Page 27 of Shephard
“Stay here, girl. I’ll be a few minutes. The windows are down; don’t kill anyone while I’m gone.” For obvious reasons, Pepper wasn’t allowed inside the morgue. She huffed and thumped down on the seat, acting as if I’d been dejecting her for months.
Drama queen.
Maggie’s name was listed on her partially open office door as I passed. I had to wonder how many visitors she had. Visiting her here wasn’t on my bucket list of good times.
I’d chosen to come here first, delaying beating the crap out of Cane. But that was coming.
My footsteps echoed on the tile floor, just like they would in a movie. While the corridor wasn’t freezing cold, I was still shivering. I thought I’d gotten away from this part of my job.
As I walked in through the double doors, I was taken aback by the stench. It wasn’t of death or even embalming fluid, but of cleaning supplies. Too many of them. I’d witnessed her incessant need to clean months before. I still wondered how she slept at night.
She had on special glasses that held a small light on the nose bridge. At least there was a skylight in the room, but on a cloudy day, that wouldn’t cut through the dinginess.
Maggie was concentrating, talking into the attached microphone she was wearing while issuing notes written by her young assistant. It was a sight that I honestly wanted to remember for a long time. Maybe that had given me the will to live when at times, I’d gotten mired into the blood and gore of my job years before. The mauled victim was only a few feet away, his chest cracked open, and she was actively weighing and removing intestines. After thirty seconds, I was forced to look away.
“You still can’t stomach the work.”
Maggie’s words weren’t said in a taunting manner. After our initial confrontation, we’d shared close to a bottle of tequila while comparing notes on our respective chosen careers.
“I thought I moved onto greener pastures.”
She lifted her head. “So did I. Life has an ugly way of not allowing you to forget your past.”
“Great. Thanks for the reminder. Have you found anything?” I’d already provided my two cents worth, including that I believed the man had been mauled by a dog, not a bear or a bobcat.
She said something to her assistant and turned on the light, moving away from the body as the young girl headed out of the room. I couldn’t blame her for scurrying. As she walked closer, she removed her bloody gloves, tossing them in one of four trashcans in the room. “The poor guy suffered prior to finally succumbing to his injuries.”
“How so?”
“He was beaten, including with blunt objects. He had all identifying markers removed, including his fingerprints, and something you didn’t notice. He had all his teeth pulled.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ.” That hadn’t occurred with the first victim.
Maggie sighed. “Exactly, but from what I can tell, he was still hanging on by a thread, even after he was stabbed six times, only to face the jaws of a mammoth beast.”
The woman did enjoy the macabre more than most people. I just glared at her.
She laughed. “Lighten up.”
“This is the second murder in three months. It’s a little tough to lighten up.”
“You’re still convinced the two are connected.”
“I am. Aren’t you?” I glanced at the body again, trying to figure out how someone could endure such savagery.
“Well, without the benefit of having the second body here, I can’t confirm your belief completely. But from the notes, I tend to agree with you.”
Now she’d piqued my interest. “How so?”
She seemed hesitant to talk. Did she think the morgue was bugged?
“In studying my notes, I had managed to save some of the animal hairs embedded in the previous victim’s skin. I’d considered the findings inconclusive before, but after comparing the fur retrieved from this victim, I’m altering the previous report, at least on my end. I don’t know how the sheriff will feel about it. Before you ask: There are a few other similarities, but whoever did this had even more of an ax to grind. It wasas if the violence doubled. That much you can see from the photographs.”
It wasn’t unheard of for a killer to alter his methods as he or she grew more confident, but this seemed like a revenge or punishment situation like the first one had. Rage was evident. Perhaps betrayal was the reason. Now I was speculating, which wasn’t in anyone’s best interest.
A moment of excitement shifted through me, which some would consider ridiculous. And crass as hell. “Meaning?”
She walked closer, folding her arms and ignoring the fact she had blood covering her apron. “Meaning your current victim was mauled and ultimately killed by a dog.”