Page 8 of 1st Shock
He is pensive for a moment, then the grin appears once more. "How about you go with me to pick it out? I have to meet with the Hughes family at two, probably take an hour or so. We could go after that. You need a break from the office. Meg too. You should both come."
Matt is the closest thing I'll ever have to a little brother, and I’d love to help with this, but neither of us will be free this afternoon. I reach over and pick up the stack of folders. "After you meet with them, I need you to dig into these clients. I've worked on the preliminaries for all three cases, so the initial research is done."
His bangs jump as his eyebrows lift, a silent question as to why I'm suddenly doubling his caseload.
"Our favorite U.S. district attorney brought us a new UIP," I explain. "I have to help Meg."
His question multiplies, the bangs jumping again. "I thought you swore off Carrington."
Personally, yes. "It is not in the best interest of the firm for me to turn down a direct request from the Justice Department." Even though I damn well tried.
"I'm not worried about the firm. I'm worried about you, Charlie."
This is why I think of Matt as my kid brother. He has a protective streak as long and as wide as my dad.I should call him tonight. Get him started tracking down Juanita Jones' father."Meg is the one you should worry about. JJ brought her a replica of a skull."
Matt sinks low in his chair, his gaze shifting skyward. "Shit. Has she named it?"
"Itis a girl." Meg appears in the doorway, looking excited. The coroner's office offered a clue, I can see it on her face. "Hername is Avery."
Gentry clearly confirmed the sex of the victim. Matt and I exchange a look. He stands and grabs the new cases, waving at us as he leaves. I open the red folder and grab my favorite pen. "I started a file. The number is UIP281. What did you learn?"
My hand is poised to write the details Meg uncovered. "Avery is not a case number. She's a person."
Meg never gives up, whether it's identifying one of her girls in the basement, as she refers to them, or reminding me to be human and embrace empathy. But Meg likes to dive deep into emotions. If I did that, I’d never make it back up for air. The ghosts of the dead would haunt me night and day. I have to maintain some distance, a certain level of detachment. "Ritter's notes show a fractured neck. Did Gentry confirm cause of death?"
"They're going with strangulation. She's sending out the kit today. Avery had straight teeth and no cavities. She could afford dental work. Also, Dr. Gentry doesn't suspect rape."
I can see this makes Meg happy. I note the details, confirming the same assumption Detective Ritter listed in his notes—sexual assault was unlikely. So she wasn't killed during an act of rape, and most likely not in a robbery scenario.
Meg continues talking, pacing as well. Knowing my sister, she'll start with a sketch then move to the skull. She uses it as a guide while she sculpts. It keeps her focused. As if that were ever an issue.
She holds up a finger. "Emily was found twenty miles from Avery. Same basic facts. Decent clothes, gold earrings. No evidence of rape. My gut tells me there's a connection. We need to look for crossover. A pattern."
Emily. Avery. A trickle of fear worms its way around my stomach. Meg is bright, creative, talented, and so driven, but some days, I feel like I'm losing her to these dead girls.
Dead girls. I hide my internal shudder. The neck fracture, the lack of rape…it reminds me of my last case as an FBI agent—one that still gives me nightmares. Mickey was such a loser, but a damn clever one. Bastard’s in prison now, but his reign of terror still haunts me.
I call up the NamUs log and fill in a few more blanks with our inconclusive evidence. It's not much, but it's more than we had a few minutes ago. "I'll work on cross-matching strangulation cases in the local area." We don't know if Emily was strangled—she's another ghost with no obvious COD, but it’ll make Meg happy if I at least act like I'm looking for a connection. "Off topic, Matt needs help picking out a ring for Taylor. Wanted to know if you could go with him later today and offer your wise counsel."
This gets a smile out of her, but it’s short-lived when Haley buzzes my phone. "You have a visitor. A Ms. Juanita Jones? She doesn't have an appointment." Haley’s voice lowers a fraction. “She said Mr. Carrington sent her.”
Oh boy. This gal doesn't mess around. Guess I wouldn't either in her position. "Send her back," I tell Haley. Meg heads for the door, more than ready to escape to her studio. Before she disappears, I lay on some guilt. "Matt needs help, Meg, no lie. He was going to buy her a pear-shaped diamond."
Her head snaps up and she shoots me a look. "Please, no. She would hate that."
“We need to take care of this, steer him in the right direction."
"I'll talk to him."
In the hall, I hear her soft voice greet our visitor, then Juanita steps into my office. One hand shoots out and I rise to shake it across the desk. Her bracelets jangle. "Thank you for seeing me. I should’ve made an appointment, but... JJ said you wouldn’t mind."
While beautiful, her skin has a gray cast to it, the brackets around her mouth are deep with concern. She wears a brightly colored scarf around her head, the corkscrew curls in the picture JJ gave me long gone.
"Please have a seat." I motion her into the chair Matt vacated, making a mental note to castrate JJ later. "Can I get you something? Water? Tea?"
"A shot of vodka?" She laughs, letting me know she's kidding. Sort of.
"I have brandy stashed in the bottom drawer."
