by Estelle Ryan
“Did they give you any useful information?” I didn’t have patience for this inane discussion.
“Non.” Canet glanced at the group of friends huddled next to a silver Ford Focus. There was nothing in their body language that gave me pause. They all seemed distressed and kept looking back in the direction of the crime scene. “But each one of them has a theory about what happened.”
“Let me guess.” Pink’s smile lifted his cheeks. “They also watch a lot of cop shows.”
“Oui.” He grinned when Pink chuckled. Then his expression sobered. “I cordoned off the scene, but between the dog, the owner and all her friends who came rushing over when she screamed, any footprint evidence in the snow has been destroyed. But they didn’t touch him and neither did we. The body is exactly as they found it.” His lips thinned. “It’s not good.”
“Shall we?” Manny pushed his hands in his oversized coat’s pockets.
The officer stayed with his vehicle while we walked into the forest. A clear path had been formed in the snow where the first responders and everyone else had made their way to the body. Deeper into the trees, the snow was pristine, forming a pure white blanket that reflected the weak daylight. At seventeen minutes past four in the afternoon, we only had another two hours before it would be dark.
Daniel slowed down and turned to look at me. “The young man has been brutalised. Please prepare yourself.”
My eyes widened and I pushed Mozart’s symphony back into my mind. “Brutalised?”
“It would be better if you saw it for yourself. I don’t want to influence your observations with my opinion.”
I mentally played the first two lines of the symphony.
“Ready?” Daniel waited until I nodded, then walked around a copse of trees and stepped to the side.
I inhaled deeply and held my breath for four seconds. It was the blood that caught and held my attention. The contrast against the white snow somehow made the scene look even starker. I took a step closer, making sure I stayed on the snow that had already seen a lot of foot traffic.
Caelan’s friend was lying very close to a large shrub, the low-hanging branches touching his left shoulder and hip. His legs were at an odd angle and his arm closest to us undoubtedly broken. He was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers and hooded sweater that wasn’t zipped up. No outdoor wear. His red hair was cropped close to the sides and the longer hair on top flopped over his forehead. I gasped when I looked at his face and immediately turned my attention elsewhere.
A large blood pool to the left of his head suggested trauma to the back of his head. Blood had also pooled under his left knee and his right arm. I shuddered at the realisation of what this meant. “He was left here to die.”
“That’s what the medical examiner said.” Daniel’s tone was sombre, his expression fierce. “The killer maimed Jace, then dumped him here to bleed out and freeze to death. The ME will only give us his exact cause of death after an autopsy.”
“Poor kid.” Manny stepped closer and frowned. “Why would anyone work him over like this?”
“He sure was beaten up badly.” Vinnie also walked closer and went down on his haunches to look at Jace’s body. I didn’t want to go any closer yet. Instead I studied Vinnie’s and Manny’s body language as they looked at Jace. I knew the moment Vinnie noticed something that concerned him. He pushed up from his haunches and looked at Colin. “Dude. Come look here.”
Colin squeezed my hand, then walked the three metres to join the others. They were obscuring my view and I was now curious to know what Vinnie had seen. I took a deep breath and stepped closer.
“Shit.” Colin lowered himself and stared at Jace’s right hand for a few seconds. Then he leaned a bit to the side to look at the young man’s face. My first glimpse of his face had been shocking. I inhaled deeply and forced myself to look at him.
Jace’s face was a bloody mess. His left eye was completely swollen shut with a deep cut a centimetre above his eyebrow. His left cheek had a few cuts and was also terribly swollen, bruising still fresh, the discolouration interrupted by death. Whoever had punched him excessively was right-handed.
His left hand was hidden from our view by the shrub. Looking at his right hand made me take a step back. “He was tortured.”
That was the only explanation for why every finger on his hand was broken, some in more than one place.
Colin pushed himself up and nodded. “He suffered greatly.”
