Page 3 of Echoes of Sin

“…sunset occurs in three hours. Riggs met the forensics team in town about forty-five minutes ago, but only two of them are able to make the hike. They should be here in…”

Brooklyn Sloane tuned out the numerous conversations that were taking place outside the cabin. She’d wanted a moment alone to cavass the crime scene. From her understanding, an organized search party had discovered the body of a hiker who had gone missing last week.

The woman’s remains were already in an advanced state of decay. The only reason that she’d remained upright in the chair were due to the ropes binding her wrists to the spindles behind her. The same had been done with her ankles against the legs of the wooden seat.

The victim’s skin was bloated with a purplish tint that only magnified the maggots writhing inside the open wounds. She’d been cut at least a hundred times by the sharp, smooth blade of a knife all over her body. They were clean cuts that had gone right through the fabric of her blood-soaked jeans and shirt. There wasn’t one part of her body that hadn’t been mutilated by the killer’s choice of weapon. His blade hadn’t been serrated, and he hadn’t shown any hesitancy during the applications.

The hiker’s death had been painful, prolonged, violent, and brutal.

Had the unsub chosen a knife due to his ease with such a weapon?

Brook’s attention wasn’t exclusively focused on the victim. She’d wanted the ability to profile the unsub, aka unknown subject. To do that successfully, she needed to examine every inch of the cabin. Nothing lacked importance, and the slightest disruption could give special insight to the killer.

The hiker’s backpack lay a few feet away from her. The zipper remained closed, a canteen hung from a hook on the side, and the contents looked to be intact. Her jacket had been placed between her backpack and the wall. The victim’s belongings had been close enough for her to see, yet far enough away that she couldn’t reach them.

Had such a strategy been by design or happenstance?

The victim’s hiking boots had been removed, presumably to give the killer access to that part of her body. Her blood-soaked socks made it difficult to tell the original color of the fabric. The hardwood floor had absorbed most of the woman’s life source as if it had wanted one of its own.

Brook bent down to get a better look at the section of hardwood floor that hadn’t been saturated with blood. The floor was scuffed and there was an obvious circular pattern around the victim. The closest place to sit was the couch near the front door, though one of the cushions was missing. Brook got the impression that the unsub hadn’t taken advantage of such luxury.

The killer had walked continuously around his victim for hours.

Had he done so to keep his prey guessing as to when and where he would slice into her skin? Or was his reasoning for such incessant motion more personal? Did such repetitiveness sooth him as he worked?

Brook pushed on her knees to stand before she slowly followed the unsub’s path, mindful not to disturb anything before the two forensic techs arrived on the scene. The thick blanket of dust on the countertop hadn’t been disturbed, the cobwebs displayed on the single cabinet above the counter exhibited no sign of tampering, and there were no marks on the grime of the two remaining couch cushions. The lack of disruption to anything inside the cabin other than the victim indicated that the unsub was methodical and patient.

The murder hadn’t been a spur of the moment act.

“…it’s been at least forty minutes. I don’t know what it is that she—”

“Excuse me,” Theo Neville said to prevent one of the park rangers from continuing his statement. “My colleague, Sylvie Deering, needs assistance behind the cabin. Would one of you be able to answer her questions about the terrain?”

It wasn’t long before Theo had entered the cabin, though he remained by the doorway. His dark skin contained a thin sheen of sweat at his temples, but it wasn’t from being out of shape. Quite the contrary, he was very passionate about his health. He’d offered to be the one to canvass the wooded area surrounding the cabin. Brook wasn’t sure if he’d truly discovered something around back or if he’d just wanted to separate the two park rangers.

As for Theo’s reasoning for not entering the cabin, such a decision wasn’t due to the noxious odor or the disturbing sight of the macabre corpse. He was all too familiar with the process. Less disturbance meant more evidence. Given the dust on the hardwood floor, she’d purposefully kept her own tracks separate from the others.

“Size eleven. Do you notice the break in pattern of the right sole? The unsub has a rock stuck in the tread. That probably won’t help us, but you never know. There was also a smudge on the wall behind where he’d set the victim’s backpack. Maybe his elbow rubbed against it.” Brook began to walk toward Theo, ensuring that her hiking boots had retraced her own steps to the exit. She came to a stop about three feet from the doorway and began to point out the obvious. “No sign of damage to the lock, but I’m assuming a cabin like this one wouldn’t be secure. It hasn’t been used in years. Notice the disturbance here? The victim was dragged to the chair. She fought her killer.”

“Anything else stand out?”

Brook motioned for Theo to exit the cabin. She joined him, but she didn’t respond right away. She took a moment to breathe in the fresh mountain air. The temperature hovered in the mid-sixties, so the ninety-minute hike hadn’t been too difficult. Seeing as she jogged a couple of miles every day, the long walk hadn’t been difficult. She would have preferred to have used a helicopter to save time, but there hadn’t been a clear area to land a chopper.

The only way in and out of this region was on foot.

“This wasn’t an impromptu abduction or killing of our victim. The unsub wasn’t in a rush. He took his time, and he had absolutely no fear of getting caught in the middle of his laborious efforts.”

“Personal?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Brook was struck by the rugged and isolated beauty of the area. They were surrounded by a riot of reds, oranges, yellows, and browns as the leaves had already changed color. At least a quarter of them had already fallen from the branches overhead, covering the forest floor with what appeared to be a colorful blanket. The natural scenery was a welcome change from the hustle and bustle of the city.

“What is the protocol from this point forward?” Park Ranger Erica Ashton asked as she stood to the side and kept her hands inside the pockets of her green coat. Her auburn hair was chin length, and she wore minimal makeup. She’d been professional on the hike, but it was obvious that her curiosity had gotten the best of her. “Will you submit your findings to the FBI before handing off the investigation?”

“No,” Brook replied, knowing full well that she’d caught Theo off guard with her response. She hadn’t planned on extending their business trip, either. “S&E Investigations will be taking lead on this case, although we would prefer to work alongside your agency. You and your colleagues are familiar with the locals, the surrounding towns, and this terrain. Your insight would be invaluable.”

Brook owned and operated S&E Investigations, Inc. with a silent partner. The private investigative firm was based in Washington, D.C. While its mission was to tackle cold cases that had long since been forgotten, giving closure to the family members left behind, S&E Investigations currently maintained a consulting contract with the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

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