though she prided herself on her abilities, she’d liked it when he’d protected her from the bird.
Stop thinking that way! she warned herself.
When they returned to the station, Jackson Crow was there with Jake Mallory and a pretty, petite blond woman with large blue eyes. She hugged Logan, then turned to Kelsey with an open smile.
“Logan already knows Katya, Kelsey, so I’ll introduce you two,” Jackson said. “Katya, Marshal Kelsey O’Brien.
Kelsey, Dr. Katya Sokolov.”
“Doctor, it’s a pleasure,” Kelsey said. “I—”
“It’s Kat, please!” the other woman interrupted. “I’m not formal with my clients.”
“And I’m just Kelsey.”
“Here it is.” Logan produced the finger in the evidence bag.
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the plastic. “Some decomp, but not too bad—not like the others,” she said. “The finger wasn’t severed. It was ripped off.”
“Could the birds have done this?” Logan asked. “A crow dropped it in front of me.”
“Sure. Birds have very powerful beaks. That probably means the body’s nearby, which should make it easier to find the rest of her,” Kat said. She brought the finger to the small lab area of their assigned space. “I’ll have to send off samples, you know,” she said, turning to Jackson.
He
nodded.
Kat placed the finger under the microscope; when Jake hit some buttons on the computer, it appeared before them, larger than life on the screen. “Forefinger,” Kat said. “And it belonged to a young woman. White, I’d say. The polish is a gel—the kind that stays on for two to three weeks.” She looked around, and Kelsey wasn’t sure if she was seek-ing Jackson’s approval or Logan’s. “We’ll be able to get a good DNA comparison, and that’ll tell you if this belongs to your missing girl. I’ll send out samples today.”
“There’s a chance that…that there is no body, right?” Kelsey asked. “The finger might have been severed before death?”
Kat shook her head. “The way it’s been dislodged, with no blood coagulation, makes me suspect it came from someone who no longer had a beating heart. But, to be fair, I can’t be a hundred percent certain.”
Logan took Kelsey’s arm. “Let’s go,” he said.
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“To look for crows.”
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* * *
They drove for what felt like hours, in every direction around the Alamo. But although they stopped more than a dozen times, digging through garbage pits, trash piles and any other place a body could conceivably be hidden, they found nothing.
Logan was frustrated. “We have to find Vanessa Johnston quickly,” he said.
She laid a hand on his arm. “We will find her, but even if there’s a f lock of birds up there the size of a 747, I doubt we’d see them anymore. It’s too dark. Time to quit for the night. Besides, we can’t continue the search if we don’t get some rest.”
He sighed. “All right. Where’s your car?”
“At the Longhorn. Or rather, the parking garage across the street. Jackson picked me up this morning.”
“Then I’ll take you back.”
When they reached the inn, Kelsey said, “Why don’t you come in with me? You’re curious about the saloon. You can talk to Sandy, and she can tell you more about what was going on with Sierra Monte and the bloody disappearance in Room 207 a year ago. It’s highly possible that Sierra died by the same hand that’s killed these other girls.” He looked at her, shaking his head. “The Sierra Monte case is still open. It did occur to me, of course, except that none of the remains match her DNA. Honestly, we’re not inept in Texas.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that.”
“Bodies with no names. And now a name with no body,” he murmured.
IN PROCESS EDITION - JAN. 10,
Stop thinking that way! she warned herself.
When they returned to the station, Jackson Crow was there with Jake Mallory and a pretty, petite blond woman with large blue eyes. She hugged Logan, then turned to Kelsey with an open smile.
“Logan already knows Katya, Kelsey, so I’ll introduce you two,” Jackson said. “Katya, Marshal Kelsey O’Brien.
Kelsey, Dr. Katya Sokolov.”
“Doctor, it’s a pleasure,” Kelsey said. “I—”
“It’s Kat, please!” the other woman interrupted. “I’m not formal with my clients.”
“And I’m just Kelsey.”
“Here it is.” Logan produced the finger in the evidence bag.
Kat lifted the bag first and studied the finger through IN PROCESS EDITION - JAN. 10, 2012
9780778313298_HC.indd 99
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100
the plastic. “Some decomp, but not too bad—not like the others,” she said. “The finger wasn’t severed. It was ripped off.”
“Could the birds have done this?” Logan asked. “A crow dropped it in front of me.”
“Sure. Birds have very powerful beaks. That probably means the body’s nearby, which should make it easier to find the rest of her,” Kat said. She brought the finger to the small lab area of their assigned space. “I’ll have to send off samples, you know,” she said, turning to Jackson.
He
nodded.
Kat placed the finger under the microscope; when Jake hit some buttons on the computer, it appeared before them, larger than life on the screen. “Forefinger,” Kat said. “And it belonged to a young woman. White, I’d say. The polish is a gel—the kind that stays on for two to three weeks.” She looked around, and Kelsey wasn’t sure if she was seek-ing Jackson’s approval or Logan’s. “We’ll be able to get a good DNA comparison, and that’ll tell you if this belongs to your missing girl. I’ll send out samples today.”
“There’s a chance that…that there is no body, right?” Kelsey asked. “The finger might have been severed before death?”
Kat shook her head. “The way it’s been dislodged, with no blood coagulation, makes me suspect it came from someone who no longer had a beating heart. But, to be fair, I can’t be a hundred percent certain.”
Logan took Kelsey’s arm. “Let’s go,” he said.
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“To look for crows.”
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* * *
They drove for what felt like hours, in every direction around the Alamo. But although they stopped more than a dozen times, digging through garbage pits, trash piles and any other place a body could conceivably be hidden, they found nothing.
Logan was frustrated. “We have to find Vanessa Johnston quickly,” he said.
She laid a hand on his arm. “We will find her, but even if there’s a f lock of birds up there the size of a 747, I doubt we’d see them anymore. It’s too dark. Time to quit for the night. Besides, we can’t continue the search if we don’t get some rest.”
He sighed. “All right. Where’s your car?”
“At the Longhorn. Or rather, the parking garage across the street. Jackson picked me up this morning.”
“Then I’ll take you back.”
When they reached the inn, Kelsey said, “Why don’t you come in with me? You’re curious about the saloon. You can talk to Sandy, and she can tell you more about what was going on with Sierra Monte and the bloody disappearance in Room 207 a year ago. It’s highly possible that Sierra died by the same hand that’s killed these other girls.” He looked at her, shaking his head. “The Sierra Monte case is still open. It did occur to me, of course, except that none of the remains match her DNA. Honestly, we’re not inept in Texas.”
“I didn’t mean to imply that.”
“Bodies with no names. And now a name with no body,” he murmured.
IN PROCESS EDITION - JAN. 10,
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