The man nodded and turned to me with a shuddering breath. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Angie. Can you stay on the perimeter? Keep note of anyone who comes near, especially if they act suspicious?” I glanced toward the small gathering a few hundred feet away. It wasn’t anything that would be hard to contain, but these sickos liked to come back to the scene of their crimes. And I wanted to know who all was poking around my crime scene.
“You got it, Coop.” With a smile, she left and went back to her partner. It looked like they exchanged some heated words before she walked off and greeted Doctor Timmons, the coroner, as he arrived on scene.
My gaze went back to the witness, who looked at me like he was less than impressed. I wasn’t sure why, but it pissed me off for some reason.
“So, Mr. Carter, I’m going to record this conversation on my phone, if that’s all right with you?”
He frowned for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine, I guess.”
“Great. Thank you. So, can you tell me how you happened to come across the victim this morning?” There was already something suspicious about the man who stood before me. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, just some gut instinct.
He looked around the dense trees that surrounded us and shuddered. “I like coming out early, before there are a lot of other joggers in the park. Usually, I am pretty adventurous, hiking and climbing. You know?”
Our eyes held, and there was no reason to think he was lying, but there was something else, another meaning that seemed hidden under his words. There was one thing I knew for sure, and it was that he wasn’t being completely honest with me. And I wondered what he had to lie about, when it came to such an innocent question.
“Right. So, you were feeling adventurous this morning?” Something ugly twisted in my gut at the insinuation.
He smirked, as though he could sense my discomfort and reveled in it. “I was. So, as I often do, I started to go off path and hike around after I completed a few miles of my run. But I didn’t get very far, maybe twenty minutes or so, and I stumbled upon…”
The words trailed off and his hands waved in front of him, gesturing toward the dead body he had discovered.
“Was anyone else around? Did you see anyone before or after you discovered the body?” I shuffled back and forth on my feet, agitated at how little I was getting out of him. But most witnesses didn’t actually witness very much.
He shook his head. “No, there were a few people walking near the North Entrance when I got here this morning. But they were long gone by the time I went into the woods. I don’t remember seeing anyone around for a bit before then. Definitely no one else in the woods.”
I nodded as I typed some notes on my phone.
“Okay. Thank you for that, Mr. Carter.”
“Did you touch him or anything around him when you found him, Mr. Carter?”
His brow furrowed as he thought back on the memory.
“I-I don’t think so. But honestly, it all happened so fast and I hadn’t realized it was anything I was going to need to have to think back on and remember. At first, I thought he might be someone who was homeless or maybe hurt. But then…” His gaze drifted back to the man. There was a sorrow in his eyes that couldn’t be faked. No matter what lies he was telling, he was sorry the man was dead.
“When I moved around him, and got to his front, I saw… well, you see what he looks like.” His eyes met mine again and they were wet with unshed tears. “It was awful. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so terrifying in my life.”
He began to shake, the last few of his words unsteady. Afraid he was going into shock, I motioned for one of the paramedics to come over. Victoria trailed behind with him. Nice of her to join our investigation after all.
“Hey, Zeke,” I whispered, when he got closer. “Can you make sure Mr. Carter is all right?”
Zeke glanced over at where our witness stood, shaking, and he grimaced as he offered me a fist bump. “Of course.”
“When forensics gets here, his hands will have to be checked for evidence. Maybe his clothes too. They’ll make that determination. But I’m worried about shock.”
He gave me a soft smile over his shoulder as he turned to head over to deal with his patient, since he was finally needed on site. “You got it, boss. We’ll take good care of him and make sure everything is taken care of.”
“Thanks, man.”
I turned back to my partner, bitch face on full display.
“What?” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me a glare in return.
Shaking my head, I made my way back to the car. “We’re supposed to be working a case here, Vic, not flirting with EMTs.”
She huffed and I could hear her following behind me as she stomped on the leaves and branches that littered the ground. “Oh, that’s rich. Like you haven’t flirted with Zeke at crime scenes.”
