Cloaked in Blood (30 page)

“But Sofia Datello was not.”

I reached for his hand and threaded our
fingers together.  “It would be easy if we could point a
finger to Lowe and say definitively that yes, he’s the guy. 
But whoever this person is, he’s still on the outside, still
issuing orders to mop up the operation right here.  The easy
out for him would be to simply leave Darkwater Bay, not cling to
whatever position he’s in here that binds him to this city.”

“Lowe has been meeting with Lyle Henderson,”
Johnny argued.  “What’s to say he hasn’t been giving orders to
him all along?”

“Nothing says it,” Dad seemed to agree with
Johnny for the moment. 

I threw up my hands in frustration. 
“Unbelievable!  The two of you are so dead set against me ever
speaking to Lowe again that now you’re willing to believe he’s the
mastermind?”

“I never said that either, Sprout. 
Calm down.  We don’t entirely eliminate Jerry Lowe as a
suspect in this, even though I tend to lean toward your assessment
of this man’s involvement or lack thereof.  But Johnny’s right
too.  We can’t simply dismiss the possibility that he’s the
man behind the curtain just because he’s locked up at
Dunhaven.  What we do next –”

Johnny’s cell phone interrupted.  He
tore it out of his pocket and snarled, “What is it now,
Crevan?”

I watched his expression change, noticed the
tightness that leeched into Dad’s posture in response to Johnny’s
body language. 

“Shit,” he muttered.  “I’ll be right
there.”

“What happened?” I asked.

Johnny looked at me, then Wendell. 
“Crevan got a call from Bay View Division.  Seems we’ve got a
third murder victim in a tight radius that seems to have become the
epicenter of all crime in the city this week.”

“Oh?” Dad’s interest piqued. 

“Yeah,” Johnny said.  “They called us
and the FBI right away.  This vic was found with a rifle, one
that seems to be the same caliber as the one used to kill Terry
Sanderfield last week.”

“I’m coming with you,” I said.

“Then hurry up.  I need to get over
there right away.  Crevan said David’s already on his way back
from Montgomery.”

Daddy snagged my arm before I could dash off
for shoes and a jacket.  “Perhaps you should sit this one
out.”

“Are you insane?  I’m going down there
–”

“Then at least promise me that you’ll be
careful.”

I nodded once.  “What about you? 
Where are you going?”

“I’ll stick around here, fill Danny in on
what’s going on.  Something about this doesn’t sit right,
Sprout.  Do be careful.”

Chapter 29

Maya was hunched over the body when Johnny
and I pushed our way out of the crowded stairwell onto the roof of
the building.  Forsythe had set up enough lights at the crime
scene to transform the immediate area of that single rooftop into
the brightness of noon.

“I’m just going to –” I jerked my head
toward Maya. 

Johnny’s arm snaked around my shoulder
before I could slip away.  “Helen?”

“No more secrets,” I said.  “Whatever I
think, you’ll be the first to hear it.”

“Imagine this,” Maya spoke before
acknowledging my presence with eye contact.  “In the span of a
few short days, Hennessey Island has completely had it’s lowest
crime rate in the city statistic shot straight to hell.  No
pun intended.”

I crouched beside her.  “What’ve you
got?”

Her finger gently probed the hole in the
front of the jogging suit.  “A friggin’ huge caliber bullet
did this, princess.  I’m thinking at minimum a fifty caliber
shot.  When Smith finished his photographs of the crime scene,
Billy and I rolled him over.  You’ve never seen the likes of
an exit wound like this.”

“Are there close contact burns?”

“Nope,” came her crisp yet drawled
response.  “I’d say the shot came from more than twenty feet
away.”

“Neighbors heard gunshots?  Is that who
called it in?  A bunch of wild nine-eleven calls to report
shots fired?”

“You’d think wouldn’t you?  But no,
that’s not what happened.  Some anonymous call came in across
the street from that swanky looking place.  Somebody saw a
bright flash of light.  Given all the hullabaloo down here
these seven days past, folks have been kinda sketchy.  Guess
somebody thought someone might take to blowing up the buildings
next.”

“So Bay View sent somebody down to
investigate and they found the holey jogger here.”

“Holy?”

“As in a hole where his heart used to
be.  You wanna see it?  It’s pretty cool,” Maya
grinned.

