Murder Stalks Read Free Page A

sign. Her dark spiky hair reminded him of a hedgehog
stuffed animal, like the one his daughter used to sleep with. He
stared at the victim, wishing he could bring her back, change what
had happened. But no one could save her now. Damn it, no person,
good or bad, deserved to die the way this woman had.
     
    ****
     
    Tony wanted to get the murder scene
processed. “Where’s Janice?”
    “ I’m right behind
you.”
    He turned to find her standing in the
doorway with her camera slung around her neck. Her blond hair was
pulled into a ponytail, giving her the image of a young girl, but
the sharp look in her eyes clearly showed she wasn’t a child.
Janice’s features were already masked, letting the guys know that
this murder, like everything else, didn’t affect her.
    “ Do your thing so the ME
can join us.”
    “ Consider it done.” Janice
removed the lens cap and began snapping pictures.
    Tony watched, unable to leave the room. He
didn’t want to think about death, but with it right in front of his
nose, he couldn’t help but dwell on the subject. “Janice, you about
done?”
    “ Almost, a few more shots
then you can ask Sekorski in. He’s out in the parking
lot.”
    “ Good, at least we don’t
have to wait for him.”
    The crinkle of booties on Janice’s feet
annoyed him. He hated the things but knew that any evidence they
took out of here on the bottom of their shoes would be lost forever
once they left the scene.
    “ I’m done in
here.”
    “ Shoot the other room, and
I want some outside shots too.”
    “ Like always.” Janice
nodded and strutted out of the room.
    Tony pulled his phone from his pocket and
thought about calling Marissa. He missed her. Instead he punched in
Sekorski’s number. “It’s all yours, doc.”
    “ I’ll be there in a few.
Do I need anything extra?”
    “ Tell Rex to pull in a few
spot lamps. It’s too dark in here.”
    Tony moved aside when the medical examiner
came in. Sekorski didn’t waste any time with formalities. With
gloves in place, the ME started his examination. Tony gritted his
teeth as Sekorski placed a clear plastic probe in the victim’s
mouth.
    Tony watched the procedure, hoping the ME
would pull something from her mouth, yet cringing at the thought of
him fishing out the perpetrator’s ear lobe or a finger. Few women
were strong enough to bite a full digit off their attacker, but one
could hope for undeniable DNA evidence...and that she had managed
to inflict pain on the bastard who’d done this.
    Sekorski pushed the probe around the
victim’s mouth one more time before pulling it out. Her mouth was
empty. Tony sighed, letting go of the breath he unconsciously
held.
    “ Sekorski, you think her
nose damage came recently?” Tony asked.
    “ Are you asking because
you think this was domestic abuse?”
    “ It would make our job
easier. Find the boyfriend, find the killer.”
    Rex groaned as he entered the room. “Damn
it, I hate it when their eyes do that.”
    Sekorski slid a glance at Rex. “Detective
Hague, death isn’t pretty. Her eyes are just bugged out a little
and rolled up in her head. So get over it. She was probably
strangled. See the ligature marks? Once I get her to my office I’ll
know if that was the cause of death.”
    Tony glanced down to her arms and cringed.
The hands were gone. He bent closer. “The cut looks clean, no knife
marks above the amputation. Sekorski, when do you think he cut off
the hands?”
    The ME turned the bright light, shining it
on the victim’s arms. He peered through a magnifying glass,
examining the stubs. “The edge is clean, no mistakes there. She
couldn’t have been alive. She would have jerked at the pain. Unless
he drugged her heavily. There is some blood, but no spray anywhere.
She was dead when he dismembered her.”
    “ Shit,” Tony cursed.
Dismembering a body wasn’t unheard of in a murder case, but it
spoke volumes about the type of killer they were up
against.
    “ Look at those