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Knowing how this type of sadistic psychopath worked, Beth shrugged nonchalantly. “I don’t think so. He’s impotent, that’s a given, and he blames the victims. He wants to make them suffer like he is suffering mentally. This is why he doesn’t strangle them completely. He likes to see their eyes, the fear. He wants them to fight back in the hope they’ll stimulate him. It was probably a fantasy at one time, the kidnap and rape. It’s violenceand dominance he feeds on, but he needs an excuse to validate his behavior. In his mind, she failed him and deserves to die. He won’t stop. He lives for violence.”
“I’ve covered the cause of death.” Wolfe looked from one to the other. “Time of death is between when she was let down from the bus and when the dog found her at five after six this morning. The body hadn’t been moved, apart from being rolled from the mat, so she wasn’t attacked somewhere else and dumped there. I found no ligature marks on her wrists or ankles, and no head injuries or other injuries that might suggest an abduction.”
“So she got into his vehicle of her own free will?” Styles raised both eyebrows. “That sounds a little far-fetched.”
Blowing out a sigh, Beth shook her head. “Not if someone drove up beside her and aimed a gun at her. She’d get into the vehicle. The problem with everyone carrying a weapon, this could happen at any time.” She shrugged. “We have to assume she either knew her killer, or he held a weapon on her to make her comply.” She looked at Wolfe. “Anything else? Fiber or latent DNA, drugs in her system, anything we can use?”
“Nope.” Wolfe indicated to Webber to remove the body. “What I found were traces of isopropyl alcohol. It had been sprayed all over the body.” He leaned against the counter. “How many people carry it around? I can tell you hundreds, if not thousands, use the spray to clean their hands, shopping carts, and the like to kill germs. Unfortunately, it breaks down DNA as well. I’m surprised the Convenience Store Killer didn’t use it as it’s easily available and would do much the same job as PCR Clean.”
Beth nodded. She preferred the other method. It was one hundred percent. She couldn’t risk any less. “So this killer is fully aware of DNA and trace DNA, the same as the Convenience Store Killer?” She looked up at the screen. “I see you havea comparison between the burn marks found on the Night Creeper’s victims. They look the same to me.”
“Yeah, I examined them microscopically, and they’re identical and they also match one other from another victim.” Wolfe remove his mask and gloves and tossed them into the garbage. “The third image isn’t conclusive, but it’s too close to ignore. This killer is branding his victims. It’s a brand of a rune. I looked up the symbol and it representsnauthiz,or the letterN. It has various translations, some in magic, others in language, but the one I found interesting was that it represents coming in touch with a person’s nasty, uncontrollable side.”
A chill ran down Beth’s spine, as that made a lot of sense. This killer was out of control, binging on young girls with apparent abandon, and someone was covering his back. If it was someone in the sheriff’s department, she’d take them down because as sure as the sun came up each morning, the cover-ups would go deep and they’d never get enough evidence for a conviction. She glanced at Styles. “This is all very interesting. I figure it’s time to search the hardcopy files at the Mischief Sheriff’s Department and see what we can find.”
“Y’all planning on pursuing this case, when it’s not connected to your current one?” Wolfe frowned. “It seems like you’re making a ton of work for yourselves, and people are dying. You can’t possibly be in two places at the same time.”
“Right now, we have nothing but dead girls and a brand connecting them, no suspects.” Styles slowly removed his gloves and mask, balled them up, and then tossed them across the room as if aiming for a basketball hoop. “We’re on scene and will check out the files. If we find anything that hints at a cover-up, which we suspect, we’ll hand it over to another team.”
Beth cleared her throat. “We can’t go to the director with assumptions. He wants proof before he sends in a team. As it stands, we’re stepping on toes, as the local sheriff hasn’trequested assistance. We’re here in the guise of trying to link this case with the one in Roaring Creek.” She sighed. “So far, he’s cooperated, but we don’t know how long that will last. He isn’t expecting a visit from us this afternoon. The director might, as it’s a serial killer situation, send in a team anyway. He has the authority in multiple murders.” She pulled off her gloves, leaving her mask until she reached the corridor. Once outside she turned back to Wolfe. “Thanks for your assistance. You’ve been a great help.” She stripped off the scrubs and dressed.
