Page 40 of T-Bone
I turned without correcting him about my job title. “Yes?”
“Officer Ahern responded to the call initially. He’s the one who found the original crime scene and he can’t resist the coffee cake at Ava’s Bakery.”
“Thank you.” The drive to Ava’s Bakery took just a few minutes and I found the young, uniformed officer enjoying a cronut, possibly his second.
Officer Ahern was fresh-faced and eager to do a good job, which meant he kept track of important details others might have missed. “I’m so sorry for your loss, Detective Welsh.”
Again, I didn’t bother correcting him. “Thank you. I hear you were first at the Monroe crime scene?”
His eyes brightened and he nodded. “Yeah. Got called to do a welfare check.”
“Any idea who called?”
He shook his head. “Nope, it went through dispatch. I thought it was odd, but duty calls, ya know?”
I nodded and took notes. “Always. Did you know it was a death scene right away?”
“Not at first. I knocked at all three doors and no one answered. I spotted the body of a male, white in the backyard so I took advantage of the unlocked back door and went inside. It was a particularly, uh, bloody crime scene ma’am. Right from that moment I knew it would be bad.”
“Did you call for a detective right away?”
He shook his head, cheeks turning a bright shade of pink. “No, I know I should have but the neighbor mentioned she hadn’t seen the girl who lives there in a few days and after spotting the male body, I had to see if she was okay.”
She wasn’t. “Where did you find her?”
“In the living room. It looked like there had been one hell of a fight. Her body was in terrible condition, and it looked like she didn’t go down easily.”
“What makes you say that, I mean other than the blood everywhere?”
“Right.” He nodded and leaned across the table. “She used what I assumed were her dying breaths to draw something on the wall. It was a skull with three thick lines underneath it.” He looked around before leaning in closer. “In her blood, at least, I assume it was her blood since the guy in the backyard looked like he’d been dead for a while.”
I perked up at the mention of the skull and showed him a crude drawing. “Did the skull look something like this?”
He nodded. “Oh yeah. Listen, I have a photo of it, but you can’t tell anyone.”
“My lips are sealed,” I assured him. “I’m just trying to find my niece, that’s it.”
He nodded and pulled out his phone to show me.
It was the same skull in her case file. The same skull that was tattooed on Nate. “I didn’t see it in the crime scene photos.”
“Right?” His eyes were wide and suspicious. “Chief said one of the forensics guys messed with it and it was gone, a big hole in the wall. Seemed strange, because those guys are all about the details, you know?”
“Of course. They are an essential part of the justice system,” I answered kindly.
“Anyway the chief said it didn’t matter since the killer was already dead. Case closed. I thought it was fishy but I’m only four years on the job so what do I know?”
“A lot, I think.” I smiled softly. “You gave an excellent briefing and the details you remembered are really great, Ahern. When the time comes, you’ll make a solid detective.”
His expression brightened. “Thank you.” A call came on the radio, which ended our talk.
“My lips are sealed,” I promised once more. “Thanks again for your help.”
Ahern took off and I grabbed an espresso while I mulled over everything that he’d shared with me.
I left the bakery distracted, driving aimlessly as I replayed his words. Maynard knew that Ashley’s ex hadn’t killed her but the killer—almost certainly the Ghost Riders—had taken care of him too, putting a neat little bow on a quickly closed case. “Son of a bitch!” Something was missing in all of this, and I didn’t have it, not yet.
Maybe T-Bone was right, and I was too emotional to think clearly.
