AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyebrows rose almost to my hairline at the thought of a victim not having a face. “Can’t wait to see this one.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re the only woman I know who would ever say that, Doc Graves.”Martinez got back in his squad car and backed up so I could get by, and I turned on my high beams as we rumbled over the rutted road that led into the preserve.
“Christ, why can’t people just die in their sleep anymore?”
“Selfish bastards,” Jack said, making me grin.
Tree limbs scraped the top of the Suburban as we jostled past empty campgrounds. “Don’t take this the wrong way,” I said, “but you don’t look right as a civilian. I can’t remember the last time I saw you without a gun at your hip and your badge clipped to your belt.”
“Honey, I’ll never be a civilian. I always have my badge and at least one gun on me at all times. Three-quarters of the state of Virginia is armed. I’d be crazy to go anywhere without one.” He lifted the pant leg of his jeans so I could see the clutch piece he carried.
“Good point.” Ever since I’d been attacked last winter I’d started carrying a gun—a black Beretta that fit my hand to perfection. I never left home without it. “When I was at the gun range last week Hilda Martin was in the lane next to me.” The Martins owned the only grocery store in Bloody Mary. “She took out two of the overhead lights and shot the shit out of a concrete post before she emptied her magazine.”
“Christ. Don’t tell me that.”
“Look on the bright side. If anyone robs the grocery store she’ll probably scare them to death instead of leaving us with a body.”
“Or take out six innocent bystanders.”
“I told you to look on the bright side. You’re on vacation. You need to lighten up.”
Even with the high beams on it was hard to see the road in front of us. The park was thick with tall trees and they canopied over the road so there wasn’t even a hint of moonlight. We passed picnic tables and a couple of cabins before the area opened up. Jones Pond sat dead in front of us, and the water was inky black and still. Police cars lined the road, their lights flashing a disorienting blue over the damp grass.
I parked the Suburban as close to the crime scene tape as I could and turned off the motor. Jack and I got out and he took in the area with cop eyes while I went back to get my equipment.
Jack had done his time in the military after he’d graduated from college and then he’d gone on to be a SWAT cop in DC. He’d resigned after taking three bullets on a mission that had killed one of his closest friends, and then he’d come home to Bloody Mary to recover.
The sheriff’s positionhad come open when the previous Sheriff had decided to retire abruptly and Jack had stepped into the role. He never talked about what had happened to him in DC, and I never pushed him to talk about it. I knew better than anyone that some personal demons were better left undisturbed.
The air coming in from the water was cold and smelled of brine and other things less pleasant.Jones Pond sat just on the edge of the shoreline, only a thin strip of land separating it from the Potomac River. Three large spotlights had been set up around the perimeter and lit the area well. The shoreline was muddy, so I pulled on my black coveralls and zipped them up to my chin. I slung my bag over my shoulder and ducked under the crime scene tape, Jack following close behind me.
“Doc Graves,”Detective Colburn called out. “Thanks for coming. We’re about done here, so he’s all yours. Morning, Sheriff. You want in on this?”
“I’m on vacation.”
“I’d heard a rumor.” Colburn’s lips twitched once and then went back into a thin line.
Colburn was about ten years older than me and Jack, making him in his early forties, and he had big city homicide experience, which was one of the reasons Jack had hired him. I don’t know why Colburn had left the city for the small town way of life, but I’d noticed Jack had a lot of success recruiting cops that had more experience than a place like this warranted.
Colburn was tall,broad through the shoulders, and lean through the hips. His brown hair was graying at the temples, and he had cop’s eyes of pale blue steel. A few months ago Colburn had been under investigation for the serial murders that had rocked our small community. He’d been having an affair with Amanda Wallace, the wife of one of the city councilmen, and her body had been discovered after she’d snuck away to meet with Colburn at a hotel.
Amanda had also been pregnant at the time of her death, so Colburn’s world had been shaken off its axis in one fell swoop. He’d been cleared of murder, but I wasn’t sure he’d ever get over losing the woman he loved and the child he hadn’t known about.
Colburn mostly stayed to himself, and even if he had heard the gossip around town he probably wouldn’t care much about it.But the people in this area had a long memory, and Colburn was still whispered about as a man who’d stolen another man’s wife, and those same people held him responsible for her death, even though he hadn’t been the one to tighten the noose around her neck. They’d never trust him again, and it had the potential to make things difficult farther down the road.
Colburn fell into step beside me as we made our way down to the body. “The 911 came in about three this morning. A couple of campers decided it would be fun to go skinny dipping in the middle of the night.”
“Idiots,” I said. “That water can’t be more than forty degrees.”
“Yeah, well, they’re both twenty and had worked up their courage with a few beers. The girl sicked it all up as soon as she saw the body.They’re sitting in the back of a squad car wrapped up in blankets. We’ll talk to them again before we cut them loose, but I don’t think there’s much more we’ll get from them.”
The first thing I noticed about the body was his size. He was a big guy. Not overweight, but built more like Jack. A lot of muscles and bulk. He was dressed in a black T-shirt and matching cargo pants and his shoes and socks were missing.
“We found him just like this,” Colburn said. “Face down in the mud. It was a hell of a mess when we turned him to get photos. I wanted you to get a feel for the scene so we put him back once we were through.”
“I appreciate it,” I said, kneeling next to the victim.I pulled gloves out of my bag and put them on and then handed Jack my recorder so I could keep my hands free. I touched my glove to the victim’s skin and felt the give of the tissue.
“He’s developed skin maceration, which tells me he’s been in the water close to forty-eight hours. The skin has come loose and is peeling off in places. We’ll have to be careful transporting him so we don’t leave his outsides in the body bag. It’s easier to know how long he’s been in the water instead of time of death. The water messes with the stages of decomp. Lacerations on both arms and bottom of feet congruent with debris he ran into on his trip down the river. Did you find any ID on him?” I asked Colburn.
