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"Who found her?" Rachel asked, her voice tight, controlled.
"Guy named James Veely. Tourist, but he called it in. He's shaken up pretty bad." Officer Ortiz wiped his brow, unease creasing his handsome face.
"Stay back," she commanded, her authority undisputed as she closed in on the corpse. Crouching beside the dam, Rachel took in the scene, the methodical part of her brain cataloging details.
The young woman's body was badly bloodied, but her features were still recognizable.
Chey Whitehorse...
Rachel pulled out her phone, searching the councilman's family photo, and then zooming in on the pretty, eighteen-year-old's features.
She held the photo up next to the body and glanced back and forth.
"Her ID was found on her," Ethan said softly.
Rachel just nodded. "Seeing is believing sometimes," she said softly.
"Not always," Ethan said, as if defensive over something.
She just shrugged. She lowered her phone. "It's Chey."
"Does her father know?" Ethan said quietly.
"Not sure. He'll know soon enough."
"Damn... that'll be a real shit storm once word gets out. An anti-cop's daughter found stabbed to death? Not gonna look good for the locals."
"Or anyone."
Ethan grimaced. "Sorry... didn't mean to sound insensitive."
"I didn't think you were. I know you," she glanced at her partner and gave a quick smile.
This seemed to put him at ease, and he smiled back. And again, she felt a flash of guilt and an urge to talk to him about everything that had happened last night.
But once more, she pushed aside this desire to focus on this sunbaked creek bed.
She scanned the body without touching anything first. As a professional tracker and big game hunter, she'd learned
to observe without disturbing the scene. Rachel took note of the dark stains on Chey's clothes, the defensive wounds on her hands, and the signs of a struggle that were visible in the disturbed foliage surrounding the dam. She could sense the violence that had taken place here, the rage that had been unleashed on this young woman. Her eyes traced the wounds, the position of the body, and the surrounding area for any clues that might lead them to the killer.
"Who would do something like this?" Ethan's voice broke through her thoughts, filled with a mix of anger and sadness.
Rachel stood up, her gaze lingering on Chey's lifeless body. "That's what we're here to find out," she replied, her voice steady. "We need to gather as much evidence as we can and talk to everyone who knew her."
"I can speak to the tourists in the ghost town. Couple of the hotels are fully booked."
"Good idea," Rachel said appreciatively. "And while you're at it, try to find James Veely. I want to talk to him personally."
Ethan gave a quick nod. "Think we should wait for CSU to show up?"
She didn't answer at first. Rachel turned her attention back to Chey's body and began meticulously examining the surrounding area. She knew that every detail could be crucial in piecing together what happened.
As she studied the body, her eyes moved to the pockets.
She tensed.
"What?" Ethan said, reading her body language.
