Page 57 of Forever Dark
Selena watched him go.“Just finding his way, I guess.”
Connor set his hat back on his head.“That’d be easier if his way didn’t keep leading him into active scenes when he should be doing what he’s told.”
It was strange to see Connor like that.The man with authority.He spoke of Arnold like a scolding big brother, but she could see he cared for him.
Up close, Connor looked like he’d had no more sleep than she had.Stubble darkened his jaw.The lines around his eyes had deepened.Whatever distance had sat between them the last couple of days, the sight of a second body had pressed it flat for now.
“What do we have?”Selena asked.
Connor gestured to the dead woman.“They found her purse a few feet away.Name’s Lauren Gimble.Thirty-eight.”
“No ID issues?”
“Not unless she was carrying someone else’s face in the driver’s license.”
Selena crouched near the body, careful of the marked perimeter.Lauren’s head lolled slightly to one side.Hair matted with dew and blood.Rope at the wrists.Cut throat.More injuries lower down the torso where the fabric had been sliced.
Connor said, “Other than her name, we haven’t run a full background yet.”
The forensic tech finished another sequence of photos and came toward them, pulling off one glove with his teeth before deciding against it and leaving it on.
“Agent Raven?”he said.
“That’s right.”
“Matt Price.”He nodded toward the scene.“Forensic pathologist.”
Up close he was tall, broad-shouldered, shaved head glistening faintly under the hood, with the edge of a tattoo rising from his collar in dark ink before disappearing beneath the protective suit.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Selena said.
Matt tipped his head.“Likewise.Good to have a real professional around here.”
Connor rolled his eyes.“Matt’s the joker around here.Sad thing is, his jokes are terrible.”Selena sensed there was a closeness in the words, like old drinking buddies propping up a bar somewhere at shift’s end.
“Not all of them,” Matt said.“Just the ones I share for you, my man.”
Selena looked at Connor.“Sounds like someone I know.”
The line slipped out before she could stop it.For the first time since coming back to Harlan County, she smiled at him.Small.Brief.Real enough to feel dangerous.
Connor noticed.Of course he noticed.
“I thought Blethan was the forensics man around here as well as coroner,” Selena said.
“Uh,” Matt answered, “he is.But sometimes I get called in to help out when he’s busy.It’s kind of a freelance thing.”
“A freelance forensic pathologist?”Selena asked.She couldn’t believe her ears.
“Before you get all uppity,” Connor interjected, “Matt is fully qualified.He’s helped us out over the years when Blethan is dealing with a big workload, and… I heard about your little conversation with him yesterday.”
“He didn’t like my big-city charm,” Selena explained.
“I bet,” Connor said with a shake of his head.“Anyway, it’s probably better that Matt’s here today rather than him, don’t you think?”
Selena nodded, noting to herself that she’d send a message to Meg and ask the field office to send out a forensics team if one was available, and turned to Matt.“What do you have for us?”
He crouched beside the body, careful where he placed his boots.“Coroner’ll need to confirm, but at first look it’s similar to the first victim.Throat cut.Some additional lacerations.Looks like he tied her up to do it.”
