The Sins of the Mother (Miller & Stevens Book 1)

by Scott Pratt

  Lukas pulled the sheet back and felt his knees buckle. Blood rushed from his head. He knelt as a wave of nausea overtook him and he found himself staring into the lifeless eyes of Kimberly Renee “Razzy” Raznovich.

  A deep, gaping, bloody wound drew his eyes to Razzy’s tiny neck. She was completely naked. Lukas tried to regain his composure, but he was struggling. He felt a touch on his shoulder and realized it was Brooke. He replaced the sheet, gathered himself, stood up and looked around. The world seemed to have changed. Everything was moving in slow motion. He glanced at Brooke, but her face didn’t really register. He walked slowly toward Captain Hunter, who was standing near one of the ambulances talking with one of his squad mates. Hunter’s voice cut through the fog in Lukas’s mind like a razor.

  “Miller are you going to be able to do this?”

  “Yeah. I just need a minute.”

  Brooke touched Lukas’s arm again. “Let’s take a walk.”

  Brooke walked Lukas over to her car, holding his arm as though he might pass out. She opened the door and helped Lukas get situated. Just as she was shutting the door, Lukas heard Captain Hunter call Brooke’s name. Lukas looked up and saw him motioning for her. “Be right back,” she said. Lukas left the door closed. He didn’t want to hear what Hunter had to say.

  Lukas tried to gather himself. He knew he had to focus, to put his emotions aside and concentrate. He opened the door and walked up to Brooke and Captain Hunter.

  “Okay Captain, where are we with the scene?” he said.

  “I was just telling Brooke that we have suits doing a canvass and CSU is standing by. Miller are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. If anyone turns up anything on the canvass have them report directly to me.”

  “Will do.”

  “Brooke are you ready to go over the body?”

  “Ready.”

  “Let’s get Odessa,” he said. He signaled for McCabe who was standing near the forensic van.

  The three approached the body. Lukas carefully removed the sheet and allowed Odessa her first look at the body. Razzy’s head was almost completely severed. Blood had run down from the wound onto her breasts. It was difficult to tell if she had any wounds on her chest, but it appeared her right nipple had been torn off. “What would you estimate as time of death?” Lukas asked.

  Odessa picked up Razzy’s left arm with a gloved hand. “No rigor, very little lividity. I’d say two to four hours.”

  “It looks like she’s been sexually assaulted,” Brooke said. “Brutally.”

  “Does anybody know how she got here?” Odessa asked.

  “They’re working on it now. Looks like we went to the wrong city.”

  “There isn’t much else we can learn here,” Lukas said. “Let’s get CSU in to photograph the scene. Make sure they do blood swabs on the ground near the body just in case it’s not all hers. Brooke and I will talk to the mayor. When do you think they’ll do the autopsy?”

  “We’ll put a rush on it. I’d say tomorrow morning, afternoon at the latest.”

  “Okay. Let’s go, Brooke.”

  They walked up the short sidewalk and were met by Mayor Todd Pennington, who invited them in. Lukas had met the mayor a couple of times but didn’t know him well.

  “Mayor, I’m Detective Miller and this is Detective Stevens from the Kingsport Police Department. I know you’re probably terribly upset and I’m sorry to bother you, but we’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure. I have some questions of my own,” the mayor said.

  “Can you tell us what’s gone on here the last hour or so?”

  “My wife got home a little after five after picking Jason up from band practice. She came in and started getting supper ready. You know, just normal, everyday things. I was held up at work, so I guess I got home about six-thirty. We ate dinner, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and we watched television for an hour or so. The dogs started barking, and I got up and went to the window, but I didn’t see anything and didn’t think anything else about it. About forty-five minutes later, my wife took the dogs out and saw something in the driveway. That’s when she found her. Glenda was pretty shaken up. So, I went outside to investigate and saw her lying there. I placed the sheet over her. I couldn’t leave her out there naked.”

