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“Laura,” he grumbled.
Jo hid a half-smile. Arnett and his wife Laura had almost divorced, and part of their reconciliation involved Arnett making ‘an effort’ by engaging in leisure activities with her. They’d cycled through several possibilities, from painting classes to ballroom dancing. And, apparently, yoga.
Jo straightened and glanced around the lake again. “It depends on the type of yoga you’re doing. Or maybe she was meditating at the beginning or end, with her eyes closed. Or, it was someone she was expecting, who pulled out a gun at the last minute.”
She turned back to Marzillo. “Anything else you can tell us so far?”
Marzillo gestured around Sandra. “I can’t be sure yet, but based on what I’m seeing with the tight workout clothes, my guess is she wasn’t sexually assaulted. It would be too difficult to get the clothes back on and restore her to this state. No other obvious injuries, but there may be something under her clothes and there may be bruises still developing. My guess until the ME confirms, is the gunshot wound was the cause of death. And my guess, based on the size of the entrance wound, is a twenty-two caliber. Other than that, not much until the divers do their bit and we process the boat, the house, and the woods.”
“Sounds good, thank you. We’ll take a look around ourselves and then go talk to the neighbors—” Jo stopped short as she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Two vehicles pulled up to the crime-scene tape, a dark blue Chevy Camaro she wasn’t familiar with, and a silver Lexus she knew all too well.
She jutted her chin toward it.
Arnett turned to follow her gaze. “Shit.”
CHAPTERFOUR
Lieutenant Lindsay Hayes emerged from the Lexus and strode toward the Camaro, one hand smoothing her tight blonde bun while the other smoothed the skirt of her blue suit. ADA Reid Hanson, one of the most senior prosecutors in the DA’s office, stepped out of the Camaro clutching a folder and rounded the vehicle toward Racinsky, eyes flashing around the property. Angry red patches covered his pale cheeks and balding pate, and he shook his head curtly when Racinsky indicated the PPE. Instead, he waved to Jo and Arnett, indicating they should come to the tape. As she caught up to him, Hayes imitated the gesture.
Jo kept her face professionally blank. Lieutenant Hayes was the newest solution to the Oakhurst County State Police Detective Unit’s ongoing difficulty filling the lieutenant spot that Jo herself had occupied briefly. Hayes had transferred in from upstate New York, and from the day she arrived had set her sights on ‘revamping’ the SPDU. She’d also set her sights on taking Jo down a peg, a new experience for Jo, who was generally well liked by both her colleagues and superiors. She’d found it hard to understand at first, until Hayes let slip several hints about the origin of her acrimony: she was threatened by Jo’s previous tenure in the position.
Jo overheard a snippet of conversation as they neared. “There wasn’t any reason for you to come out here,” Hayes said to Hanson. “My team has this under control.”
“Barbieri asked me to come.” Hanson turned toward Jo and Arnett.
Hayes flushed. Why? She had to know the district attorney would want to be hands-on when one of his prosecutors had been killed?
Hayes met Jo’s eyes. “What have you got?” she barked.
As Jo and Arnett stripped off and bagged their PPE, Jo gave them an overview, monitoring Hanson’s face as she did. Police were used to the daily risk associated with their jobs, but an ADA’s job description didn’t generally include the same specter of death hanging over them.
Hanson’s jaw tightened. “Shot in the head. That sounds like an execution.”
Hayes threw up a hand. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Shot in the head could just be a hunting accident so close to these woods. They have deer everywhere out here, and I’m sure they even get a bear now and then. Could be some random serial killer. Time will tell.”
Jo started to respond, but Arnett spoke over her. “Someone put a blindfold on her,overthe wound, not under it, and there’s stippling around the entry wound.”
“And the way she was killed was far too personal for it to have been a random killing,” Jo said.
“Has the ME been here yet?” Hayes glared at Arnett, then Jo.
Jo knew Hayes was aware there hadn’t been time for the medical examiner to arrive. “No.”
“Then, like I said, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That’s how rumors start, and we don’t want people overreacting.” Hayes pulled her phone from inside her suit pocket. “But we need to get to work, because Barbieri called me on my way over here, and he wants answers PDQ.”
“Got it,” Jo said.
Hayes looked up from whatever text she was sending and narrowed her eyes at Jo, sniffing out disrespect. “I sure as hell hope so, Fournier. Because I’m already on the fence about letting you handle this after that stunt you pulled. Not only is the DA leaning on me, but the press is gonna make my life a living nightmare. Screw this up and it’ll be my pleasure to bust you down to traffic cop. Gotthat?”
Jo pushed down a flash of anger. The ‘stunt’ she’d pulled was putting a previously undetected serial killer who’d been murdering men for a decade behind bars. It had taken years of tenacity on her part and creative teamwork to accomplish it, especially from Christine Lopez, their tech expert. In fact, Jo, Arnett, and Lopez had all received commendations for it. But she’d done it without Hayes’ permission, and Hayes couldn’t forgive that.
Jo kept her expression steady. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Updates every hour.” Hayes spun on her heel and marched back to the car.
Hanson watched until she pulled away, then said, “Barbieri asked specifically for you two. Not only was Sandra one of the best prosecutors we had, we all take it very personally when anyone so much as looks at one of our own sideways. We want this fucker caught—we need to make sure the message is sent loud and clear that nobody fucks with law enforcement in Oakhurst County. So we want it done fast, but we also need it done right, and you two are the ones who can do it. Hayes doesn’t have a damned thing to say about it.”
Childish satisfaction surged up through Jo, much to her chagrin. She pushed it back down. “We’ll get it done.”
