. ‘Of course, of course.I'll have my full report sent over as soon as the tox screen comes back.Shouldn't be more than a day or two at most.’

Ella nodded curtly,barely resisting the urge to bolt for the door. There was something about Dr.Goodweather that set her teeth on edge, something that made her skin crawl.‘Thank you. We'll be in touch if we have any further questions.’

The agents removedtheir protective equipment, dropped them in the trash and made for the door.Out in the corridor, the scent of death and medical fluid was lessened butstill pretty potent. As they headed towards the exit, Ella was the first one toask the obvious question.

‘Is it just me or wasthat guy creepy as hell?’

‘It pinged myweird-o-meter for sure. Reminded me of Tim Burton.’

‘We should keep an eyeon him. Just in case.’

Ripley grunted, handon her gun. Subconscious reassurance. ‘Roger that. But for now, we need to getset up at the precinct. Dig into our victims' lives. Maybe there's a connectionwe're missing, a thread tying them together.’

'Good call. We need tosee what secrets they took to their graves, and we need to check outGoodweather's history too. That guy's too happy to be around dead bodies.'

CHAPTER NINE

Ella leaned back andcracked the knot of tension in her back. She'd been staring at the same scantscraps of information for hours, but now she was an expert in the lives of EricSaunders and Kara Murphy.

The door swung open,and Ripley sauntered in, two steaming cups of coffee in hand. 'Please tell meyou've got something, Dark. I'm losing my damn mind out there.'

‘Actually, yeah. Turnsout our girl Kara had a secret identity.’

Ripley slid a coffeecup across the desk. ‘How secret we talking?’

‘Not so secret that aquick search couldn’t find it.’ She spun her laptop around, revealing a garishwebsite filled with pouting, scantily-clad women. Ripley nearly choked on hercoffee.

‘Jesus. Is that...?’

‘Yup. Millhaven'spremiere escort service. And there's our girl, front and center. AKA 'Krystalwith a K.'‘

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