Kir slowed to a mere crawl as they continued down the street. “He seems the type to enjoy reliving his glory days. And you said yourself he’s always parking wherever he wants.”
Lynne frowned as she studied the truck. It didn’t look like it was running. The headlights weren’t on and there was no smoke coming from the tailpipe. In fact, it looked frozen in place.
“At this hour, in subzero weather? No.” She shook her head. “Nash prefers to relive his glory days in the comfort of the bar with a bunch of his drunk buddies who still think he’s a local hero.”
Kir pointed toward the gate at the far end of the fence that had been smashed open. That was obviously where the truck entered the field. “Maybe he got plastered and ran off the road.”
She slowly nodded, trying to imagine what Nash had been doing that would lead him to this part of town. It was possible he’d been out selling beer to the local students, but this seemed too visible a location. He preferred the dark alley behind his bar. Not to mention the fact, he would never have turned on the lights. That would only have attracted more unwanted attention.
Lynne stiffened, struck by a sudden thought. “What if the killer stole it to use in another murder?”
Kir cursed and slammed on the brakes. The SUV fishtailed and slid to a halt less than an inch from the fence.
“That murder,” he breathed.
It took a second for Lynne to figure out what he was talking about, then her breath was squeezed from her lungs as if a vise were crushing her chest.
“Oh my God.” She shoved open the door of the SUV and slid out, wading through the snow to press against the fence. “Nash.”
Kir appeared next to her, holding his phone to his ear.
Vaguely Lynne heard him telling someone that there was an emergency at the football field, but her attention was locked on the macabre sight of the stiff body lying directly beneath the back bumper of Nash’s truck. It looked like there was a red rope wrapped around his neck that was tied to something in the bed of the truck. He was completely naked with splotches of frozen blood coating his skin and a dusting of snow that almost obscured his face.
She swayed, her stomach threatening to revolt. “No. I don’t believe it.”
“Get back in the SUV and wait for the sheriff,” Kir commanded in sharp tones.
She grimly battled back the nausea. She could be sick later. Right now she had to focus on Nash. “We have to see if he’s still alive. I can do CPR.”
She’d started to move toward the demolished gate when Kir grabbed her arm. “Lynne, he’s dead.”
“But—”
“He’s been dead awhile. There’s nothing you can do to help.” He firmly turned her away from the field. “Go back to the SUV.”
She dug in her heels, wanting to cling to the hope she could rush to Nash’s side and somehow urge him back to life. It didn’t matter that he’d been a selfish jerk who’d humiliated her. Or that she’d dreaded the thought of accidentally running into him. He’d been a part of her life since she was in preschool. How could she imagine Pike without him?
But she’d seen exactly what Kir had seen. If Nash had still been alive when he was brought to the field, he was now frozen to death. A naked, wounded body couldn’t survive in this temperature.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll be right behind you,” he promised.
“Kir—”
“I promise.”
A sharp breeze sliced through air, sending a spray of snow into Lynne’s face. She shuddered, her stomach clenching at the thought the snow might have been touching Nash’s dead body. Bile rose in her throat and she scurried toward the SUV. She could calmly stitch together a gushing wound or dig through cow dung in order to diagnose a particular bacterium.
But this . . .
She reached the vehicle before she threw up.
Chapter 20
Kir held up his phone to take a video of the crime scene. He began at the broken gate and followed the tracks across the field to where the pickup was parked. Next he took several pictures of Nash’s body.
He wasn’t one of those ghoulish people who were fascinated by train wrecks or dead people. But he wanted clear images he could study later. The local law enforcement would never share information they discovered, and he fully intended to continue his amateur investigation.
There was a vicious monster out there. Kir wasn’t going to sit around twiddling his thumbs while the killer came closer and closer to Lynne.
He was trying to zoom in on the footprints leading away from the truck when the sound of an approaching siren had him shoving the phone into the pocket of his coat. A couple minutes later the heavy truck rounded the corner and skidded to a halt just inches from the fence.
The sheriff climbed out along with her deputy, Anthony, both of them looking as if they’d been dragged out of bed.
Stomping toward the mangled gate, the sheriff silently took in the sight of Nash lying naked in the snow. Then, placing her hand on the weapon holstered on her hip, she turned to glare at Kir.
“Why am I not surprised that you and Dr. Gale are in the middle of yet another murder?” she growled.
Kir arched a brow, refusing to be goaded by the woman. “Hardly in the middle. We happened to be driving down the street and noticed the lights on.”
Kathy snorted in disbelief. “Happened to be driving down the street at this hour?”
“Lynne’s a vet. She has a crazy schedule.”
“And you?”
He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s safe for her to be out here alone. Do you?”
An ugly smile twisted the woman’s lips. “I’m more worried about the safety of other people around the good doctor.”
“You can’t honestly believe she has anything to with this?”
The sheriff hunched her shoulders. “She just discovered that her boyfriend was cheating on her. Now he’s dead and she found the body. If that isn’t suspicious, I don’t know what is.”
