by D. K. Hood
“What’s up?” She gave him a slow smile and leaned in close. “We shouldn’t be seen together, not until we’ve dealt with Vicky Perez.”
Afraid someone would see him with her, he turned his back, to hide her from view. “All hell is breaking loose. They found Laurie’s mom murdered this morning and now the sheriff has called in the FBI.”
“The FBI?” She blinked at him. “Really?”
“Yeah, I saw them together talking up a storm. They’re hard to miss in their jackets.” He grabbed her by the arms. “Did you kill her?”
“Why would I want to kill Laurie Turner’s mom?” She burst out laughing. “Who told you this shit?”
As if he’d divulge his clandestine meeting with Dr. Turner late last night. The doctor had found his wife murdered and asked for his help. Dr. Turner was convinced he wasn’t involved and he’d gone along with his plan to move the body into the alleyway. The shock of realization that his girl was killing without him, had brought his world crashing down. He knew she was lying to him and it made him angry. He’d seen the mess in the apartment and it hadn’t been easy getting Mrs. Turner’s body into the alleyway, even with the doctor’s help. There was no way his girl could have taken on Mrs. Turner alone. He gave her a little shake. “Stop it. It’s not funny.” He examined her face. “You’re seeing someone else behind my back, aren’t you? You went missing in town last night, just around the time Mrs. Turner was strangled.”
“I went home.” She blinked at him. “I wanted to hang around but when Vicky started crawling all over you like a rash, I got so mad I wanted to stab her right there.” Her lips curled into a seductive smile. “It would have been too quick for her and I want to finish her in our secret place. I like that watching me kill makes you want to make out.” She giggled. “You’re as messed up as I am, huh?”
Am I? Guilt and sickness had overcome him after killing Becky and yet his girl seemed to thrive on murder. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. It was as if she had no feelings and the killing didn’t bother her. In that moment he realized, she didn’t love him at all. She wasn’t capable of love and had manipulated him to live out some crazy fantasy. Now, it was obvious she’d teamed up with another guy. If he denied her now, she’d turn on him like a rattlesnake. He stared into her big guiltless eyes and ground his teeth. He’d play her game and then ask his folks to send him away to college. He’d already had offers and it was his only way to get rid of her.
“Don’t look so worried. We have this.” She twirled a strand of hair around a finger. “Do you know why the principal was calling students to his office? Does the sheriff figure one of us killed Laurie’s mother?”
He nodded. “Yeah but don’t worry, you’re not on the list.” He shrugged. “They’re only calling guys, so if you’ve been seeing someone else, I guess you’d better warn him.”
“It’s just you and me.” She stared into his eyes, her expression deadly serious. “Now the sheriff believes its someone from the school, they’ll be watching everyone closely, so we haven’t much time. It’s got to be tonight.” She leaned into him and wet her lips. “I have plans for Vicky. I’m changing up my style to confuse the cops. I’m not planning on strangling her, she’s too strong.” Her lips lifted into a smile. “Do you recall seeing those old bottles of chemicals in the barn?”
Dread crawled over him in a dark, cold cloak. He swallowed hard. “Yeah, acids and stuff, I think? Why?”
“I found a bottle of chloroform.” She giggled. “Do you know what that does to people? It puts them to sleep. A few drops on a rag held over her mouth and she’ll be out. We’ll be able to tie her up and she’ll be under my control. I’ll be able to take my time and do whatever I want and she won’t be able to do a thing. We’ll need another pair of shorts. See, using different ones each time confuses the cops.”
He scratched his cheek. “It’s too late now and I’m not going through some guy’s backpack looking for his sweaty underwear.”
“Then bring a pair of yours.” She cupped his cheeks. “I know what I’m doing. Having three different DNAs at a crime scene and nothing else, they’ll believe someone took your shorts as well. Don’t worry, no one will catch us and soon it will be over.”
He pushed his hands into his pockets to stop them trembling. She was capable of anything and he wouldn’t be able to watch her torture Vicky. He shook his head. “If you cut her up real bad, it will be harder to dump her. Where can we take her without being seen? The cops are all over the place right now, and they still have reinforcements from Blackwater.”