Soon after I’d first met Colin, he’d been kidnapped by Russians and had been tortured for days before Vinnie had found and rescued him. It had taken Colin more than six months to recover from his injuries. He still had a deep scar on his right leg from that experience. It would explain why his facial muscles indicated distress.
“I don’t get it.” Daniel shook his head. “He was a sweet young man who liked to go geocaching. What on earth could the killer have wanted from him?”
“We need more data.” I always needed more data. “We need to know everything about Jace.”
“Francine’s already on it.” The corners of Manny’s mouth turned down. “I have a bad feeling about this one.”
I walked closer to the shrub, making sure to stay far away from the blood frozen around his head. I lowered myself onto my haunches and looked at the side of Jace’s body that had been hidden from us. The shade from the trees and this shrub combined with the weak daylight made it hard to see detail. I looked at Daniel. “Do you have a flashlight?”
“Not on me.”
“I do.” Vinnie opened one of the side pockets on his dark combat trousers and took out a small flashlight. He walked over and handed it to me. “Twist the top to turn it on.”
I did that and pointed the light at Jace’s left hand. His thumb looked completely dislocated and his little finger was at a right angle to his hand. The other three fingers looked unharmed. I moved the light to unnatural indentations in the snow.
“What the hell?” Manny was at Jace’s feet looking at the snow illuminated by the light. “Doc, what’s that?”
“Numbers.” An uncomfortable emotion surfaced and I pushed it down. I’d come to recognise it as grief and didn’t like experiencing it. I hadn’t known this young man, yet I felt a sense of loss. I stared at the blood-lined grooves in the snow that formed five numbers. “Three, one, seven, one and six. Jace tried to communicate with the last of his strength.”
“Good man.” Manny narrowed his eyes. “Any idea what these numbers are?”
I looked up at Manny and frowned. “Of course not.”
Vinnie grunted and moved away. “I suggest taking loads of pics for Franny to run searches.”
“She only needs one photo.” I paused. “Not even that. Francine only needs the numbers.”
“But I bet you would like the scene to be well documented with photos.” Daniel waved at a crime scene technician chatting to Pink while waiting for us to finish. “I’ll get them to take a complete 3D scan of the area. Pink also has a 3D scanner in the truck, but I’d rather he come with us. The crime scene techs will send us the scan as soon as it’s done.”
“Anything else you see, Doc?” Manny looked at the bottom of Jace’s sneakers.
I took my time running the light alongside Jace’s body and also under the bush. “Nothing.”
“Then we’ll leave the crime scene guys to do their thing.” Manny straightened. “Do we have the boy’s address yet?”
“Francine sent it to our phones.” Pink walked closer and shook his head when he looked at Jace. “He looks so young.”
“Twenty-five, but with more brains than you and I put together.” Vinnie put his hands in his jacket pockets. “We need to find out who did these things to this kid.”
“Then let’s go to his flat.” Manny turned towards the parking area. “Maybe we’ll find something there that will clue us in.”
“And could explain why he sent a photo of a Roubaud to Caelan.” Colin took my hand after I gave Vinnie his flashlight.
We followed Manny and the others to our vehicles.
No one spoke as Colin followed Daniel’s vehicle onto the main road back into Strasbourg. I turned on the sound system in the SUV and chose Mozart’s Quintet in A for Clarinet and Strings from the uploaded playlist. Mozart’s affinity for the clarinet was evident in this piece, its soothing sound filling the interior of the SUV. I leaned back in my seat and allowed my mind to process what I’d seen.
The injuries Jace had suffered were unlike anything most people would ever experience. I wondered if his non-neurotypical mind had been able to process what was being done to him. Then I thought about his inability to communicate. He hadn’t even been able to tell his torturer what had been demanded of him. Or tell him to stop.
It felt like a strong band was constricting around my chest and the urge to start rocking and keening made me stop this line of thinking. Instead I focused on the intimate scale of the Quintet that Mozart executed so masterfully with his chamber music and stared out of the window.
