Blood and Roses (Holly Jennings Thriller) by A.K. Alexander Page A

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One
next to Katarina’s photo. The four eleven, petite redhead had been a beautiful girl, and at twenty-two with a huge future ahead of her, the loss was tragic. All loss was tragic, but there was something about looking at the photo of a once-alive Katarina standing next to a horse that hit Holly right in the gut. Maybe it was because she had a daughter and was soon to have two more. Maybe it was just the pure loss of someone so young, so ready to take on the world, that gave her such a visceral reaction. Holly didn’t know exactly what it was—and frankly, she didn’t care. She simply wanted to find the bastard who had taken these lives.
    “We know from the autopsy that Katarina likely died first and suffered less than Tommy did.” She placed Tommy’s photo on the board and cringed slightly as she recalled the sobs that escaped from the poor kid’s father when she notified him of his son’s death. “Katarina was shot at point blank range, but not until after the killer broke her legs with a blunt object, probably a baseball bat.
    “We also know that she was taken first, likely outside of the barns at Del Mar, but no one claims to have seen anything, and her car was clean. She may have gone somewhere else first. I’msurprised we have no witnesses. That tells me this guy is good, he’s calculating, and I am certain he watches his victims for a bit to get their patterns down.”
    “Or he knows them,” Amar said.
    Holly nodded. “Or he knows them. We did find a detailed schedule in Katarina’s smart phone, and she had noted that she would be meeting Tommy at Brody’s at eight. She never showed. The bartender there remembered serving Tommy a beer and reported that he seemed flustered and kept checking his cell. Tommy finally told the bartender that he’d catch him later and left at around eight forty-five. Again, no one saw him after that. According to the estimated time of death, he was murdered between ten and midnight, along with Katarina.”
    “So our killer held them for a period,” Amar said.
    “To torture them, which he seems to enjoy,” Chad added as he clicked his pen.
    Holly nodded. “Yeah, and I would say he is becoming more sadistic. Breaking legs is one thing, but what he did to Tieg is another step up. Let’s talk about Tieg for a minute. Amar, have your guys figured anything that might help?”
    “We don’t find any forced entry to the home, which makes us think that Tieg may have known the perpetrator. Either that, or our killer is a skilled locksmith—all the security features on the home had been disconnected. But something else came up on my drive here. I received a call from the lab. When Tieg’s body was discovered, he had a glass of scotch on the side table next to him. The lab found traces of phenobarbital in the glass. As you saw, Tieg was a pretty big guy and likely would not have gone down without a fight, unless there was no other choice.”
    “Like being drugged big-time,” Chad said.
    “Yes,” Amar replied. “And we believe he was. Oddly enough, my guys found a vial of a drug called Acepromazine in the trash.”
    “Acepromazine?” Holly asked.
    “Also known as Ace, it is used to sedate dogs and horses. It is quite effective. However, it is also a cheap high for humans these days. Some get a prescription for their animal, then use it for themselves. It’s similar to diazepam, also known as Valium, but cheaper. We don’t have all of the toxicology reports back yet and as you know it will be some time, but we are rushing it.”
    “Do you know if Ace would keep Tieg incapacitated but still somewhat alert?” Chad asked.
    Holly knew where he was going with this line of questioning. “You’re thinking that this guy gave him just enough to keep him awake, keep him feeling the pain. Killers who use torture want to see the reaction of their victims. Maybe this guy is a vet. Or in the medical profession. A scientist, possibly. Those guys would know proper dosages