“That’s fine. I do understand your workload, Shane.” Jenna sounded sincere. “We shouldn’t be too long. Jo is sorting out the legal side of keeping a minor in a secure ward. She’s already organized around the clock security.” She laughed. “I’d forgotten how fast the FBI moved. I’m hanging around here doing nothing but waiting. I’ll call Rowley and give him the results. He’ll probably be glad to hand over the case to us.”
Wolfe scratched the stubble on his chin and made a mental note to shave before taking Anna to ballet classes. “That will save me the trouble. If you’re planning on dropping by to see the body, I must be out of here by six. I’m taking Anna to ballet this evening and I promised to stay back and watch.”
“Sure. Ah. It looks like Jo is ready to leave. We’ll see you soon.” She disconnected.
Wolfe stood and pushed his phone back inside his pocket. He walked out the lab and grabbed scrubs, facemasks, and gloves for the three of them. When he walked into his office, he dropped them on the desk. “Suit up. The DNA is a match.”
Twenty-Six
Jenna pulled her SUV into an empty space beside Kane’s truck. She turned to Jo. “I hate this part of an investigation.”
“Really?” Jo unclipped her seatbelt. “I find the forensics fascinating. The tiniest discovery can link a criminal to a crime and solve murders.” She sighed. “Although, I have to admit since I’ve had Jaime, detaching myself emotionally from child victims during an autopsy has been difficult.”
Understanding, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, kids are difficult but I have a different response and it’s probably unhealthy.” She collected her things and stared at Jo. “Seeing a murdered child makes me angry. I should be feeling sad but it’s never sadness. I feel this welling up of anger and feel like screaming.” She looked away. “I’m not normal, am I?”
“You’re a sheriff and you’re responsible for the lives of the people in your town.” Jo squeezed her arm. “Of course, you feel angry. You want to bring the criminal to justice. I figure Kane feels angry too. He doesn’t show it but I’ve seen his combat face. He hides his emotions well but not from me.” She waved to the ME’s office doors. “I guess we’d better view the body.”
Jenna used her card to access the door. The reception area was empty, Emily and Webber had left for the day. They went through the next set of doors and the cold chill of the morgue greeted her with its normal unearthly smells of antiseptic laced with a hint of decaying flesh. She headed for the examination room with the red light glowing and peered through the glass window to see Kane’s wide back blocking the view. “They’re inside.” She grabbed scrubs, facemask, and gloves and suited up.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Jo pulled on her gloves. “Let’s go.”
Jenna flashed her card over the scanner and the doors whooshed open. All the men’s eyes turned to her but she was focused on the young woman lying on the metal autopsy table covered with a white sheet. “Okay, what do we have here?”
“I’ve been X-raying the body and taking samples from under her nails so far.” Wolfe turned to examine a slide under a microscope. “No skin or fibers.” He looked at Jenna. “From a preliminary examination of her skull, I’d guess she struck her head during the fall and drowned. Of course, as you know, I’ll have to do a full autopsy to determine COD but I can’t see any other reason for her death. There are no signs of strangulation, ligature marks, or pressure marks around her throat.” He pulled back the sheet and examined the girl’s body under the light. “Help me turn her over.”
“Sure.” Kane stepped forward and they rolled the body over.
“No stab wounds.” Wolfe narrowed his gaze as he laid Sophie back on the gurney. “These bruises on her face are at least twenty-four hours old.” He looked down the body. “Same with her inner thighs.”
Jenna stared at the girl’s body and felt the anger rising. “He raped her, didn’t he?” She pointed to the distinct finger marks on So
phie’s thighs. “I’ve seen that before on rape victims.” Her gaze moved to the girl’s ankle and the deep welt in the skin around the zip-tie.
“I’ll examine her.” Wolfe proceeded to a pelvic examination. He straightened and nodded. “Yeah, there’s clear evidence of rape. I’ll process the swabs in the morning.” He took a sample and smeared it on a slide and then went to the microscope. “No evidence of semen. I doubt we’ll find anything to tie one of your suspects to the kidnapping and rape. I’d say the waterfall washed away any trace evidence on her skin but I’ll check during the autopsy.”
Gathering her thoughts, Jenna nodded. “Thanks, we’ll get out of your hair. What time tomorrow?”
“Ten.” Wolfe covered the body and slid it back into the drawer. “Try and get some rest, Jenna.”
Exasperated, Jenna tore off her mask and threw her hands in the air. “We have a psychopathic pyromaniac murderer running loose who likes to kidnap and rape girls. I won’t be able to rest until he’s behind bars.”
Twenty-Seven
Blackwater
Pamela Stuart made a habit of dropping by her grandma’s house to take her fresh milk on the way home from school. Her grandpa, Sheriff Buzz Stuart, was always too busy to remember, and grandma was still recovering from hip replacement surgery. She loved Grandma’s house because it always smelled of fresh baking. She had a bag of cookies in her school bag for later and her mouth watered to eat them on the way home. It was a long walk to her home if she kept to the sidewalk but if she used the cut-through that went through the woods, it wouldn’t take long. It wasn’t dark yet and nothing bad ever happened in Blackwater.
She made her way along the path, listening to one of her favorite tunes via her earbuds. She noticed a shadow moving ahead and stopped walking. Her heart pounded. Bears often wandered close to town to raid people’s trash cans. She pulled out her earbuds and froze, listening.
“Oh, thank goodness.” A man stepped out of the bushes. “Can you help me? I think my arm is broken.” He indicated to his arm tucked inside his shirt front.
Unsettled but not stupid, Pamela stared at the man. “Why do you need my help? It’s not far to town, you can walk there.”
“It’s not for me.” He indicated into the woods with his chin. “I came here to give my pup a run and someone set a trap. He got caught in it. I opened the trap but it snapped back on my arm. Toby’s hurt and I can’t leave him out here all alone. If you could carry him for me, my car is just at the end of the trail. I only need one hand to drive him to the vet.” He looked at her. “Please. I won’t go near you, just help Toby.”
“Okay.” Pamela peered into the shadows. “Where is he? I’ll go get him.”
“Through there.” The man pointed. “See the snowberry bushes? Just past them on the left.”