“It doesn’t matter where we dump her.” She dropped her hands agitated. “We’ll toss her out on the side of the road, somewhere remote.” She picked up her backpack. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tonight at the barn. Get her there by eight. I’ll be waiting inside.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “She might not come with me.”
“She will, she hasn’t stopped talking about you.” Anger flashed in her eyes. “She makes me mad. You make sure she’s there because you don’t want to make me angry too, do you?”
Forty-Eight
Exhilarated, Jenna gave Kane a high-five as she walked from seeing the judge. “Oh my gosh, I was sure he’d refuse. Although we can’t read his case files, Turner will have an appointment book for sure.” She grinned at Kane and waved the paperwork triumphantly. “Now when do we deliver the good news to Dr. Turner?”
“We have half an hour before the autopsy.” Kane checked his watch. “Not long enough to conduct a search… and you’ll want Wolfe along as well… but time enough to grab a bite at Aunt Betty’s.” He opened the door to his truck.
Jenna pulled open the passenger door and climbed in. “Sure, I’m hungry too.”
Aunt Betty’s offered a respite from the tension around a murder investigation. Jenna inhaled the smells of not a greasy spoon but a place more like Grandma’s kitchen on baking days. As a child, she loved visiting her grandma and helping her bake cakes and cookies. It was part of her grandma’s routine, once the family left home, with only herself and Grandpa to cook for, her grandma would cook up great pots of food each weekend and pack them into the freezer for the rest of the week. Her grandma told her it saved time and energy, doing everything on the one day. She never had to worry what was for dinner and had a choice of meals and insisted it was like eating out every night.
Refusing to think about the upcoming autopsy, Jenna went to the counter to peer at the day’s specials. She ordered chunky beef pie with fries on the side and caught Kane’s mouth twitching into a smile. She looked at him. “What?”
“The pie sure looks good, the pastry has so many layers it melts in your mouth.” Kane ordered the same meal. “But you eat like a bird. I’m wondering if you’re the same Jenna I know or you’ve been taken over by an alien body snatcher?”
Jenna led the way to their table in the back. “I’m hungry is all. I don’t snack all day like you do and I’ve been too busy to fill up on coffee.”
“I’m not complaining.” Kane sat down and removed his Stetson and dropped it onto the seat beside him. He let out a long sigh. “What is it with festivals and crime? I’d been hoping we’d have wrapped this case up by now and made it to the fall dance on Saturday after all.”
“You really wanted to go?” Jenna grinned. “You know I wouldn’t step all over your toes if you took me to a place where I could just wiggle a bit to the music, we wouldn’t have a problem.”
“Trust me.” Kane shook his head. “That ain’t never gonna happen.” He leaned toward her. “I like dancing with a purpose… and I’m getting used to you scuffing up my boots.”
Their mood became somber the instant they walked into the morgue. The cold air was like a slap in the face and seemed to suck all the happiness out of Jenna. The too familiar odor invaded her nostrils and sent her crashing back to harsh reality. She followed Kane down the stark white hallway, the noise of his boots on the tile an irreverent echo in the silence. As they
stopped in the alcove to suit up saying nothing, the tick of the clock on the wall sounded loud in the quiet. She looked at Kane. “Where is everyone?”
“Oh, that’s right.” He pulled the green scrubs back over his head and hung them on a peg with his jacket. “Wolfe will be in his office. He wanted to examine our stitches before he started the autopsy. I guess Emily and Webber are getting the examination room ready.” He ran the tip of one finger over the yellowing bruise under her eye. “How’s the eye feeling?”
Jenna pulled off the scrubs and dropped them onto a peg alongside his. “I’m fine. It doesn’t worry me at all.” She headed toward Wolfe’s office and knocked.
“Come in.” Wolfe’s muffled voice came from behind the door.
“Afternoon.” Jenna walked inside. “Dave said you wanted to check our stitches?”