  “Do you know her?”

  “I don’t think so. I had trouble looking at her.”

  “Mayor has anyone threatened you lately?” Brooke asked.

  “I’m always getting complaints, but not necessarily threats. Nothing out of the ordinary has happened.”

  Lukas pointed to the front of the house. “I noticed cameras out there. Do you have them recording?”

  The mayor looked down at his feet. “We had a power outage a month or so ago and we never reset the system. We’ve been meaning to, we just haven’t done it yet. It’s such a quiet neighborhood. Detective, what do you think this is about? I can’t believe this young woman was left in my driveway by accident.”

  “I know this has to be disconcerting for you and your family. Rest assured, we’re on it.”

  “It doesn’t look that way to me,” the mayor said. “How many women is this? Five now between here and Kingsport?”

  Lukas felt his face flush, but he held his tongue.

  “Thanks for your help, Mayor Pennington.” He handed the mayor his card. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call.”

  “I’ll be talking to your superiors,” the mayor said. “It doesn’t appear you have what it takes to handle this.”

  “I’m doing the best I can, sir. Have a nice evening.”

  Back in the driveway, Brooke was the first to speak, “Well, that went well.”

  “Screw him,” Lukas said. “And what is it with people not having their expensive surveillance systems working? Why bother if you’re not going to use them?”

  “Where do we go from here?”

  “We go backward and try to find out where she’s been tonight. That reminds me. We need to make sure Timmy is okay.”

  “Who’s Timmy?”

  “Her son.”

  Brooke produced her keys. “I’ll drive.”

  On the drive to the apartment complex where Razzy lived, Lukas could tell Brooke had something on her mind. He caught her glancing at him several times.

  “You might as well say what’s on your mind.”

  “I was just wondering if you wanted to talk about it,” Brooke said.

  “I’m fine, really.”

  “How did you meet her?”

  “She was my first vice arrest. The sad part is, she was really a good kid. Just made some bad choices.”

  “And her son?”

  “He tried out for baseball and nobody wanted him because of his mom. I didn’t think that was fair, so I put him on my team. He’s turned out to be a good little player.”

  A few minutes later, Brooke pulled her unmarked to the curb in front of Razzy and Timmy’s apartment building. Nothing seemed abnormal. The streets were empty around the rundown three-story complex. They got out and walked across the street and climbed to the third floor where Razzy and Timmy lived and knocked on the door. No answer.

  “You think he’s in there? Maybe been told not to answer the door?”

  “I’m not sure. Let’s try the neighbors.” Lukas knocked on the door across the hall. The woman who answered was a short, plump lady who appeared to be in her late forties. “Hi, I’m Detective Miller from the police department. The woman who lives in 322, do you know if--”

  “Timmy? Yes, he’s staying here with me, but he’s asleep. Has she got herself arrested again?”

  “We’re investigating a crime, ma’am. What’s your name?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Tammy Blake.”

  “Ms. Blake, could you watc
h him just for tonight? We’ll have someone pick him up from school tomorrow. Would that be okay with you?”

  “I guess so. This sounds serious.”

  “Did Ms. Raznovich tell you where she was going tonight?

  “She doesn’t really need to. I know which way is up, detective.”

  “Was it unusual for her to ask you to keep Timmy?”

  “Not at all. I do it all the time.”

  “And did she mention meeting anyone in particular?”

  “No, but she didn’t talk much about her work, if you want to call it that.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Blake. We’ll be in touch.”

  As they made their way out, Lukas said, “At least I know he’s okay.”

  “I was thinking about our next move,” Brooke said. What are the chances she hit a convenience store just after she left? Worth a shot?”

  “There’s a store just around the corner. Let’s check it out.”

  Lukas showed the clerk a photograph of Razzy, and he confirmed that she had been in earlier in the evening around 7:00 p.m.

  “Do you know her?” Lukas asked.

  “Sure,” the clerk said. “Her name’s Razzy. She comes in a lot.”

