ambulance, an old pickup truck and a city squad car, she
noted the vehicles were positioned just fifty feet from the concrete pillars of
the causeway. Traffic whizzed steadily above her as commuters rushed to get
home, oblivious to the fact that a woman’s body parts lay strewn beneath
them.
Uniformed officers identified by dispatch as Tracy Fitzpatrick
and John Gordon approached as she opened the door. The unusually warm weather
immediately prickled Carrie’s skin, rushing into the car and clinging to her
before she completely exited it. Her feet sank a little into the damp dirt.
The paramedics talked to a heavyset man and a teenage boy,
presumably the two hikers who’d found the body. Carrie turned to Gordon, the
senior officer. Gordon had kinky black hair and weighed about three hundred
pounds, a perfect foil to his young partner who probably didn’t weigh one
hundred pounds sopping wet. “Was one of the witnesses hurt?”
Gordon shook his head. “Precautionary measures. Special Agent
Tyler called. His ETA is about five minutes.”
Carrie nodded, keeping her face blank even though her stomach
tightened. When they’d been talking to Commander Stevens, Carrie had clung to
her self-control by a thread. She was still reeling from the knowledge that Jase
had talked about her with the commander, not to mention the escalation of
murders in this case.
Once Stevens had given her the pertinent information on the
latest call, Carrie had gotten ready to go. To her surprise, Jase had said he
had other things to discuss with the commander. She’d known those things would
have something to do with her. With the case. And she hadn’t liked it. But she’d
simply said, “See you at the scene,” and left. As soon as she’d closed the door,
she’d heard him arguing with Stevens. Jase’s words still echoed around her.
“If she’s not good enough to handle the case alone then she’s
not good enough to handle it at all. Give it to me and let her work on another
case. Our backlog is getting too big as it is.”
Bastard, she’d thought, then and now. He knew how long she’d
been waiting to head up her first serial case, and he wanted to take over? No
way. If she had to work with him, fine. Maybe the more time she spent in his
company the faster she’d get rid of the ridiculous feelings she’d been harboring
for him for far too long.
“Special Agent Tyler asked that you wait for him before viewing
the body,” Gordon continued, jerking her out of her thoughts. He swiped an arm
across his slick forehead, his breathing slow but labored. “Hope we didn’t
interrupt anything exciting to get you out here.”
Carrie, who’d turned to study the surrounding area, froze at
his words. Slowly, she faced him again. His comment might have meant nothing but
for the way his gaze dropped to her chest. Carrie narrowed her eyes and stared
the officer down until his grin disappeared. “What were the witnesses doing
here?”
Gordon shrugged. “Tim Larson and his son Ronald were searching
for plants for some kind of school assignment. The kid saw a woman’s foot
sticking out of a mound of dirt behind some bushes. The, uh, foot wasn’t
connected to a body. Then he saw the woman’s head, propped on a tree stump,
facing the trail. Freaked him out. His father came running, stumbled across the
body just a few feet away. Literally.”
“And they probably trampled all over the crime scene.” Carrie
didn’t blame them, but it would still wreak havoc with the recovery team’s
ability to process the scene. “Have you seen the body yet?”
The officers glanced at one another, guilt and relief in their
eyes. For a split second, Carrie saw a look pass between them—a look of
encouragement and comfort—that shocked her. Gordon’s lasciviousness obviously
didn’t negate a genuine respect and caring for his partner.
“No, ma’am.” Fitzpatrick answered, all bravado. Her posture was
so erect and her speech so precise Carrie half
noted the vehicles were positioned just fifty feet from the concrete pillars of
the causeway. Traffic whizzed steadily above her as commuters rushed to get
home, oblivious to the fact that a woman’s body parts lay strewn beneath
them.
Uniformed officers identified by dispatch as Tracy Fitzpatrick
and John Gordon approached as she opened the door. The unusually warm weather
immediately prickled Carrie’s skin, rushing into the car and clinging to her
before she completely exited it. Her feet sank a little into the damp dirt.
The paramedics talked to a heavyset man and a teenage boy,
presumably the two hikers who’d found the body. Carrie turned to Gordon, the
senior officer. Gordon had kinky black hair and weighed about three hundred
pounds, a perfect foil to his young partner who probably didn’t weigh one
hundred pounds sopping wet. “Was one of the witnesses hurt?”
Gordon shook his head. “Precautionary measures. Special Agent
Tyler called. His ETA is about five minutes.”
Carrie nodded, keeping her face blank even though her stomach
tightened. When they’d been talking to Commander Stevens, Carrie had clung to
her self-control by a thread. She was still reeling from the knowledge that Jase
had talked about her with the commander, not to mention the escalation of
murders in this case.
Once Stevens had given her the pertinent information on the
latest call, Carrie had gotten ready to go. To her surprise, Jase had said he
had other things to discuss with the commander. She’d known those things would
have something to do with her. With the case. And she hadn’t liked it. But she’d
simply said, “See you at the scene,” and left. As soon as she’d closed the door,
she’d heard him arguing with Stevens. Jase’s words still echoed around her.
“If she’s not good enough to handle the case alone then she’s
not good enough to handle it at all. Give it to me and let her work on another
case. Our backlog is getting too big as it is.”
Bastard, she’d thought, then and now. He knew how long she’d
been waiting to head up her first serial case, and he wanted to take over? No
way. If she had to work with him, fine. Maybe the more time she spent in his
company the faster she’d get rid of the ridiculous feelings she’d been harboring
for him for far too long.
“Special Agent Tyler asked that you wait for him before viewing
the body,” Gordon continued, jerking her out of her thoughts. He swiped an arm
across his slick forehead, his breathing slow but labored. “Hope we didn’t
interrupt anything exciting to get you out here.”
Carrie, who’d turned to study the surrounding area, froze at
his words. Slowly, she faced him again. His comment might have meant nothing but
for the way his gaze dropped to her chest. Carrie narrowed her eyes and stared
the officer down until his grin disappeared. “What were the witnesses doing
here?”
Gordon shrugged. “Tim Larson and his son Ronald were searching
for plants for some kind of school assignment. The kid saw a woman’s foot
sticking out of a mound of dirt behind some bushes. The, uh, foot wasn’t
connected to a body. Then he saw the woman’s head, propped on a tree stump,
facing the trail. Freaked him out. His father came running, stumbled across the
body just a few feet away. Literally.”
“And they probably trampled all over the crime scene.” Carrie
didn’t blame them, but it would still wreak havoc with the recovery team’s
ability to process the scene. “Have you seen the body yet?”
The officers glanced at one another, guilt and relief in their
eyes. For a split second, Carrie saw a look pass between them—a look of
encouragement and comfort—that shocked her. Gordon’s lasciviousness obviously
didn’t negate a genuine respect and caring for his partner.
“No, ma’am.” Fitzpatrick answered, all bravado. Her posture was
so erect and her speech so precise Carrie half
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