“Yeah, pull off your T-shirts.” Wolfe took a medical kit from the bench and pulled out a few things. He snapped on gloves and removed Jenna’s dressing. “Jenna, you’re good to go. Leave the clean dressing on for a week and then come back and see me. It’s waterproof, so you’ll be fine in the shower but keep out of the hot tub.” He replaced the dressing and after changing his gloves turned to Kane. “Hmm, yours is not so fine.” He cleaned up the wound and went back to his field medical kit and returned with a syringe. “Show me your hip, I’m giving you a shot of antibiotics.”
Jenna had her shirt over her head when the door opened. She pulled it into place and stared at Emily. “Hi, Em. Were you looking for us?”
“More prickles?” Emily raised both eyebrows. “You two are sure getting yourselves into strife this week.”
“No, not more prickles.” Wolfe tossed the syringe into a receptacle and removed his gloves with a snap. “I’m following up on my patients is all. Are you ready for me now?”
“Yeah.” Emily leaned against the doorframe. “I’ve been looking over the results of all the victims and the initial examination of Mrs. Turner tells me it’s a different killer. If this isn’t so, I need to know what I’m missing.”
“We’ll work through it and see what we find.” Wolfe waved her out the door. “We’re on our way.”
Inside the examination room, Jenna moved to the array of comparison images displayed on the screens. She liked that Wolfe had all the information on the other victims at hand, they often needed to know if the same person was responsible for a string of murders. By comparing results, a copycat stood out like a sore thumb. She scanned the images, making a mental note of the injuries to each victim. To her, ignoring the fact they all had the cheerleader involvement to link them, the injuries sustained appeared to be completely different. She glanced at Kane. “Thank God for medical examiners. Years ago, sheriffs had to make a judgment call on cases like this and from what I’m seeing here, we have two unrelated cases.”
“Yeah, I’m wondering how Dr. Turner is going to slide his way out of his wife’s murder.” Kane shook his head. “It just seems too obvious.”
“Some murders are obvious.” Wolfe shrugged. “Not every murder is a mystery. The person responsible is usually a close family member. Add some marriage problems and eight out of ten times it’s the spouse.” He pulled the sheet from Jeanette Turner’s pale body, adjusted the microphone, and looked at them over his mask. “Okay, let’s begin with my initial findings.”
“One thing is for sure, she didn’t die in the alleyway.” Kane moved closer to the body and examined the feet. “Her feet are clean, apart from the drag marks on her heels. They correspond to the marks I found in the alleyway.” He turned to Wolfe. “She wasn’t rolled down the steps either. I examined the bottom of the stairs for impact impressions and found nothing to indicate a fall.”
“The injuries would support that but there is a mark on her left hip, a scrape that has splinters in it, no bleeding or bruising. This would indicate she was dragged over the step treads post-mortem.” Wolfe indicated to various bruises on her body. “All of these happened at the same time, all have subdermal hematomas which, indicate she was alive when they were inflicted.” He moved to the victim’s head. “Look at the bruises on her face, see the small cut on the cheekbone?”
A cold breeze seemed to envelope Jenna as she peered at the wound and then turned to look at the enlarged image on the screen Wolfe had flicked up. Too many times she’d seen women covered in bruises just like Jeanette Turner. “I’ve seen the same injury in spousal abuse. An open hand slap followed by a backhand and in this case the person responsible is wearing a ring.”
“Better still.” Wolfe’s eyes twinkled over his mask. “I figure it may have a stone in it, if so, there’s a good chance some DNA might have been snagged in the setting.” He looked at Jenna. “Have you noticed if Dr. Turner wears a ring?”
Jenna shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
“Yeah he does.” Kane reached for his phone. “I had him place all his valuables in a bag when I took him down to the cells.” He headed for the door. “And we have a search warrant. Keep going, I’ll get someone to bring his belongings here.”
“There’s something significant we should mention at this point.” Emily changed the images on the screen to X-rays. “Mrs. Turner suffered a number of broken bones in her lifetime and one is a match with what we found on Laurie. Looking back on both victims’ medical files, they went to the ER with far too many injuries.”