We drove through the port area. I counted thirty-three freight wagons that I assumed were waiting to be either offloaded or filled with goods. The buildings here were huge and mostly shipping companies. We crossed the river a second time, going towards the city centre, and a thought came to me.
I turned to glance at Vinnie in the back. “Why didn’t you know about Jace?”
“I didn’t know about Jace because Caelan didn’t tell me about him.”
“But you have been spending so much time with him. How could he not have told you about his best friend?”
Vinnie looked at me for a few seconds. “You spend time with the president’s wife, right? Do you tell her about Francine? Or me?”
“Of course not. My friendship with you is not relevant to our conversations.” Unless Isabelle asked me directly about Vinnie. Usually, Francine joined us for our lunch meetings which eliminated the necessity to talk about her. I realised the point Vinnie was trying to make. I nodded. “I see.”
Vinnie smiled. “I knew the dude had found some activity that was making him happy. I guessed he had also found someone who shared his interests, so I didn’t push when he didn’t answer my question about it. I don’t know why he didn’t tell me.”
Colin slowed down the SUV and parked next to Manny’s sedan. I settled back in my seat and unlocked the seatbelt, but quickly moved closer to the door when Vinnie leaned forward and punched Colin lightly on the shoulder. “You’re cool with all this, dude?”
Colin turned off the engine and looked at Vinnie, his corrugator supercilii muscles contracting his brow in a frown. “Why wouldn’t I... ah, the torture.”
“It was pretty rough on you.”
“But it was almost six years ago and I’ve moved on.” Colin cupped Vinnie’s cheek in a surprising gesture of intimacy. “You care about me. I’m touched.”
Vinnie jerked back. “Oh, fuck off.”
Colin laughed and got out of the SUV. Vinnie followed him and punched him again in the shoulder, this time hard enough for Colin to wince. He laughed harder. “I’m fine, Vin.”
“Yeah, see if I care.” Vinnie stomped toward Daniel’s vehicle just as Pink got out, ignoring Manny’s questioning look.
“What’s up with the big guy?” Manny pulled his coat tighter around his neck. His habit of wearing ill-fitting clothes seemed impractical and even silly at the moment. In these temperatures, surely it made more sense to wear the warm and fitted coat Francine had bought for him.
“Vin’s okay.” Colin took my hand and we walked to the entrance of the apartment building. It was one of the more modern buildings in an area bordering the older parts of Strasbourg. Manny pushed open the glass door and we walked to the security desk. A man in his late fifties was reading a magazine.
I stayed back and watched Daniel and Manny build rapport with the guard until he was happy to send us up to the third floor. The elevator was large for an apartment building, yet I was relieved when Pink, Vinnie and Daniel said they were taking the stairs.
As the elevator doors opened, Vinnie was waiting for us, his hands on his hips. “Even with an elevator helping you, I’m still faster than you, old man.”
“Oh, bugger off.” Manny pushed past Vinnie and realised he was going in the wrong direction. “Holy hell!”
Everyone laughed as Manny turned around, marched past us to the left and stopped in front of door number three-one-five. “Well? Are you all just going to bloody stand there or is someone going to open this door?”
Vinnie snorted. “I wish this was an American movie where the building had a super with keys to each apartment.” He looked at Daniel. “Don’t you think your job would be so much easier if everything was like in the movies?”
“Most definitely.” Daniel narrowed his eyes when Colin walked closer and leaned forward to study the lock. “What are you doing?”
Colin looked over his shoulder and smiled. “What do you think?”
“You can’t break into this flat, Frey.” Manny pushed his hands in his coat pockets and nodded at Daniel and Pink. “Not when there are law enforcement officers watching you.”
“Ah.” Pink smiled and turned his back on Colin. “I’m not seeing anything.”
Daniel shook his head. “This is a murder victim and we’re investigating. Do you need a kit?”
“Yes, thanks.” Colin accepted the small wallet Daniel took from his vest. He opened it and studied the set of tools. “I’ll only need these two.”
