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THIRTEEN
BLACK ROCK FALLS
Medical Examiner Dr. Shane Wolfe listened with interest as Rio brought him up to speed with the cases of the two Jane Does. He’d called them into his office before seven. He’d worked long into the night to get answers and needed a few hours’ shuteye. With luck he’d be able to eat breakfast and grab two hours’ sleep while he waited for the results of the samples he’d taken from the bodies. “You’re saying that even with the FBI scanning the image databases, you still can’t identify these women?”
“If they’re not in a database, we can’t find them, no, but Kalo is extending his search internationally.” Rio leaned back against the counter in the morgue examination room and shrugged. “For now, they’ll have to be Jane Doe One and Two. Or Twenty and Twenty-One, your choice.”
Wolfe shook his head. “I’d never give a killer the satisfaction of naming his victims. It’s Jane Doe One and Two.”
“That’s fine by me. When you have time to take casts of their teeth and DNA samples, we can try again.” Carter peered at him over his mask. “With people searching their family trees, we might find a relative, and if the women went to visit a dentist, we might get a hit on the dental records—but that will be like searching for a needle in a haystack, without as much as a state to go by.” He crossed his feet at the ankles and took a relaxed pose. “We checked out the masks and skewers but couldn’t pin down any particular store. The skewers with hearts on the top are mass produced and can be purchased anywhere in packs from ten to one hundred. The masks are available at general stores, costume stores, and Walmart.”
“We’re working on a list of people and places that use formaldehyde.” Rio rubbed the back of his neck. “Maybe a list of who doesn’t use it might be easier.”
“Don’t worry too much.” Carter let out a weary sigh. “Once we’ve hunted down the names, we’ll hand them over to Kalo. He’ll cross-match them with local stores and people buying online. His results will give us the best possible candidates for suspects.”
“Hey, listen up.” Emily came into the room with a whoosh as the door opened and closed behind her. “A hurricane made landfall overnight and wiped out part of the Florida coast.” She looked aghast at Wolfe. “I watched the news. They have no communication with anyone yet. I hope Jenna and Dave made it to the airport. It hit right where Grandma has her condo and then turned back around and headed to Bermuda. It’s spinning over the Bermuda Triangle.”
Wolfe headed for the door, pulling off his gloves and mask. “Give me a minute.” He rushed out and headed for his office. He tried calling Kane and then Jenna with no luck. His options were limited. Kane was an asset with a bounty on his head and he had to report him missing. If his fingerprints got into the wrong hands, anything might happen.
Using his keys he located a cellphone, a direct link to his superiors in the military. After giving his code name, he passed on the information and waited. A voice saying a code name he didn’t recognize came through the speaker.
“What do you mean, you’ve lost contact with Ninety-eight H?”
Wolfe stiffened. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t recognize your identification. I’m unable to continue this conversation.” He disconnected, pulled out the SIM, and tossed it into the microwave.
Dashing a hand through his hair, he paced up and down. Who could he trust? Had his connection to the White House been compromised? He stared at the ground. If Dave and Jenna were in danger, he must go and get them out—if he had a location. He stared at the phone on his desk and snatched it up. The signal from Jenna’s tracker alarm inserted into her ring would have sent an alert to his phone. She never took off the ring, so if they were alive, and in danger she’d likely activate it. He took a few deep breaths. He’d ask Kalo to track their phones. They didn’t need a connection to find them. He dialed Kalo and explained the situation. “I’m in the middle of an autopsy, but if the signals are stationary, like they might be injured or stuck somewhere, call me.” He disconnected and headed back to the examination room.
Wolfe looked at the expectant faces. “I’ve asked Kalo to track Jenna’s and Dave’s phones. He’ll call as soon as he has anything. We might as well keep busy until we have more information.” Forcing his head back to the case of double homicide, he looked at Jo. “So, Jo, any thoughts on this killer?”
“A few but I’d like to see what you find.” Jo stood beside the screen peering with interest at the X-rays. “I’ll know more if you can describe the process he used to kill them. It says a lot about the type of killer he is and his motive… if he has one.”
Wolfe replaced his mask and gloves. He’d already completed a preliminary examination of both bodies. At this point in the autopsy, he’d left the organs intact but had the body cavity open. He’d progress with the autopsy, but from the findings he could use a device to explain the injuries more fully to the observers. “Emily, wheel over the digital anatomy table. I’ve given you a glimpse of this device before, but by superimposing the images of a victim over the file of a normal body I can demonstrate the nature of the injuries.” He activated the machine. “As you can see, it also gives us a 3D image and, by rotating parts of the body, I can display underlying organs. It will give you a concise and visual explanation of cause of death.”
“This can’t replace a full autopsy.” Carter straightened. “It’s more like science fiction than fact. How do I know what I’m seeing is the real deal?”
Wolfe glared at him. “Because I’m the real deal. This apparatus was designed for teaching purposes, but in our case, it will demonstrate the damage to the victims in a way you’ll understand from the get-go.” He turned to Jo. “From the bruising and broken bones, both women were beaten using a blunt instrument. From the bruising, the size and shape of the injuries, I’d say he used a baseball bat.”
“And the sexual assault?” Jo cleared her throat. “Can you tell if they were ante- or post-mortem?”
Wolfe moved the slider on the machine to show the depth of the bruising on the arms, legs, and back. “They were both alive when he raped them. He used a condom. I found no semen but found nonoxynol-9, used in the manufacturing, and traces of the powder used to prevent a condom sticking to itself, and luckily enough, lubricant ingredients to identify the specific brand.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’m running these for analysis now. A rape kit is the first thing I do when I see the signs on a victim.”
“He punished them.” Jo let out a long sigh. “For him, rape is the final degradation.”
“I disagree.” Rio stared at Jo and shook his head. “I’d like to know if that mask was put on before or after they died. I figure he wanted them faceless. He took that away from them too, their identity. They were objects to him, not people.”
Wolfe checked through the results coming through on his screen and turned back to them. “I found blood under the mask, some damage to the faces, bruising like from a slap, and a bloody nose. From these findings alone, I’d say he put the mask on post-mortem.” He cleared his throat. “From the preliminary examination and the damage to the heart and lungs, my first assumption was that the incisions made by the skewers killed them, but on further examination of the bruises on the throat, and from the X-rays and dissection, I concluded the cause of death was asphyxiation caused by strangulation. The lack of hemorrhaging around the skewers would say they were inserted post-mortem.” He moved the slider on the machine to show the damage to the victim in 3D and looked at Jo. “Can you profile him now?”
“I can.” Carter rolled his eyes. “This man sure hates women.”
