familiar."
"Yeah, I think so, too," said Cameron, who bent down next to her.
Brody whispered, "Gabe thinks it's Abby Reece, the woman he brought to Carly's party."
"Oh, no. It can't be," Carly said sadly.
"What do you think? Crime victims are only people we don't know?"
"C'mon Brody. You know what I meant," said Carly. "I was thinking about Gabe. I saw him here earlier, and even from a distance, I could tell he was upset. Is he the one who found the body?"
"Later. Can't talk here."
Carly quickly replaced the plastic tarp and backed away, as Coroner Bryan Pittman arrived with two of his assistants. "How many of you are trampling all over my crime scene?"
"Not even one. Wouldn't think of it, buddy," said Brody. "You know you've been saying that for years, and not once has a member of my staff compromised a crime scene."
"Just keeping people on their toes. That's all." Bryan hid a wicked grin. He and Brody had been best friends for years, and there was nothing better Bryan liked to do than give the sheriff a hard time. It distracted him from the unpleasantness of crime scenes.
Slipping on a pair of latex gloves, Bryan moved close to the body, pulled up the plastic sheeting, and examined the plastic bag on the victim's head. "I don't think suffocation is a stretch here." He paused when no one laughed. "A little coroner humor." Grinning as the others grimaced and shook their heads, he slowly inched his way around the body.
Bryan then looked back at Brody. "This is a secondary crime scene. This isn't where the murder occurred. I won't know until the autopsy if she was raped and/or tortured prior to death. Our killer is fearless, stupid, or unfamiliar with this area, considering the time it took to pose the body. There are drunks ambling through this alley from the bar all hours of the night."
"Interesting." Carly focused her attention on the only thing the victim was wearing. "Check out her shoe. It looks like a vintage brocade-covered high heel, the kind girls wore to the prom back in the day. It's at least two sizes too big for her."
"You're right," Bryan responded. "It doesn't look like it belongs to her. I'll send it to the State Police Crime Lab in Indy for trace evidence and DNA testing."
Thoughtfully, Brody rubbed his chin. "If the shoe doesn't belong to the victim, who does it belong to?"
Next to him, Cameron stopped writing in his notepad. "If this isn't the first kill, the shoe could lead us to another victim."
"Please don't let this be another serial killer in this county. Please," Brody groaned.
Cameron pulled Brody aside. "I saw Gabe here earlier. Where did he go?"
"I told him to wait for me in my office, but he insisted on Mollie's."
"Is he waiting for you as a brother, or a suspect?"
Brody shot Cameron a glare. "What are you getting at?"
"Conflict of interest. You can't, and no one from your team can interview Gabe about this. He's the sheriff's brother." Cameron paused for a second, and then added, "Right now, Gabe needs his family. We need to get an outside investigator who doesn't know our family to talk to interview Gabe."
"I overheard Blake Stone telling Carly that he just hired a new detective. I'll call Sheriff Brennan to see if we can borrow him."
"Seriously? People know how close you are to Tim Brennan and Blake Stone, which leaves us wide open for accusations of conflict of interest. In fact, there isn't another sheriff in this state that you don't know. We need to go to another agency entirely."
"I'll call Dan Walters with the Indiana State Police. But I hate to turn over a crime that happened in our county to another agency." Brody ran his fingers through his hair, wet from the rain.
"I don't think we have to. The state police could send one of their detectives to interview Gabe, and maybe they could even expedite the
"Yeah, I think so, too," said Cameron, who bent down next to her.
Brody whispered, "Gabe thinks it's Abby Reece, the woman he brought to Carly's party."
"Oh, no. It can't be," Carly said sadly.
"What do you think? Crime victims are only people we don't know?"
"C'mon Brody. You know what I meant," said Carly. "I was thinking about Gabe. I saw him here earlier, and even from a distance, I could tell he was upset. Is he the one who found the body?"
"Later. Can't talk here."
Carly quickly replaced the plastic tarp and backed away, as Coroner Bryan Pittman arrived with two of his assistants. "How many of you are trampling all over my crime scene?"
"Not even one. Wouldn't think of it, buddy," said Brody. "You know you've been saying that for years, and not once has a member of my staff compromised a crime scene."
"Just keeping people on their toes. That's all." Bryan hid a wicked grin. He and Brody had been best friends for years, and there was nothing better Bryan liked to do than give the sheriff a hard time. It distracted him from the unpleasantness of crime scenes.
Slipping on a pair of latex gloves, Bryan moved close to the body, pulled up the plastic sheeting, and examined the plastic bag on the victim's head. "I don't think suffocation is a stretch here." He paused when no one laughed. "A little coroner humor." Grinning as the others grimaced and shook their heads, he slowly inched his way around the body.
Bryan then looked back at Brody. "This is a secondary crime scene. This isn't where the murder occurred. I won't know until the autopsy if she was raped and/or tortured prior to death. Our killer is fearless, stupid, or unfamiliar with this area, considering the time it took to pose the body. There are drunks ambling through this alley from the bar all hours of the night."
"Interesting." Carly focused her attention on the only thing the victim was wearing. "Check out her shoe. It looks like a vintage brocade-covered high heel, the kind girls wore to the prom back in the day. It's at least two sizes too big for her."
"You're right," Bryan responded. "It doesn't look like it belongs to her. I'll send it to the State Police Crime Lab in Indy for trace evidence and DNA testing."
Thoughtfully, Brody rubbed his chin. "If the shoe doesn't belong to the victim, who does it belong to?"
Next to him, Cameron stopped writing in his notepad. "If this isn't the first kill, the shoe could lead us to another victim."
"Please don't let this be another serial killer in this county. Please," Brody groaned.
Cameron pulled Brody aside. "I saw Gabe here earlier. Where did he go?"
"I told him to wait for me in my office, but he insisted on Mollie's."
"Is he waiting for you as a brother, or a suspect?"
Brody shot Cameron a glare. "What are you getting at?"
"Conflict of interest. You can't, and no one from your team can interview Gabe about this. He's the sheriff's brother." Cameron paused for a second, and then added, "Right now, Gabe needs his family. We need to get an outside investigator who doesn't know our family to talk to interview Gabe."
"I overheard Blake Stone telling Carly that he just hired a new detective. I'll call Sheriff Brennan to see if we can borrow him."
"Seriously? People know how close you are to Tim Brennan and Blake Stone, which leaves us wide open for accusations of conflict of interest. In fact, there isn't another sheriff in this state that you don't know. We need to go to another agency entirely."
"I'll call Dan Walters with the Indiana State Police. But I hate to turn over a crime that happened in our county to another agency." Brody ran his fingers through his hair, wet from the rain.
"I don't think we have to. The state police could send one of their detectives to interview Gabe, and maybe they could even expedite the
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