Page 254 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I wanted to make sure you’d seen that I’d determined probable cause of death for the victims. The tool marks on the bones are consistent with multiple stab wounds. It’s the same for all four of your Jane Does. The knife had a unique blade, so I can give you an idea of what you’re looking for in terms of a murder weapon. If you find a suspect, I should be able to match the injuries on the victims to the murder weapon.”

He crossed the room and filled his coffee cup before sitting at his kitchen table. “What was unusual about the knife?”

“It has triple blades that twist to a point.” She sighed. “It’s possible the killer fashioned his own knife if he’s skilled in metal work, but if he used a known weapon, my money is on the Microtech Jagdkommando. The knife in question would have no purpose other than doing severe damage to the human body. It was used on all four victims.”

“Thanks. That’ll help a great deal.” He set his coffee down and drummed his fingers on the table. “Do you have an age for the victims or know how long they’ve been dead?”

“My preliminary findings indicate the victims were all in their early thirties. The first Jane Doe was killed more than five years ago, probably closer to seven, and the most recent victim died about a year ago.

“Wow. Why wasn’t all this in your report?”

“I have more testing to do before I make those findings official.”

“Thanks for sharing. That information will help with our investigation.”

“Call if you have other questions, Sergeant Brunner.”

“I will.” He smiled. “I appreciate all your help, Dr. Mastriano.”

She disconnected the call without saying goodbye. He wasn’t surprised by her abrupt hang-up, but he was thrown off guard by the extent of her willingness to be helpful. He’d believed her a cold, unfeeling scientist. His first impression couldn’t have been more wrong.

Wade lookedup when Jamie hovered over his desk. “Did you review the report the forensic anthropologist sent?”

“Sure did,” Wade said.

“I hope you were able to make more sense out of it than I was.”

“Dr. Mastriano made it easy for me.”

“How so?” Jamie grinned. “Did she send you a glossary of anthropology terms?”

“No. She called me to make sure I received her report and then answered my questions.”

“Seriously?”

“It surprised me, too.” He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. “She seemed all business at first, but she clearly cares about the Jane Does. She wanted to be sure we had the information we needed to help our investigation.”

“I wonder why she called you instead of me. I’m the one who walked her out to the crime scene.”

“Dunno. Maybe because I called her in on the case?”

“Maybe.”

“Be glad she didn’t call you.” He laughed. “My cell rang at six o’clock this morning.”

Jamie scrunched her eyebrows together. “What did you find out?”

“Information about the type of knife we’re looking for, the age of the victims, and an approximation on how long ago they died. We’re waiting on DNA, so hopefully we’ll find a missing woman who’ll match. That’s what I’m doing now, poring through missing persons reports hoping to find similarities.”

“It’s possible our killer kept his victims alive for some time,” Jamie said.

“We should expand our search criteria.”

“Maybe not. Let’s start with missing persons fitting our suspected timeline. We can always search again if we don’t hit on anything.”

“True.” He pushed a few buttons on his keyboard.

“Move over.”

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