Page 28 of Wanted by the Lawman

“Have you checked anything other than the purse?”

“No. I wanted to leave the scene as intact as possible until you’ve had the chance to look over things.”

Zander looked from the girl’s blue jacket down her jeans, to her snow boots. Although she was dressed for cold, she wasn’t bundled up for spending any time outdoors. “Do you have an evidence bag?”

“Lansing, hand him a bag,” Rudy told his deputy.

Zander turned the bag inside out over his hand and reached into the girl’s coat pocket. He pulled out a used syringe. “Does she live close?”

“Nope. Over thirty minutes from here.”

“It’s possible she came out here to buy a fix.” Zander stood, carefully withdrew the bag from his hand and around the needle. “And we know she wasn’t close to home. Rudy, order a rape kit.”

“You think she’s been raped?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. We don’t want to presume anything.” Zander realized that in areas where drug use was prevalent, many times deaths were chalked up to overdoses without any further investigation into the case. It wasn’t because of careless law enforcement as much as lack of training and limited resources. “Make sure all her belongings, even that shoe I see ten feet away are all with her. Everything needs examined for evidence.”

“That was a used heroine needle you pulled out of her pocket,” Lansing said. “We’ve had problems with kids coming out here and shooting up.”

Zander turned to the young deputy. “We don’t ever guess about a case. Assumption blinds us to the little things. Like that faint bruising on her neck and wrists.”

“Fuck,” Rudy sighed and shifted in his boots.

“Hell, that needle could have been used for heroin, filled with rat poison, or a shot she gave her diabetic grandmother today. We won’t know unless it’s tested,” Zander said with patience. He realized how hard it was to get skilled and trained deputies out here in the mountains. Not everyone had the desire to be out in freezing temps. “We have to treat this as a possible homicide until otherwise proven.”

“Yes, sir,” Lansing said with a grin.

“The nearest house is over two miles away.” Rudy pointed west.

“And that leaves the question, what is a young girl doing thirty minutes from home, out here in the middle of a field in freezing temperatures with a lightweight coat and a pair of cheap snow boots? If she lived around here, she’d know she’d freeze in a matter of minutes, high or not.”

“Hell, Cade. We’ve dealt with crazier shit, but I’m on your side. We’re finding too many victims.”

“I know you’ve said kids come out here to party. Could be, but it doesn’t add up. There’s no evidence of a fire and that wouldn’t explain the tracks.” He waved for Rudy to follow him. He pointed at several of the faint tracks that could easily be overlooked. “See how the front of the boot print is deeper? And the pattern? That shows that she was running. Maybe running from someone? Then I see multiple footprints. Who was here on scene first, outside of the owner?”

“I was,” Lansing said.

“Lansing searched the entire side of the mountain for prints but there were none. Here are a few spots of splattered blood.” Rudy jetted his thumb through the air. “Looks like she took a face plant.”

“How cold did it get last night? Below ten? If she was running and her lungs filled up with the cold, icy air, that’d cause her lungs to explode. Yet, it doesn’t explain why she’s out here in the middle of nowhere with bruises. Is that the man who found her?”

“Yes, that’s Barnes. He owns the property.”

“Hello, sir.” Cade approached the man. “I know you’ve already been asked questions, but do you care if I ask a few more?” The man shook his head. “Did you see or hear anything suspicious last night?”

“No. The family and I were gone a few hours, came home and went straight to bed.” The wiry bearded, forty-something man readjusted his shotgun that he had leaning on his hip.

Zander looked back to Rudy. “Any thoughts?”

“She put up a fight. She has broken nails. Her clothes and coat are ripped.

“I agree. And she has asthma.”

“How do you know?”

Zander met Rudy’s curious expression. “Take a closer look at the spatters of blood. Ice crystals formed in her lungs. When a person runs they’re more likely to breathe through their mouth to obtain more oxygen. Breathing through your mouth in these freezing temperatures puts the lungs at higher risk, even for those who have normal lung function. Asthma causes the bronchial tubes to inflame and constrict, and cold air makes the inflammation worse.”

“You couldn’t possibly have gotten that she has asthma from that.”

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