this . Armageddon had arrived for
her and she couldn’t run away any longer.
****
Cole
leaned back in the desk chair in his office and rubbed a hand over his face. It
was three in the morning, his eyes felt gritty and a dull ache had invaded the
back of his head.
Mickey
Garcia and Andi Lowell sat in two chairs facing him, looking just as weary as
he did. Murder scenes were never pleasant, but those involving children and
teenagers were the worst. Especially like the one they’d had to face tonight.
“This
town’s gonna be in an uproar come the morning,” Mickey commented for the second
time that night.
“Tell
me something I don’t know,” Cole said.
“Sheriff.”
Andi cleared her throat, a dry-scratchy sound indicative of fatigue. “Do you
think we’re equipped to handle something like what happened tonight?” Andi
asked. “And the fallout from it?”
Cole
fixed his tired eyes on her, his body tense. “Are you questioning my ability to
do the job, Deputy?”
“No,
sir.” She shook her head definitively. “I have all the respect in the world for
you. And Mickey and I are right there with you. I just don’t know how the rest
of the force will do.”
“They’ll
do what they have to.” Just what he needed. Deputies who had no confidence in
themselves or others to work this case the way they should. “We all will.”
Andi
shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
The
ringing of the phone on Cole’s desk interrupted her. His gut tightened as he
listened to the caller, gripping the pencil he was jotting notes with so hard
it snapped in his fingers. When he put the phone down and looked back at his
deputies they were staring at him, questions in their eyes.
“That
was Nita Sanchez. I asked her to call me when she finished the prelim autopsy.”
“What
did she say?” Mickey asked finally, clearly unnerved by the look on his boss’s
face.
“Leanne
Pritchard was raped multiple times. From what Nita says, it looks as if he
raped and sodomized her using some sort of device, possibly made of glass.…”
He
could tell from the looks on their faces, they got the message.
“Jesus.”
The word popped out of Mickey’s mouth.
“Holy
shit, boss.” Andi looked sick.
“There
are bruises on her thighs and in various places on her body. He also pulled out
clumps of her pubic hair by the roots.”
Andi
swallowed and clenched her jaw tight, no doubt to keep from vomiting. Mickey
looked green in the light of the desk lamp.
“Nita
swabbed for DNA, but she’s not hopeful. The guy apparently used a condom, and
possibly even wore latex gloves. But maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“We
took statements from the kids,” Andi told him. “How would you like us to
proceed from here?”
Again,
Cole dry-washed his face. He needed caffeine, badly.
“I
say we talk to the kids one on one. We can’t keep their parents out of it since
they’re all minors, so let’s try it in their homes.”
Mickey
hunched forward. “You know their folks will want to stop us.”
Cole
held up a hand. “I woke up the county attorney and requested a blanket warrant.
I’ll make sure you each get a copy. Grab a couple hours of sleep before you start
setting up your appointments. But do it fast before anyone has time to change
their story.”
Andi’s
eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “You think one of them may have done this?”
“No,
but someone may have seen something and not want to come forward for reasons of
their own. Don’t forget, they were having their party in a facility that’s
supposed to be locked at night. I want to know whose idea it was and how they
got through the gate. Anyone check the gate?”
“I…Sorry.”
A red flush crept up Andi’s face. “We didn’t even think to look.”
Cole
looked from one to the other. “My guess is this town is so used to people
breaking into the park at night no one even thinks twice if the gate is open.
Right?” When neither of them
her and she couldn’t run away any longer.
****
Cole
leaned back in the desk chair in his office and rubbed a hand over his face. It
was three in the morning, his eyes felt gritty and a dull ache had invaded the
back of his head.
Mickey
Garcia and Andi Lowell sat in two chairs facing him, looking just as weary as
he did. Murder scenes were never pleasant, but those involving children and
teenagers were the worst. Especially like the one they’d had to face tonight.
“This
town’s gonna be in an uproar come the morning,” Mickey commented for the second
time that night.
“Tell
me something I don’t know,” Cole said.
“Sheriff.”
Andi cleared her throat, a dry-scratchy sound indicative of fatigue. “Do you
think we’re equipped to handle something like what happened tonight?” Andi
asked. “And the fallout from it?”
Cole
fixed his tired eyes on her, his body tense. “Are you questioning my ability to
do the job, Deputy?”
“No,
sir.” She shook her head definitively. “I have all the respect in the world for
you. And Mickey and I are right there with you. I just don’t know how the rest
of the force will do.”
“They’ll
do what they have to.” Just what he needed. Deputies who had no confidence in
themselves or others to work this case the way they should. “We all will.”
Andi
shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
The
ringing of the phone on Cole’s desk interrupted her. His gut tightened as he
listened to the caller, gripping the pencil he was jotting notes with so hard
it snapped in his fingers. When he put the phone down and looked back at his
deputies they were staring at him, questions in their eyes.
“That
was Nita Sanchez. I asked her to call me when she finished the prelim autopsy.”
“What
did she say?” Mickey asked finally, clearly unnerved by the look on his boss’s
face.
“Leanne
Pritchard was raped multiple times. From what Nita says, it looks as if he
raped and sodomized her using some sort of device, possibly made of glass.…”
He
could tell from the looks on their faces, they got the message.
“Jesus.”
The word popped out of Mickey’s mouth.
“Holy
shit, boss.” Andi looked sick.
“There
are bruises on her thighs and in various places on her body. He also pulled out
clumps of her pubic hair by the roots.”
Andi
swallowed and clenched her jaw tight, no doubt to keep from vomiting. Mickey
looked green in the light of the desk lamp.
“Nita
swabbed for DNA, but she’s not hopeful. The guy apparently used a condom, and
possibly even wore latex gloves. But maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“We
took statements from the kids,” Andi told him. “How would you like us to
proceed from here?”
Again,
Cole dry-washed his face. He needed caffeine, badly.
“I
say we talk to the kids one on one. We can’t keep their parents out of it since
they’re all minors, so let’s try it in their homes.”
Mickey
hunched forward. “You know their folks will want to stop us.”
Cole
held up a hand. “I woke up the county attorney and requested a blanket warrant.
I’ll make sure you each get a copy. Grab a couple hours of sleep before you start
setting up your appointments. But do it fast before anyone has time to change
their story.”
Andi’s
eyebrows lifted to her hairline. “You think one of them may have done this?”
“No,
but someone may have seen something and not want to come forward for reasons of
their own. Don’t forget, they were having their party in a facility that’s
supposed to be locked at night. I want to know whose idea it was and how they
got through the gate. Anyone check the gate?”
“I…Sorry.”
A red flush crept up Andi’s face. “We didn’t even think to look.”
Cole
looked from one to the other. “My guess is this town is so used to people
breaking into the park at night no one even thinks twice if the gate is open.
Right?” When neither of them
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