He took two thin tools and turned back to the door. He inserted the larger, more curved of the two lock picks and turned it gently. His muscle tension decreased and he inserted the L-shaped tool. Colin’s posture was relaxed and confident while twisting the tools. The gears in the lock clicked.
He straightened. “One of the easiest locks to pick and only this one on the door. Jace clearly wasn’t concerned about security.”
“For the average citizen, the building security would seem more than enough.” Vinnie searched the hallway. “If only they had security cameras here as well. It’s not going to help if the killer came in through the back door or the basement.”
Colin opened the door and turned on the light.
Manny blinked a few times, looked at me, then back into the apartment. “Doc? What are we looking at?”
I was trying to control my breathing and push the panic away from my mind. I looked into the flat and shuddered. A small entrance led to a large open space that appeared to be the living room. Little of the floor space or furniture was visible. The entrance area had piles of magazines, shoes and delivery boxes. At first glance, it appeared chaotic, but I soon saw how neatly each pile was organised. The coat tree was overloaded with coats, jackets and sweaters—all on hangers, arranged by colour. In some places, boxed items reached the ceiling.
“Hoarder.” The word came out hoarse and I cleared my throat. “Jace was a hoarder.”
Daniel stepped into the flat, his hand resting on his holstered gun. “Let us clear the flat before you guys come in.”
Manny unbuttoned his coat, took his handgun from its hip holster and followed Daniel and Pink into the flat.
“I don’t want to go in there.” I really didn’t. My mind functioned better in a much less cluttered environment. It didn’t matter that there appeared to be obsessive order to the clutter. I found it most unsettling.
“I hear ya, Jen-girl.” Vinnie faked a shudder. “Who lives with all this stuff around?”
“Compulsive hoarders experience great anxiety at the thought of discarding anything, whether it is a useful object, a used object or rubbish. It’s clinically recognised as both a mental disability as well as a possible symptom for obsessive compulsive behaviour. People who hoard don’t have control over the compulsion.” I understood compulsions. “The force of it can rule a person’s life.”
“Clear!” Daniel’s voice interrupted my explanation.
“Jenny?” Colin squeezed my hand. “Want to try?”
�
�It’s not that bad, Doc.” Manny stood in the living room and waved his hand towards his right. “This side of the flat is the complete opposite to this crowded bloody mess.”
I took three deep breaths and nodded. I walked past the overloaded coat tree, into the living area and frowned. Here, Jace had piled books on top of each other until it looked like it was about to topple over.
“It doesn’t smell bad.” Usually hoarders found it difficult to throw out food containers and any other garbage. That resulted in a smell similar to a rubbish dump. There wasn’t even dust visible here.
There were three piles of books. One was academic textbooks, one books on history and one cookbooks. I thought of my alphabetised bookshelves and wondered what it was in Jace’s brain that made these piles more appealing.
I pointed at the rug on the floor, then at the piles of books. “Nothing is unsettled.”
“Hmph.” Manny glared at the neatly organised piles of bills and notepapers covering the oiled wooden floor. “You’re right, Doc. With this little space, a scuffle of any sort would’ve moved this thin rug and toppled the books.”
“In here!” Pink’s voice came from the hallway to the right. “Watch your step for the blood on the floor.”
My eyes immediately went to the wooden floor, looking for rust-coloured stains. There was nothing in the living area. This flat was spacious for a young man living on his own. The hallway led to three doors, one of which was to the bathroom. It was in front of the bathroom that I saw the first blood drop.
Vinnie pointed at it. “The killer must’ve carried Jace out to his car to dump him in the forest.”
I walked to the bedroom, inspecting the floor before I put my feet anywhere. Pink walked out of the room and headed to the living area. “You guys have a look in there. I’m going to go get my 3D scanner.”
The bedroom was large. It looked like it could’ve been two rooms in the original plans that had been combined to form a space that swallowed up the three-quarter bed pushed in the corner. There were blinds in front of the windows and no décor to give this space any warmth or ambience.
