Page 70 of Justice for Francesca

“I make jokes all the time.”

“No, you don’t. You wield snark. Big difference.” Cruz looked at Calder. “You’re the medical guy. You gonna check for her belly button? Cuz I think aliens took her and switched her out for one of their own.”

“Fuck you, Cruz,” she grumbled.

Now it was Calder’s turn. “I don’t need to check. That’s not Frankie. That’s an alien.”

“Okay, you two have had your yucks. What have you got?”

“Wait!” Cruz held up a hand in her direction. “Before he gets into the medical mumbo jumbo, I need the gossip. What happened with Ortiz?”

“You are more nosey than Mickie.”

Calder looked at Cruz. “At least she didn’t say Mack.”

Cruz snorted. “Truth. Our buddy Dax has it worse than I do.” Looking back at Francesca, he gestured to himself. “FBI agent, remember? You said it yourself. Nosey is part of the job description.”

“Are you done now?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Are you done, Calder?”

“Are you done, Cruz?”

“Oh, for the love of… Since I know you’ll just keep hounding me until I tell you, I’ll get it out of the way. I’ve got twenty, maybe thirty minutes before she files that report, and I’m officially off this case, so let’s get going. What have you got?”

A surprised look came across Cruz’s face. “She kicked you off the case?”

“No, I recused myself. Can we please get on with this?”

Calder leaned forward on the table. “You took yourself off the case?”

“Yes. Is there some sort of weird echo chamber going on in here? I recused myself, nonnegotiable, and I asked to take my annual leave rather than get banished to Dallas.” She waved her hand as if negating the information. “Doesn’t matter. We need to focus. I don’t want anyone to be finding Rye or Damaris next, so let’s get to it. Let me help for the next few minutes before my leave is official. What did you find?” she asked Calder.

“Okay. Wow. I’m in shock.”

Francesca waved her hand to get him going forward with his information.

“Yep. Right. Talking fast. Got it. Same results as Mila. High levels of fentanyl, hydrocodone, and alcohol. Overdose as COD.”

“Clearly a pattern. Neither woman was an accidental overdose on the murderer’s part. What else?”

“Jessa’s body had welts and massive bruising to the lower back, buttocks, and thighs. Evidence of the use of an instrument of some kind.”

Francesca scanned his notes as Calder spoke. “Like a paddle?” Calder’s gaze was blank. “She was found attached to a St. Andrew’s cross. A crop, a paddle, a belt, a whip—something—would be a likely implement. What type of instrument?”

“Something compact with surface area to it. The bruising has edges to it.”

“Rounded or squared?”

“Rounded top edges, squared body to it. Rectangular, actually. And long… estimation is about two feet in length? Hard to be exact since her body isn’t wide enough to have a full print of the instrument on her. Just partials. Does the type of instrument matter?”

“It might,” Cruz stated. “According to Tripoli, prior to working at Elysium, she was a member at The Library. Professional dominatrix. No sex. Just humiliation kink. We found her computer and webcam business, and we’re going through her records for clients. She wanted out of that line of work, so he invited her here to be an emcee and host until she figured things out. He said he was pretty sure that when she moved here, she let the bulk of her clients go, keeping only a handful of the more well-financed ones. She told him it was only the webcam business, but maybe she kept a few face-to-face clients as well. If we knew what implement was used, we might be able to eliminate one or more of those men because of their proclivities to what they’ll use in a scene.”

“And paddles, like the type you’re talking about?” Francesca added. “Those require some pretty strong arm muscles to wield them over a prolonged period of time. A whip definitely requires a high level of skill to wield and not slice open the flesh. While she had some lacerations, they weren’t dominating her torture. If they were consistent, or the majority, that would easily eliminate individuals. A smaller paddle, more along the size ofa table tennis paddle, or even a crop, requires far less arm strength.”

“So we’re looking for a man who has BDSM knowledge.”

“A really strong woman is possible, but more likely a man.”

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