Kir ground his teeth. This woman used her badge to bully respect rather than trying to earn it as a good, decent sheriff who cared about those she served. He didn’t know if it was a character flaw or just years of being worn down by those who refused to believe she was capable of doing her job. And right now, he didn’t care.
“So exactly how did she manage to overpower a man who is a foot taller and twice her weight?” he mocked. “Not to mention the fact that she had to somehow haul him to this field.”
Kathy’s jaw tightened, her hand reaching up to grab the bill of her cap as the wind sent shards of ice pelting through the air. “All the victims were drugged with sedatives from her clinic.”
“And most vehicles have a winch,” the deputy added, pointing toward the bed of the truck. “Easy enough to move a body for anyone.”
His words distracted Kir. Glancing toward the pickup he realized the red rope around Kir’s neck must be attached to a winch. The deputy was right. It would be easy enough for anyone to wrap the rope around Nash’s neck and drag him through town.
“Secure the scene, you idiot,” Kathy snarled toward Anthony. “And keep your mouth shut.”
The man hunched his shoulders, as if accustomed to being berated by the older woman, and trudged through the snow toward the truck. Kir hid his disgust. He had dozens of employees and not one of them would have tolerated being talked to in that manner.
He shook his head. Not his problem.
“You think the bodies were moved using a winch?” he asked, unable to recall if Lynne’s truck had one installed.
Kathy pinched her lips. “I think I’ve seen Lynne wrestle calves to the ground with no problem. She’s stronger than she looks.”
He made a sound of impatience. “I was with her the entire night.”
“An accomplice would make it even easier to move a body,” she countered without hesitation.
Kir narrowed his eyes even as he reached into his
pocket to wrap his hands around his phone. Thank God he had an accurate record of the crime scene. He didn’t want to believe Kathy Hancock would alter evidence to implicate Lynne or him in the murder, but he sensed her growing desperation.
He was going to make a backup of the pictures and put them in a secure file. “Do we need to get a lawyer?”
Kathy glanced over her shoulder, glaring toward Lynne. “If she’s guilty, she’s going to need more than a lawyer. She’s going to need a miracle.” With her cheesy warning still lingering in the frozen air, Kathy squared her shoulders and followed in her deputy’s footsteps.
Kir rolled his eyes and moved to join Lynne in the SUV. Climbing into the driver’s seat, he released a low groan as the warmth wrapped around him. He hadn’t realized how cold he was.
“I suppose the sheriff is convinced I’m involved?” Lynne muttered, her gaze locked on the law officials who were kneeling next to Nash’s frozen body.
“Right now she’s ready to blame both of us.”
Lynne clicked her tongue. “I’m not sure why she hates me so much.”
“I don’t think she hates you,” Kir assured her, sensing her bewildered hurt. All of this was bad enough without suspecting that the person in charge of the investigation held some sort of grudge against you. “I think she’s afraid.”
Lynne sent him a startled glance. “Afraid of what?”
“I’ve realized since coming home that Kathy has never been able to fill my father’s shoes,” he told her. “At least not in the minds of the citizens of Pike. It must be gnawing at her confidence despite her aggressive attitude. Deep inside she fears she’s not up to the job.”
Lynne pressed her lips into a tight line. “That’s what we all fear.”
“Yeah.”
The sound of approaching sirens reminded Kir that this area was about to be overrun with official vehicles. He didn’t want to be in their way. And just as importantly, he didn’t want to get blocked in.
He had things to do.
Reversing his way down the street, he pulled through the parking lot of the school and drove several blocks west before heading back to Lynne’s house. It ensured he avoided the approaching ambulance and fire truck, as well as the early morning gawkers who were hurrying to get dressed so they could discover what had happened.
He pulled to a halt in her driveway, swiveling in his seat to study her stern profile. She was silent, lost in thought. Then, abruptly she turned to meet his worried gaze.
“Why Nash?” she demanded. “How does he fit in with the others?”
Kir slowly shook his head, frustration bubbling through him. “I wish I knew. I feel like we’re grasping for answers that turn to mist as soon as we touch them.”
“Blind leading the blind,” she muttered.
“True.”
They shared a worried glance, both knowing they were in over their heads. Whoever was out there stalking the citizens of Pike was spiraling out of control. Not only because the kills were happening so quickly, but the method by which the bodies were being disposed had become an even more blatant challenge to the sheriff.
After unhooking her seat belt, Lynne clenched her hands in her lap. She looked as if she was trying to gather her composure. Or maybe her courage. “Did you notice anything when you were taking pictures?”
Kir hesitated. He sensed that Lynne was still in shock. Who wouldn’t be? It was bad enough to stumble across such a gruesome sight. He knew he’d be having nightmares for weeks. It would be much worse for Lynne, who’d had an intimate connection with the victim. Then again, they didn’t have the luxury of waiting until her raw feelings had healed. Not when the killer could strike again at any moment.
“He was like the women. Posed naked, although he had a red rope around his neck instead of a ribbon. I don’t know if that has meaning or not.” His mouth felt oddly dry, as if the horror was sucking away the moisture. “From a distance it was impossible to see specific injuries, but he looked . . .”
