Another few feet and Luke called, “Over here, McClain.”
Cord crossed to him and shined his light on the tree branch where Luke was pointing. “Strands of black hair,” Cord mumbled.
“What color is the girl’s hair?” Luke asked.
Cord gritted his teeth. “Black.”
“Looks like she may have tripped and her hair got caught,” Luke said. “The branch is broken, too. Maybe she grabbed it to steady herself.”
“That’s possible. Or she could have been running or fighting to escape an attacker,” Cord said, imagining the brutal scene.
As with the shoe and earring, they photographed it, then Luke added it to another evidence bag.
They followed the feet impressions to the rocky ledge. Bloody toeprints dotted one of the rocks as if she’d hesitated or been struggling not to fall.
A few feet over, an empty bottle of liquor lay in the weeds by a small boulder.
Cord had smelled liquor on the girl. Had she brought it with her for liquid courage before jumping? Or was she so inebriated she stumbled and fell?
The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end at the other possibility: had she been murdered?
EIGHT
Ellie filled the disgruntled Deputy Rouse in on Cord’s findings and grimaced as he shrugged off concerns that this death was anything but another suicide on Midnight Ridge.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to make a big deal, but do you know how many jumpers we’ve had around here this year?” the deputy groused. “It’s almost comical, as if one suicide got so much attention that now everyone wants to be on some Suicide Wall and get their name in the press. If you look, you’ll find the first two girls’ initials etched on the rocks behind the stream. Teens are even taking pictures in front of them.”
Ellie grimaced. She’d have the ERT examine and photograph them. “For the record, I don’t see anything comical about a young girl’s death,” Ellie said, striving for patience. “The fact that there has been more than one in this location in one year should raise your suspicions and make you want to put an end to it.”
“I can’t control these crazy chicks who decide to take their own lives,” he mumbled. “The law here is a one-man show. We don’t have enough money or resources to post a guard here to stand watch day and night.”
“Maybe not. But it’s our job to investigate each death that happens under our jurisdiction. Perhaps you simply want to write it off, but I want to know exactly what happened and this girl’s personal story.” Ellie pinned him with a challenging look. “Have you even checked to see if there was any connection between the other girls?”
“They were suicides. What other connection could there possibly be?”
Ellie had to take a deep breath or slap him. The breath it was. Not only was he rude, but he was inept. “You don’t know unless you investigate,” she said tersely.
He shot her a venomous look and ran his hands through his tangled hair. “So you’re one of those, huh?”
“One of those what?” Ellie said, her temper boiling. Local law enforcement didn’t always welcome the help of outsiders, but she detested arrogance and lack of empathy for a lost life.
“Bleeding hearts,” he muttered.
She fisted her hands on her hips. “Listen to me, Deputy, this teenager’s family deserves to know what happened to her and I intend to find out. Since you’re a one-man show as you pointed out, stay in your lane and handle the town. I’m taking over.”
Anger oozed from his pores and he spoke through gritted teeth. “What the hell? You can’t come here and ride roughshod over me.”
Ellie forced a sardonic smile. “Yes, I can. I belong to a task force instigated by the governor to investigate crimes and suspicious deaths along the AT. I’ll be calling in my partner, Special Agent Derrick Fox, so unless you want to be charged with obstruction, stay out of our way.”
He gaped at her, but she left him fuming as she went to meet the ME and ER. She quickly explained about the witness and his statement. “SAR is looking for him.”
“Copy,” Lt. Williams said.
While the ERT set up their equipment, complete with portable floodlights to illuminate the scene, Ellie explained about the witness.
“You think he was involved?” Lt. Williams asked.
Ellie shrugged. “He appeared homeless, was probably seventies, frail and walked with a limp, so it’s doubtful he had the strength to push the girl, especially if she fought. But I’d still like to question him. Maybe he saw something else about the person he thought was with the girl.”
