Breck.”
Her stomach twisted. “Is it Valerie Monroe?”
“The missing med student, they think. I don’t know her name.”
“Valerie Monroe. What’s the connection—”
“Geography. Killer dumped her in the exact same place as that Cooper girl.”
CHAPTER 7
Bay View Nature Preserve
N 26° 19.307 W 097° 30.875
11:55 A.M. CST
Cinco flashed his badge, and the cop manning the blockade waved him through. He drove past the crime-scene van and wedged his pickup truck into a spot between two sheriff’s units.
“You need some shoes?” Cinco asked, eyeing Elaina in his passenger seat. She had on that same outfit from Friday, including the heels. They weren’t all that high, but still. “I’ve probably got some duck boots in back. It’ll be muddy.”
“Sure.”
He twisted around and dug through the crap in the back of his cab: clothes, fishing gear, tools. He handed her some mud-caked boots from the floor. She slipped her shoes off, and he watched—impressed—as she wrestled her feet into his boots without seeming to care about the dirt getting all over her pantsuit. Maybe she only
looked
uptight.
“So what’s the protocol here?” she asked.
Or maybe not. “Protocol?”
“Who’s in charge of this crime scene? I understand it’s a park now? Nine years ago it was just private land transected by a highway.”
“Yeah, they got some endangered bird nesting here. Some kind of crane or something. While back, a lot of the bird people pushed to have it made into a nature preserve. I’m not sure who’s in charge, to tell you the truth.”
She glanced out the window at all the law enforcement types standing around. The friendly Agent McCord from breakfast was long gone. She’d put on her game face.
“You ever worked a homicide before?” he asked.
She glanced over at him. “I participated in a drug raid a few months ago. A guy got shot. Died at the scene.”
“This isn’t like that,” he said, needing to warn her. “I’m not saying you’re not up for it or anything, it’s just… it’s bad, okay? I don’t care how long you been on the job, what he does to these girls is bad.”
“I know.” She met his gaze, and he knew she was prepared. As prepared as you ever could be, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t spook her. He’d seen some bad shit over the years, but nothing that compared to this.
He pushed open the door and got out. She followed suit.
“Hey,” she said.
He glanced at her over the hood, and she smiled slightly. “Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked.
“The boots, and you know, the rest of it.”
She ducked under the crime-scene tape and trudgedacross the field, right up to the group of men huddled together beside a wooden sign that read BAY VIEW NATURE PRESERVE .
Cinco looked around and tried to get the lay of the land. They were on the mainland side of Laguna Madre, just a few hundred feet in from the bay. The ground looked soft, despite the recent dry spell. A fairly large perimeter had been set up and almost everyone was milling around outside it. Some cops were reluctant to sign into a crime scene and make themselves fair game for a defense attorney down the road. No one wanted to be the jackass who touched the wrong thing and got some scumbag off on a technicality.
A guy Cinco recognized from the Lito County Sheriff’s Department walked up to him.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” Cinco remembered his name, finally. Ketchem. People called him Ketch.
“Man, oh,
man,
” Ketchem said, shaking his head. “This one’s bad.”
Cinco nodded.
“You never seen anything like it. Swear to God, I nearly booted up my breakfast.”
Cinco watched Elaina. She stood beside a crime-scene technician, peering into a ditch.
“Vic’s over there?”
“Yup. Guy dumped her in that gulley. Couple inches a water. Fish’ve been at her. Bugs, buzzards. Damn near everything’s had a bite of her. Don’t know how they’re gonna get an ID.”
The image Cinco had been
Her stomach twisted. “Is it Valerie Monroe?”
“The missing med student, they think. I don’t know her name.”
“Valerie Monroe. What’s the connection—”
“Geography. Killer dumped her in the exact same place as that Cooper girl.”
CHAPTER 7
Bay View Nature Preserve
N 26° 19.307 W 097° 30.875
11:55 A.M. CST
Cinco flashed his badge, and the cop manning the blockade waved him through. He drove past the crime-scene van and wedged his pickup truck into a spot between two sheriff’s units.
“You need some shoes?” Cinco asked, eyeing Elaina in his passenger seat. She had on that same outfit from Friday, including the heels. They weren’t all that high, but still. “I’ve probably got some duck boots in back. It’ll be muddy.”
“Sure.”
He twisted around and dug through the crap in the back of his cab: clothes, fishing gear, tools. He handed her some mud-caked boots from the floor. She slipped her shoes off, and he watched—impressed—as she wrestled her feet into his boots without seeming to care about the dirt getting all over her pantsuit. Maybe she only
looked
uptight.
“So what’s the protocol here?” she asked.
Or maybe not. “Protocol?”
“Who’s in charge of this crime scene? I understand it’s a park now? Nine years ago it was just private land transected by a highway.”
“Yeah, they got some endangered bird nesting here. Some kind of crane or something. While back, a lot of the bird people pushed to have it made into a nature preserve. I’m not sure who’s in charge, to tell you the truth.”
She glanced out the window at all the law enforcement types standing around. The friendly Agent McCord from breakfast was long gone. She’d put on her game face.
“You ever worked a homicide before?” he asked.
She glanced over at him. “I participated in a drug raid a few months ago. A guy got shot. Died at the scene.”
“This isn’t like that,” he said, needing to warn her. “I’m not saying you’re not up for it or anything, it’s just… it’s bad, okay? I don’t care how long you been on the job, what he does to these girls is bad.”
“I know.” She met his gaze, and he knew she was prepared. As prepared as you ever could be, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t spook her. He’d seen some bad shit over the years, but nothing that compared to this.
He pushed open the door and got out. She followed suit.
“Hey,” she said.
He glanced at her over the hood, and she smiled slightly. “Thanks.”
“For what?” he asked.
“The boots, and you know, the rest of it.”
She ducked under the crime-scene tape and trudgedacross the field, right up to the group of men huddled together beside a wooden sign that read BAY VIEW NATURE PRESERVE .
Cinco looked around and tried to get the lay of the land. They were on the mainland side of Laguna Madre, just a few hundred feet in from the bay. The ground looked soft, despite the recent dry spell. A fairly large perimeter had been set up and almost everyone was milling around outside it. Some cops were reluctant to sign into a crime scene and make themselves fair game for a defense attorney down the road. No one wanted to be the jackass who touched the wrong thing and got some scumbag off on a technicality.
A guy Cinco recognized from the Lito County Sheriff’s Department walked up to him.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey.” Cinco remembered his name, finally. Ketchem. People called him Ketch.
“Man, oh,
man,
” Ketchem said, shaking his head. “This one’s bad.”
Cinco nodded.
“You never seen anything like it. Swear to God, I nearly booted up my breakfast.”
Cinco watched Elaina. She stood beside a crime-scene technician, peering into a ditch.
“Vic’s over there?”
“Yup. Guy dumped her in that gulley. Couple inches a water. Fish’ve been at her. Bugs, buzzards. Damn near everything’s had a bite of her. Don’t know how they’re gonna get an ID.”
The image Cinco had been
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