Chapter 3

One by one the team began checking houses, clearing it and moving on. I could hear each unit clearing their own assigned houses through my headset, and with each clearing, I felt my tension rising. What if this was nothing more than to throw us off? What if our Jane Doe wasn’t even here? No, it wasn’t an option, she had to be here.

We were nearing the end of the street, and only had a few houses left when I heard the call come that a body had been found. Part relieved, part sick to my stomach, I listened to Brice advise to secure the scene.

Jordan and I made our way to the house number given and pushed through several civilians who had begun gathering in the front yard. As we got nearer to the house I heard Brice bark for someone to maintain the civilians, to get them clear of the scene.

While we had been searching the sun had gone down, and in the darkness, I could see several cell phones glowing like large fireflies as they recorded.

People were curious, and it wasn’t unusual to see crowds gathering around the crime scenes, but the control unit soon had the crowd in hand, ordering them off the grass and for them to go home. A few left, most stayed.

Finally making it to the door, Jordan and I both entered, looking around. The living room was nicely furnished. Whoever the homeowner was, they had spent a considerable amount of time on decorating. A nice, plush, black couch, accompanied by two matching recliners, filled a large portion of the room's floor plan. Appealing paintings decorated the walls, enhancing the room's atmosphere. The floor was draped in a deep-pile white carpet. White? Oh my God. A real-wood coffee table sat in front of the couch, its smaller mates, to either side of the recliners. But I knew the living room was not our target. Moving forward, I began making my way deeper into the room. It would take a few minutes for Brice to arrive, and as this was our scene, I needed to gain control.

Placing my fingers to my lips, I let out a whistle, gaining everyone’s attention. “Okay, as of right now, this is my and Agent Rowland’s investigation. I would appreciate it if no one touched anything!” Then looking at Jordan, I murmured, “Let’s go.”

Minutes later, as I stepped into the bathroom, I took in the woman’s body. She hung upside down by her feet from the gambrel. Her stomach had been sliced open and some type of rib separator had been applied to her sternum. With the bone peeled back, I could see where her lungs, heart and other organs should have been. However, her insides were completely clean, her entrails removed. Her throat had been sliced where she had been left to bleed out. She looked like a carcass in a meat locker, but this was not where her life had ended. There was another crime scene somewhere.

Though my attention was on the woman in the shower, I was very much aware of when Brice stepped into the room. Not two hours earlier, I had been in the cab of his pickup, in an area not much smaller than where we were now standing, but I hadn’t been as hyper-aware of him then, as I was now. Maybe it was because the topic of our conversation had held everything else at bay. Or it could be the slight claustrophobic feel of this room that brought it out in me. I didn’t know. But I did know there were too many people taking up the limited space in this tiny dugout of a bathroom.

As all this was running through my head, Brice muttered over my shoulder, “Damn. Nutcase did a job on her.”

With a quick nod, I dropped my bag on top of the toilet lid, shuffling a little forward to grab what little distance I could between us. As I bent at the waist to unzip my carry-all and retrieve my camera, my rear end inadvertently collided with Brice’s pelvis. As his hands shot out to steady me, his fingers splayed around my hips, and I muttered, “Thanks.”

He gave a grunt, meaning unclear, before fingers slow to remove themselves, he finally released me. At the same time,Jordan, whether he became aware of the tension between myself and Brice, or he had suddenly began to feel claustrophobic within the cubicle himself, muttered, “Well, I’ll leave you two, to it,” then hurried out of the room and I was suddenly struggling to figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing, my mind went into a fog, but I was aware when Brice stepped around me, peering at the woman’s remains. “Jesus Christ, he’s gutted her like a hunter would their kill.”

I heard his words, but it was as if someone else was listening too: as if someone else was sharing my body with me. I shook my head, trying to clear the feeling, but it wouldn’t dissipate.

Brice, turning to face me, gazed at me, then asked, “Rhy, you okay?”

Slowly, I shook my head, then placed my finger against my lips to silence him.

Brice cocked his head, a strange look crossing his features.

Slipping my phone out of my pocket, and without looking at the screen, I typed out. “He is using me to watch us,” then set the phone on the sink countertop without ever glancing at it, or the counter.

I kept from looking at Brice by swinging my eyes back to the victim, and Brice stepped over to my phone. Seconds passed, then he shouted, “Courtney.”

Head jerking in Brice’s direction, I raised an eyebrow. My eyes, questioning.

As Jordan came to the door, Brice turned toward me. “Cody, you're off the case.”

I sucked in a breath. “What?”

Then, as if he were speaking to a child, he slowed his speech, spreading out his words. “You. Are. Off. The. Case.”

Temper hot, back stiff and head high as my nostrils flared with my anger, I did an about face and exited the bathroom, clipping Brice’s shoulder on my way out. I didn’t stop until I was outside, where taking a deep breath, I screamed out my anger. FUCK! The agent trailing me looked on, but said nothing.