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“How do you dispose of them?” Kenna said.
He frowned. “Why?”
“Just tell me. Do you destroy the bodies, or bury them?”
“I don’t think you want to be exhuming anyone. And none of my men is going to pick up a shovel for you.”
Kenna sighed. “What if I need information from their remains that will answer questions I have?”
“We don’t bury them. We burn them.”
Great.
Kenna wandered around the scene, mostly to give herself a chance to think this through.
Could she use the situation to get free, or get a message out?
That was it. She turned to Kart. “You should call the priest from town and have him come out here and perform last rites before you…dispose of her.”
“Why?”
She wandered back over to him. “Because if there was ever an ounce of a decent person somewhere inside you, then you have to respect the fact that this young woman’s life ended and maybe you don’t share her beliefs, but she saw the world a particular way. And we should honor that even if no one ever cared about her while she was alive.”
“Is this a hill you want to die on?”
Kenna folded her arms, noting the twinge of pain in her forearms. The drugs he had given her last night, and then again this morning, were wearing off now, and it was barely noon. “We need to get her out of the sun. Vultures are already circling overhead.”
Did he realize that asking her to question everyone he worked with meant they would all begin to see each other in a different light? She could incite suspicion and then destruction from within, and there would be nothing he could do to stop her. It would be satisfying, in a vindictive kind of way.
“You get the priest out here to say what he needs to say, and I’ll figure out who did this.” Kenna dismissed him, turning away back to the body. She crouched beside Lola and tugged up the shirt so she could see the wound on the victim’s back. The girl had many scars that had healed over a long period of time.
Not what had ended her life.
Neither was the W that had been carved into her lower back. A brand, but not the wound that killed her.
Kenna rolled Lola onto her back, revealing a series of knife entry points on her front side, one of which landed over her heart.
I might not be able to find out who did this to you before I leave here. But I can try.
As far as she was concerned, all the men here were suspects. Even Ramon.
She crouched for as long as she could. “Do any of you see a knife around here anywhere?”
While they turned and looked around on the ground, she assessed each of them. It seemed customary to carry a knife sheathed on the belt. She could take some measurements from the body, but without something to compare it to, she might not be able to find a match. And it would be crude at best. Unless the wounds were from a distinctive-sized blade. Or with some kind of unique serration.
No one found the murder weapon.
The other men loaded the body onto their UTV, and Kart drove her back in theirs toward the compound. When he had shut off the engine in the forecourt between two buildings, she said, “Who is it that found her?”
“It wasn’t him that killed her. He goes and meets with his woman on the road to the west.” Kart snorted. “He says she can’t go more than a few days without seeing him.”
“So you’re going to vouch for this guy?”
“And you’re going to ask everyone who they are willing to rat out?”
“You’re the one who wants this murder solved.” Kenna shrugged. “It’s either that, or you’re looking for me to pin the blame on one of Navarro’s men. So which is it? Do you want me to find out who did this so you can get rid of the problem causing you a loss margin on your bottom line? Because clearly you don’t care about the merchandise. I guess that means you only care about the money.”
“I must. Otherwise, I would have killed you already.” He stared at her. “But I have to keep you around so I can get paid.”
