Fallen Angel (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“We don’t release details of crimes.” Kane raised an eyebrow at Jenna. “Come morning, we’ll have moved the body and any press lurking around will see us working outside. I suggest you come up with another excuse for the kitchen closure.”

“I can’t help you move the remains.” Brightway swayed a little. “I can’t go near the body again.”

Jenna exchanged an exasperated look with Kane. “Don’t worry, Mr. Brightway, we’ll handle all that. We’ll even make an inventory of everything we remove from the freezer. You’ll have to replace the freezer, I’m afraid. It will be taken into evidence.”

“I don’t think my insurance covers damage by murder.” Brightway looked horrified. “I’ll have to contact the owner. They live in Florida.”

Jenna nodded. “I suggest you do that a little later, when they’re awake.”

The doors whooshed open and they walked into the foyer. Jenna turned to Brightway. “We can take it from here. Please go and bring up the CCTV footage from last night. It would help us a great deal if you could look through it and see if anyone was moving around between say eleven and now.”

“The staff finish cleaning at three, so he couldn’t have dumped the body before then.” Brightway stood staring at them. “The baking crew come on at four, so whoever did this did it between three and four.” He swallowed hard and his Adam’s apple moved up and down. “I should go and speak to the staff.”

“No.” Jenna touched his arm. “Check the CCTV footage for us. I’ll speak to the staff, and when it’s okay to return to the kitchen, I’ll let them know. Breakfast will be canceled and maybe lunch too, I’m afraid.”

“You’ll need these. They open everything.” Brightway handed her and Kane passkeys. “To get through the staff entrance.”

“Thanks.” Jenna followed Kane to the kitchen doors and used the passkey to get inside. “So, the killer has an all-access passkey. There must be one missing if the staff leave them in the kitchen before they leave.”

“Yeah, but Brightway doesn’t have an exact number. He said twenty or so. I asked him when I handed back the master keys after the blackout.” Kane moved inside the brightly lit area. “Ah, footprints, as mentioned by Brightway. The staff usually change their shoes in the mudroom before entering the kitchens.”

“Looks that way.” Emily dropped her kit onto a bench and pulled out booties. “Better suit up. Can you capture the scene, Dave?”

“Sure.” Kane took the booties from her and pulled them over his boots. “We’ll clear the area first. I doubt anyone is lurking about, but we’ll need to check. Wait here.”

After suiting up, Jenna pushed open the door to the kitchen. The fresh air was tainted with the smell of fresh meat, making her stomach clench. The freezer stood wide open and, heart hammering, she stared into the unseeing eyes of a dead man, his blue lips stretched out around Julie’s distinctive blue and orange scarf, the fringed ends stiff with frozen blood.

Forty-Seven

Sickened by the decapitated head, Jenna steeled herself to look closer. It was male for sure by the stubble covering the cheeks. Melted snow had plastered dark hair to his head, and water dripped off his nose. A pool of watery blood had collected in a large plate. On each side, two hands, and beside them the soles of two feet rested on a shelf. Dread shivered through her as she slipped silently through the kitchen doors, weapon drawn, and systematically cleared every walk-in storeroom. Kane followed close behind her, calling out as he cleared each area. She turned to look at him. “Go help Emily. I’ll speak to the staff.” She glanced around the spotless kitchen. “Nothing happened here. I could eat off this floor. Do you figure you can move the freezer?”

“Yeah, but I’ll need Rio’s help. They bring in supplies through the staff entrance using a forklift. I recall seeing it when we arrived. It will mess up the floor but I should be able to use it to move the freezer. With Rio’s help, I’ll take it to a more suitable location. I was thinking maybe a maintenance shed as there’s one close by. They have power, so we’ll have plenty of light to do a forensic examination.”

Jenna nodded. “When I’m through here, I’ll go upstairs and swap with Rio. Once you have the body secured off-site, we’ll call in Wolfe and get to the bottom of this. There must be more of this victim out there and we’ll need to find it.” She tapped her bottom lip. “Okay, process the scene. I’ll go take some statements. Head up to the suite with Julie when you’re done and we’ll work out a plan of action.”

She walked into the dining room. “I’m Sheriff Alton. Who found the body?”

“That was me. The door wasn’t closing properly or I’d have walked right past it.” A man in his fifties came forward. “I’m Jeromy Eton, the head baker.”

Jenna nodded. “What time was this?”

“A little after four.” Eton frowned. “It was a shock, seeing it staring at me.”

Glancing at the stunned people sitting at the tables, Jenna kept her tone even. “Did you see anyone here when you arrived? Anyone outside?”

“Nope, we all arrive at four. We walk down as a group every morning and come in the back door. We usually change in the mudroom and then get on with our chores. I came in first and straight away noticed the freezer door. When I saw what was inside, I kept everyone waiting in the mudroom and called Mr. Brightway. He told us to remove our shoes and come in here.” Eton shrugged. “Apart from the freezer door, the only thing I noticed was the footprints tracked to the storeroom. It’s where we keep the hams, cans of fruit, things like that, and someone has been taking food every week or so. They don’t usually leave body parts behind.”

Jenna had checked the other fridges and freezers when she’d arrived. “Well, there’s nothing in the kitchen. It seems they only used the smaller freezer outside in the hallway. Why is that outside the kitchen?”

“It’s just an overflow freezer, is all.” Eton rubbed his chin. “What happens now?”

“We’ll be processing the scene.” Jenna handed him her statement book. “I’ll need you to write down everything that happened with times if you have them.”

“Okay.” Eton pulled a pen from his top pocket and began to write.

Jenna looked around the staff members. “Anyone else notice anything unusual this morning?”

Most shook their heads but the others had fixed startled stares like a deer caught in the headlights. She glanced over her shoulder as the door opened and Kane walked into the room.