“Incorrigible,” I said.  “You seem to
be struggling to cope with this one, my friend.”

“Not really,” she said.  “We don’t see
many of these is all.  I don’t think Bay View Division has
ever
seen something like this.  Billy had to steer some
of the Lookie-Lous away before they tossed their cookies all over
the crime scene.”

I noticed the blood leeching into the shoe
covers on my feet and backed away.

“Yeah, we’re not worried about tracking his
blood and guts all over the place at this point, cupcake. 
Like I said, CSD has already done their thing.  We were just
hanging around for the green light from all these
el jefes
floating around before we wrap this one up.”  The last was
spoken a little too loudly and directed at my husband.  “He
ain’t gettin’ fresher, Orion.”

“Before he comes over here and brains you
for being a pain in the ass, did you check his liver temp
yet?  Any idea on time of death?”

“He’s not even waltzing close to rigor right
now.”  Louder, “Yet another reason to get this underway.”

“So… less than six hours?”

Maya glanced at her wrist watch.  “We
were here probably an hour after this reported odd flash of
light.  I’d say time of death was probably right after the
eyewitness saw whatever he saw.  Since it’s not quite midnight
yet, I’m thinking right around nine o’clock for this one.”

I rose from the squat and peered over the
wide lip of the wall.  “Is that the building where the call
came in from?”

“Yep.  Some swanky nursing home type
place.  Hell, if I knew they evolved into that, I wouldn’t
have been so freaked out about the possibility of getting sick
enough to die, Helen.  Check out the digs.  Apparently
that’s what our guy was doing when somebody surprised him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Forsythe’s team already collected the
evidence,” Maya explained, “but the guy had the strap from a pair
of binoculars clenched in one fist, and right under here –” she
pointed to the lip of the wall that was partially concealed by some
sort of ventilation dome, “was where they found the sniper’s
rifle.  Given the MO of Sanderfield’s killer, I don’t suppose
it’s much of a stretch to think this could be the same guy.”

“Hmm,” I nodded absently while I peered at
the darkened high rise across the street.  “Nursing home, you
said?”

“Something like that.  Why?  Is
that important?”

The description matched the place Wendell
described.  “Hanging Gardens Assisted Living,” I said. 
“Your vic in the hit and run worked there.”

“Ha!” she barked.  “Then I was
right!  All of this
is
related.”

I thought of ancient philosophies, butterfly
wings flapping in India and the connectedness of all things. 
Was everything in Darkwater Bay connected to everything else? 
It hadn’t seemed so at the time, yet here we were, back in the very
tight radius of a recent crime spree in Darkwater Bay.  The
man at my feet probably had answers that would’ve helped us
tremendously.  Another dead end.

“Did he have identification on his
body?”

Maya stared over the wall beside me. 
“No, but we’ll try to scan his prints into the system when we get
him out to the morgue.  What’re you thinking, Helen?”

“Did you know that Sanderfield’s step father
lives right over there?” I pointed at the building.

“You think somebody’s intent on wiping out
the rest of the family?”

“No, but I do think that Sanderfield and
those closest to him were probably part of the human trafficking
ring.  Please don’t repeat that to anyone.”

Maya nodded and glanced at the ledge of the
roof.  “See that right there?  You can see myocardial
fibrous tissue in the spray from the exit wound.  Hell, you’d
think we were in the middle of a war zone.  I haven’t seen
anything like this since my residency,” she said.

My eyes drifted to where she highlighted the
grisly evidence of a violent crime.  “Who carries around a
weapon capable of a kill shot like this?  Fifty caliber. 
That’s a very large handgun.  And nobody heard the shot.
 The silencer for a gun that large would be as long as the
barrel of the gun.”

“Can’t exactly claim it was a concealed
weapon, eh?” Maya chuckled.

I frowned.  It would be exceedingly
difficult to conceal a weapon that size, and whoever shot our
alleged sniper had to have been very prepared to take his shot,
since the victim was armed as well.  No time to assemble the
silencer and the gun before approaching the man.  So how did
he get here without anyone noticing?

“Did they find any identification on the
victim?” I asked.

Maya shrugged.  “Honey, you already
asked me that. I said we’d try to scan his prints.  As for
those,” Maya squatted again and lifted one of the limp hands. 
“Check this out, Helen.”

