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THE PHOTOGRAPHS OF the young women stared back at Ledet from the murder board. Their faces were so young and vibrant before the killer cut their lives short. These women had been so full of life and deserved to grow old. Instead, they were cheated out of a life.
Next, his eyes traveled to the pictures of what remained of their faces. The grisly shadows of where their eyes once were stared back at him.
He wanted to avert his eyes from the hollowed out sockets that stared back at him, but he didn’t. He needed to see them, needed to remember them. Anger welled up inside of him. He let the obsession of finding this killer overcome him. He wouldn’t stop looking at the pictures until they were burned into his mind. He would find who did this to these beautiful women. He’d promised their families that he would catch this killer.
Bryant walked into the room, “We identified the latest victim. Her family just filed the missing person’s report. She came to New Orleans for vacation and hasn’t been heard from since. Her friends arrived after her and found that she hadn’t checked into the hotel room. They called her parents, worried that maybe she hadn’t been able to make it. We confirmed with the airport that she flew into New Orleans, and that was the last anyone has heard from her.”
“Let’s go to the airport and check out the security tapes.”
“That’ll work. It gives us some time before her parents arrive. Even though we identified the body, they still want to come down.”
By the time Bryant and Ledet made it back to the police station, Eva Welsh’s parents had arrived. Mrs. Welsh sat at his desk with tears threatening to spill at any moment. She dabbed the corner of her eyes. They stood up as soon as they saw the two detectives heading their way.
“Detectives, do you really believe it is her?”
Bryant took the mother’s hands in his, “I am sorry for your loss. The coroner’s office confirmed that it is indeed your daughter.”
Mr. Welsh asked, “Do you think we can see her?”
Ledet shook his head, “You don’t want to remember her like this sir. Please sir, remember her how you last saw her.”
Mr. Welsh asked, “What did he do to our daughter?”
“Her face was mutilated after she died, sir.”
Mrs. Welsh gasped, “Did she suffer? Was she tortured... or... worse?”
Bryant informed her, “No, ma’am, she didn’t suffer, but we do ask that you keep what happened to your daughter to yourselves. We don’t want to alert the media just yet. It could seriously compromise our case. Do you understand?”
They both nodded in unison, “When do you think we can take her back home?”
Ledet replied, “I’m not sure when we can release her to you, but we will try to do it as soon as possible.”
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