AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Samples from my Jane Doe and the remaining buckshot for ballistics.”
“Did you submit them for processing?” she asked, “Or am I going to have to do that too?”
“Patrizio’s and a spa day,” I told her, backing out of her office. “You’re the best, Cheney.”
I hurried out of forensics, knowing Cheney would start on the samples I’d given her. She was a widow and lived and breathed the job. I assumed it was easier than going home to an empty house. Can’t say I blamed her all that much.
Once I was back out in the bullpen I let my eyes adjust and then headed toward Jack’s office. King George County wasn’t by any stretch the most populous county in Virginia. We had just under thirty thousand residents, according to the last census, which had worked out well because the sheriff’s department had been way understaffed in the ten years since the previous census. Jack now had a department of more than a hundred and twenty sworn officers, plus administrators, lab techs, K-9s, and corrections officers. And me.
It was an intense operation to keep running, and I couldn’t imagine what it was like at the big city level. And it looked like every cop and auxiliary person on payroll was on duty.
Jack’s office door was open, and as soon as I stepped inside he hung up the phone and stood up from behind his desk.
“I think I’ve got an identity for our Jane Doe,” he said. “Cami Downey. Reported missing by her roommate this morning. She’s a law clerk for Judge Stevens. Age twenty-four.”
“Time of death is somewhere between thirty and sixty hours,” I said. “She wasn’t in the water long. Official cause of death is drowning.”
Jack raised his brows at that. “She was alive when she went in the water?”
“Thirteen stab wounds and not one of them nicked any major arteries,” I said. “She had organ damage, but it would have been treatable had she gotten to a hospital in time.”
“Downey’s address is in King George Proper, not too far from campus.”
“Plenty of dump spots around there into Gambo Creek,” I said. “Her killer was probably hoping she’d be washed into the Potomac. That would’ve put a wrench in things.”
“We’re lucky she didn’t,” Jack said. “With the rising water there were all kinds of obstacles to slow her down.”
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“I want to swing by and talk to Archie Hill,” Jack said. “He should be home by now. And then we can grab something to eat and check out Cami Downey’s roommate.”
“Hey, boss,” Martinez said, knocking on the door and letting himself inside. “You got a minute for me to brief you on the old guy?”
“What do you have?”
“Victim is seventy-eight-year-old Rooney Danforth,” Martinez said. “And his new wife is the same age as his granddaughter. They got married about six months ago. According to Peyton—that’s the new wife—old Rooney was getting the ride of his life when he grabbed his chest and said he was having a heart attack.
“Peyton says she didn’t take him seriously at first because he’s an enthusiastic lover and sometimes he likes to roleplay.” Martinez stopped and stuck his finger in his mouth to make a gagging motion. “So Peyton kept the rodeo going until his face turned red and he was no longer responsive. That’s when she jumped up and called 911.”
“Find anything unusual?” Jack asked.
“Not on the surface,” Martinez said. “Airtight prenup was signed before the wedding. Wife walks away with two hundred and fifty Gs and the marital home. The rest goes to his kids and a bunch of charities. The kids hate her, but that’s to be expected. The wife did say they’d been trying to have a baby. Said he does take performance enhancement drugs and he’d just had a whiskey before they started doing the deed. Body is being sent to you, Doc.”
“Lily is at the lab,” I told him. “She can sign for him.”
“Seems pretty cut and dry,” Martinez said, shrugging. “But we’ll see what you squeeze out of him, Doc.”
I winced and said, “Poor choice of words, Martinez.”
He just laughed and backed out the door. “I’m taking Plank out for dinner. I told him if he buys I won’t make fun of him for brains falling on his face this morning. Poor kid still has tissue up his nose.”
“Make sure you bag it if any comes out,” I said.
“I’m not bagging Plank’s snot,” Martinez said. “He could buy me all the dinners in the world and I still wouldn’t do that.”
I grunted and waved bye to Martinez. Jack pulled on his police issue Gore-Tex jacket and the matching pants. He kicked off his regular boots and laced up his SWAT boots since they were waterproof.
“I feel underdressed,” I said.
