Page 30 of So Twisted

The Big Wilderness Zoo was larger than the Council Bluffs Animal Rescue Sanctuary but still fairly small compared to the zoos Faith was used to.

“News article says it was intended to compete with the Henry Doorly Zoo but offer a more immersive experience,” Michael said. “Didn’t get as big as they wanted, but they made enough money to keep operating.”

Faith was driving this time, so Michael was getting background information on the zoo from his phone. “Is it important to know that?” she asked.

“No. I was just trying to see if this zoo had a history of ethics violations too.”

“Anything on that front?”

“Nope. Clean as a whistle.”

“Well, that doesn’t mean our victim is.”

She parked the cruiser in between two other police vehicles. Cuthbert met them at the entrance to the gate. The normally impeccably dressed detective looked disheveled and glum. Faith was pretty sure she looked the same.

“We’ve detained the night watchman. I don’t think he’s the killer, but we have to go through the motions.”

“What makes you think he’s not the killer?” Faith asked.

“You’ll see when you meet him, but he’s not the type. More importantly, we’ve been dusting for prints, and his only show up on the door handle to enter the office.”

“Got it. Who’s the victim?”

“Dr. Elena Vasquez, fifty-five. She was… well, you’d better come see.”

He led the agents to the zoo’s attached animal hospital and rehabilitation center. There were red lights flashing over theentrance to the building and again over an office at the far end of the hall on the first floor.

"Some sort of silent alarm system," Cuthbert explained. "Nightwatchman doesn't know how to turn it off. Says it's never come on before."

Cuthbert led them into the office. A uniform stood next to a corner where a heavyset man in a security guard's uniform sat with his head in his hands. His shoulders shook, and Faith saw tears leaking out underneath his hands. That didn't necessarily prove innocence, but he was definitely shaken by what had happened. Then again, if his prints were nowhere in the room, but there was no evidence of cleaning, that was a pretty good sign.

Turk put his nose to the ground and began sniffing. As at the other two crime scenes, he growled irritably and shook his head, wandering from spot to spot without seeming to notice anything. Michael frowned and glanced at Faith. He pointed at Turk and lifted an eyebrow.

She ignored him and approached the body. “Turk.”

He looked at her, and she pointed at the body of the short, gray-haired woman who lay on the floor in front of a filing cabinet on the opposite wall. He snorted and approached the body but still seemed to have trouble picking up a scent.

She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms.Come on, Turk.

“That one looks painful.”

Michael’s words pulled her out of her funk. She paid closer attention to the body and saw what Michael meant. Dr. Vasquez lay in a pool of her own blood. Small, concave wounds dotted her body as though chunks of flesh had been gouged out by an ice cream scoop.

Bite-sized wounds.

Faith shuddered and said, “So this wasn’t an instant kill like the previous two.”

“Well, to be fair, Alison Chen probably took ten minutes to die,” Cuthbert replied. “But yes, we think Dr. Vasquez was alive for at least thirty minutes. Not that you want to confirm this, but the body’s still warm.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Faith agreed. “The blood pooled here, though, so she wasn’t conscious for long.”

“No. First attack was here.” Cuthbert pointed at a filing cabinet in the corner of the room, about ten feet from the body. Faith saw a spray of blood on the cabinet and a smaller pool on the ground below. “The victim then tried to run, but as you can see from the blood spray on the floor, she had been bitten several times before she overcame her shock and tried to get away. She fell down, and it looks like she tried to defend herself before finally succumbing.”

Faith raised an eyebrow. If she had managed to scratch the killer or even slap him, then there might be DNA on her that they could use. “Defensive wounds?”

Cuthbert reached across the body with one gloved hand and gingerly lifted Dr. Vasquez’s left arm. Faith’s face fell when she saw the three missing fingers. “Got it.”

“Were any animals blamed this time?” Michael asked.

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