“She’s the parent that pushes you down so that you get back up.”
“I bet she’s tough as nails.”
Ella thought of her partner back in the hospital. A sitting duck in Tobias Campbell’s never-ending contest of death.
“I hope so,” Ella said. She wanted off this topic. “When we get to the scene, we’re gonna be meeting with police and the guy who found the second victim. Think of what questions you’re going to ask.”
Paige began to scribble on her notepad. Ella pulled out her phone to a welcoming lack of notifications. She texted Ben and told him that she missed him.
***
Inside the apartment at Orchard Complex, Lancaster, forensics and police worked around the agents like a well-oiled machine. Ella stayed close to her apprentice, remembering full well the traumas that came with scenes like this. She found that mementos of death - dried blood, clumps of hair, torn clothes – were sometimes more disturbing than the sight of a corpse.
“Agents,” a voice said from behind them. Ella turned around and found herself eye-to-eye with a uniformed officer, young and chiseled with thick curly hair. “I’m Chief Reed. You are the feds, right?”
“Yes we are,” Ella said as she gripped the man’s hand. “Thanks for meeting us. I’m Agent Dark and this is Agent Ellis. You’re the man in charge of this scene?”
The chief passed out his greetings. “I am. Darren Reed, but you can call me Daz or Reedy or… Dreed. Whichever works for you.”
“I like Dreed,” Paige said. “You don’t look old enough to be a chief.”
If Ella had said that under Ripley’s care, she’d have gotten a firm jab in the arm. Ella let it slide.
“Pennsylvania waters. Fountain of youth,” Reed said. “I’m not sure what you know so far, but I can talk you through everything if you want.”
“Please,” Ella said. She grabbed her notebook, more for effect than efficiency.
Reed led them through the living room and adjoining kitchen towards the bedroom. Forensic technicians were still inside so the room was off-limits until they were done. The apartment was remarkably small, and in this part of the city, Ella guessed it was worth around one-twenty.
“Victim’s name is Teri Harper. 25 years old. She was the sole occupant of this place.”
“Owner?” Ella asked.
“No, tenant. It was her landlord who found her here this morning. I’ve got a few guys talking to him outside now. Apparently Miss Harper hadn’t paid her rent and the guy wanted to know why.”
Two masked technicians passed them by and gave Reed the nod. Ella and Paige stepped inside the green-walled bedroom, complete with dusty old curtains and a cupboard pulled straight from another century. But it wasn’t vintage for vintage’s sake. They were symbols of a disinterested landlord.
Paige stayed back, observing from a safe distance. One of the technicians returned with masks and gloves and handed them out. Paige wrapped herself up quicker than a frail old man in the rain, but Ella forewent the mask. Inhalation of death’s aroma on such a regular basis had all but obliterated her olfactory receptors.
“You okay, Ellis?” Ella called.
Paige rubbed her forehead with her palm, pushing some color back into her whitewashed complexion. “I’m okay.”
“It takes a while to get used to. Go outside if you need to.”
Paige shook her head. “No, I need to see this.”
“New to the job?” Reed asked.
Paige nodded as she tightened her mask. “First day.”
“They threw you in at the deep end,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything this barbaric in twenty years. This fella cut right through the thigh, maybe while she was still breathing.”
Ella leaned down to inspect the messy bedsheets, white linen emphasizing the blood stains. “No. If she was alive when he did this, there’d be a lot more blood. There’s barely half a pint of it. If he did it pre-mortem, there’d be half a gallon.”
“Sure.”
“So the question is, how did he kill her?” Ella asked. “Were there any other wounds on the body?”