Page 22 of Girl, Bound

Ella hung up andwelcomed the adrenaline that came with the hunt. That old friend who seemed tobe her longest-standing companion. She felt like she had the pawns but not thechessboard, but with any luck, the Sheriff’s findings might point her in the rightdirection.

Answers were close.She could taste them.

CHAPTER TEN

Ella burst through theprecinct doors like a woman on a mission, her strides eating up the linoleum.The bullpen was a hive of activity, phones ringing and keyboards clacking, butshe barely noticed. Her mind was laser-focused. If Holbrook had a breakthrough,she needed to know.

She shouldered past agroup of uniformss, ignoring their startled looks. Holbrook's office was justahead, the door ajar. She could hear voices from within, Ripley's distinctiverasp and Holbrook's gravelly baritone.

She barged in theoffice, the door banging against the wall. Ripley and Holbrook looked up.

‘Well, look what thecat dragged in,’ Ripley drawled, leaning back in her chair. ‘Thought you'dgotten lost on the way back from Seraphic.’

Ella shot her a look,unamused. ‘Save the jokes, woman. What've we got?’

Holbrook cleared histhroat, sliding a file across the desk. ‘Just got the forensics back on thosebody bags. Brace yourself, it's a doozy.’

Ella's stomach did alittle flip. She'd seen her fair share of doozies in this line of work, andthey never got easier. ‘Lay it on me, Sheriff.’

‘No DNA. Not a singlegoddamn trace.’ Holbrook slapped the report down on the desk. ‘Those bags arepristine. Factory fresh. Never even been through the wash.’

Ripley leaned forward,her elbows on her knees. ‘Which means our perp didn't just grab them off theshelf at Walmart. These are professional grade, straight from themanufacturer.’

Ella frowned, her mindwhirring. ‘So our killer's careful. Meticulous. Probably bought them online,had them shipped to a P.O. box. Wouldn't be the first time some sicko got hissupplies off the dark web.’

But even as she saidit, she knew it was a long shot. These weren't the kind of bags you could justbuy off Amazon. They were specialized, meant for coroners and mortuaries.

Ripley shook her head.‘Not these bags, Dark. Remember what Dr. Doom told us back at the morgue? Thesearen't your run-of-the-mill Hefty sacks. They're regulated, only sold tolicensed professionals.’

Holbrook added, ‘Whichnarrows down our list of suspects considerably. There's only one place inMillhaven that uses these exact bags.’

A cold trickle ofunease ran down Ella's spine. ‘The unopenable ones. The kind they use in...mortuaries.’

‘Bingo,’ Ripley said.

‘The coroner'soffice,’ she breathed. ‘Son of a bitch.’

It made a twisted kindof sense. Who else would have access to those bags? Who else would know how touse them, how to seal them up tight? It wasn't the first time a case hadpointed back to someone in law enforcement, but it never got any less gut-wrenching.The idea that one of their own could be capable of such depravity, such evil.It was enough to make even a seasoned agent like her question everything shethought she knew.

'Goodweather,' Ripleysaid. 'That squirrelly bastard. I knew there was something off about him rightfrom the jump.'

Holbrook scrubbed ahand over his face, looking every one of his fifty-odd years. ‘I've knownEphraim Goodweather for going on a decade now. He's quirky, sure, but a killer?I just can't wrap my head around it.’

‘Wait,’ Ella said. ‘Wedon’t have anything on Goodweather other than him being kinda weird. We need tobackground check everyone at the coroner’s office, anyone who could accessthese bags. Receptionists, admin workers, cleaners, everything.’

Ripley said, ‘Right,but I still want everything we can get on Goodweather. Dig into his background.See if there's anything hinky in his past. Complaints, reprimands, anythingthat might've set him off. Every speeding ticket, every overdue library book.’

Holbrook nodded,already reaching for the phone. ‘On it. I'll have my boys start combing throughhis past. If he so much as bought a pack of gum, we'll know about it.’

‘Sheriff, can you getus a list of the mortuary’s employees? ‘I’ll start looking into the otherstaff, anyone who might be able to get their hands on these bags.’

‘On it,’ Holbrooksaid.

Ella's hand clenchedinto a fist, her nails biting into her palm. Nothing infuriated her more thanpeople abusing their power. Ella took a deep breath, forcing herself to focus.To think past the red haze of fury clouding her vision.

They had a lead. Adirection. In this job, that was often all you needed to crack a case wideopen.

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