| |
“Doctors shouldn’t prescribe narcotics to drug addicts.” Detective Will Sears pointed to the uncapped pill bottle lying in the dirt beside the lifeless body of a woman. “Get a close up of that, Huds.”
“You got it, Serg.” Crime scene technician Sean Hudspeth crouched beside the body and focused his camera.
Rapid fire bursts of white flashed the cold September night. A frigid breeze rustled dry leaves littering the forest floor.
Behind Will, a flood light snapped on, casting his shadow over the body. The light wobbled, then moved to his left. A twelve-inch ring of light outlined the scene.
“That’s good there.” Will fished a pair of latex gloves out of his coat pocket and tugged them on.
His partner, Detective Dimitri Brown, turned the collar of his coat up and shuddered. “Next time, you get to hike half a mile up to the car, freezing your tail off, to get the lights.”
“Should’ve asked Huds.”
Hudspeth smiled over his camera. “Got a light in my bag over there.”
“Oh, man.” Dimitri threw up his hands. “Why didn’t you—”
“Ah, well. You needed the exercise.” Huds didn’t mention he had a light in his kit until Dimitri was on his way back, but Will liked toying with his partner.
“Didn’t need frostbite.” Dimitri began scribbling in his field notebook.
Huds stood and rubbed his lower back. “You, sure we need all these photos for a suicide?”
“Apparent suicide.” Will glanced at the clear plastic bag covering the woman’s head. A thin white string held it in place.
“We process all suicides like a homicide first. You should know that by now.” Dimitri waved his pencil. “Besides, doesn’t this look familiar? We bagged one just like this three months ago.”
“And another six months before that,” Will added.
Three dead women in total. All discovered in the remote wilderness. All died of apparent suicide. As if they’d wandered into the woods, taken medication, tied a plastic bag over their heads, and drifted off.
“You going to grief group tomorrow?” Will asked as he waited for Hudspeth to finish his photos.
“I’ll be there,” Dimitri said. “You?”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” he said.
Will had been skeptical of attending the group at Dimitri’s church, but his friend explained how it’d helped him after his wife died. After the third meeting, Will decided to follow Christ. Best decision of his life.
“All done.” Hudspeth’s knees cracked as he stood.
Will picked up the pill bottle and held it between his gloved thumb and index finger. He examined the label. “Amobarbital. Same drug. Different doctor. Vic’s name is Elisa Paulsen.”
Dimitri didn’t look up from his writing. “Probably the same long history of mental illness.”
“Mmm.” Will dropped the bottle into an evidence bag, sealed it, and handed it to Huds.
“Need to grab a new SD card and swap batteries,” Huds said.
“Take your time. We’ve got most of what we need,” Will said.
With Huds and his camera flashes out of the way, Will studied the scene. The woman appeared to be clean, well-manicured, and otherwise healthy. Had she really come out here just to take her own life?
Will shook his head. “She wasn’t dressed for a hike. Not in this weather. No jacket. No shoes. What about ID?”
“The responding officer...” Dimitri flipped back in his notebook. “Kent. Said he checked the area for a purse or backpack but didn’t find one. No car in the area either.”
“Did he touch her?”
“Checked for a pulse. Nothing else.”
“Good.” If possible, Will never touched a body until the M.E. was on scene. “Where’s Kent now?”
“He’s back at the road. I put him on the murder book, taking names and directing everyone down here to start a grid search. See if we can find her belongings or how she got here.”
Will squatted. Through the plastic, he studied the woman’s face. “Looks like a bottle blonde. Blue eyes. Petechial hemorrhage. Suffocation.”
“So, the pills didn’t knock her out?” Dimitri leaned in for a closer look.
“That or she woke up but was too groggy to get the bag off. Thing is, where’s the water?”
Dimitri closed his notebook. “What water?”
“If you came out here to kill yourself by downing a bunch of pills, wouldn’t you bring something to wash them down?”
“I guess you’re right.” Dimitri swiveled, searching the darkness. “Maybe it blew away?”
“Possible.” Will looked at the bottom of her feet. “I think someone drugged her and carried her here. Her feet are clean. We need the M.E. to tell us more. What’s the ETA, anyway?”
“Buddy was tied up at another scene, so Tessa is on the way. It’s quite the drive, so I’d guess she’ll be here around seven.”
“Seven?” Will stood and checked his watch. It was ten till six. “Shoot. I lost track of time.”
One corner of Dimitri’s mouth shot up. “Oh, right. Maggie finally said yes to dinner. It’s tonight, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It’s only taken me a year to get her to agree. I can’t blow this off.”
“I know. I got this.” Dimitri jerked his head back a tick. “Go on and get yourself prettied up.”
“Yeah, okay.” He glanced at the corpse again. “Huds, I want that bag for checked prints.”
Huds gave a thumbs up.
“Make sure the team tries to track her movements.” Will nodded to the woods beyond. “She had to walk quite a ways so there has to be a trail. Broken twigs. Bent branches. Crushed leaves. More than footprints—”
“I got it. I got it.” Dimitri flapped his hands. “Go! Enjoy your date. Just be ready for my interrogation after.”
“Fine, but remind Tessa to send that DNA report right away. She said she’d send it last week, but probably got busy and forgot. If that blood doesn’t belong to the vic, we might have a lead on a murderer.”
“I won’t forget, but don’t be checking your phone on your date.”
Will nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ve learned my lesson.”
If anything about his job came up tonight, his second first date with Maggie would be his last.