As the deputy came back, he had gloves from his first aid kit and the ice scraper.
They gloved up.
Then, and only then, they began by the heads. There was long hair, but that didn’t help since most Natives hereALSOhad long hair. Three of the four men standing there fit the bill.
As Ethan brushed a face off, and Callen shined his flashlight at the face, he saw the skin.
In a way, all of the Natives were relieved.
“This victim is Caucasian,” Blackhawk admitted, staring down at the form. “A her, I believe. Eyes are cloudy, so she’s been dead almost twenty-four hours. It looks like this might be a body dump off a deserted road that is rarely traveled.”
Callen let out a sigh of relief.
Well, that made his life easier. As far as he was concerned, the FBI and local law could come pick the women up, and do what they needed to do.
“Uh, I see something,” Gene admitted.
Gene touched a leg to brush it off, and that’s when he knew he was right.
“Uh, EJ, there’s no skin on this leg. I see the muscle and tendons that are under it.”
What?
That didn’t sound good.
“Check the other legs.”
Ethan kept brushing, and that’s when he saw that Gene was correct.
They had stripped flesh, revealing everything underneath, and it wasn’t done well. It was done hastily, like someone had skinned a deer in a hurry.
Oh, boy.
He hoped this wasn’t going to be a Native behind this for Callen’s sake. He’d have to deal with the council, and so would he.
“Three women,” Gene offered. “The deputy was right. It’s not bones. It’s whole people, but they’re missing their skin.”
Ethan knew this was going to be an interesting one.
“What’s on her face?” Callen asked, pointing at the one head.
The deputy chimed in.
“That’s what I saw, but I didn’t want to touch her!” he said. “Something is on her lips, like it’s crisscrossing them.”
Yeah, there was.
Ethan took his brother’s flashlight and got a closer look.
Well, shit.
This was going to be a wild case. He could already tell by what he saw.
“Her mouth is stitched shut.”
Callen gasped.
This was definitely some sicko fun for the FBI. It appeared that he had gotten lucky.
