Page 49 of Girl Lost
Beside him, Luna stood. “Organ harvesting?”
“Possibly, or something more ... complex,” Santos said, lowering Carlie’s shirt. The penlight clicked off. “The timing between procedures is unusual. First surgery appears to have healed considerably before the second was performed.” Dr. Santos’s tone was clinical but not unkind. “And based on the precision of the initial incision versus the second, we’re looking at different surgeons.”
A wave of nausea rippled in his gut. He’d seen a lot in his years as an agent, but this ... this was beyond anything he’d encountered. The idea that someone could do this to a teenager, to any human being, shook him to his core. He found himself silently praying for strength, for wisdom, for any kind of guidance in the face of such evil.
“So, she didn’t suffer?” He clung to the one small mercy in this horrific situation.
“It’s unlikely she was aware of what was happening,” Dr. Santos said.
“What about the other victims?” Luna asked.
“Jane One has the same incisions,” Dr. Santos said. “We’re still uncovering the other two graves.”
“Three,” Corbin said.
The medical examiner craned her neck to look up at him.
He pointed to an orange flag. “The HRD might have found another.”
Dr. Santos made a sound that sounded like a groan. “I hadn’t noticed. It’s going to be a long night.”
“This is someone’s dumping ground,” Luna said.
“Again, that’s your department.” Dr. Santos stood. “But looks to me like you might be dealing with something big.”
Understatement of the year. This could be the work of an organ harvesting operation, or a serial killer, though he didn’twant to mention the latter. One leak to the media and they’d be overrun.
No matter what they were dealing with, the implications were disturbing. “How long has she been here?”
“Best guess? About two weeks,” Santos said, glancing at her notes. “The other victim, Jane One, has been here three to five weeks.”
Corbin frowned, recalling the timeline. “Last sighting of Carlie was over a month ago. Could she have been held captive?”
“I’ll check her wrists and ankles for ligature marks once we uncover her. If they were running tests or prepping her for surgery, it’s possible. The actual procedure to remove organs wouldn’t take long—a few hours at most.”
Luna interjected, “And if she was a drug user, maybe they needed her clean first.”
“Detoxing could take time,” Santos agreed. “Days, maybe weeks, depending on her condition.”
He turned back to Santos. “Thank you, Doctor. Keep us updated. We need to know everything as soon as you have it.”
“I’m calling in some reinforcements, so I should be ready for you tomorrow morning. I’ll send a text.” Santos knelt and returned to her work.
Corbin watched her for a moment as she slowly brushed dirt from Carlie’s arm and paused to photograph the progress.
He exchanged a glance with Luna. “Wondering what you dragged yourself into?”
Luna walked beside him, eyes cast down, following the beam of his flashlight. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Me either.” Where had Carlie been for so many weeks, and what had she endured? They had to find whoever was responsible—and stop them before more lives were lost.
Agent Miller met them as they walked out of the woods. “We’re about to cut the surfers loose. That okay?”
“I have a few more questions,” he said. “You have what you need to find them?”
“Yes, sir,” Miller said.
“Good. Hang tight. This won’t take long.”
