that there don’t seem to be any towels missing from the victim’s bathroom. There’s a hand towel in the hand towel ring, and two bath towels on the rack. So if he showered here, what did he use to dry off?”
Alex nodded shortly, considering.
“Maybe,” D.D. continued, “as long as the killer is bringing in props for the murder, he’s also providing his own cleanup kit. Packed a couple of towels, maybe even his own bath mat, for the floor next to the bed. See this mark here?” She gestured to the lone smear pattern, near the right-side nightstand. “He lays down the bath mat, strips off his clothes, then climbs on the bed to do what he’s going to do. Afterward, he steps from the bed back onto the bath mat, wipes himself down with his towel, replaces his clean clothes, socks, shoes. Then it’s a simple matter of rolling up the mat, bloody towel, knife, etcetera, tucked safely inside. Sticks everything back in his duffel bag and he’s good to go. Certainly that would explain the lack of blood evidence in the rest of the house, including the bathroom.”
“Not just prudent,” Alex amended. “Clever.”
“Experienced,” D.D. emphasized. “Isn’t that what the ME said? This guy knows what he’s doing. And he’s controlled. From the beginning through the middle to the end. We’re not going to find any magic answers here.”
Alex turned on a bedside lamp, snapped off his flashlight. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Removing his clothes may limit his risk of blood-transfer evidence, but it increased the killer’s chances of leaving behind hair, fiber, DNA.”
“Fair enough.”
“And there’s still the small matter of he has to incapacitate his victims somehow. Once the ME figures that out, we’ll have something more to pursue.”
They turned away from the bed, toward the hallway, the descending flight of stairs.
“I don’t want to be injured anymore,” D.D. heard herself say, gazing toward the staircase.
“I know.”
“I don’t want to feel this weak and useless. I want to be on the job. I want to be tracking this killer.”
“Do you remember anything more?”
“You mean like why I tried to fly down a staircase? Or fired my gun three times into drywall?” She shook her head.
“You’ve helped tonight.”
“Not officially. Officially, I’m a detective who returned to a crime scene all alone and may or may not have discharged my weapon without probable cause. As things stand right now, I’m a liability for the department, and we both know even if my left arm miraculously heals overnight, they’re not going to simply return my badge. I’m an unanswered question, and cops hate that.”
“You are an unanswered question,” Alex agreed, walking over to her.
“Gee, thanks.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. “But you know what? You’re something more.”
“A brilliant detective? Perfect wife? Loving mother? It’s okay; you can lay it on thick. Melvin’s starting to really piss me off, and I could use some sickeningly sweet platitudes right now.”
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of how detectives answer questions. Or really, how I answer questions.”
She stared at him. “You’re a criminalist.”
“Exactly. I study crime scenes. And you, D.D., your shoulder, your arm, your injuries, you are a crime scene. Better yet, you’re the one scene our killer didn’t control.”
Chapter 5
P AIN IS . . .
A conversation. My adoptive father started it when I was twelve, seeking to help me understand all the various forms and functions of both physical and emotional discomfort. Pain is . . . watching our housekeeper break a glass, then use tweezers to remove a shard from the meat of her thumb, her breath hissing sharply.
Pain is . . . forgetting how to spell vertebrae on a test, though I had studied it just the night before. Thus, I scored ninety, which my father said was okay, but which we both knew wasn’t excellent.
Pain is . . . my
Alex nodded shortly, considering.
“Maybe,” D.D. continued, “as long as the killer is bringing in props for the murder, he’s also providing his own cleanup kit. Packed a couple of towels, maybe even his own bath mat, for the floor next to the bed. See this mark here?” She gestured to the lone smear pattern, near the right-side nightstand. “He lays down the bath mat, strips off his clothes, then climbs on the bed to do what he’s going to do. Afterward, he steps from the bed back onto the bath mat, wipes himself down with his towel, replaces his clean clothes, socks, shoes. Then it’s a simple matter of rolling up the mat, bloody towel, knife, etcetera, tucked safely inside. Sticks everything back in his duffel bag and he’s good to go. Certainly that would explain the lack of blood evidence in the rest of the house, including the bathroom.”
“Not just prudent,” Alex amended. “Clever.”
“Experienced,” D.D. emphasized. “Isn’t that what the ME said? This guy knows what he’s doing. And he’s controlled. From the beginning through the middle to the end. We’re not going to find any magic answers here.”
Alex turned on a bedside lamp, snapped off his flashlight. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Removing his clothes may limit his risk of blood-transfer evidence, but it increased the killer’s chances of leaving behind hair, fiber, DNA.”
“Fair enough.”
“And there’s still the small matter of he has to incapacitate his victims somehow. Once the ME figures that out, we’ll have something more to pursue.”
They turned away from the bed, toward the hallway, the descending flight of stairs.
“I don’t want to be injured anymore,” D.D. heard herself say, gazing toward the staircase.
“I know.”
“I don’t want to feel this weak and useless. I want to be on the job. I want to be tracking this killer.”
“Do you remember anything more?”
“You mean like why I tried to fly down a staircase? Or fired my gun three times into drywall?” She shook her head.
“You’ve helped tonight.”
“Not officially. Officially, I’m a detective who returned to a crime scene all alone and may or may not have discharged my weapon without probable cause. As things stand right now, I’m a liability for the department, and we both know even if my left arm miraculously heals overnight, they’re not going to simply return my badge. I’m an unanswered question, and cops hate that.”
“You are an unanswered question,” Alex agreed, walking over to her.
“Gee, thanks.”
He regarded her thoughtfully. “But you know what? You’re something more.”
“A brilliant detective? Perfect wife? Loving mother? It’s okay; you can lay it on thick. Melvin’s starting to really piss me off, and I could use some sickeningly sweet platitudes right now.”
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of how detectives answer questions. Or really, how I answer questions.”
She stared at him. “You’re a criminalist.”
“Exactly. I study crime scenes. And you, D.D., your shoulder, your arm, your injuries, you are a crime scene. Better yet, you’re the one scene our killer didn’t control.”
Chapter 5
P AIN IS . . .
A conversation. My adoptive father started it when I was twelve, seeking to help me understand all the various forms and functions of both physical and emotional discomfort. Pain is . . . watching our housekeeper break a glass, then use tweezers to remove a shard from the meat of her thumb, her breath hissing sharply.
Pain is . . . forgetting how to spell vertebrae on a test, though I had studied it just the night before. Thus, I scored ninety, which my father said was okay, but which we both knew wasn’t excellent.
Pain is . . . my
Similar Books
