Page 42 of Beautifully Broken Pieces
I raised my brows, studying the carnage. “You sure about that?”
“I can’t be sure of anything until the M.E. says so, but I think there would be more blood if an animal had made the kill. The corpse has been destroyed by scavengers, but there’s a lack of blood in most of the tissue.”
I nodded, wondering if the woman could have been injured while hiking or if something more sinister was at play. A rustling sounded behind me, and I turned to see Tuck heading towards me in his Forest Service uniform. “Greg said it’s the hiker.”
“Unfortunately. What took you so long to get here?” I asked.
Tuck worked his jaw. “I was tracking a poacher when the call came in, so I couldn’t exactly hop in my car.” Tuck was an expert tracker, a skill that had been passed down through his family for generations. “You just got here, didn’t you?”
“I wasn’t trying to give you shit, I was just curious.”
Tuck shook his head. “Sorry, I’m in a crap mood. A hunter’s been trapping in areas of the forest he shouldn’t, but every time I feel like I’m getting close, he slips away.”
“Sorry, man, that sucks. You’ll find him. Give yourself a little time.”
I filled Tuck in on the little I knew while we waited for the M.E. “She was so young,” Tuck said.
“I know,” I echoed as I saw the medical examiner making her way off the trail. Tuck and I made a beeline to help her with her gear.
“I love working around Sutter Lake, the men here are always such gentlemen.”
Both Tuck and I chuckled, but it was Tuck who spoke. “We try our best, ma’am.”
“Maybe draw the line atma’am. Call me Carly.”
“All right, Carly.”
As soon as Carly spotted the body, she switched into professional mode, throwing questions at the techs and Greg, who had been the first officer on the scene. Then, she got to work, doing all sorts of things I knew nothing about. It became a waiting game.
Tuck and I did our best to survey the area, but between the hikers who had discovered the body tromping around, and law enforcement trekking through, there was little to be gained.
“Fellas,” Carly called. “You might want to come take a look at this.” We rushed back over. “I believe I’ve found cause of death.” She held up a relatively small-caliber rifle bullet between the tongs of a pair of tweezers.
Tuck cursed under his breath as I studied the bullet. “Definitely not an animal attack.”
I pulled my gaze away from the bullet. “Hunter hunting illegally? Maybe your poacher?”
Tuck’s jaw looked hard as granite. “Could be,” he gritted out. “I’ve been wondering if I should pay a visit to Frank Pardue.”
“It might not be a bad idea. I can go with you if you want.” Frank was a coot of an older guy who lived in a cabin with no running water or electricity. While technically on the edge of national forest land, it had been grandfathered in because it was passed down from generation to generation in the guy’s family.
“I can handle Frank,” Tuck said through gritted teeth.
“He’s always pissing and moaning about not being able to hunt when and where he wants to.”
Tuck looked from the body to the bullet and back to me. “So, what do you think? He accidentally shoots the girl, and when he realizes it, he leaves her here to die?”
“People panic. Killing an animal is one thing. A person is a whole other ball of wax.”
Tuck ran a hand through his hair. “I guess you’re right.”
Carly broke in then. “I won’t know for sure if it was the bullet that killed her until I do an autopsy, but I don’t think it was animals. I need to get her back to the lab so I can do a full examination.”
“All right. Let us know as soon as you have more information,” I said.
“Will do.” Carly placed the bullet in an evidence bag and got to work putting what remained of the corpse in a body bag.
I pulled out my phone to check the time. “I’m going to head back into town to update the chief. Will you give me a call once you’ve made a go at Frank?”