“I’ll have the reports of both victims on the server this afternoon.” Wolfe waited for them to dress. “You should have the previous victim out of Roaring Creek on the server by this afternoon as well.” He smiled as he led the way back to his office. “I’m here anytime you need to discuss a case. Don’t hesitate to call.”
Nodding, Beth rubbed Bear’s ears as he bounded out to greet them. “Thank you.”
TWENTY-EIGHT
As Bear needed to stretch his legs, they took him to the park. As the smell wafting along the sidewalk from Aunt Betty’s Café was calling to Styles, he crossed over the blacktop and looked at Beth. “I’m starving and it’s going to be a long afternoon. This place is supposed to be very good, and going on the pie we ordered, we must give it a try while we’re in town. What do you say?”
“Sure.” Beth followed him inside. “It sure smells good.”
Inside, they stared at the specials board and both ordered chili, fresh-baked apple pie, and coffee. The service was fast, and the server offered Bear a plate of leftover meat. Styles accepted the offer and nudged Beth. “This is a remarkable place. I didn’t believe anywhere as good as TJ’s existed in these backwoods towns.”
“It’s hardly a backwoods town anymore.” Beth ate slowly, her eyes flicking back and forth, ever alert. “It’s a massive tourist destination. People come here to be terrified. Others visit the ski resort or go hunting. I hear they have white-water rapids as well.”
Styles chuckled. “That’s what I like about you, Beth. You’ve always done your research on places we visit.”
“It’s my analytical mind, I guess.” Beth sipped her coffee. “I need all the information just in case it’s important.”
After finishing their meal, they headed back to the ME’s office and Styles flashed his card to gain access to the elevator to the rooftop. Moments later they were on their way to Mischief. They hadn’t called ahead, and walked in the sleety conditions to the sheriff’s department and went to the front counter and asked to see him. When Sheriff Lance Walker came out of his office, his surprised expression said volumes. Styles greeted him with a smile. “Sorry to barge in without notice but we’re still on the convenience store shootings and abduction-murder case out at Roaring Creek. We figure there might be a connection. Our guy might be dropping by here to abduct girls. He seems to get a kick out of it. Do you mind if we look over your case files and see if they connect?”
“I guess not.” Walker moved his shoulders as if his shirt were suddenly too tight and indicated with his thumb to the back room. “The deputies work in there. All the murder books are there too. I’m old-school. I like files that can’t be hacked and are easy to find, so you’ll need to go through them. You can copy anything you need. The scanner is down the hall on the right.”
“How many deputies do you have?” Beth took out her notebook and looked at him, pen raised.
“Just the two, Deputy Branch Dryer and Deputy Dirk Boone. They’re on a break right now, so I’m sure they’ll give you their full cooperation.”
“Dryer and Boone.” Beth smiled. “Got it. Are they married?”
“Ah, no.” The sheriff raised both eyebrows and looked at her. “You hankering after a husband?”
“You never know.” Beth gave a wave of her hand and headed along the corridor to the open door.
Styles stared after her and turned to the sheriff. “Thanks for your help. We appreciate it.”
Wondering what the heck Beth had planned now, Styles made his way to the next office. Inside, he found her smiling and chatting with the deputies like they were old friends. He walked inside and waited for her to stop talking and nodded as Beth made the introductions. He cleared his throat. “We’ll need to look at the murder books for the Night Creeper case.”
“Sure.” Dryer tossed him a set of keys. “Knock yourself out but my house keys are on that keyring. I’ll need them back.” He indicated to a table with two chairs opposite. “You can use that desk. There’s coffee in the copy room.”
