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Styles rubbed the scar on his chin. “Unless it’s kids sneaking away to have sex and it got out of hand. Teenagers do all kinds of crazy stuff when the hormones are raging.” He bent to assist Wolfe with rolling over the body.
“Maybe one time.” Beth shook her head. “But we know these murders are happening all over Mischief. This isn’t kids. It’s an organized serial killer.” She sighed. “Look at her. She’s young.” She turned back to Styles. “Did the sheriff mention anything about a missing girl?”
Styles shook his head. “Nope but this happened overnight, maybe she hasn’t been missed yet.”
“What’s that mark under the right breast?” Beth moved her flashlight over the body. “A cigarette burn?”
“Possible.” Wolfe bent closer. “I’ll get a closer look back at the lab.”
“Ligature marks on neck, consistent with the use of a cord, not hands. This is very different from your case in a number of ways.” Wolfe frowned as he spread the remaining threads of clothes to insert a thermometer into the victim’s liver. “The cause of death was described as strangulation, and rape was mentioned, with the other young women found murdered here in Mischief. Is that correct?” He glanced up at Styles.
Clearing his throat, Styles looked at the battered body of the girl and swallowed hard. The notion that his sister might have suffered the same fate made his stomach clench. “They were all teenagers but there’s little information in the reports. A local doctor or mortician dealt with the bodies. No official autopsies were performed on any of them.” He cleared his throat. “The overall opinion was they were raped and strangled.”
“I’ll need to get her into my examination room, but I can’t see any evidence of rape.” Wolfe looked from one to the other. “Y’allknow how significant a failed rape is I assume?” His voice was just above a whisper.
“Yeah.” Beth moved closer and Styles could hardly hear her. It was obvious she didn’t want to be overheard by the sheriff or his deputies. “The killer couldn’t perform and used it as an excuse to murder her. In his mind, killing her would hide his shame. The kidnapping and attacking stimulates him, but he can’t get satisfaction unless he kills them.”
Styles scratched his head and frowned. “You saying he blames these girls for his problems? This is his motive for killing them?”
“If I discover the others weren’t raped after he ripped off their clothes and bruised their thighs, yeah, I’d say it’s conclusive.” Wolfe shook his head. “The last victim was when?”
“I think, almost a week ago. Her name was Jody Hooper.” Beth pulled out her phone and scrolled through her files. “I don’t have much info but there’s a notice about her funeral. I found it. It’s tomorrow. Right now they’re conducting viewings for family and friends at a local funeral parlor.”
“Okay.” Wolfe straightened. “We’ll take this victim to the hospital morgue and put her on ice and then get over to the funeral parlor. There’s no way I’ll allow Jody Hooper to be buried before I’ve examined her. This could be crucial evidence.” He looked at Emily. “Scan around for any fragments of clothes, a cord, or similar used in the strangulation. Bag them and meet us out front. We’ll get the body into the back of the Nissan, and when you’re done, we’ll head straight to the hospital.” He looked at Styles. “Give me a hand to carry the body and then locate the mortician. I’ll meet you outside the hospital and we’ll go from there.”
Styles bent to lift one end of the body bag. “Gotcha.”
After watching Wolfe drive away with his team, Styles looked at Beth. “This isn’t part of our case. Wolfe will probably call inCarter and Jo to deal with it. We’re handling enough work right now.”
“Call me inquisitive, but after seeing what’s going on here, don’t you figure we owe it to that murdered girl to take a look while we’re here?” Beth stood hands on hips staring at him. She indicated with her chin toward the sheriff and deputies. “These murders have been practically ignored. I, for one, want to examine their murder books. If everything is in order, fine, but Carter and Jo will need a rundown of the case, right?”
Seeing her point, Styles nodded. “I’ll need to clear it with the director, but if he agrees, we’ll head home after visiting the funeral parlor and then swing by Black Rock Falls in the morning to attend the autopsy. Once we get Wolfe’s findings, we’ll head back here and go through their files. It would save another team time if we do the groundwork. We’ll give it a day or so unless we get a breakthrough in our case.” He sighed. “I hate grunt work, but if that were my sister, I’d want to know someone cared enough to go the extra mile. I’ll give him a call.” He checked his watch. “We have time before we meet Wolfe to go grab a coffee at the diner opposite the sheriff’s office and hunt down a place to stay for a couple of nights.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Beth smiled. “How’s our budget?”
Styles smiled. “Very healthy, so find somewhere nice and not some seedy motel. I hear they have one decent hotel here in town, with a restaurant that does a good steak.”
“Don’t forget, we’ll need to be back in Rattlesnake Creek by three to interview our suspects.” Beth walked to the Nissan. “I wouldn’t mention anything to the sheriff about coming back tomorrow to look through his files. If he is incompetent, I’d prefer catching him by surprise.”
Laughing, Styles waved Bear into the truck. “Me too.”
TWENTY-THREE
Funeral parlors gave Beth the creeps. The morticians always seemed to be the same, as if pressed from the same mold. They had a way about them and a smell that made her skin crawl. She often wondered how a person could want to be a mortician. She understood these people were very important in the way of things and needed in society, but although she dealt with death all the time, the thought of adding cosmetics to dead flesh to make a body presentable for burial reminded her too much of past cases she’d rather forget. She glanced at Styles as they approached the building and cleared her throat. “I hate this bit.”
“Okay, I’ll give you something amusing from my distant past to take your mind off it.” He pulled up behind Wolfe’s truck and smiled at her. “When I was an MP and off duty, which wasn’t often because I was on call just about twenty-four/seven, if someone called, I’d answer the phone in a creepy voice and say, ‘Happy Field Crematorium, how can I help you in your hour of need?’ The person calling usually disconnected real fast. They’d call back again a few minutes later or never, and I’d act like nothing was up.” He shrugged. “It was a nasty prank, I know, but I was young and reckless.”
Laughing, Beth nodded. “There are two sides to you, Styles. I’m not sure about the regimented hard-ass, but I’m starting to like the bad-boy side of you. I did a few crazy things in my youth too and usually got myself into trouble.”
“I figure as long as you don’t hurt anyone, it’s fine.” He gave her a long searching look. “You didn’t hurt anyone did you, Beth?”
If only you knew.Beth shook her head. “Only their ego.” She indicated toward Wolfe on the sidewalk. “Wolfe is waiting for us. He has that look again. I know he was in the military and I can see it’s never far from his mind. He wants things done by the book and when they’re not, he gets a little riled.”
“More like, he wants to find the truth for victims, much like us.” Styles shrugged. “When people make mistakes, killers go free. That’s what’s upsetting him right now. He’s a caring man. He wants the truth, is all, and he’ll find it. He’s like a dog with a bone. He’ll never give up.”
The funeral parlor smelled of flowers in the foyer, but the arrangements weren’t real. The overpowering floral perfume came from a dispenser on the wall that sprayed out a mist to dispel odors. It made Beth nauseous because it only overlaid the smell of chemicals used to preserve bodies. The stale air seemed to close in around her, suffocating her with each step along the passageways and into the viewing room. She glanced around. No one was there apart from the open casket and a pale face resting on a pink silk cushion, long brown hair arranged around her face to cover her neck.
“I’ll need to examine the body of Jody Hooper.” Wolfe was talking in hushed tones to the mortician. “In your back room. The body will need to be removed from the casket, undressed, and placed on a gurney for examination.” He held up a hand at the man’s protests. “Either that or I’ll take the body back to Black Rock Falls.”
