Had a Great Fall (An Olivia Thompson Mystery) Read Free

from the body, studying the area immediately surrounding it. He didn’t see a single drop of blood.
    It was hard to look at the body. The girl had been left completely naked, her body twisted at a strange angle. She had bruises and old cuts all over her body as well as strangulation marks around her neck.
    “She’s been dead for a while,” Nate said. “Rigor has come and gone. Lividity is inconsistent with how the body is positioned.”
    “She was dumped here,” Vince said, simplifying Nate’s words. “Whoever did this, he didn’t have any respect for his victim. He just left her out in the open like this.”
    Nate was the experienced partner and he knew that it was too early to start making assumptions about the killer. Things weren’t always what they seemed. “He may have left her like this hoping that she would be found quickly.”
    Using a small flashlight that he always carried with him, Nate examined the victim’s face. Her eyes were open and bloodshot. The petechial hemorrhaging further supported that the cause of death was strangulation, but Nate would leave that determination to the coroner.
    “We’ll never get a facial ID,” Nate said. Skin on her cheeks and jaws was swollen and purple. Parts of it also appeared to have been peeled away, revealing muscle and bone underneath.
    Nate moved his assessment down the body, finding it equally disturbing. Bones had been broken, skin burned and sliced. The poor girl had been tortured prior to death.
    “What’s wrong with her fingers?” Vince asked, staying a few feet behind Nate.
    “They’ve been burned.” Nate had only seen this once before, while investigating a murder that was connected to the Mob. “So we can’t run her prints.”
    Vince let out a low whistle. “We are dealing with a special brand of evil this time.”
    “We were due for a twisted case since we just had a whole three weeks without any evil.” Nate stood and took a deep breath. Whatever had happened to this girl, she had suffered before her death. “We are going to find this sick bastard. I am going to make sure he pays for what he did to this girl.”
    After examining the body, Nate needed a break. His mind could only handle so much awfulness at one time. While the coroner’s team removed the body, Nate went back to his car and leaned against the hood. Instinctively, he reached for his phone.
    Olivia answered on the second ring.
    “Miss me already?” she asked without saying hello.
    Despite everything, Nate found himself smiling. “More than you know.”
    “What’s up?” Her voice faded briefly. “Sorry. I just got out of the shower and my towel slipped.”
    “You’re killing me, Thompson.” His attempt at teasing banter felt strained and Olivia noticed.
    “Is everything okay?” she asked.
    He knew better than to share the gory details of his day with her. His job wasn’t exactly good conversation material, especially not when his girlfriend had recently been on the receiving end of a similar evil.
    “It’s been a rough morning,” he said vaguely. “I just really wanted to hear your voice.”
    “Do you want to tell me about it?” she asked.
    “No, I’m fine. We’ll talk when I get home.” He smiled at how easily that phrase left his mouth. Technically, he still had his own place. But neither of them liked to spend their evenings apart.
    Olivia hesitated as she said, “I have to be somewhere tonight, remember?”
    It took Nate a second to recall her plans. “Dinner with friends. I remember.”
    “Nate, I can cancel. If you need me to be available, I can-”
    “No, don’t cancel,” Nate cut her off. “You should meet up with your friends. Really. I needed to pay a visit to my place anyway to check mail and grab some clothes.”
    “You’ll still come over later, right?” She sounded anxious.
    “Of course.” Nate saw that Vince was waving at him. “I’ve gotta run, Liv.”
    “Okay.” Olivia sighed. “Love you, Nater.”
    “Love you more.”