Pray for Mercy (Detectives Kane and Alton)

As Kane stepped inside, a musty smell surrounded him. He avoided the blood trail inside the front door and scanned the area. The house was ablaze with light and he smiled to himself. Emily had left nothing to chance and had erected Wolfe’s portable lighting all over the house. He moved through a small foyer and the metallic scent of blood hit him like a wall. He turned to Wolfe. “From the blood trail, do you figure the killer was injured?”

“Let’s take a look at the scene first.” Wolfe headed for the stairs. “Whatever, they walked down the middle of the stairs unhurried. Look how even the blood droplets are spaced. If they’d been running, the spatter would have been uneven and splashed over the handrail. This looks like a cold calculated kill. They were in no hurry to leave.”

The smell of blood increased as he climbed to the top of the stairs and followed Wolfe into a large bedroom. Murmurs came from inside, and Rowley and Emily turned as they entered. Keeping to the perimeter of the room, he listened to Emily briefing Wolfe.

“Rio filmed the entire scene with the body in situ and took a million shots before we moved anything.” Emily pointed to a blood-soaked patch on the carpet. “The victim is small, maybe five-one or -two. From the blood spatter and lack of defense wounds, I think she was attacked from behind.”

“Okay.” Wolfe crouched down. “This looks like an arterial spray pattern. Was the neck lacerated?”

“Yeah.” Emily pointed to the long marks across the carpet. “Stabbed in the neck, then she turned or collapsed, fell onto her back. From the injuries to the face and chest, it was a frenzied attack.” She pointed to the blood spatter pattern where the body had lain. “There’s this and a classic spray pattern on the closet mirror, consistent with a frenzied attack.”

Engrossed by the conversation, Kane glanced at Jenna’s intent expression and then turned to Emily. “And yet after such an adrenaline buzz, the killer removed their shoes and just walked slowly down the stairs and out the front door. Did you get samples of the blood trail?”

“Yeah.” Emily looked exhausted. “I’ve taken samples from all the contact points made by the killer, fibers and anything else I could find.”

“That’s good.” Wolfe turned to Kane. “What do you make of the killer’s behavioral switch?”

“I was going to ask you the same question.” Jenna moved to his side. “This is bizarre.”

Taking in the scene as a whole, Kane turned slowly. “Something else went on here.” He looked at Rio. “Do what you do best. Correlate all the information we have here. What’s missing?”

“My first instinct tells me no one can do this much damage without being soaked in blood.” He stared slowly around the room. “No bloody footprints.”

“Look at this.” Jenna had bent over to stare at the carpet. “The house is immaculate and yet there’s fluff on the carpet over here. Not much but it’s evident.”

“Which would suggest something was laid on top of the carpet to walk on.” Wolfe turned to examine the bed. “The bed’s been slept in, but all the blankets appear to be there.”

“How many killers set up a scene beforehand? From this bloodbath, there’s no possible way of dragging the victim into the closet without leaving bloody footprints.” Jenna peered at the carpet. “Show me the image of the body in situ.”

“Here you go.” Rio handed her his camera. “The zoom is here.” He indicated to a button on the device.

“Were the doors open or shut?” Jenna frowned. “What about the clothes hanging inside? Did you check them for blood spatter?”

“Yeah, we did and the doors were shut. When we arrived, we followed the blood trail.” Rowley stepped around the smeared red line leading from the crimson pool on the carpet to the closet. “I stood here and slid open the door. Someone has pushed the clothes back along the rail to the other end. There’s not any blood we could see and no other contact points on the walls or carpet apart from where the victim was lying.”

“Doesn’t this strike you as unusual, Wolfe?” Jenna stared at him. “The killer must have been soaked in blood. So how did they drag the body into the closet without leaving any trace evidence?”

“From what I can see, the victim fell onto her back with her feet toward the closet.” Wolfe pointed to the drag marks. “See here? Those marks would be consistent with her being dragged feet-first. From the image and her position in the closet, she was dragged to the opening and then rolled inside.”

“I didn’t find any fibers in or around the closet.” Emily frowned. “I’ve missed some vital evidence. None of this adds up, does it?”

“You did a great job.” Wolfe smiled at her. “I’ll look over your findings and then we’ll head back to the office. Once we’ve put everything together, we’ll have a clearer picture of what happened. I’ll know more when I’ve seen the body.”

r />

“So, you figure she was disturbed in her sleep, got out of bed, and was attacked?” Jenna frowned. “I would have thought we’d see defense marks if that were the case.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Wolfe frowned. “More like surprised from behind.”

A thought struck Kane and he headed across the room and into the bathroom. “The towels are missing.” He rubbed his chin. “Hmm, did they use the towels to avoid leaving footprints?”

“If so, they must have been inside the room prior to the murder. Perhaps they broke in and crept upstairs, placed the towels on that chair close to the blood spot on the carpet. When the old lady headed for the bathroom, they killed her.” Jenna opened a linen closet. “White towels. I’ll bag one and see if they match the fibers on the carpet.”

Kane shrugged. “From what I can see here, this murder was well planned, but why have the towels heading toward the bathroom and not the stairs? Unless…” He headed to the shower and peered at the still damp surface. “Bingo.”

“Ah, so they took a shower and carried their bloody clothes in a towel. They dripped blood on the stairs on the way down.” Wolfe was at Kane’s shoulder. “I’ll swab the shower for trace evidence, but I smell bleach. I doubt I’ll find anything we can use.” He went to work.

“Rio.” Jenna glanced at him. “Go check the incinerator and see if they burned up the clothes. I did smell smoke when we arrived, but that’s nothing unusual for this time of year.”