You Can Die by Rebecca Zanetti

Author:Rebecca Zanetti [Zanetti, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2023-04-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

“This is creepy as hell,” Walter said, bending down to look inside the purple tent.

Laurel cocked her head to the side and had to agree. The body had been removed. Mushed Valentine’s candy was scattered throughout and covered in blood, creating a paste of heart-shaped remains. The state crime lab techs bustled around, so she backed away to let them finish their work. The church stood tall and silent above them. “I can’t connect the dots between the churches and the Valentine’s candy,” she mused.

Walter’s thin hair blew in the heavy breeze, and he looked down at the tumultuous ocean as it smashed against the rocks. “I don’t know, love and light? Good and evil? Life and death?” He scratched his chin. “All of it seems weird. It could just be somebody had the Valentine’s Day candy left over and wanted to shove something in their throats to choke them.”

Laurel looked toward him. “You mean so they couldn’t speak?”

“Yeah, think about it. Maybe they were liars or maybe this killer thought they were liars. They talked about love, and it wasn’t true.”

Laurel shook her ahead. “It could be something as obscure as this killer seeing a heart-shaped candy years ago. We don’t want to get too caught up in it, but it is a clue.” She shivered in the cold.

“Let’s get going,” Walter said. “There’s nothing here for us.”

Laurel followed him back to the car, started the engine, and turned the heat on full blast even though it wasn’t raining or snowing on Whidbey Island. The chill off the ocean was piercing. Her phone rang and she hit the Bluetooth. “Agent Snow.”

“Hi, Agent Snow. It’s Dr. Ortega.”

She warmed. “Dr. Ortega, it’s good to hear from you. How are you?”

“I’m excellent. Thank you for asking.” The doctor was as efficient as any she’d ever met.

“Do you have the autopsy on Frederick Marshall?”

Papers rustled and Dr. Ortega cleared his voice. “Yes. It’s similar to the autopsy on Victor Vuittron. I also found flecks of paint on the heels and the back of the legs on Frederick Marshall, and I sent them to the lab. We’re probably two weeks out from receiving more details though.”

Laurel drove away from the church and turned onto a main street. “Do you still think it was paint flecks?”

“I do. I’ve seen it before, and they look like paint flecks to me. Also, in the wounds on Marshall’s body, I found leather.”

Walter leaned toward the speaker. “Leather? What do you mean you found leather?”

“Leather was imbedded in several of the stab wounds. My guess is your killer’s wearing heavy leather gloves.”

Walter nodded. “It makes sense. When you stab somebody like that, you’ll also often cut or hurt yourself. If this killer has half a brain, he’d wear gloves. It’s odd that you didn’t find any leather in the first body.”

“Maybe the killer was more careful with the first body or in less of a rage,” Laurel mused.

“I don’t know.” Dr. Ortega cleared his throat. “The third body just arrived, and I’ll do the autopsy later tonight.

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.