Act of Contrition by Netta Newbound

Author:Netta Newbound [Marcus Brown, Netta Newbound & Newbound, Netta & Brown, Marcus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

Twenty

Although I would kill for a decent cup of coffee, we didn’t have time. I really didn’t want to have to spend another evening catching up with paperwork and answering emails. We headed straight over to Lauren’s lab.

After rat-a-tat-tatting on the glass with my keys, I opened the door.

“Here comes trouble,” Lauren said as we entered. She did a double take at me. “What the bloody hell have you done to your face?”

I waved my hand, shrugging off her question. “Tell me you’ve got some info for me.”

“Oh, I see, like that, is it?”

“Like what?”

“No time for pleasantries. I get it.” She turned on the tap and began thoroughly washing her hands.

“Sorry, Lauren, but we’re up against it. I’m praying you’ve got something for us, otherwise we’ll be up shit creek without a paddle.”

“Oh well, you’ll be happy to hear I’ve got your paddle. In fact, I was just about to call you.”

“Great. What do you have for us?”

She wiped her hands on a paper towel and reached for a pile of papers that had been left on a side table. “First off. Do you remember me telling you I suspected she’d been strangled?”

Bella and I both nodded.

“Well, there was also another mark around her neck, like she’d been restrained in some way.”

“Yeah, I remember seeing that.”

“I suspected something at the time, but I didn’t want to say anything until I had more evidence.”

“Go on.” It drove me crazy the way most people tended to stretch information out in order to have you hanging off their every word. Lauren didn’t usually do this, but maybe it was just me out of sorts and more irritable than usual.

“Well, it seems our victim wasn’t strangled once, but multiple times.”

“What do you mean? How can you be strangled multiple times?”

“Strangled–resuscitated–strangled again.”

“For Christ’s sake. Who would do something like that?” I glanced at Bella, who was staring at Lauren, eyes agape.

“No idea. And not only that, I don’t think the restraint put around her neck was to tie her up with.”

“What other reason would there be?”

“A shock collar.”

“A shock collar?” I repeated, trying to get my head around what she was saying. “You mean like they use in dog training?”

She nodded. “Something like that. Although they’re illegal here now, you can still get them from overseas. But as they’re not compliant with our manufacturing standards they are usually crudely made with little or no testing and can be as powerful as the manufacturer likes, with zero comebacks.”

“So you think that Stephanie was electrocuted?”

Lauren nodded again. “Yes. And not just once–many times.”

I placed the back of my fingers against my lips.

Lauren continued. “This is evident, judging from the burn marks on her skin and the damage done to the larynx and spinal cord.”

“Oh, my God,” Bella said. “This guy is a nutcase. Not only did he kidnap her and hold her for goodness knows how long, but he subjected her to electrocution and strangulation over and over again?”

“I’m afraid so. Not forgetting starvation. From what I can tell, he fed her the bare minimum for months–just enough to keep her alive.

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