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On the way to the crime scene, we barely spoke, both of us tired from the long day and lost in thought. He explained that dispatch didn’t have any details about the murder, which meant this might or might not be the work of our unsub. Though the short time frame between this murder and the last made me believe it would be unrelated.

Or she was spiraling, and this could be the first of many new victims.

The flash of blue-and-white lights filling the windshield had me sitting straighter and situating both shirt cuffs back over my wrists. In true Slade fashion, not caring where he parked, he pulled up alongside a cruiser in the middle of the street and cut the engine.

A small crowd gathered up ahead, their curious murmurs filling the night as I stepped out of the car. At the crime scene tape, I flashed my credentials at the officer keeping everyone back. With a nod, he raised the bright yellow plastic and gestured for me to go through. With each step closer to the scene, I scanned the area, taking in every detail, only to have my gaze jerk back to a familiar face that appeared between two uniformed officers’ shoulders.

“What the hell?” I nodded in agreement at Slade’s statement, somewhat dumbstruck because what we both saw made little sense. “You go find out what the fuck that’s about, and I’ll check out the scene,” he said. “Per dispatch, Rain will be here as soon as she can.”

With a clipped nod, I marched over to the small group that huddled around the woman at the mouth of the alley. Detective Savage’s wide, wild eyes met mine as I approached. Once I had a clear view, I scanned the dark crimson dots covering the front of her wrinkled blue blouse and the same color that coated her wringing hands.

“We’re getting her statement now,” one officer said without looking my way when I paused beside him. His words were blunt and cold, obviously dismissing me. Not that I gave a fuck. “To recap, Detective Savage here was headed to the bar next door to meet some friends when she heard a sound down the alley that made her stop. Describe what you heard, Beth.”

“The noise,” she whispered, face pale and lips trembling. “It was like a watermelon being broken open. Someone muttered under their breath, and then the sound came again and again.” She swallowed. “I didn’t have my gun or radio since I’d planned to have a few drinks tonight.” Tears built in her lower lids. “My boyfriend just broke up with me. My friends and I were meeting up to help me drown my sorrows.”

“What happened next?” I jerked my eyes to the officer, who’d stopped writing her statement.

“I heard a female voice, like a cry or a plea. I couldn’tnotgo, you know? Not when someone was clearly in trouble, so I took off down the alley. It was dark, but I didn’t see anything until I reached the parking lot around the back. That’s when I found him, the guy. On his back… there was blood. So much blood. It was everywhere. I checked his pulse but didn’t find one, so I started CPR just in case.”

“Did you call 911 or anyone else to let them know what was going on?” I asked.

Her short hair, sweaty and stuck to her face, barely moved with the slight shake of her head. “I yelled for help, hoping someone would hear me, and finally someone came running down the alley. I kept doing CPR until it was obvious he wasn’t… that he was….” She looked away and curled her shoulders inward.

The officer reached out and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. But she jerked back, eyes wide, putting distance between them.

“Sorry, Beth. I’m sure you’re jumpy after witnessing all this,” he said. She studied him like a cornered, wounded animal. “We’ll need your clothes—”

“What about the girl?” she asked, scanning the officers before settling on me. “I heard a woman’s voice. I know I did.”

“Detective Taylor is over there now,” I said, breaking her stare to look toward the parking lot. “If someone is in trouble, he’ll take care of it. You two”—I inclined my head toward two of the officers standing off to the side—“pull the security footage from the bar and surrounding buildings. Detective Taylor and I will talk to the bartender inside once we’re done out here.”

“Come on,” an officer said to Detective Savage, gesturing toward the ambulance. “You can change in there so we can bag…”

Their words faded as I stepped away, heading down the short alley toward the crime scene. A yellow halo of light from a flickering streetlight illuminated Slade’s massive frame standing over a lump on the asphalt. Hands on his hips with a deep scowl on his face, he looked pissed.

Great. Whatever he saw didn’t seem good.

27

SLADE

Something didn’t add up.

I narrowed my eyes at the body like that would help make the pieces fit together, but no surprise it didn’t. The way his head was smashed in from several blows to the back spoke to a crime of passion, full of rage. Yet there was no trauma to his face or anywhere else on his body that I could see.

Checking my phone for an update on Rain’s arrival, I scowled at the empty screen. After shooting off another text asking for her ETA, I slipped it back in my pocket just as I felt Jameson pause beside me.

“Damn,” he muttered. “That’s a lot of anger to do that to a head.” I nodded in agreement. “Wonder who he pissed off.”

“Do you see what I’m seeing?” I asked, pointing toward the victim’s pants, where the belt and top button were undone. “Why in the hell would he wear his pants like that?”

Jameson squatted beside the body for a better look. “No clue. Detective Savage said she heard a noise, came to see what was going on, and found him like this. The shirt’s messed up from where she attempted CPR until she realized he was gone.”

“Hmm.” The heels of my shoes ground along the pavement as I swiveled to look her way, but the area was empty. “Where did she go?”

“Change out of her clothes so the officers could bag them for evidence.”

“Good.”

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