  “Any chance she mentioned where she was going?”

  “She said she was going to work, which meant she was going to have sex with somebody,” the clerk said. “She’s a working girl.”

  “Yeah, we know,” Lukas said. “Can we take a look at your surveillance video?”

  The clerk led Lukas and Brooke to an office at the back of the store. He showed them the system and went back to his duties. Lukas cued it to the approximate time Razzy would have been in the store. After a few minutes they found footage of her walking in. She bought a pack of cigarettes and left on foot.

  “Hey, wait. Back that up to where she leaves the store,” Brooke said.

  Lukas moved the cursor to the rewind button on the screen and ran it back to where she was standing at the register, then hit play again. After she paid and left a white male walked up behind her. He was wearing a heavy, brown coat, jeans and construction boots. He also had on a black baseball cap that was pulled down over his eyes.

  “Does he look suspicious to you?” Brooke asked.

  “Not sure. Let’s cue it back to when he comes in.” Lukas ran the video back until the frame came into view. It was just after Razzy came in. He kept his head down and appeared to be avoiding the camera.

  “I wonder if he’s doing that on purpose,” Lukas said.

  “What about a car? Maybe we can get a shot of that,” Brooke said.

  Lukas let the video run until the man left. He appeared to remain wary of cameras. He left the store just after Razzy and walked around the corner of the building. Lights could be seen a short time later as a car left the side parking lot.

  “Damn. He parked out of view.”

  “Hold on.” Lukas cycled through all the available cameras, but she was right. He had parked just outside of camera coverage. “Let’s ask the clerk if he recognizes him.”

  Brooke went to get the clerk while Lukas placed the digital surveillance file on a thumb-drive for evidence. The clerk didn’t recognize the man but mentioned that he seemed preoccupied with something. He pulled up the transaction and made a copy of the receipt for them. The man bought a pack of nuts and a soft drink with cash.

  “What do you think? Is he involved?” Brooke said.

  “Not enough information to go on. It looks suspicious, but in this neighborhood, suspicious is the norm.”

  “Okay. What now? Back to the scene?”

  “Yep.”

  Brooke drove Lukas back to the mayor’s house. Captain Hunter was still there, and CSU was just finishing up. Lukas and Brooke learned that several neighbors had been interviewed, but nobody had seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, and apparently the mayor’s neighbors didn’t have any cameras. Lukas ran his fingers through his hair and learned up against his cruiser. “Damn it. So, someone dumps a dead body in the driveway of the mayor of Johnson City and nobody sees anything? You would think somebody would have seen something. Are we dealing with a ghost?”

  “Maybe the autopsy will give us some evidence.”

  “Maybe. So far, they haven’t been very helpful. By the way, what did Captain Hunter say to you earlier? When I was in the car?”

  “Oh, we have a meeting with him and your chief tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.”

  “Great. Just what we need.”

  Brooke was staring out the window of the car. Finally, she turned her head toward Lukas.“Can you think of anything else we can do tonight?”

  “No. I have a feeling we’ll need a little sleep before the meeting anyway. I just keep thinking if I’d put her in jail the night they found her with that dope, she’d still be alive.”

  “It’s not your fault Lukas. Don’t even let yourself go there. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Lukas suffered through one of the most restless nights he could remember. Gabriele came over and did what she could to help ease his anxiety, but he would have probably been better off alone. He barely even knew she was there.

  When he and Brooke stepped hesitantly into Chief Armstrong’s office a few minutes before the appointed time, he was wired up, ready for anything. They were told to sit in the waiting room, which felt like an interrogation primer to Lukas. He could hear a spirited conversation coming from within the chief’s office, but he couldn’t make out what was being said. Whatever it was sounded heated. A few minutes later, the secretary’s phone buzzed, and she ushered them in. Chief Armstrong and Captain Hunter were waiting.

  They took seats, and Chief Armstrong began without any pleasantries.

