Home Deadly Home by Janice Kay Johnson

Author:Janice Kay Johnson [Johnson, Janice Kay]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780997663846
Publisher: Janice Kay Johnson
Published: 2018-04-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Having set aside the photos of the latest crime scene, FBI Special Agent Noah Taylor looked up finally from one of the autopsy reports and dropped it atop the folder that lay before him. He didn’t bother saying, Might as well not be doing autopsies for all the use these are. Instead, he glanced around the table at the two men and one woman participating in this conference hastily arranged for Monday morning. “I’ve put in a request for a profiler,” he said. “I’ve worked violent crimes for close to a decade now, but this is a strange one. Many, if not most, serial murders have a sexual component that seems to be lacking here. Also, as I’m sure you’re aware, that kind of killer tends to go after a type – only dark-haired Caucasian women who aren’t taller than five foot four, say. The usual theory is that they’re striking out at someone in their past.” He shrugged at that, as if to say, Make up your own mind. “Your perpetrator is clearly focused on a certain group of people but not a physical type.”

“No,” Grant agreed. “They were all physically fit, but varied in height from Steagall, who was five foot eight, to Burke at six one. Steagall was blonde, Burke dark-haired, Norman halfway between. They were all outdoorsmen, in different ways, Steagall and Burke as ranchers, Norman a hunter who did own a horse and rode regularly.”

“I imagine riding and hunting both are popular in the area.”

“They are,” Jed agreed. “But not universal.”

“This guy is extraordinarily careful,” Karin Engstrom commented. She was here representing the Oregon State Police investigative support unit. “Somehow, he found the bullet that killed Chad Norman and dug it out of the trunk of a cottonwood. I could see where he’d carved it out. As you know, I found a footprint that is likely his.” She believed it to be a size nine – too small to be left by Chad Norman. It had been made by a cowboy boot with a slightly worn heel and smooth sole. “Soil was a little soft there next to the creek. It still wasn’t deep enough for me to get a really good cast.” She looked from face to face. “That is the one and only mistake he’s made to date. And tell me this. How do you lie on frozen ground for who knows how long waiting, and not squirm, scratch yourself, spit or get up to take a leak?” The blind on federal land just beyond the Circle S had especially frustrated her.

“Long experience.” Jed’s voice lacked the softening effect of his usual Southern drawl. “A sniper in a place like Iraq or Afghanistan has to be able to lie without moving for hours. Even a twitch might catch someone’s eye. He looks through the scope and waits, infinitely patient.”

The fed glanced at Grant, who answered with the smallest dip of his head. Yes.

“A military background isn’t the only possibility,” Taylor said.

“It isn’t,” Grant agreed, “but it’s a logical one.

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