Page 30 of Their Wicked Games

“Why didn’t you call?” Kane leaned against the filing cabinets and stared at him.

“The network’s been down in our area all night.” Forester shrugged. “Apparently, there’s a work crew on it now. I don’t have a landline, neither does my friend. There’s really not any use for them anymore, is there?”

Jenna stood. “Would you be able to come with us and show us exactly where you found the body?” She couldn’t help noticing his expression of revulsion. “We’ll be happy to give you a ride home or back into town if you wish?”

“Yeah, okay. I’m not feeling so good and figure I should go back home.” Forester went to stand and Kane laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Just sit awhile.” Kane took Jenna’s place. “The sheriff will have to notify the other deputies what’s happened. It will only take five minutes or so.”

Taking the steps two at a time, Jenna rushed to the conference room, bursting inside. She instantly got everyone’s attention. “We might have another victim. Rio and Rowley, I’ll need you to take Mr. Forester to show us where he found the body. Cell phones are down in the area, so you’ll have to use the coms to keep in contact. Go and take a look. I’ll contact Wolfe as we are due there for an autopsy at ten, and explain things. If it is a body, set up a crime scene perimeter, and we’ll get everyone out there as soon as possible.”

“What about Mr. Forester?” Rio pushed to his feet and gathered his things. “What do you want us to do with him. We can’t exactly leave him on scene, can we?”

Jenna pulled back her hair and secured it with an elastic band from around her wrist. “Once he shows you where he found the body, ask him to remain in the cruiser. As first on scene, we will need his DNA, and more details than what I got from him downstairs. He is very unsettled. When he’s been left to sit for a while, he might recall a few more details. Don’t worry, as soon as I get there I’ll speak to him personally, then maybe you can drop him home. Apparently, he only lives a short distance away.”

“Not a problem.” Rio looked at Rowley. “We’ll take your truck. I’ll ride shotgun.”

“Works for me.” Rowley grinned and, attaching his com pack to his belt, followed him out the door.

“We’ll come.” Jo shot to her feet. “If this is another victim, with pennies under his eyelids, I’ll need to compare the murder with Jimmy Two Cents’ MO. I’m sure there’s a link to him, and if so, we’ll need to go to the source and speak to Jimmy Two Cents.”

“That’s what Jenna said on the way here this morning.” Kane was filling to-go cups with coffee and handing them around. “Right now, we don’t have enough evidence to pin these murders on any of the suspects. Circumstantial evidence linking them to the time or place of one of the deaths won’t be enough.” He shrugged. “If one of them has a link to Jimmy Two Cents, we can expand it and start building a case.”

Jenna used the landline to call Wolfe to explain. “I’ll get on scene in five but we’re not even sure it’s a person yet. The witness was a little vague. We’re using coms as the cell phones are down in that area, so I might not be able to call you.”

“I’ll come. What I find at the scene may be crucial.”Wolfe sighed.“The autopsy can wait. I’ve done a preliminary examination and have enough information for you to use. Type of knife for instance, depth of wounds. I’ll need to open her up for a cause of death, but from my initial examination, the severed carotid artery is likely the cause of the blood loss resulting in cardiac arrest.”

Jenna thought for a beat. “Meet us on Stanton. Rio and Rowley have gone ahead with the witness and will be able to give us the coordinates over the com. There are alleyways all over this part of town.”

“I’m on my way.”Wolfe disconnected.

TWENTY-SEVEN

John Forester was babbling by the time they arrived at the entrance to the alleyway. Rio tried to keep the mood upbeat, talking to the guy about football and ice hockey, but it seemed that nothing would work. The man’s sheet-white face and staring eyes were exaggerated by his trembling hands. When they pulled to the curb, no amount of encouragement would lure him from the back seat of the cruiser, although Rio had little doubt they were in the right place. A cool breeze rushed up the alleyway, bringing with it the stink of death. One thing was for sure, something lay dead in its murky depths. “Okay, Mr. Forester, if going any farther is distressing for you, stay here until we come back. How far are you from your home?”

“Not far.” Forester pointed vaguely behind him. “Over there, not more than five minutes away. I can walk from here.”

“No, stay in the back of the truck.” Rowley gave him a condescending smile. “The medical examiner will be here soon and I’m sure he’ll want to speak to you. I understand this has been extremely unsettling for you, but it would be better if you get the interviews out of the way, then you can go home and rest.”

After grabbing the crime scene kit from the back of the truck, Rio pulled on examination gloves and a mask before switching on his flashlight and heading down the alleyway. The beam from his flashlight illuminated a humped shape against the hedge lining the dirt track. All around it, what he assumed was blood had run in rivulets along the alleyway. As they got closer, it was apparent the victim was a young man, perhaps a teenager. Appalled, Rio’s gut tightened as he moved the beam over the slumped figure. The carnage before him was brutal, and sadistic. He kept a good distance away as it was obvious the victim was dead. The blue tint to the face and the liver mortis evident in one forearm suggested the body had been there for some time, possibly overnight. He turned to Rowley. “He’s been gutted and left to die.”

“Do you figure it’s the same killer?” Rowley pulled crime scene tape out of the forensic kit and tossed it in his palm.

Avoiding the congealed patch of blood around the victim, Rio bent and shone his flashlight on the face. Under the eyelids, the shape of two pennies was unmistakable. “Yeah, unless it’s become fashionable to push pennies under the eyes of murder victims this week.” He straightened and cast his light around, searching the immediate area for evidence. Finding nothing of interest, he tapped his com and gave Jenna the exact position of the alleyway. He turned back to Rowley. “Hand me another roll of tape. I’ll head back to check on Mr. Forester. You go and seal the opposite end of the alleyway; we don’t want people walking through the crime scene.”

“I was already on my way.” Rowley tossed him a roll of tape and headed off in the other direction, his flashlight bopping in the distance.

Walking slowly back to the road, Rio noticed a few drops of blood on the dead leaves lining the edge of the alleyway. He’d stuffed his pockets with marker flags before leaving the office and marked each spot of blood. The trail, which had started with noticeable droplets, dissipated to nothing as he got closer to the road. Right at the entrance to the alleyway sunlight illuminated a small hole, as if the ground there had been stabbed with a knife. He marked the spot and scanned the immediate area. He crouched down to examine the grassy verge and discovered what he had been looking for. It was a small patch smeared with blood. The killer had used the dirt and surrounding grass to clean the blood from his knife. He added a circle of markers and straightened as Kane’s black truck, with the ME’s white van close behind, pulled up nose-to-tail with Rowley’s cruiser.

“What have you got for me?” Jenna came straight to his side, wrinkled her nose, and pulled on a mask. “Is it a body?”

Nodding, Rio waited for Kane and Wolfe to walk into earshot. “Yeah, it’s a young guy who’s been gutted. He has pennies under his eyelids, the same as the others. Rowley is at the other end of the alleyway, sealing it with crime scene tape.”

“Did you find a murder weapon?” Jenna was staring down the dark alleyway, as the beam from Rowley’s flashlight came into view.

Rio shook his head and pointed to the evidence markers. “No weapon, but from the trail of droplets, this killer is as cold as ice. His knife was dripping with blood, and from the distance between the drops, he murdered the young guy and then walked calmly away.”

“Okay.” Jenna looked at Mr. Forester sitting in the back of Rowley’s truck. “Get a written statement from Mr. Forester and then give him a ride home. When you’re done, I’ll need you back on scene.”

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