Ella dug out her phone. Paige wasn’t sure if such things would be allowed, so she stood back and observed.
“Are you sure about this?” Ella asked. “These are photos from today’s crime scene. Things hadn’t been cleaned up by the time they were taken.”
Vanessa nodded. “I just want to see something.”
Ella moved beside Vanessa and displayed her phone screen. Paige watched Vanessa’s expressions, searching for anything that might reveal an unspoken truth.
“More,” Vanessa said. “I want to see the top of her leg. Her thigh.”
Ella began to scroll. Vanessa’s face fell flat.
“Where is it?” she asked.
“Excuse me, Miss Sullivan, but what are you looking for?”
“Her tattoo. It was at the top of her thigh. It’s not there. Please don’t tell me she got it covered.”
Paige remembered what the coroner had said. The killer had sliced off a section of flesh.
“I’m sorry, Vanessa. The forensic reports didn’t mention a tattoo on her body. What was the tattoo?”
“It wasn’t of anything. It just said Mom.”
Things just got a little weirder, Paige thought.