Page 30 of Lord of Vengeance
And what about this weapon? He certainly hadn’t been able to bring it on a passenger airliner, which could mean he’d flown into the closest airport on a private jet.
Why was I making a mountain out of a molehill?
Because that’s what makes you such a damn good cop.
If that was the case, then why hadn’t I been able to stop the overdoses from occurring?
“By the evidence found, I’d say yes,” she stated with authority.
“But?”
Kathleen’s heavy sigh brought me firmly back into reality. “But I don’t think so. As I mentioned, it wasn’t a rage killing. It was methodical and almost as if the ritual was for some initiation.”
I hadn’t allowed that thought to enter my mind.
That’s because you were too busy fucking a stranger.
One that in the end had turned cold and callous. What the hell had I expected given the way we’d started our heated round of passion? A dozen roses sitting on my desk when I’d arrived at the office?
I was ready to burst into maniacal laughter, which was another telling statement of how ridiculous I’d been.
“What is going on, Sabrina? Did something bad happen with the man you left with?”
The tension was terrible, something I hated. “Nothing like that. I’m sorry. I’m just under a lot of pressure,” I told her.
It was her turn to sigh, the sound ripping at my insides. “I get that, girl. I really do. We’ll get this guy. It’s just a matter of time. I wish I had more, but the killer was damn good at what he or she did.”
“Painting a scene for the world to see.”
“Likely.”
I dropped my head into my hands, wishing I’d brought a bottle of aspirin with me. I knew how the rituals and initiations were since I’d lived through a couple of them, one of them life altering. I was immediately driven back to the moment, the little lost girl barricaded inside a disgusting empty warehouse that stunk of urine and feces, blood and whatever other horrors had taken place inside the abandoned building.
I’d remained inside alongside three dead bodies for almost four hours, just like the handsome boy who’d saved my life had requested. It wasn’t the only macabre event I’d endured in my life either.
“When is your final report going to be ready?” I asked, doing everything I could to ignore the crazy thoughts rumbling through my mind. Why was I going down memory lane now? The only answer that seemed plausible was that it had been a long time since I’d seen anything as horrible as what I’d seen inside that beautiful coastal home.
“I’ll have it to you within the hour.”
“What about the fentanyl found with the victim?”
“It was the purest concentration I’ve seen, and you were right in your concern. There is no doubt in my mind the overdoses came from the same batch.”
“But you have no way of identifying its origin.”
“You would have more luck with that than I would. There are no discernable features, nothing special about the batch you can use to identify the person or pharmaceutical company responsible. The heart shapes probably made the drug seem safe to unsuspecting victims.”
Safe. There was no such thing as safe when it came to the existence of illegal drugs. I should know given my brother had sold his soul to some very bad people because of his need to get high.
“I get that.” With the number of Mom-and-Pop shops continuing to creep up, the drug was the most widely produced available, including cocaine and heroin. “I appreciate you getting the autopsy done quickly.”
“Of course. Not that there was any difficulty telling how the man died. The bullet wound was likely a relief and he died instantly. Oh, a hacksaw was used to sever the limbs.”
“Doesn’t that typically leave a trail of evidence?”
“As I said, the killer or killers were damn good, signs of bleach and other cleaners used. They left behind exactly what they wanted law enforcement to find,” she stated with confidence.
Or what he or she wanted someone else to find, like the owner of the house. There was no doubt the scene was a clear warning.