Jenna stared at the X-rays, uncomprehending. “Explain.”
“The injuries to both women’s arms can only be caused by someone twisting the arm.” Emily’s eyes reflected her anger. “If both women in the same household had the same injury it points to abuse. I’m shocked the doctors treating them at the hospital didn’t put two and two together and notify the authorities.”
The despair creeping around Jenna’s heart was quickly followed by revulsion aimed at the man responsible for inflicting such injuries. She dug deep to find her professional demeanor, unable to allow her disgust to overshadow the investigation. “Unfortunately, until I became sheriff, many people turned a blind eye to spousal abuse. People didn’t think it was their business to get involved. Things are changing now. Women know they can get help in my town and that I’ll support them.” She stared at Emily’s distraught expression. “This doesn’t only happen to women. Men can have abusive wives but many don’t believe it’s manly to complain and suffer in silence. I’m working on changing that view by making sure any man in that position can speak to my deputies in confidence.”
“Moving right along.” Wolfe nodded to Kane as he came back into the room. “The livor mortis… ah the purple discoloration in the buttocks and lower limbs is the blood settling, which indicates the victim was posed shortly after death. So, by the state of rigor and her temperature on scene, I can give you a narrow margin for the TOD. I estimate it is between eight and midnight last night, more likely between eight and ten.” He indicated to the marks on Mrs. Turner’s arms and thighs. “Unlike the other victims, Jeanette Turner had sexual activity prior to her death and from my examination, I don’t believe it was consensual.”
“No, there was no love lost between Dr. Turner and his wife.” Kane shook his head. “The final domination before strangling her, do you think?”
“More likely, he strangled her during the attack.” Wolfe pointed at the thumbprints on Jeanette’s pale waxen throat and then turned the head to reveal impressed fingermarks on both sides of her neck. “A frontal attack, he wanted to watch her die and from the state of the apartment, she fought for her life. She didn’t stand a chance, once he’d secured her hands behind her back with the cord from her robe.” He lifted both bagged hands and indicated to the marks indented in her flesh. “The marks match the cord. He removed it to pose her but Turner isn’t a big guy, he must have had trouble getting her down the steps.” Wolfe frowned. “The stairs are steep and a dead body carried over one shoulder would be difficult, carried in the arms, impossible.” He looked at Jenna. “He didn’t drag her down the steps or roll her down. He
must have had help.”
Suspicion tingled up Jenna’s spine. “Is this a copycat or do you figure the killers of Laurie and Becky were involved?”
“Copycat.” Kane moved closer. “But he had some inside information, he knew about the strangling and that a pompom was involved but I figure he improvised the rest. It’s Dr. Turner. He has motive and we have evidence against him. If we find DNA on his ring, we have him dead to rights.”
“I have to agree.” Wolfe moved away from the body. “Emily is going to conduct the internal procedure under my supervision but I don’t believe we’ll find anything but the obvious. Everything points to asphyxiation by strangulation as COD: the marks, broken hyoid, and hematomas in the eyes. She hadn’t been drinking and I tested her for the usual drugs and found nothing although as usual a full tox screen will be conducted as routine.”
Unease crawled over Jenna. Her team was like a vault. Not one of them leaked information and somehow, Turner had discovered pertinent details and tried to make his wife’s murder look as if Laurie’s killer had committed the crime. She ran the contents of the media releases through her mind. Laurie’s had mentioned the naked body of a teenager but nothing about the strangulation or stabbing, Becky’s had mentioned a scantily clad teenager and nothing else, neither had mentioned cheerleaders.
The front door buzzer made a red-light flash inside the examination room. Jenna headed for the door. “That will be the personal effects.” She glanced at Kane and Wolfe. “Are we done here?”
“Yeah, Em can take it from here.” Wolfe followed her out of the examination room with Kane close behind.
Jenna could see Rio waiting outside the two sets of glass doors and hurried to let him through. “How is our prisoner?”
