Dead Ringer Read Free

"Why leave her here?"
    Zack
scribbled in his notebook. "Whoever did this might have thought she wouldn't be
found for a while. "
    "Or
he figured she'd be found quickly. Construction crews have been all over this
place for weeks."
    "That
brings up a whole new set of problems."
    Most
killers didn't want anyone to know they'd murdered. If this killer dumped the
woman intentionally, Zack was right. It opened the door to a darker scenario.
    The
rumble of a vehicle engine had them both glancing back up the hill. The
forensics van had arrived. White with blue lettering, the side read Henrico
County Forensics .
    A
young dark-haired woman slid out from behind the driver's seat of the van. Tess
Kier, Zack's sister. Tess had been with forensics three years. She was
meticulous and one of the best in the country.
    Tall
for a woman, she had sharp features and a lean body. Jacob had thought more
than once about hooking up with her, but he had never made a move. Not only was
she his partner's baby sister, but they interfaced on crime scenes often. Keep
your dick out of the company payroll. It had been a favorite phrase of his
army sergeant's. Sage words he was careful to live by.
    Zack's
grim features softened a fraction and he headed up the hill toward Tess.
    Jacob
remained by the river's edge, close to the victim. He turned and stared out
over the river, not sure what he was looking for. This was a sad, desolate
place. "No one deserves this."
    Tess
came down the hill in her jumpsuit, booties, and gloves. A digital camera hung
from a strap around her neck and she held a clipboard in her hand. A pencil
stuck out from the ponytail holding up her ebony hair. As Tess approached she
glanced down at Jacob's hands.
    Jacob
read her mind as if it were a book. He wiggled his fingers. "I've got my gloves
on like a good boy."
    "Good."
Tess's pale, smooth skin accentuated sharp, blue eyes. "I don't need anyone
contaminating my crime scene." She cast a pointed gaze at her brother. "I know
I don't have to tell you about the right gear."
    Zack
looked bored, as if he'd heard this speech a thousand times. "Anybody ever tell
you that you're mean in the morning?"
    "My ex-boyfriend." Tess tucked the clipboard under her
arm and started to snap pictures with the digital camera.
    In
the dim morning light the camera's flash illuminated the victim with a brutal
clarity. All chatter ceased and a grave silence settled on the scene.
    Tess
documented the body from every conceivable angle. She stood on the bank and
then moved into the shallow, frigid waters and snapped more pictures. She drew
sketches and took notes.
    Jacob
studied the victim as the camera flash exploded. He tried to put himself in her
head. To think as she had.
    Her
shoes and clothes were sensible. Almost prudish. Her
hair was loose now, but he guessed that she normally wore it tied back in a
tight ponytail. That practical style would have matched her short, neat,
unpolished nails. The scarf around her neck was tied in a square knot.
    She
looked like a librarian. A churchgoer. Someone who walked on the correct side of the road. She was
the type of person who would be noticed if she went missing.
    The
cold seeped into Jacob's bones and he grew restless. He shifted his weight from
one foot to the other, trying to get the circulation moving. Blazing heat and
humidity didn't bother him, but the cold pissed him off.
    Jacob
swung his gaze to the huddle of surveyors. "I'm going to talk to the crew."
    Zack
nodded. "Right."
    The
frozen ground crunched under his feet as he made his way up the embankment. He
stopped in front of the men who stood in front of the black Suburban.
    A
tall man standing in the center of the group nodded. He weighed at least two
hundred pounds, sported a thick black beard, and had a tattoo of a fallen angel
on his neck. The other crewmen looked younger, maybe midtwenties, and their
bloodshot eyes suggested they'd done some heavy drinking last night.
    "Which
one of you found the body?"