Waking the Dead 03 by Kylie Brant

Author:Kylie Brant [Brant, Kylie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2011-08-07T02:30:53+00:00

Chapter 12

Sheriff Marin Andrews paced the length of Cait’s motel room at the McKenzie, puffing on a cigarette with short staccato pulls. “And this detective . . . Drecker . . . he suspects Recinos’s ex?”

“Yes, but if Marissa Recinos turns out to be our female C, Drecker has to be wrong about that. Her ex certainly didn’t have motivation for killing all seven of the victims.”

“Where are you on the profile of the UNSUB?”

The woman was as agitated as Cait had ever seen her. She’d been chain-smoking since she arrived here, and Cait had never seen her with a cigarette before. It made her glad she’d taken the time to complete the profile after she and Sharper had parted ways that evening.

Crossing to the desk, she picked up the file folder lying on it and handed it to the sheriff. “This is only a preliminary,” she stressed. “It will evolve quickly if this lead pans out.”

Andrews took the folder but didn’t open it. “Why don’t you give me the highlights?”

Unsurprised, Cait complied. “Without factoring in any of the unknowns about Recinos, I’m guessing our guy is a native to the area. Possibly still lives around here.” She thought for a moment of Sharper’s assessment. He, at least, seemed convinced that was true. “Early to midthirties. In good shape. Either he lives outside city limits, or he has access to a place outside of town.”

Andrews squinted at her through the smoke. “Because of the beetles?”

“Not necessarily. I’ve known people who keep them in their garages, but not our guy. Before the bones are ready for the beetles, he has to deflesh them. That’s messy and there’s going to be a distinctive smell. No one’s going to do that in town and not have neighbors know about it. It’s going to take a well-ventilated area, and he needs privacy and time. I’m guessing he’s marginally employed.”

The sheriff snorted. “You just described about fifty people in these parts that I could name personally.”

Cait was half thinking out loud. “I just can’t quite figure out what he does with the tissue once he defleshes the bodies.”

“We can be sure he doesn’t bury it, right? Or else he’d bury the whole body, bones and all.”

“Those paintings on the scapulas . . .” Cait paused, the images flashing through her mind. “Those are likely the reason for his method of disposal. Not the act of using the dermestids. Not the cave itself. It’s all about those paintings. He has to mark the victims in some way. Maybe they’re a way to brand them as his.” Serial offenders were often bizarrely possessive about their victims. “The method he uses will have something to do with his experiences, his ego. It symbolizes something for him. Power, maybe. Affection. Even remorse.”

“If this victim does turn out to be Recinos, all those images are about her. Symbols of her life. And death,” the sheriff added.

Understanding that she was referring to the last image of the skull, Cait nodded. “But I’m talking about why he feels the need for the drawings in the first place.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.