Witness to Slaughter by KA Lugo

Author:KA Lugo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: depression sadness hopelessness sorrow, lgbtq gay nightclub drag queen, private detective investigator sleuthhound, psychological thriller suspense mystery whodunit, san francisco castro district, serial killer stalker reacher, slaughter slaughtered slaughtering
Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

By the time Jack arrived at the scene on Hearst Avenue, crime scene tape had been stretched across each end of the block, and several officers were in place to protect the barricades and monitor the crowds. One of those officers recognized Jack and lifted the tape for him to walk under.

On his approach to the house, Jack saw the CSI van, ME's wagon, and Haniford's own police vehicle. Jack wondered if it was Baxter or Cutter attending the scene.

Ray spotted Jack and stepped away from the officer he'd been talking with. He moved forward with a scowl on his face.

"What's up?" Jack asked.

Thumbing over his shoulder, Ray said, "Haniford's inside."

"What brought him down here?"

"Victim number eight."

Damn it. Of course, Haniford was anxious the city might be facing another serial killer, so it made sense he'd want to be on the scene.

"Please, tell me Cutter is here." He jerked his head toward the ME's wagon.

Ray shook his head. "Baxter."

"Shit. We'll need to keep a sharper eye on this." Ray nodded his agreement. "Okay, what else do we know about the victim?"

Ray flicked through his notebook until he found the page he was looking for. "Adult male, twenty-three years of age, Caucasian. ID says he's Aaron Landon. He's been renting the converted garage at this address. He kept late hours, so no one knew anything was wrong until the landlords started smelling something coming through their floor."

"Has his family been notified?"

"Yeah. The officer I spoke with just now," he said, glancing at the officer across the lawn, "said he'd got ahold of the sister, Amy Landon. She said Aaron left home about five years ago. Their father kicked him out of the house when he told the family he was gay. They haven't seen him since. He's been run through the system—some scrapes but nothing serious. It all seems to stem from hook-ups gone wrong."

"Prostitution?" Jack guessed aloud.

Ray nodded. "His file says he was living on the streets. His trouble seems to have come from that time—new to the city and doing whatever he had to do to get by. Last year, he was hospitalized after a couple drunks kicked the shit out of him where he was sleeping in a doorway. Then nothing until this." Ray glanced over at the house.

"Poor kid." Unfortunately, this wasn't a unique story. In a city with an extraordinarily high number of homeless, the streets could be a dangerous place. More so for a newbie trying to fit in. Not all homeless camps accepted new people—they simply didn't trust anyone they didn't know. And a lot of them competed for the same johns. "Did he ever contact his family in the last five years? Ask to go home . . . need money . . .?"

"According to the sister, she and Aaron had emailed a few times in recent months. We'll go through all of his correspondence, but she said he'd told her he was off the streets and in his own place. She said he sounded happy and had invited her to come for a visit.

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