Haint & Other Hues of Blue by H. M. Palmer

Author:H. M. Palmer [Palmer, H. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Two

FEBRUARY

Jess

Jess and Bryan were streaming a documentary on serial killers to decompress from a day of investigating and interrogating criminals, when Bryan said something that turned Jess’ blood cool in her veins. The forensic psychologist being interviewed on the TV was waxing eloquent about how murderers choose their murder weapons.

“The best way to kill someone is to make it look like suicide,” Bryan commented before popping half a chocolate-chip cookie in his mouth. “You can always find a reason for someone to kill himself if you have enough information on him. That or salt.”

“Salt?” Jess inquired.

“It’s naturally occurring in the body. Allowing you to hide your murder weapon in plain sight.” He let that sit for a moment before adding, “There’s probably enough in the kitchen to kill both of us.”

Jess wasn’t a stranger to death and murder. Her firm had defended men and women who had committed all sorts of heinous acts. That kind of evil came with the territory, but her position as one of the trial attorneys had insulated her from some of the grislier details of the cases her office took on. The 3L interns and paralegals spent more time analyzing the crime scene photos and autopsy reports. They boiled it down to the particulars Jess needed to know, while she focused more on formulating the best strategy for how to present the evidence. Still, she had seen and heard evil. And something about Bryan’s comment didn’t sit right with her. A small twinge in her chest told her that he might not be simply spitting facts for shits and giggles. But she didn’t know how to respond, so she turned her attention back to the documentary.

Bryan injected again a minute later, “The best way to dispose of a body is to chop it up and disperse it through the woods. Animals eat it. Learned that from a serial killer I interviewed.” He paused to eat another cookie. “Especially in an area where there’s hogs. They’ll eat everything including hair and teeth.”

“What if that’s not an option?” As uncomfortable as Jess was with his comments, part of her was intrigued, and her legal mind was always eager for more information on how to bolster a case.

“Assuming you don’t have a vat of hydrochloric acid lying around, water would probably be your next best option,” Bryan answered. “The longer anything, a body, evidence, a weapon,” he lists off, “sits in water, the less likely any biological evidence can be pulled from it.”

“Good to know,” Jess replied in a sarcastically light tone, hoping it would cover up the fact that she was creeped out.

The episode ended, and she got up and started making sure anything that had a lock in the house was secured.

Bryan’s phone went off in the kitchen, and he popped up to retrieve it. She heard him answer, and the back door in the kitchen swung open, the blinds banging against the window. It wasn’t news to Jess that investigators worked around the clock, but still, the amount of after-hours calls seemed excessive.

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