  “Captain Hunter has filled me in on last night, and to say I’m shocked would be one of the biggest understatements of all time. This one won’t be easy to outrun. My initial concern as the police chief is public safety. Then we have the reputation and integrity of the department to consider.”

  He fixed his gaze on Lukas.

  “What about leads? Progress?”

  “We have forensic evidence that’s being processed, but it takes time. We have a description of a suspect vehicle. The new murder last night may turn up some additional leads as well.”

  “So, you’re not really making any progress, are you?”

  Neither Lukas nor Brooke said a word.

  “We need more people,” Brooke said. “We need more boots on the ground.”

  “Done. I’ll talk it over with Chief McConnell, and we’ll get a plain-clothes task force together that will be at your disposal. Use them as you see fit. You’ll have anything you need from this point forward. But understand this – I need to see some results. Otherwise, heads will start to roll, and I don’t think I need to explain to either of you which direction shit flows. I want written daily updates on the progress of the investigation from you, Captain Hunter. Normally, I’d just ask for a briefing, but at this point, I want it in writing.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Get out of here. Go catch this psychopath.” Chief Armstrong dismissed them with a jerk of his head.

  After the meeting, Lukas and Brooke headed to the medical examiner’s office to sit in on Razzy’s autopsy. Lukas knew it would be tough. He was about to hit the call button to announce their arrival to the ME’s receptionist when Brooke’s hand stopped him. She gave his arm a slight squeeze.

  “You don’t have to do this, you know,” Brooke said. “I can handle it. Why don’t you go canvass the neighborhood again?”

  “I have to do this. It’s not something I’d expect anyone to understand. And after this, I need to talk to Timmy. I doubt he’s been told yet, and I’d rather he hears it from me than from a stranger.”

  “Okay, but I’ll pick up the slack if you
need to step away.”

  “I know. Thanks.”

  He hit the call button, and they were immediately admitted to the building. Odessa McCabe met them in the front lobby. She led them into Dr. Benjamin Franks’s office. They all sat down for a short briefing before the grisly work began.

  “Thanks for letting us sit in today, Doc,” Lukas said.

  “Always glad to have you, Lukas, you know that. And your partner is?”

  “Detective Brooke Stevens from Kingsport.”

  The doctor shook Brooke’s hand.

  “I’ve completed a preliminary examination of Miss Raznovich. The forensics and toxicology will take some time, of course. There’s one glaring difference from the other killings. This woman was brutally sodomized.”

  Lukas tensed.

  “Semen was found in the anal canal. It’s the first body fluid we’ve found on one of the victims. Now, assuming the recovered semen is from the killer, we may have a solid lead. But, considering her profession…” His voice trailed off.

  “The mutilation and violence. What do you think they mean?” Lukas asked.

  “I’m not a psychiatrist, but it seems pretty obvious that he’s finding it harder and harder to get a thrill. I’ve worked in Miami, Dallas and Boston, and I’ve seen serial killer cases. I don’t remember one going so far off the rails this quickly.”

  “What’s the earliest we can expect the results back on the semen?” Lukas said, leaning forward.

  “We put an emergency rush on it, so, two, maybe three days.” He looked at each of them. “Okay, are we ready to go do this?”

  “Let’s go,” Lukas said, standing up. His jaw tightened involuntarily. He braced himself, trying to prepare for what he knew would be gruesome.

  Lukas had been present during autopsies before, and they never really got any easier. It was even harder when you knew the person the doctor was dissecting. The ME went through a precise routine, measuring and weighing organs, taking notes of wounds and disease, recording his findings. It took him an hour-and-a-half to finish. Lukas and Brooke learned that Odessa’s assessment of the time of death had been on point. Dr. Franks said Razzy had been dead between two and three hours when she was found. The cause of death, to nobody’s surprise, was due to blood loss from the cut to Razzy’s neck. According to the doctor, the killer used an extremely sharp, edged weapon, most likely a knife.