The man answered.
“Brett Davies,” he offered. “Can I go home?” he asked. “I have work in the morning.”
Gene would let him go as soon as they finished talking to him. He found the body, so he had questions.
“Sure, as soon as we’re done. I hear you lost your dog. Is that why you’re out here?” he asked.
Ethan was standing there, scanning the area, making sure that there was no one going to shoot them, or that they’d crossed paths with in case the killer wanted to watch them.
The man nodded.
“Yeah, he ran away two nights ago, and I’ve been chasing him all over the place. I couldn’t sleep, so I started going around and looking at all the places I’ve taken him. He likes the park. He was licking her. Is he going to get sick?” he asked.
Gene would have laughed, but the dude looked genuinely scared. Then again, the man had found a skinless woman in a park. That was pretty high on the freakout meter for civilians.
“Well, he licks his own ass and balls, right?” he asked. “So, he’s pretty good with bacteria.”
That seemed to make the man look less freaked out. The little white yappy dog appeared to be fine. He was doing what yappy dogs did best.
Yap.
“Did you touch her?” Gene asked.
He shook his head.
“No, Sir. I saw a foot, and that’s when I grabbed my dog and called the police. I think they thought I was insane.”
Likely not, since this wasn’t the first body drop this week.
Ethan was curious, so he got in on the questioning.
“What do you do for a living, Brett?” he asked.
The man didn’t hesitate to ask.
“I work for the city. I’m an administrative assistant at City Hall. Mostly, I just collect tax payments at the window and validate parking, but the health insurance is good.”
Well, that was nice to know.
Not pertinent, but…whatever. Freaked-out people tended to babble.
Pulling out his phone, Gene showed him the three first victims to see if he knew them.
“Have you ever seen them before?” he asked.
The man took in the pictures and then slowly nodded.
“Where?” Gene asked.
The man was honest.
“The news is plastering their faces all over the place. Those are the women who died and were found,” he began, but before he could finish, he leaned forward and began puking.
Gene had just enough time to be pulled out of the way by his partner before the vomit hit the snow.
Well, shit.
That was close.
