Page 58 of Hunting Justice

Noelle smirked. “Come on.”

They climbed the stairs. She stopped by her office and tucked her purse into her desk drawer, then joined the others.

“Afternoon, everyone.” Jonah greeted his friends.

A chorus of “Hey, Doc,” “Good to see you, Doc,” and “I’m glad you’re okay, Doc” greeted him.

He moved to the two empty chairs next to each other and pulled one out for Noelle.

She arched an eyebrow but accepted the gesture.

His momma had raised a gentleman, and he refused to apologize for polite behavior. Besides, Noelle deserved to be treated like a treasure.

“Thank you all for coming.” Noelle clasped her hands on the table.

He noticed the slight tremor but kept the fact to himself.

Noelle continued, “I’m assuming you’ve all reviewed the current cases and the cold cases.”

“Plus, we have our additional research ready.” Juliette lifted a small stack of papers.

Jonah leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankle over his knee, preparing to listen to the group do their thing. He excelled at autopsies and medical jargon, but criminal investigations were beyond his expertise.

“Perfect.” Noelle grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the center of the table. “I propose for simplicity’s sake that we refer to the different sets of cases as current and cold.”

“That works for me.” Matt flipped open a file and clicked the top of a pen. “As a quick review, we have multiple autopsies that Ken falsified the records on. From his notes and photos, it appears the torture methods match or are similar to the injuries in Noelle’s cold cases. The cuts and the brandings and tattoos are the same.”

“Do we have cause of death on the cold cases?” Alana asked.

“I can answer that.” Jonah spoke up. “From what I can conclude from the police reports and ME documents without doing an actual autopsy, all the victims we have information on died from sharp force injury to the abdomen.”

“They bled out from a stab wound after he mutilated them.” Decia scowled.

Noelle sucked in a breath.

Decia cringed. “Oh, girl. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean?—”

“No. You’re right.” Noelle fisted her hands. “That’s exactly what he did.”

“Why? What was his motive for doing that?” Juliette tilted her head. “Noelle, did he ask you questions? Did he say anything during your captivity?”

Jonah held his breath. The inquiries had become personal to Noelle. His attention never left her. If she even flinched, he wanted to hustle her away from everyone. But she needed to face the past head-on so she could put it behind her, no matter how painful.

Instead of falling apart, Noelle straightened in her chair and placed her hands in her lap. What he’d come to recognize as her law enforcement mask dropped into place. “Funny you should ask that. There are a lot of things I don’t remember and a few that are fuzzy. I hadn’t remembered his words until now. He kept asking if it was worth it.”

“What was worth it?” Alana’s nose scrunched.

Noelle’s right shoulder rose and dropped. “I have no idea. It was almost like a mantra. He never waited for an answer. He’d ask, then slide the knife over my skin.”

“I wonder if our current cases experienced the same thing.” Matt went from clicking his pen to tapping it on the table.

“The cuts are similar. And let’s not forget the Chinese symbol truth.” Jonah slipped his hand under the table and clasped Noelle’s.

“I’m assuming you confirmed the brandings on the two Jane Does.” Decia’s gaze met his.

“Yes. Both Jane Does have the exact marking that Noelle has, but it was burned—branded—into the skin instead of inked.”

Matt rubbed his forehead. “Tattoos can be painful, but branding is a whole new level of cruelty.”

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