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“Why’s that?”
“Because a two-hour nap won’t compensate for all the sleep you’ve lost in the past few days. We can’t run ourselves into the ground, Jonah. We’ve got to be fresh in order to do our jobs.”
That was true, too. But in a situation where every minute counted, taking time off felt as if he was putting lives at risk. After this morning, he was more motivated than ever to remain vigilant. “Does that mean you’ll be heading home after you babysit?”
A wry smile curved her lips. “We’ll see what time the lovebirds get back.”
“Right.” He chuckled at her evasive reply, knew that if the “lovebirds” got home early she’d wind up here until midnight or after. “Have you heard from Finch or Hunsacker?” he asked before she could go.
“No.”
“Thanks. Enjoy your grandkids. And be safe.”
“I will. Get some dinner, okay?” She threw those parting words over her shoulder. Then he heard the main door close as she went out and checked his phone for a list of the calls he’d missed while he was asleep.
Nothing from the investigators. Had they heard from the pathologist? Had they been able to identify the body they’d removed from Skull Valley this morning? It was a bit early to hope they had, but Finch had said the M.E. planned to do the autopsy right away. That was exactly what Jonah thought should happen. Because they were looking at such a prolific killer, the wheels of justice needed to move a lot faster than usual.
With a yawn, he scrubbed his face with one hand and continued down the list of missed calls. He hadn’t heard from Francesca, either. Other than leaving a message with her assistant, which he’d already done, he had no way of getting in touch with her.
He should’ve brought her here after their meeting so she could see what they were working with. But she’d left the sheriff’s station rather suddenly, while he was speaking to Finch and Hunsacker about the woman who found the corpse. He hadn’t gone after her because he’d known that what she’d seen had upset her. He’d felt she needed some space.
Now he regretted giving her that space. He had no idea where she was or where she planned to spend the night. He hoped it wasn’t at home again. Maybe Butch had only been playing with her when he showed up next to her pool last night, but a man like that could get serious very fast.
Taking a deep breath, he dialed Finch, who answered immediately.
“Investigator Finch.”
“Hey, where are you?”
“At the morgue with Dr. Jernigan. We’re in the middle of the autopsy.”
“Anything useful?”
“Lacerations in the vaginal cavity suggest she was raped.”
“Before or after death?”
“Before.”
“And the cause of death?”
“Blunt-force trauma. Unless she was also poisoned, which we won’t know until we get the tox screens back.”
Blunt-force trauma came as no surprise. Neither did the rape. “Is there any trace evidence that might help us identify her attacker?”
“No, but now we have a better chance of identifying the victim without having to resort to dental records, although we’ll probably go that route just to confirm.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She has a tattoo on her inside right thigh—a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.”
Jonah rubbed the razor stubble on his chin, realized he hadn’t shaved or showered today and decided to head over to his motel so he could clean up. “That seems pretty distinctive,” he said as he shut down the computer he’d been using. “Did April Bonner have a tattoo like that?”
“We’re trying to find out. I’ve contacted Mesa P.D. but the detective in charge of the case is out on a family emergency and the guy who’s stepping in for him hasn’t even had time to look at the file. He said he’d dig it out and get back to me, but I’m guessing I won’t hear from him until tomorrow.”
“Francesca might know whether April had a butterfly tattoo.” He took his car keys out of his pocket and turned off the lights in the office. “If she doesn’t, she could always check with the sister who hired her.”
“I thought of that, but I can’t reach her.”
