Killing Ways

19

Ren sent Robbie and Everett to Carrie Longman’s autopsy the following day, hoping they could bond over the tragedy. She called everyone together for a briefing afterward, and directed Robbie to go through the findings. He stood at the top of the room, neat, shiny and earnest.

I love your utter faith in justice, Robbie Truax.

‘Preliminary reports suggest time of death is consistent with when Carrie Longman was last seen at Manny’s Bar,’ said Robbie. ‘The cause of death was exsanguination as a result of sharp-force injury. Her stomach was slashed three times — twice on her left side, once on her right — using a short, curved blade. The weapon was not recovered at the scene. Carrie Longman was bound at the wrists with rope, and vaginally raped with a tree branch, which was kicked further into her, or, certainly, pushed with considerable force. It’s likely she was held face down during the attack. She suffered a broken nose, and had aspirated blood. The body was thoroughly cleaned in bleach to destroy trace evidence. The tree branch was also thoroughly soaked in it, as were her clothes and the rope. There was a piece of fabric, likely used as a gag, also soaked in bleach. Gaston said the lab will be lucky to find anything. Under the victim’s fingernails was completely scrubbed too. There were no hairs, no fibers. The victim’s blood alcohol level was 0.15. She probably wasn’t in any condition to fight back.’

‘So this guy had to have driven as close as he could to that location,’ said Ren. ‘He couldn’t risk leaving her body unattended, and he wouldn’t have been able to drag her and a giant bottle of bleach at the same time... unless he had help.’ She paused. ‘Why the different physical type? Especially when he knew he would be doing some of the same things he’d done before? Things that would link these victims.’

‘We did get one item our killer overlooked,’ said Everett. ‘It was in her jeans pocket — a napkin with what looks like her writing — I checked it against the notebook that was in her purse. Here’s a photocopy. It says: “tiny fingers pointing your way, needle’s pointing to your heart, sharps disposal, sharps disposal, now I know the way we’ll part... ”’

‘It’s like a poem or a song,’ said Ren. She Googled it. ‘It’s nowhere. Let’s see if her ex recognizes it. Also, that napkin could have been in there from the last time she wore the jeans, if she hadn’t washed them. It looks like a standard, white, cheapo napkin — it could have come from anywhere. But we’ll check with the bar staff at Manny’s — it was Open Mic night, so someone could have been singing their own composition—’

‘Ren, she wrote some lyrics on a napkin,’ said Gary. ‘They’re not in someone else’s handwriting. This is not a note a killer’s left behind: Now I know the way we’ll part: by me raping and murdering you, my name is... These were words that struck a chord with a jilted woman, probably.’

Grrr. And why does ‘jilted woman’ always sound so demeaning? Why do we never hear of jilted men? ‘What if the killer made her write it?’ said Ren.

‘We’ll see if the lab comes up with anything,’ said Everett.

‘Janine and Everett,’ said Gary, ‘you go talk to the bar staff in Manny’s.’

Janine and Everett?! What the fuck? Why them? Even though I love them.

Gary kept talking. ‘See if anyone saw the victim write this on the night.’ He turned to Ren.

And what the fuck is with that look?

‘So...’ said Gary.

I need to get out of here. I am vividly aware of my weapons. Mainly my fists.

Ren stood up, walked like a normal person into the hallway, then changed into long strides, stiff limbs, and held her breath until she exploded into the ladies’ room.

Gary. Is. An. Asshole.

And WHY am I finding myself attracted to him?

Ren left the ladies’ room, and went into the A/V room.

I want to hide in the darkness for the rest of the day.

One after the other, she looked through videos of each victim’s last movements, up until Carrie Longman.

I am good with video. I see things.

Maybe there’s nothing to see here.

There has to be.

She kept looking. She concentrated on Hope Coulson. She had asked two DPD detectives to approach local businesses for video of the mystery night two weeks before Hope disappeared. One shop owner, who had gone out of business the following week, had yet to get back to her. Ren tried him again, left him a voicemail with a gentle reminder.

At five o’clock, everyone gathered again in the conference room.

‘First off,’ said Janine, ‘Manny’s has no cameras trained on the crowd — just on the staff behind the till to discourage thievery. Secondly, they remember Carrie Longman, said she was very drunk, but was perfectly pleasant. She sat at the bar, and was alone the entire night. She didn’t really talk to anyone, though people were coming and going at both sides of her to order drinks. They’re already rounding up a list of regulars for DPD, so we can take a look at that. Also, because it was Open Mic night, they had a lot of strangers in there, but really, guys, there are never that many — see, what I did there? — people in Manny’s, so I don’t think this is going to be some epic trawl.’

‘We went to talk to Longman’s ex,’ said Everett, ‘who we can confirm is an asshole.’

‘Yup,’ said Janine.

‘He didn’t recognize the lyrics,’ said Everett, ‘but he said that Carrie had spoken about writing a novel. He thinks maybe that was why she chose a bar like Manny’s — to get a window into the grittier side of life, which makes no sense to me—’

‘Because in her job as a social worker,’ said Janine, ‘she was dealing with that all the time. The ex may just be trying to assuage his own guilt so he doesn’t have to feel responsible for her fleeing somewhere off the beaten track to drown her sorrows.’

‘Imagine breaking up with someone a) around your anniversary and b) then they’re murdered,’ said Ren. ‘That guy is going to be the pariah of plenty of fish. I mean piranha. There was a joke in there somewhere.’

‘It should have stayed in there,’ said Everett.

Ren started pacing. ‘Back to what you were saying, Gary — I think the killer doesn’t want to get caught and Carrie Longman was chosen because she did not fit the profile. He wanted to avoid being predictable or having that murder linked too.

‘I want everyone all over this,’ said Ren, walking to the top of the room. ‘I don’t want to be here giving another briefing on another autopsy. He has now returned to killing a woman who is not a sex worker, though, of course, that doesn’t mean he won’t target one in the future. This time around, he used bleach not only to wash down the victim, but also all her personal effects, which means he must have made contact with them, for whatever reason.’

‘Robbery?’ said someone.

Hmm. I don’t think so. She ignored it. ‘OK, everyone,’ said Ren, ‘I want to thank you for your great work to date, but I now need you processing information with greater speed and more efficiency than you have ever done before. Our end point is that we have this guy. I want your theories, I will have time for all of you, I will respect your gut instinct, I will respect your hunches. We are a team and we each come with different strengths. Use them, make me aware of them if you think I am not already. Everyone will benefit, all of us here, but especially the women out there who are afraid to go outside their doors.’ She paused. ‘We can do this.’

We are all fucking amazing.