“How so?” Jenna stared into the camera.
Wolfe had been waiting to reveal his new investigative tool. “It’s a shame you aren’t in the office to gain the full extent of this new device. It will make understanding the extent of the injuries much easier.” He turned on a machine and adjusted his camera to send the images to Jenna’s laptop. “This is a digital anatomy table. By superimposing the images of a victim over a normal body, I can demonstrate the nature of the injuries. This machine also produces a 3D image and, by rotating parts of the body, I can display underlying organs. It will give you a concise and visual explanation of cause of death.”
“That is amazing.” Kane leaned closer. “How does it work?”
Wolfe ran the machine through its paces. “There is a slider that allows me to manipulate the image, or for indicating or demonstrating injuries, I can just write on the screen with my finger.” He sighed. “But you’ll be able to get the full benefit when you next come to the morgue. I’d better get on.”
He pulled up the images of Jedidiah Longfellow. “From my preliminary examination I would have thought maybe one of the nails had punctured a vital organ, but in fact, on autopsy we see that apart from the paralyzing effect of the one pressed into the base of the skull, this victim could well have survived unless he froze to death—but he didn’t. He actually died of heart failure.”
“The killer scared him to death?” Jenna looked incredulous.
“The heart wasn’t in great shape to begin with.” Wolfe displayed the images on the new machine, moving them back and forth to explain as he talked. “The stress of what happened to him caused the heart to fail. Again, from the number of nails I pulled from this victim, it was a different MO, but similar in the fact that the killer was playing with him to cause maximum pain.”
“Revenge again.” Kane leaned forward peering at the screen of his laptop. “That’s two, but how can you call number three revenge?”
Wolfe flicked up more images, this time of Kitty Pandora. “No burn marks. She didn’t handle the hairdryer in the bathtub. Her prints and only her prints are on the hairdryer. No water on the floor. No struggle. What does this say to you?”
“She knew her killer, well to allow them into her bathroom.” Rio scribbled on a notepad. “The killer didn’t play with her, he just dropped in the hairdryer and left.”
“Maybe not.” Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “Think about it. If a friend suddenly arrived in your room, you wouldn’t scream. You’d maybe chat a bit. Say things got nasty. Maybe he had a weapon and ordered her into the tub? Then he tormented her by threatening to drop in the hairdryer. He’d want to hear her beg for her life, but he didn’t care and dropped it anyway.”
Wolfe smiled at her. “That makes sense because, when Emily took the temperature of the water and the body, they were cool. You discovered the body within half an hour, and the bathwater should have been at a higher temperature. The room temperature was warm, toasty in fact. Women don’t lie in cold baths unless they’re forced to. She died of asphyxiation due to a paralyzed diaphragm induced by an electric shock.” He checked his notes. “Do you know if anything was left at the scene or taken from the scene?”
“As we don’t have anyone to confirm either, we have to assume the negative.” Kane shrugged. “The room hasn’t been touched. Why? Did you notice anything unusual?”
Wolfe nodded. “Yeah, she has an indent, on her finger as if she constantly wore a ring. Third finger left hand above her wedding band. So an engagement ring, perhaps?”
“Okay, I’ll do a search of the room, and if we can’t find it, I’ll contact her husband for confirmation.” Jenna sighed. “Is that everything?”
Wolfe looked from one to the other. He’d never had such a cold reception. “Yeah, for now. Ah, Emily, can you call me, please? I have some family business to discuss with you.”
“Sure thing, Dad.” Emily smiled at him.
Wolfe disconnected and waited for Emily to call. When the phone rang, he smiled to himself. Emily wouldn’t hold back information from him unless she’d been asked to keep a secret. “Okay what’s going on? I get a better reception in the morgue than I did today.”
“Well.” Emily let out an exasperated sigh. “Sit down and I’ll tell you.”
Thirty-Four
Glacial Heights Ski Resort
After a stern warning from Uncle Dave about not spending any time alone and keeping the stun gun in her jacket pocket, Julie tried to relax and enjoy the conference. She took a ton of selfies with her friends to remember the weekend and kept a watchful eye out for anyone acting suspicious, but everything seemed normal. There was so much to see and do here, and reading crime was the best thing in her life. She loved trying to unravel the mysteries and follow the clues in the books she read. She preferred to lose herself in the pages of fiction. The true-crime books were too close to home. She’d live enough true crime in her life to read about it. Although the cases her father, Jenna, and Uncle Dave solved were interesting, she didn’t really want to know all the gory details.
Julie had at least six friends from school staying at the lodge, and many had intended to ski during their stay, but the events throughout the conference kept them from going stir-crazy. She’d had to bite her tongue a few times during discussions about a mystery game everyone was convinced was playing out over the week to prevent from telling them about the murders. The moment Jenna walked into the hall and took the stage to address everyone, her stomach dropped. She hadn’t told any of her friends about the man in her room and hoped Jenna wouldn’t say anything.
“Can I have your attention?” Jenna stood and her gaze scanned the crowd. “My deputies are in the other halls, so everyone will be aware of what’s happening at the same time. Unfortunately, I’m here to report the deaths of Dakota Storm, an agent out of Wild Woods, Oregon; Jedidiah Longfellow, an author out of Wilderness, Wyoming; and Kitty Pandora, an author out of Superstition, Oregon. Their deaths are unrelated and the causes undetermined at this time.”
The crowd burst into a barrage of questions, and Jenna waited in silence for the noise to settle. In an effort to look as horrified as her friends, Julie looked at them and mouthed, “Oh, my gosh.”
“Do you know what happened?” Jenny Pritchard elbowed her in the ribs.
Julie shook her head. “Not exactly, but I think something happened when the lights went out. Maybe they were electrocuted or something. My dad doesn’t give me any details. It’s a privacy issue and, really, I wouldn’t want to know. I’d have nightmares.”
“During our investigation, I would strongly advise you all to move about the lodge and especially outside in pairs, until we can get to the cause of deaths.” Jenna avoided all questions from the media and left the room.
“It’s all part of the mystery game, isn’t it??
? Jenny giggled. “I’ve lived here all my life and the sheriff rarely leaves town, and not in the dead of winter with two deputies. She was here before anyone died. I figure she’s given us a secret task. We have to find out who the killer is.”