Page 32 of Tears on Her Grave

“You go take a shower and I’ll get the coffee.” Jenna threw back the blankets, pushed her feet into slippers, grabbed her robe, and headed for the kitchen. “If it’s a homicide, we’ll needto call Nanny Raya and tell her that Tauri is going to be arriving early this morning.”

Kane took a very quick shower and dressed for work. During murder cases they usually worked the weekend, other times Rio and Rowley were more than happy to take over and pocket the overtime. This weekend it would be all hands on deck. With two cases on the books, there wouldn’t be any time to relax. He walked into the kitchen as Jenna disconnected from a call. From her expression, it wasn’t good news. “Did you hear from Rio?”

“Yeah.” Jenna folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the counter. “It’s another ax murder, and Rio recognized the victim as Lily Jones. Someone murdered her in the alleyway outside the beauty parlor.” She swallowed hard and met his gaze. “He said the killer decapitated her. It’s a bloodbath. He’s already notified Wolfe and cordoned off the area. Rowley is on scene and they’ve positioned their patrol vehicles to conceal the alleyway from the public.”

The implications of the murder of another of the suspects in the Abby and Cole murders, deeply concerned Kane. He nodded. “They sound like they have everything under control. I’ll get breakfast underway if you can rouse Tauri from sleep. They’ll need us to take over while they grab a meal before starting work. I figure it’s going to be another long day.”

“You can say that again.” Jenna headed along the passageway to Tauri’s room. She turned to look at him. “I called Nanny Raya, and Blackhawk is dropping by this morning to spend some time with Tauri.”

Kane grabbed eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. “That’s good to know. He always enjoys his time with him.” He looked down at Duke. “I haven’t forgotten you.” He spent a few minutes topping up the bowl of kibble and mixing a special protein drink the vet had recommended to keep him in tip-top condition. He added more cat food to the feeder as Pumpkin wrapped her sleekbody around his legs. “There you go. Don’t worry, Duke. We’re not leaving you at home today.” He washed his hands and then set about making breakfast.

It was a crisp clear morning as they rode into town. It was good to see the sun rising into a clear blue sky. Kane hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it until it wasn’t there. He avoided going along Main and took a few back roads to Nanny Raya’s house instead. He figured keeping Tauri well away from the crime scene would be the best thing to do. His little boy’s inquisitive mind would lead to questions about the sheriff’s vehicles blocking the sidewalk. It wasn’t something he wanted to answer and lying to his son wasn’t an alternative.

After dropping by Nanny Raya’s, Kane turned the Beast around and headed along Main. Both of the sheriff’s vehicles were parked across the sidewalk, and Wolfe’s white medical examiner’s van was backed in between them with the back doors wide open.

He caught Jenna’s sharp intake of breath as she stepped around Rio’s truck. He followed close behind and his attention moved straight to the stream of blood running from the alleyway and down into the gutter. It had congealed into a glossy mess, with bits of leaves and dust floating on the surface. A dog had walked through it leaving a trail of pawprints that faded into nothingness. Rowley was leaning against his truck, keeping a small group of people from looking down the alleyway. The morbid fascination of some people never ceased to amaze him. They didn’t seem to realize that witnessing a horrific event might stay with them for the rest of their lives. He walked over to the group of onlookers. “Go on your way. There’s nothing to see here.” He swung his gaze across the crowd and people reluctantly turned and walked away. He looked at Rowley. “Try to keep people away. As soon as Wolfe has finished processing the scene, we’ll hose down the sidewalk. Wolfe keeps a hosein the back of his van. He often needs to wash blood from his boots.”

“I’ll do it.” Rowley lifted his chin. “The more I work around blood, the better I’m coping with it. Before the twins were born, I’d have spewed at the sight of that mess.” He sighed. “Oh and I spoke to Mr. Lane and then cut him loose. He didn’t see anything, just the blood. He had deliveries to make around town, but we have his details if we need to speak to him again.”

Kane nodded. “Okay, I’ll let Jenna know.” He turned back to the alleyway where she was waiting for him. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Jenna pulled on a face mask and handed one to him followed by examination gloves. She straightened her shoulders and, stepping carefully around the blood spatter, led the way along the alleyway.

