Glover climbed into her SUV and pulled out of the parking lot.
Liam made it to the crime scene and checked in at the perimeter. A narrow gravel alley between two overgrown vacant lots. The ends of the alley were taped off, with officers standing guard. “I’m looking for Detective Bridges.”
The officer took Liam’s info, then pointed to a man in a black blazer and a pair of slacks, halfway down the alley. “That’s him.”
“Thanks.”
Liam made his way toward the man standing about twenty feet from the inner perimeter. “Detective Bridges.”
The detective turned around. He was a man close to retirement age. Salt-and-pepper hair with a receding hairline.
“Deputy Marshal Roberts.” Detective Bridges stuck his hand out.
Liam shook it. “Tell me what you’ve got.”
“We’ve positively identified the body as that of Aiden Hamilton. The forensic pathologist is with the body now.” Bridges motioned in that direction.
Dr. Falleur from the coroner’s office knelt next to a prone figure clad in black sweats and a hoodie.
The buzzing of insects and the sickeningly sweet aroma of rotten meat intensified as they got closer. The body lay in an unnatural position, limbs askew. Not like a natural fall. He hadn’t been killed here.
“What have you got for us?” Detective Bridges asked.
“Based on decomposition and insect activity, I’d estimate our kid’s been dead two days.” Dr. Falleur looked up at the two ofthem, then turned back to the body. “Lividity and lack of blood surrounding the body suggests this is a body dump. Of course, that’s unofficially.”
“COD?” Liam asked.
“Unofficially, gunshot wound to the back of the head.” She stood up.
Unofficiallywas thrown around a lot at crime scenes. Just because it looked one way, didn’t mean it ended up actually being that way.
The victim could have been shot in the back of the head, but it could just as easily have been death by poison and a gunshot as assurance the job had been done. He’d seen it happen before.
“You think it could be the same caliber as the one from Dr. Torres?”
“You know ballistics isn’t my thing,” the forensic pathologist said. “Icansay it was a medium-caliber weapon. As was the bullet that killed Dr. Torres. There doesn’t appear to be an exit wound. If there’s anything left, I’ll let ballistics handle it.”
Liam turned to Detective Bridges. “Keep me in the loop on this one. Not only does this kid connect to one of my witnesses, but my niece is also involved.”
“Will do. Let me get that file for you.”
Liam followed the detective back out of the alley and to his vehicle.
Bridges retrieved a manila folder and handed it to him. “I also emailed it to you after we hung up.”
“Great, thank you.”
Back at the office, Liam stuck his head in and checked on the girls. They were sitting at the conference-room table, watching something on Isabella’s phone. The table was covered in snacks.
He made his way to Glover’s office and knocked on the doorframe.
Glover looked up from the file on her desk. “Have a seat.”
Liam took the chair across from her desk. She grabbed a manila folder and stretched it across to him. “Take a look.”
“Here’s the juvenile file I was given on our dead kid, Aiden Hamilton. The forensic pathologist obviously can’t say for certain right now, but his death is similar to that of Dr. Torres, except for the fire.” Liam handed her the file he’d gotten from Detective Bridges.
He flipped through the manila folder on Dr. Torres. Glover had ordered a deep dive into his financials and business dealings. He was linked to a few limited liability companies in Colorado. “Okay, so Dr. Torres had some real estate investments in the area.”
