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As the sound of water became louder, the damp earthy smell of the forest faded into the distinct smell of death. “Oh shit, can you smell that?”
“Oh yeah.” Wolfe moved to his side. “Victim number two?”
“I hope not.” Kane strode into the picturesque clearing and stopped in his tracks.
On an orange towel lay a young girl, eyes staring into nothing. He bit back a moan of dismay and held back an arm to prevent Rowley from entering the scene. “Same M.O. as before.”
“Looks that way.” Wolfe dropped his bag on the floor and opened the zipper. “Suit up then I suggest you call it in and ask the boss for orders. We are running out of time to check the other crime scene before any evidence is destroyed.”
Kane made the call.
Moments later, he joined Wolfe and Rowley. “The sheriff is on her way, with Walters and Mr. Weems.” He sighed. “Orders are to secure the area, take the shots, and complete a preliminary examination of the body then wait for her to arrive. As we have to check the other crime scene, she’ll take over here.” He pulled out a roll of crime scene tape from his pocket and handed it to Rowley. “You know the drill.”
He used his cellphone to capture the images and could hear Wolfe dictating his findings into his recorder. After collecting the girl’s clothes and shoes, he moved to Wolfe’s side. “Find anything different?”
“Not really but from the scratches all over her, I gather she tried to run away from the killer. The marks are consistent to running through the undergrowth and low tree branches.” Wolfe let out a long sigh. “We have her clothes but apart from that, it is a mirror of the first murder, right down to the flowers.”
Kane rubbed his chin. “He is escalating faster than I imagined. Time of death?”
“I’d say yesterday, not long after she was last seen. So, he killed twice in one day.” Wolfe covered the victim with a plastic sheet. “This is a lot worse than I imagined.”
By the time he had packed the evidence into labeled bags, Jenna and Walters arrived on scene with Weems and his assistant pushing a gurney. He drew Jenna to one side. “Same killer.”
“Okay, leave the evidence bags with me. I’ll take it from here.” Jenna glanced at Wolfe. “Come back to the office after you’ve r
e-checked the other crime scene. The autopsy can wait until the morning.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Wolfe moved away and removed his coveralls. “I’ll have my initial report on your desk this afternoon.”
Twenty
After Alton left the forest, Kane stripped off the face mask and his crime scene gear. He glanced at Wolfe and Rowley. “Okay, move out. We still have to check out Felicity Parker’s crime scene again.”
He led the way down the path and back into the forest. A short while later, they joined the original trail and headed toward the river, keeping up a good pace.
“It would make sense the killer used this trail to the river.” Wolfe moved beside Kane. “It’s isolated as hell, a great way to get to the location and leave without being seen.”
Kane nodded in agreement. “To escape the scene for sure but we have no evidence to suggest the killer knew the victim would be in the forest. Felicity’s parents believe she was going to a friend’s house and heading in the opposite direction.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I spoke to Jenna last night about this and we agreed the murder was not a random thrill-kill. It looks as if Felicity knew her killer and went with him willingly. I’ve spoken to the boyfriend but I’m not finished with Lucky Briggs and Storm Crawley either.”
“Or someone she knew called her after she left home and she met them here.” Wolfe stood, hands on hips. “We won’t know shit until we check the phone records.”
“The kids didn’t see anyone else that morning so if the killer used this path to get away, he must know the area.” Rowley grimaced and moved along the trail.
“Makes sense.” Kane shrugged. “Assuming he was soaking wet after murdering Felicity in the water, he would likely wade in the river again to clean away any residual blood. By the time he walked back to the road, he would be dry—sweaty but dry.”
“And nobody would think a thing about seeing a sweaty hiker coming out of the forest.” Rowley slowed his pace. “Whoa, on the right under the leaves—is that a condom wrapper?”
Kane edged his large frame around Rowley and crouched down to look. “Yeah, it certainly is, and there is more than one concealed under leaves. I’ll get my gloves.” He stood, removed his backpack, and went through the pockets. “Got them, and by the look of them they haven’t been here long. Of course, they could belong to any of the kids who make out here.” He dropped the foil wrappers into an evidence bag. “I doubt these are his, from what we’ve seen so far, he is too smart to leave DNA evidence. If they are his what did he do with the used ones?”
Kane did a visual scan of the area but found nothing disturbed. “He would drop them and the wrappers into the river; it flows fast, and apart from washing away any evidence they would be carried miles away. My guess is the wrappers belong to someone else.”
He moved ahead and the sound of the river became louder with each step. He slowed his pace as he caught glimpses of sparkling water through the trees. “Okay, if we assume the killer left the clearing using this trail, we need to search for clues to trace his movements in and around the clearing.”
“The victim had blunt force trauma to the back of her skull, which would indicate he came up behind her, knocked her senseless, then dragged her onto the riverbank.” Wolfe moved into the perimeter of the clearing and turned slowly as his pale eyes scanned the area. “The main track to the river from the clearing splits into two. I suggest we split up. You start there and take a path each. I’ll follow this trail and see if I can find any evidence.”
Kane ducked down the main path from the clearing. The leaf-strewn pathway gave way to fine rocks and sand, offering no trace of footprints. He meticulously checked the bushes along the way for any hair caught on branches and underneath for evidence. He berated himself on the way for not checking the area at the initial visit, but collecting the evidence in the immediate area around the crime scene had been a priority. He heard Wolfe call his name and retraced his steps, meeting him at the edge of the clearing. “I haven’t found a thing.”
“I have.” Wolfe led the way along the narrow trail.
