Reece by M. A. Anderson

Author:M. A. Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bella Luna Books, Australia
Published: 2023-01-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

My cell phone rang just as Dave and I reached the crime scene and I stopped to answer it. “Detective Daniels speaking.” It was Andre Delacroix. He said he needed to talk to me about something and could we meet. “I’m at a crime scene right now.” I glanced at my watch. It was already eight o’clock and I wasn’t sure how long the investigation would take. “How about I meet you around nine thirty at the Library Bar on West 6th Street? Does that suit you?” The doctor said he’d be there and I ended the call.

The pale yellow paintwork on the Volkswagen Bug was smeared with bloody hand prints. I hoped one of those prints would yield a name to whoever did this. Dave and I snapped on a pair of latex gloves, pulled a small flashlight from the pockets of our jackets and circled the vehicle. No footprints other than Chelsea’s. So how did the killer do the deed without leaving any physical evidence behind?

Dave moved around to the driver’s door and I leaned into the passenger side. Blood everywhere. The spray pattern on the ceiling of the car indicated that Chelsea had been attacked in her vehicle.

One of the forensic guys came over to us. “Hey, Reece, Dave. Pretty bad, huh?”

I stepped back out of the open door and straightened up. “Yeah. What did you find?”

“Animal hair in the car.”

Dave and I frowned at him. “Animal hair?” I gave him a questioning stare.

“Yeah. Do you know if the victim had a pet with her?”

Dave circled the vehicle and stopped beside me. “You think she had a dog in the car?”

“Possibly.” He held up a plastic evidence bag. “Otherwise I don’t know how to explain this.”

I snatched it from his hand and shone my flashlight on it, studying the long strands of gray fur inside. “We’ll check with the parents. But I wouldn’t have thought so seeing as she went missing after leaving the hospital. Anything else?” I handed the bag back to him.

“We managed to get a set of prints other than the victim’s but they’re not human.”

There’s that phrase again.

“How can they not be human?”

“It looks like...” he thought for a moment, “a dog’s or wolf’s paw print. That’s why I asked if the victim had a pet. Although it would’ve had to have been a pretty big dog.”

Dave and I gave each other a concerned look.

“Where’d you find the print?” I asked.

“On the dashboard.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know it. But that’s where it was.”

“And there were no others?”

“Nope.”

Dave’s eyes moved to the interior of the car. “Maybe the fur belongs to the paw print.”

If that were true, what were we dealing with?

***

I pulled into a parking spot opposite the bar, turned off the engine and sat for a moment. I’d driven here straight from the crime scene and I was beat. I glanced out of the window and spotted Andre Delacroix waiting on the sidewalk outside the double glass and metal doors. I liked the Library Bar for its bookish décor, good food, and the beer.

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