Page 11 of Dark Angel
“Sure, I like puzzles.” Beth stared around the area. “How far to the crime scene?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. Cash… ah, the sheriff… is here to give us a ride. Grab what you need. We might be gone for a time.”
They climbed out of the chopper and Styles handed bags to Beth. He did a mental check of everything they might need. He grabbed a Thermos of coffee and stuffed a few energy bars in his pocket. Going into the forest without supplies could be fatal. He followed Beth to the sheriff’s department truck, and Cash Ryder climbed out to greet them with Dr. Nate Mace close behind. “Cash, Nate. Good to see you.” He turned to Beth. “This is Special Agent Beth Katz from DC. She’ll be working out of my office for a time.”
“You picked the short straw, huh?” Cash held out his hand. “Sheriff Cash Ryder and this is Doctor Nate Mace.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook their offered hands and looked at Ryder. “What have you got for us?” She pulled open the back seat of the truck and climbed inside.
“Not much.” Ryder slid in behind the wheel. “This murder goes way above my pay grade, so I’ll follow your lead. Around these parts, it’s brawls, stealing, and cheating that get my attention. Nate here does an examination of the deceased and that’s the extent of our knowledge. Murder crime scenes, I figure we leave to the experts, but I’m willing to learn.”
“That’s good to know.” Beth leaned back in her seat. “There’s no doubt it’s murder?”
“Nope. The poor little girl is real messed up.” Ryder indicated to Nate. “Nate wasn’t sure he should touch anything.”
“I’m a GP.” Nate shrugged. “I’m not trained in forensics. I checked for life signs, made sure I wore gloves and booties, and we taped off the area.”
“I asked a forest warden to stand guard.” Ryder sighed. “And we have search parties out looking for the other girl.”
Styles flicked Beth a glance and raised one eyebrow. “Who was first on scene? Who found her? Have you detained them and taken statements?”
“Yeah, I followed protocol.” Ryder blew out a breath. “It’s my first homicide but I knew what to do. I took photographs of the scene and everyone involved. After we secured the area, I called you.”
The truck bumped along a fire road and they headed deep into the forest. Styles scanned the area, searching for trails or cabins close by, and found nothing. “How far from her house did they find the girl?”
“Half a mile.” Ryder pointed to the right. “There’s a track into Wandering Bear Forest not far from the residence but it’s closed, with a boom gate across it. No one goes into this part of the forest because of the old mine shafts. The kids all know it’s dangerous. It’s signposted and the school gives out warnings all the time. It’s dark and overgrown. I can’t imagine young girls going in there alone. It would be way too frightening and there’s nothing to see in there. It’s just dense forest, apart from the clearing where we found Brooklyn Daniels.”
“Yet they did go in there. The question is why.” Beth folded her arms across her chest. “Someone lured them into the forest. You’ll need to speak to their friends. It could be a secret. That’s how predators work, they take their time to groom the kids before they pounce. This has been going on for a time, and dollars to dimes, this guy is working the area. There’ll be others dangling on his hook and he is just waiting to reel them in one by one.” She looked at Styles. “I figure we need a forensic team out here. You mentioned our to-go-to contact is Dr. Shane Wolfe, the ME out at Black Rock Falls. I’ve worked with him before, and his team is what we need here. He handles serial killer crime scenes all the time and is the most qualified.”
If this was the same killer the FBI had been tracking across the country, they’d need all the help they could get. Styles looked at her. “Yeah, call him. It would be better to have his involvement from the get-go. If he’s in Black Rock Falls, he’ll be an hour or so away. He moves around the state, so if he’s not available, we might need to call in a team from Helena.”
“Either will do, as long as we get a forensic team here.” Beth lifted her chin. “I’ll make the call and then we’ll preserve the crime scene. Don’t move anything until he gets here.” She looked at Nate’s aghast expression. “I know it’s going to be hard on the parents, but if possible, can you go with Ryder when he informs them? You’re someone they trust and you’ll need to explain the situation in your best bedside manner.”
“They’ll want to come on down.” Nate examined her face. “You know that, right?”
As a doctor, Nate should be familiar with dealing with people in shock after hearing bad news. Styles nodded his approval. “Yeah, go with him but be on your guard. We have more than wildlife in the forest to worry about right now.”
ELEVEN
Wheatgrass moved with a sigh as they trekked toward the forest. Seeds from the long flowing tops swirled around in the air along with particles of dust whipped up by the chopper blades. Beth followed the men, who chatted about everything other than the crime scene. She slowed her pace, searching along each side of the narrow trail running deep into the forest. She touched Ryder’s back to get his attention. “Are there any trails leading from the crime scene to a secluded road? If he’s taken the other girl, he must have left transport close by. Has anyone checked out the trail he might have used?”
“Yeah, I walked the trail and kept everyone away from the immediate area. It is not a direct route from the main road to where the body was discovered.” Ryder pushed up his hat and slowed his pace. “There are other trails but most of them lead to old mine shafts. The area is riddled with them, and the locals keep well away. It must have been something special to lure the girls into the clearing. The only way they could have walked is dark and overgrown with weeds.”
Beth nodded. “Which way did the search party come from town?”
“They came in from the west and searched the tracks that lead from the fire road.” Ryder rubbed a thumb over the end of his nose. “I found a shoe, same as in the last murder.” He shrugged. “I have the same evidence on my whiteboard as you do. This is how I know this is the same person who murdered Scarlett Chester and abducted Aisha Santiago out in Deep Springs. What we need is a medical examiner to give us more detail about the murders. It’s gruesome but there’s not blood all over like you’d expect.”
Allowing information on the cases to drift through her mind, Beth scanned the area as they approached the clearing. “I’m glad that you were able to keep the scene uncontaminated. Who was first on scene and did you get every detail of what they did when they arrived here?”
“Yeah, it happened to be two of the forest wardens, so we were very lucky.” Ryder dodged a low branch and held it back for her. “They have been trained in the correct procedure for discovering a body or any type of crime scene in Wandering Bear Forest. It’s much the same as if they find a poacher. They take photographs and preserve the scene. We have one of them here now and the other one is just on a break. They’ve been taking turns along with other volunteers to prevent sightseers.”
The smell hit Beth way before they reached the clearing. The rancid stench robbing the clean forest air of its unique freshness. Ahead Ryder called out to warn the forest warden they were on the trail. When they arrived on scene, Beth noticed how pale the poor man appeared as he stood solemn-faced with his back to the body. She’d walked the narrow trail beside the doctor, who insisted she call him Nate. He kept the subject away from the murder and Beth wondered if it was for his own peace of mind after seeing a horrific murder scene.
She took in the man beside her. Strong, dependable, and kind was written all over him. He was like all the mountain men she’d met, tall and muscular, but was clean-shaven and had a decent sense of humor. She stared at him and swallowed hard, suddenly tongue-tied. Her life had never been normal, and she’d never found anyone remotely desirable. She ran both hands down her face. Was the feeling as if she’d just been dropped down an elevator shaft attraction?
“Are you sick?” Nate’s hand closed around her arm. “Perhaps you should sit down. There’s a fallen log a few yards away.”
His hand seemed to burn through her clothes and, confused, she quickly stepped away. “Sorry. I’m fine, just deep in thought.” She avoided his gaze and turned to Ryder. The sheriff wasn’t such a threat to her sanity. “Ryder, Nate is right. You’ll need to keep everyone away. We don’t want sightseers trampling evidence, and if the parents see her like that, they’ll remember her like that for the rest of their lives. Close the trail both ways with tape. Make it clear no one is to pass.”
