Page 28 of 1st Shock
But then her gaze lands on Meg and softens. She rattles off details as we get close, unzipping the bag to show us what's left of this poor woman's body. "Body is badly decomposed as you can see. Initial evaluation: adult Caucasian female between eighteen and thirty."
The material of her tank top and yoga pants withstood being buried better than she did.
"Cause of death?" JJ asks.
Gentry gives him a look that says he knows better. "No clue until I get her on the table."
"How long has she been dead?"
He gets the same look, this time with a little more fire. "I need to do testing to determine that. Which I could be doing right now if I wasn't waiting on you."
JJ doesn't back down. "Give me an estimate."
The ME sighs. "Is it going to help solve this case any faster if you know here and now?"
She's a spitfire, this one. Meg covers her chuckle with a fake cough. "Don't let him get to you, Dr. Gentry. He's always like this."
JJ gives the good doctor a self-deprecating smile. One that has charmed many into doing what he wants. He leans in closer like he's going to share a secret and lowers his voice. "Sorry, doctor. It's been a long week, and we potentially have a serial on our hands. An estimate is better than nothing for my timeline if I'm going to figure out who the killer is. This woman could’ve been killed by a man already in prison, or someone who is still running around."
Could be this smile, or the gravity of his voice. Gentry relents. "My best guess is around two years, but don't hold me to that."
Meg is looking over her right shoulder toward the crowd ten feet behind us. In the distance, thunder rumbles. I feel my sister's tension and follow her gaze. The bystanders are three rows deep. Some look up to the sky just as the first fat drops began to fall.
"What is it?" I ask Meg.
Now Matt is looking at the crowd as well.
"Someone is watching us," Meg murmurs.
Everyone is. Matt and I exchange a glance. JJ's words to the doctor ring in my head...someone who is still running around.We know there’s a killer on the loose. He visited our office yesterday. Did he murder this woman? If so, is he in the crowd watching us?
"Stay here with JJ," I tell Meg. To Matt, "I'll make my way to the left and sweep toward the middle. You take the right and meet me there."
Matt nods and we take off in opposite directions. No one appears to be paying attention as I walk past two crime scene techs and duck under the tape. I lose myself in the crowd, covertly pulling out my phone and videoing those around me. Most are starting to file off due to the rain, but a few are diehards.
As I'm passing two older women, I see a light blue baseball cap. A man has it pulled low over his face, but I see a quick flash of teeth before he whirls away from me and my camera. Smirking.
My instincts roar to life and I gently push past them, starting to run. My heels sink into the soft dirt. Why didn't I change into my hiking shoes?
At the same moment, the sky opens up and rain pours down.
People jostle me and I lose Mr. Ball Cap for a moment. My pulse is pounding as hard as the rain.
He’s fast—disappearing into a slew of parked emergency vehicles. I catch sight of Matt and, the moment he sees me, he knows I'm on the hunt. I point toward the cars and he takes off, meeting me near a cruiser.
Through the pouring rain, I huff out, "Male, five-eight or so, wearing a light blue ball cap. Took off running when he saw me filming the crowd."
Together we search the area, my shoes miring in mud and I curse them. The man is nowhere to be seen. After a few minutes, we circle back and find JJ and Meg waiting for us. The coroner's van is pulling out, the CSIs collecting their tools and calling it a day.
JJ's face is as ominous as the storm clouds. "What the hell, Charlie? Why'd you take off?"
"Why do you think?" I'm out of breath and my shoes are ruined. I play back my video, but Ball Cap isn't on it. Damn, damn, damn. Why didn't I think to film the crowd upon arrival? "Killers often revisit the scene."
"I was right," Meg says, her eyes wide.
I nod, a bitter taste in my mouth. "Our killer was here."
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