Page 36 of Wanted by the Lawman

CHAPTER 10

“SHE SUFFERED A deep laceration to her forehead. Two broken ribs. Frostbite on her nose and fingers, but mostly on her feet. Her vaginal wall was torn too. The examiner swabbed her, however, the DNA results usually take eight weeks, but he said he’d push them up a few weeks if possible. Formal cause of death, severe asthma exacerbation induced by cold air.” Rudy closed the preliminary medical exam file and looked at Zander who was sitting on the corner of the desk in the Sheriff’s office.

Frustrated, he got up and paced the floor several times. “The examiner isn’t listing this as a homicide? She was beaten and possibly raped…,” he practically growled the words.

“Obviously she wouldn’t have the broken ribs, the cuts, and be running through the snow unless she was running from an assailant, or assailants, but the examiner can’t rule this a homicide without the evidence. Cade, the girl had a significant amount of heroin in her bloodstream.”

Zander blew out a breath through his tight lips. “So she shot up and decided to take a run outside? The victim deserves for everyone to know the truth. To find her killer. You can’t get an FBI team out here unless this is ruled a homicide that involves rape.”

“Hell, Cade, I know that. We have four deputies handling the entire county and we’re already struggling to keep up. You don’t think I want a federal team out here to find the bastard, or bastards, who did this? I wish this was one of those cases that just crawled into our lap with all the evidence intact, but it’s not, just like the others who are dying from the drug epidemic. These kids get high and do crazy things and it’s possible she did freak out, maybe over nothing, and found herself in the middle of a freaking snowstorm.”

“This is a murder. We know it. Not an overdose.”

“The examiner can’t just call it a homicide for the sake of doing it. You know it doesn’t work that way. Let’s face it, that’s why I asked for your help. You have more training in this than anyone I know. Help me prove she was murdered. Please tell me you’ve had a chance to look over the case files I gave you and you saw something I didn’t?”

Zander swallowed against the constriction in his throat as his blood boiled. “All the deaths were ruled accidental overdose, but there are obvious similarities. All four girls are around the same age, eighteen to twenty-two. They attend college, but not the same one, and have decent grades. None of them have a history of drug use yet have been known to drink socially. They are similar in physical characteristics. Brunettes, dark eyes, pretty, but unless any evidence is missing—”

“I investigated those cases myself,” he interrupted.

“Then no clues were left behind except a used needle.”

“And yet that’s where the clues end.”

Zander dropped down in the wooden chair and leaned his elbows on his knees. “Take a look at the evidence from a different angle. Can you honestly believe these girls, A/B students with no history of drug use, all overdosed and all were found outside, in the middle of nowhere?”

“I see your point.” Rudy scraped a palm down his jaw. “But without anything more to link the cases…”

The door came open and one of the deputies stuck her head in. “Sheriff, that boy, you know the one you were looking for, is here.”

“Dalton Sines?” Rudy looked at Zander. “He’s the kid our victim, Sabrina, was seeing.”

“Big favor, Rudy. Can I stay and ask some questions if I think of anything?”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Rudy finally nodded. “Just keep in mind this is a kid and not a terrorist. It’s important to use gentle tactics to get him to tell us what he knows.”

“Are you saying I can’t be gentle enough?” Zander chuckled.

“I’m saying that he’s eighteen but barely.”

The tall kid in a letterman had his hands tucked into his front pockets when he stepped in. Zander introduced himself after Rudy. “I’m helping the Sheriff on the case involving a friend of yours, Sabrina Dexter.”

“Yeah.” He withdrew his hands but instantly stuffed them into the pockets of his jacket.

“Have a seat.” Zander pointed to the chair.

The kid looked from Rudy to Zander, back and forth several times before he finally sat down in the chair Zander had previously occupied.

“I’m glad you finally decided to come and see me.” Rudy sat on the corner of the desk while Zander stood by the window, keeping the space so he didn’t overwhelm the boy.

“I was away at football camp. I didn’t get back until last night,” Dalton said.

Zander watched the kid, noticing how sweat beaded on his forehead and he shifted his tennis shoes nervously. One could tell a lot by a person’s behavior. “You heard about—”

“Yes, I heard, but why do you want to see me?”

Rudy grinned, and Zander knew this was a tactic to make the boy comfortable. “You were dating her, right?”

He gave a short shrug of his shoulder. “Nah, not really. We went out a few times, but that’s about it. Like I said, I wasn’t in town when this happened.”

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