“Tell me.”
He shuddered. From where they’d first been standing, Nash had looked as if he’d been left to freeze in the snow. Once he’d gotten closer, it’d been obvious that he was bloody and broken in ways that made his gut clench.
“Bad. Really bad. I don’t know if he was beaten or hauled behind the truck while he was still alive.”
She released a shaky breath. “It doesn’t seem real.”
He reached to cover her hands with his own. “I’m sorry.”
She glanced out the front windshield, her eyes unfocused as if she was lost in her inner thoughts. “I know I should cry, but I’m numb.” She shook her head. “I can’t feel anything.”
“It’s the shock.”
A minute, then another passed before she finally glanced back at him. “Was there anything else?”
Kir shuffled through the limited information he’d gathered. He was a businessman, not a cop. He’d never learned how to spot clues. “The tracks had started to fill in, so I’m guessing the truck had to have been there for at least an hour or so,” he said.
She absorbed his words. “That would mean it was driven there around four a.m. The same time Ms. Randall’s body was dumped yesterday.”
He nodded in agreement. “There were footprints, but I doubt they’ll be much help with the blowing snow.” He tried to imagine the killer calmly arranging the body before strolling away from his grisly creation. “Do you know if there are any cameras at the school?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I doubt they would have them at the football field. We barely keep the school open, let alone invest in technology that isn’t absolutely necessary.”
He wasn’t surprised. Pike had never been a wealthy town, and recently it’d been devastated by the collapse of the dairy industry. But surely there were a few cameras around town that had captured the image of the truck being driven through the empty streets? He wouldn’t have access to them, but the sheriff would check. At least he hoped she would.
Something the killer would have to realize.
“It’s still risky.” He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Just like dumping Ms. Randall in the park downtown was risky. Either the killer is taunting the sheriff, or the danger of getting caught must add to his sick pleasure.”
“Or the places have a meaning,” she suggested in soft tones.
Kir studied her in surprise. He’d never considered the possibility. “Yes. Maybe it’s about where the bodies are placed and not who the body belongs to.” He considered the implications and then made a sound of frustration. “It still has no rhyme or reason. An empty pasture. A frozen lake. The park. The football field.”
“Nash did play football,” she reminded him. “Besides, it doesn’t have to have a meaning for us. Just to the killer.”
He continued to tap his fingers on the steering wheel. “If that’s true, then maybe the list my father gave to Pastor Bradshaw is the initials of potential dumping grounds, not people.”
He didn’t have to say that he desperately hoped she was right. If they were looking for places, not names, it might mean she wasn’t a target.
She smiled wanly. Neither of them were reassured by his words.
“I’ll let you figure that out,” she said, pushing open her door. “I need to get to work.”
“Lynne.”
“I know.” She slid out of the SUV. “I’ll be careful.”
“Don’t go on any emergency calls alone.”
“I won’t.” She rolled her eyes. “Besides, I’m fairly sure the sheriff is going to be spending at least part of the day at my office.”
“I’ll swing by with some lunch.”
He waited until she had his father’s old truck running and was driving down the street before he pulled out of the driveway and headed in the opposite direction. He wanted to have a look at Nash’s place before the sheriff had a chance to run him off, and then do a quick check on Pastor Bradshaw. If he’d been out and about at such an early hou
r there might be evidence around his house. Then he wanted to check out the dump sites. It was possible there might be a connection that would finally click in his mind.
Stranger things had happened.
* * *
The truck’s old heater was still blasting out frigid air when Lynne reached the clinic. Hurrying inside she nearly cried when she saw Bernadine calmly seated behind the front desk. Whatever new craziness the day might have in store, at least she knew her patients would be in good hands.
“Thanks for coming in,” she said, her voice thick with sincerity.
The woman waved away her words of gratitude. “I’m here as long as you need me, Lynne.”
“How about forever?”
Bernadine clicked her tongue, but Lynne could see the pleasure in her eyes. She was the sort of person who liked to be needed.
“We’ll see,” she murmured. “I left your messages on your desk and that blond intern is setting up the exam rooms.”
Lynne’s lips twitched as she headed for her office. Bernadine never bothered to learn the names of the various interns. She said that they came and left too quickly to earn a place in her crowded brain. They still loved her. She made everyone’s life easier when she was there.
Lynne pulled off her parka and replaced it with a lab coat. She had a full morning of surgeries scheduled. She needed to get started if she hoped to take a break for lunch. And, it was the perfect way to keep her mind fully occupied. The last thing she wanted was to sit around brooding on the horrifying memory of Nash.
The morning passed in a blessed blur, and she’d just finished placing a sleeping boxer who’d tangled with a porcupine in a heated cubicle to start the healing process when she was distracted by the sound of raised voices coming from the outer lobby.
Her heart sank. What now?
She was halfway down the hallway when she finally recognized the shrill voice that was echoing through the clinic.
“Get out of my way, you old bat,” Chelsea yelled.
“You use that tone of voice with me and I’ll put you over my knee, Chelsea Gallen,” Bernadine warned. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
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