14 - J. T. Ellison [64]
Feeling chipper, Frank packed up his things. If he hustled, he might catch the lovely lieutenant at her office before she shut down for the day.
Nineteen
Taylor stared at the body before her. Long black hair, ivory skin, a gaping wound in her neck, bright red lips.
Snow White.
She went out in the hall, cursing. “Son of a bitch! Roll body two, right now!”
Sam followed her. “Taylor, I need to make sure—”
She whirled to face her best friend. “Just do it, Sam. I need to know, okay? Then I’ll leave you to it and see if I can’t find this motherfucker and nail his balls to the wall of my office.”
“T, I need—”
“If you won’t do it, I’ll do it myself.”
She strode into the opposite room. She saw Baldwin out of the corner of her eye. He was heading toward her full speed. Sam came right behind, pushing her out of the way.
“No, no, no, no. Let me do it, damn it.”
Taylor stopped, let Sam by. The M.E. came to the bedside slowly, trying to make sure she didn’t drastically disturb the scene. When she reached the body, she gently slid a hand under the girl’s left shoulder and pulled her up partway, so Taylor would have a clear view.
“Goddamn son of a bitch.”
“The same?” Sam asked. “I can’t see from this angle.”
“Exactly the same. A fucking double. It’s too soon. Baldwin?”
“Yeah, I see. Same exact scene as across the hall. The symmetry is beautiful, don’t you think?”
Taylor gave him a sharp glance. He’d taken on the dreamy expression he got when faced with the most hideous of crimes. Profilers.
He was murmuring to himself. She strained to hear him. “You notice the mirror presentation? That took some time to get just right. He’s meticulous, our fellow. Wanted this to be perfect. Snow White did a double, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he did. Danielle Seraphin and Vivienne White. The exchange students. They were mirrored, too.”
“Hmm. Clever boy.”
“Sick fuck is what I’d call him.” Fitz had joined them.
“I agree with Fitz.” Taylor nodded.
Sam was still holding the dead girl by the shoulder. “Excuse me. If y’all are done psychoanalyzing, would you mind if I got back to work? I have a lot to do here, and I know you want the posts quickly.”
The posts. There were artifacts to recover.
“Yes, Sam, sure. Sorry. Go ahead. We’ll get out of your way.”
“Thank you.” She laid the body down, then bent closer, looked at the girl’s face. “Hey, Taylor?”
“Yeah?”
“There’s no visible emulsion on the temples.”
“Seriously?”
“Nothing remotely like it. Looks like you’re right about him shifting the pattern. I won’t know for sure until I get them back and do the posts, but I’m not seeing it.”
“Will you call me when you know for sure?” Taylor asked, but Sam was already lost, back in M.E. land. Taylor started to say something about canceling the party, but Sam was crossing the hall into the other bloody bedroom. Taylor watched her roll the body gently, look closely at the second girl’s face.
“Nope, none here, either.”
She set the girl’s body back upon the bed. When she swiped a hand, albeit faintly, across the girl’s hair, Taylor knew it was time to leave. Sam’s communion with the dead had just begun.
The three trooped from the house, waved to Parks and stood by Fitz’s vehicle.
Taylor chewed on the cuticle of her left thumb. “Either Jane Macias is still alive or he’s broken the pattern. He’s moved the double up in the count. Jane should have been number five. But he’s mimicked the Snow White’s sixth and seventh murders, and Jane’s still out there.”
Fitz nodded. “Might be we just haven’t found her yet.”
“Might be. Baldwin, knowing what we know, how likely is it that he’d change the pattern at this point?”
“Considering he didn’t do it in the past eighteen copycats, highly unlikely. He may be decompensating. The lack of the frankincense and myrrh oil is interesting. Escalation, distraction, interruption, all are reasonable explanations. And if that’s the case…well, suffice it to say that if he has Jane Macias, she could be suffering more