The Executioner

Hundred and Five

Hunter was on the phone to Doctor Winston as soon as he left CCI. The autopsy had confirmed their suspicions. Darnell Douglas had died of severe blood loss. Toxicology showed he’d been injected with succinylcholine, a paralyzing agent used for surgery that doesn’t affect the nervous system. The subject wouldn’t be able to move, but he’d still feel everything. The black Cadillac found outside the crime scene gave the forensic team nothing; not even Darnell’s prints were found. The killer had done a thorough job of wiping the car clean.

It took Hunter just short of two hours to drive back to LA. At Parker Center he went straight down to the basement and the Investigative Analysis Unit. Hopkins wasn’t at his desk and neither was Jack Kerley. Hunter called the young officer’s cell phone.

‘Ian, where the fuck are you?’

‘I’m at the morgue.’

‘What the hell are you doing there?’

‘Going over personal possessions’ inventories. They’re handwritten forms, remember? I can’t search them using a computer.’

‘Well, get someone else to go over the forms for now. I need you back at the RHD.’

‘OK, I’m on my way.’

Garcia was at his desk going over a few files when Hunter entered the office.

‘How did it go with Peter Elder?’ he asked eagerly.

Hunter quickly summarized his interview while checking the fax Doctor Winston had sent.

‘Debbie Howard’s case files only got here this morning from Lancaster,’ Garcia said, making a face and handing Hunter some of the documents he’d been studying for the past hour.

Hunter took them and sat at his desk, quickly flipping through the crime-scene pictures and frowning several times in the process.

‘Do we have an autopsy file?’

‘The green folder on your desk.’

Hunter scanned it. ‘According to the autopsy report, Debbie Howard drowned.’ He arched his eyebrows at his partner. ‘The crime-scene pictures show her inside an empty bathtub.’

Garcia handed him a new file. ‘Debbie’s husband, Jonathan Hale’s account of events. He found the body.’

Hunter read his statement in silence.

Jonathan Hale had been out of town for four days on an architects’ convention. His flight back from Dallas on 13 December was delayed by three hours, and by the time he made it home from the airport it was past midnight. He didn’t manage to get through to Debbie on the phone, but he left her a voice message explaining about the delay. Debbie worked late more nights than not, so finding the house quiet with the lights turned off didn’t come as a surprise to Jonathan. The burglar alarm was armed and there was no sign of a break-in. He spent some time in the kitchen preparing a sandwich and a cup of coffee before making his way up to their room. The room looked tidy and unperturbed. No sign of any struggle. He walked into the bathroom to get cleaned up and that’s when his life shattered.

Debbie Howard was naked, hanging from her feet upside down over their large bathtub. Only her head and shoulders were submerged in water. Jonathan panicked, jumping into the tub and trying to lift her lifeless body. He cut her down and sat hugging her for what must’ve been at least an hour before emptying the tub and calling the police.

‘By cutting her down and emptying the bathtub, Jonathan Hale completely destroyed most of the evidence from the crime scene,’ Garcia said as Hunter reached the end of the file.

‘It’s understandable, though,’ Hunter said, rubbing his eyes. ‘You come home to find your wife hanging upside down in your bathroom, her head submerged in water, what do you do?’

Garcia’s eyes saddened, and Hunter knew he was thinking of Anna.

‘Most people would do what Jonathan did. They’d go to her and hug her… and cry… and ask why. Preserving the crime scene didn’t even enter his mind.’

Garcia let out a deep, heartfelt sigh, and the room went silent for a short moment. ‘Check the autopsy report again,’ he said. ‘At the bottom of the first page.’

Hunter glanced at it. ‘She was pregnant.’