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They had to beat the rain, try to retrieve all the evidence they could. “I’ll be down in two minutes.” She’d have to deal with the panty raid and creepy doll fest later. She hurried and dressed then grabbed a hair tie and twisted her still damp hair into a bun on her way downstairs.
Less than two minutes.
She and John rushed to the car. Asa, Fiona, Ty and Owen were already outside.
They all hopped into the Suburban. “What do we know?” Violet asked as she adjusted her messy bun and shivered. Nothing like a wet head in chilly, damp weather.
Asa glanced into the rearview. “Just heard from Sheriff Modine. They got a call half an hour ago. Guy out for his six a.m. hike tripped over a bloody shoe. Had been watching the news and knew about the girls in the caves. Took it upon himself and entered the cave nearby. Found her straight away.”
“We know how long she’s been there?” Violet asked.
“No details yet. Sheriff was on his way. I was a little surprised he called us at all.”
They turned off the main road into the mouth of Night Holler and drove through the winding curves until they crossed a small bridge that led to a cordoned off muddy road. Media hadn’t made it out here yet, but it wasn’t quite eight o’clock. Two side-by-sides were parked on the road.
Sheriff Modine, with the bushy Tom Selleck mustache, stood by and waved at them. Asa rolled down the window.
“Can’t get regular vehicles up there. We got side-by-sides. Muddy. Rain about to come in again too. Called the coroner. But no one has messed with the scene.”
The ambulance was on the scene, several deputies and their cars parked in a line. One deputy stood guard at the yellow tape with a logbook in hand.
“I appreciate it,” Asa said and parked. The team geared up and wore rubber boots. “I called the ERT. But we’ll have to do the preliminary.”
Asa drove one four-person side-by-side, and Ty drove the other. Once they arrived at the craggy opening, they got out. Violet’s feet sunk into the wet earth; the smell of animal decay and rain swept through her senses.
“Ty, you and Owen cordon off the perimeter. From six feet out from the shoe all the way around, and then we’ll section off the target area. Go wide.” He turned to Fiona. “Outer perimeter. Look for tracks. If we had to bring in UTVs, then he had to as well. Couldn’t haul a body all that way. I wouldn’t think. And from where?”
The sound of another motor roaring drew their attention, and Detective Regis Owsley approached in a side-by-side. In rubber boots, jeans and a Slate County Sheriff’s Department windbreaker, he approached the team. Why wasn’t he here already?
“Just got word.”
Violet wasn’t buying that.
“In order not to contaminate the scene, the fewer of us going in the better,” Asa said. “Violet, Detective Owsley, you’re with me inside the cave.”
“What do you want me to do?” John asked.
“Interview first responders and the man who found the body. We’ll rally after we get some answers.” Asa motioned for Violet to follow, and Regis brought up the rear. Probably looking at hers all the way.
“Wearin’ your hair different today, Agent,” Regis said.
Violet inwardly rolled her eyes. “I hope you put those stellar detective skills to use inside the cave, Regis.”
Asa turned and arched an eyebrow at her use of Regis’s first name, but said nothing. The cave was dark, dank and freezing. “We need more light.”
“I’ll get us some.” Regis left them alone in the cave.
“You getting to know the detective?” Asa asked and shined a light around the opening of the cave.
“Nope. Just doing what I do.”
She kept to the edges of the cave in case footprints were in the center. About six feet in, a woman in an oversize sweatshirt and a pair of leggings lay on her back, mouth wide-open. Her face had been treated like a punching bag. Violet retrieved a camera and began taking photos. “Do we have an ETA on the ERT?”
Asa snorted. “Not soon enough.”
“I got floodlights,” Regis said as he approached. He switched on the battery-operated lights, and the cave lit up like a Christmas tree, but there was nothing peaceful or pretty about this. The woman’s eyelids had been sutured, and one was torn open, the socket empty. Regis cursed.
“You recognize her?” Violet asked.
