He was that close, too.
As they headed into the abandoned gas station, she could smell it before she saw it.
Oh, and if she knew blood and bowel, it was going to be a bad one.
Someone, and by the smell of it a few someones, hadn’t gone out easily.
There was going to be torture.
From the copper penny smell and the stench of bowel, she could say that it was definitely a free-for-all in here.
“We got a message dropped at the station in the mail,” he said. “It was addressed to me.”
So that was how Devon was going to play? The blood smelled pretty fresh, so she was going to bet that he mailed the letter before setting up the scene.
Unless the US Postal Service was faster here than back where she lived.
When she held out her hand, he passed it to her, and gratefully, it was already bagged.
Well, someone at least knew how to preserve evidence for her. That was a plus in his favor.
Then again, not that there would be any.
She’d bet on it.
Devon was too clever to leave a clue on it, like a piece of dirt or a hidden message. He’d want her to work this out on her own. Since he’d been studying her for years, he’d know that she was too damn good of an investigator to be given forensics.
With that, she could solve anything.
The puzzles he left were going to be much harder.
Bet.
On.
It.
Taking the evidence bag and note, she read it through the plastic.
‘An offering was made, the Eucharist done, and I have left my presence. Three women were sacrificed, and all because of one’s whorish ways. Call Director Blackhawk at the FBI, and give her this note and the bodies. She’ll know what to do.’
There was the location of the remains scribbled at the bottom.
After reading it, Elizabeth stared at the women. She actually got close to them and crouched down to check them out.
Yeah, they’d been there no more than a day. She’d been right about her assessment when it came to the smell. Fresh blood changed scent after twenty-four hours.
On top of that, she knew one thing.
They weren’t killed there.
“Do you understand that letter?” Billy asked. “I’ve read it about twenty times, and I have no clue.”
Elizabeth was honest, and she shook her head.
“No, but I already know who did this to them,” she admitted. “I need to know everything about this scene. Raphael, contact the Corpus Cristi office. Get a tech team here. I need all of this documented, ASAP. Tell them to haul ass.”
That was all she had to say.
