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“But I know the Sheriff’s Department looked the other way because of who your son is, or rather, who his father is …”
Sheriff Carter’s smile disappeared, instead replaced with a stony stare.
“It’s one call to the newspapers, Larry. I wouldn’t even have to give my name. I could do it anonymously. A concerned citizen.”
“And they’d laugh at the accusation!” Birkin said, slamming his eight-six-year-old fists onto his wooden desk.
“Probably. But only if I couldn’t support the accusation. Believe me, Larry, I would be able to give every news outlet across Kansas and beyond a mountain of evidence to back it up. You see, my predecessor, he didn’t entirely trust you. So, he kept a stash of evidence about your son as leverage. I have that evidence. And it’s in averysafe place.”
There was a strange silence. Valerie felt the stare of the stuffed animals on the shelves around her. She thought she could almost feel their glee, watching with glassy eyes as the man who had their remains turned into trophies finally got what he deserved.
“You wouldn’t dare, Carter,” Larry Birkin said now in a frailer voice, seeming every day his age now under the pressure.
“Try me,” Sheriff Carter said. “People are dying, Larry. And you want to stall things simply to make a point about manners. Instead, how about I give you a lecture about ethics and duty to those around you? You may deal with the dead here, but I happen to prefer dealing with the living. And I will protect the people of Kerry County from this animal butchering innocent people. And if you get in my way—if anyone gets in my way—they’re going to wish they had never been born.”
“You know I have friends in high places. Powerful people … Judges, lawyers …” the old man started unconvincingly.
“The higher they are, the harder they fall,” Sheriff Carter said sternly. “Don’t test me, Larry.”
“If I may, Doctor Birkin,” Valerie said. “If what Sheriff Carter says is true, there would be a large number of federal agents who would take interest in the corruption involving your son. But if I was too busy chasing down this killer, and if I was too busy getting access to the bodies of the victims and the cases today rather than tomorrow, I may not have time to mention it to anyone.”
Valerie had a strong ethical core, but sometimes she knew you had to bend the rules to get things done. And as Sheriff Carter had argued, when life was on the line, there was no time to play office politics.
Larry Birkin stood up and walked to the door of his office behind them, each step carrying with it an air of defeat.
“Come with me then,” he said in a hollow voice.
Sheriff Carter turned to Valerie and winked. Valerie wanted to enjoy the victory, but the thought of what she was about to see was enough to sully any glee.
It was time for them to look at the victims and their butchered bodies.
***
The morgue of the Kerry County coroner’s office was smaller than Valerie was used to, its cramped walls making her feel a little suffocated. But then, Kerry County was a sleepy place, or at least, it had been up until the last few days.
It wasn’t used to murders on a large scale. The killing spree was just round the corner, Valerie knew, if she couldn’t catch the killer quickly. And if she didn’t do it within forty-eight hours, she might not have the opportunity again.
Valerie looked at the cramped settings and the terrible sights awaiting her beneath three sheets of white cloth.
Sheriff Carter been right, Larry Birkin had indeed had all three bodies stored in the one morgue and could have given them access at any time. It only took him twenty minutes to pull the bodies out and find the relevant files. Valerie was sickened by how the man had been willing to postpone such an investigation due to his dislike for the Kerry County Sheriff. Glen Carter had gotten under the man’s skin previously, and Valerie would ask later how that had all started.
For now, she hoped their luck on the case was about to change.
Sheriff Carter stood beside Valerie as she looked at the outlines of three bodies lying on metal slabs covered by white sheets underneath the bright fluorescent lights of the diminutive morgue.
Two were women, one was a man.
One of the women was the victim found on the Marlane farmstead the day before. Currently, her identity was unknown to Valerie, and it was the same for the morgue. The toe tag which poked out from underneath the sheet simply said:Jane Doe.
Putting on white, latex gloves, Valerie stepped forward and then looked at Birkin. “May I?”
Larry Birkin nodded, clearly still angry about what had happened in his office.
Valerie pulled the white sheet down from the body of the third victim. She stared up at the world with lifeless eyes.
Valerie hated this part of the job, but she had to detach herself from the tragedy of it. For her sanity if nothing else.
She saw the wounds, one on each side of the chest. Moving her gaze to the rest of the body, she was drawn to the tattooed script ofPost Tenebrus Luxon one of the victim’s wrists.