I peered at the smooth skin where ridges
should’ve been.  “Acid?”

“Something burned them off, and it wasn’t so
recent that we’re seeing signs of a cause.  Of course, with
digital printing these days, if he was in the system, we can
probably get something from the palm or the side of his
hands.  He focused on altering the end two-thirds of his
fingers.  It doesn’t speak highly of his law-abiding
character, that’s for sure.”

“Did Darnell direct evidence
collection?”

Maya’s voice dropped to a whisper.  “I
can call Ken.  He’ll tell us what CSD has if you think
Johnny’s keeping you out of the information loop, Helen.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be an
issue.”  My eyes drifted back to where my husband still
remained huddled with Darnell and Crevan.  Darnell’s thoughts
on someone with military sniper skills registered in my brain
again.  If this guy really was former military, between OSI
and the bureau, his identity might well be concealed if they
determined who he was.  Couldn’t have the military looking bad
after all.  Not in the current political climate.

“Well, it’s another case of no question,”
Maya said.

“Excuse me?”

“As in the cause of death,” she said. 
“Sanderfield, that orderly and now Holey Jogger.  We’ve had
far more obscure causes of death roll in on a gurney, Helen. 
My job is easy on this one.”  She raised her voice again,
“That is, if I can ever get him to the morgue.”

Johnny turned toward us and scowled. 
He muttered something to his companions and stalked across the
roof.  “Is there a problem here, Dr. Winslow?”

Her lips twitched.  “I’d like to get
the man into cold storage at least before he finishes
decomposing.  What’s the hold up here?  CSD already
processed the scene.  Why am I waiting to have the body
released?”

“Special Agent Levine has requested that we
wait until he arrives.”

“From Washington?” Maya growled. 
“You’re willing to risk compromising evidence because the head of
this little FBI presence –”

“You didn’t tell her?” Johnny
interrupted.

“We weren’t talking about my issues,” I said
with a shrug.  “But, if you want, so be it.  Maya, David
came back to Darkwater Bay.  Well, he was here.  He went
back to Montgomery to continue the investigation into Senator
Sanderfield’s campaign finances.  He’s on his way here
now.  In fact, I’m surprised he hasn’t arrived yet.  I
assume he got the call before Johnny did.”

“He should be here within a few minutes,”
Johnny said.  “I don’t imagine we’ll have skeletal remains
within half an hour, will we Dr. Winslow?”

“What’s with the formality, Orion?” Maya
bristled and rose to her maximum height.  “Have I displeased
the almighty –”

“Get down,” Johnny hissed.  He grabbed
my arm and yanked me away from the ledge.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Someone’s in that apartment across the
street, and we’re illuminated by all these damned lights.”  He
made a slicing gestured toward Crevan.  The rooftop plunged
into darkness a second before I peeked around the broad chest
blocking my view.  Sure enough, a faint light flickered across
the street in the assisted living.

Mentally, I quickly tallied the number of
floors.  Ten.  Six apartments from the left, five from
the right of the building.  Whoever was watching us was just
right of the center of the assisted living.  “Do you think
it’s him, Johnny?”

“Of course I do.  Jesus, I should’ve
never let you come over here.”

“
Let
her?  Excuse me, Orion, but
did you get zapped in the head again, or have you forgotten who
your wife is?” Maya’s irritation swelled instead of abating. 
“And who the hell are you so worried is watching us?  For all
we know, some reporter conned his way into some old goat’s
apartment so he could get a better view of our activities over
here.”

Johnny didn’t answer.  His fingers bit
into my upper arm and dragged me across the rooftop.  “Get her
home.”

In the blink of an eye, I was thrust into
the custody of my brother.

Johnny turned into Maya’s wrath.  “Get
this body out of here now.”

“What about the very Special Agent
Levine?  Thought I could stand to wait another thirty minutes
for his arrival.”

Anger flashed in his eyes, just as plain as
day – at least to me – even though we were all shrouded in darkness
now.  “Would you like to be removed from this case,
doctor?  No?  I didn’t think so.  Agent Levine will
have to live with seeing the crime scene photos.”  At Crevan,
“What the hell are you still doing here?  Get Helen home, and
stay there with her until you hear otherwise.”