FORTY

Kane followed, taking note of the footprints. They were the same as before, made from generic rubber boots. At the entrance to the alleyway, he found a rounded pattern on the ground, the same as they’d found in the barn at the Old Mitcham Ranch. The killer had followed the exact same pattern by undressing and taking his soiled clothes with him. Toward the end of the alleyway, Wolfe had erected a number of lights. The stark reality of what had happened to Lily Jones was out there for all to see. Kane had always believed that war had hardened him against even the most abhorrent crimes against mankind, but what had happened to Lily turned his breakfast into a solid ball that weighed heavy in his stomach. Again, the killer hadn’t touched the victim’s face, but this time had hacked off her head. He turned to look at Wolfe. “Why so much blood? Surely, she couldn’t have survived very long with these injuries.”

“Our minds often focus on the main subject of interest.” Wolfe stood to one side. “Take another look. Can you see now why there’s so much blood? Like with the previous murder, this killer had no intention of making Lily’s death painless or fast.”

“He cut off her hands.” Jenna stared down at the corpse and then pointed at the steps leading to the back of the beauty parlor. “He left them where she could see them.”

Turning back to Wolfe, Kane waited for his friend to straighten from taking the temperature of the body. “Did you notice a weapon anywhere?”

“Nope, we only arrived thirty minutes or so ago and haven’t gotten to that yet.” Wolfe indicated with his chin toward his assistant Colt Webber. “We’ve documented the scene and taken videos and photographs. If you can do a search, we’ll start collecting the body parts and get her back to the morgue.”

Kane nodded. “Rowley will get this blood cleaned up when you’re done.”

“It’s fine. Webber will do it.” Wolfe’s eyes held a deep sadness. “Your time is better spent finding the maniac who did this.”

Nodding, Kane turned as Jenna hurried along the alleyway swinging her flashlight. He followed close behind, opening dumpsters as he went and searching for the murder weapon, but found nothing. As they walked back toward Main, Jenna bent to pick up the high heels. She handed them to him and he pushed them into an evidence bag.

“I’ve found her purse.” Jenna moved her flashlight alongside the wall belonging to the beauty parlor. After using her phone to take a photograph, she picked up the purse and turned it over in her hand. “There’s no blood, so she dropped it when she was running away.”

The clip on the purse was open, and a few personal items had spilled onto the sidewalk. Kane took more photographs and then collected the items. “What’s inside her purse?”

“A packet of tissues, a phone, and house keys.” Jenna dropped the purse inside an evidence bag and held it open for him. “What did you find?”

Kane dropped the items into the bag. “A lipstick, a hairbrush, and a stick of deodorant.”

“I can see what looks like a trail of blood droplets beside the footprints over there.” Jenna moved her flashlight back and forth. “I figure Wolfe needs to see them. They look different to me.” She tucked her flashlight under one arm and took photographs.

Kane waited for Wolfe to walk back into the alleyway after placing the body in the back of the van. “We didn’t find the murder weapon, but we found her purse and shoes.” He pointed to the blood droplets in a line on the ground. “What do you make of this blood trail?”

“It’s the same as the cast-off blood spatter I found on the walls and the dumpster. It tells the story of the attack better than being there.” Wolfe waved a hand at the blood trail. “It could be from the murder weapon, or his hands were dripping with blood. I took samples just in case he was injured during the attack, as we are assuming he wiped his hands and changed clothes before leaving as before.” He sighed. “My bet is it’s from the ax.” He removed his examination gloves and rolled them up into a ball. “I’ve documented everything and will give you a full analysis on Monday morning. If I could do this faster, I would, but the body is in such bad shape it’s going to take a long time to complete the autopsy.”

“I understand but I can see that this blood spatter is unusual.” Jenna frowned. “The drops of blood look different. Can you explain why this occurred?”

“Not a problem.” Wolfe pointed to the blood trail. “The shape of the blood droplets indicates direction. When you see both shapes, as in this case, it tells me he was swinging the ax as he walked. Each blood droplet tells a story. The pointed end faces away from the direction the killer was traveling. Swinging the ax would make blood spatter fly in both directions, so you seethe blood droplets seemingly facing each other.” He looked from one to the other and moved along the blood trail. “As he gets closer to the sidewalk, he stops swinging the ax. See, from the narrow end of the drips, even though they’re getting smaller, they prove he was heading toward the road, not away from it.” He sighed. “I’d sure like to get hold of that ax. It could be covered in DNA evidence. Many killers believe they can remove DNA from murder weapons but I can usually find traces where they wouldn’t even imagine looking for them.”

---