worse than usual, which meant Carson was alive a very long time, but some of the other victims had also lasted longer than one would expect under the circumstances. The altar was perfect as usual, without one drop of blood other than the pint in the bowl and the heart sitting behind it. The dead man’s left hand was oiled and had a candle tied to it. The rocks were arranged in the familiar rectangle with meticulous care.
He stood a distance away, frowning, surveying the scene. Gage joined him. Forensics hadn’t arrived yet and the swamp seemed peaceful enough, but as always, living by its own laws. The continual drone was steady, insects buzzing around the body and feasting on what was left.
“The Rousseau brothers could have done this, Gage. They were in the swamp for certain, and not far from here.”
“Yep. They could have.” Gage watched his brother’s face. Every expression. Every nuance. The sharp intelligence in his eyes.
“Carson, though? That doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t have been in the swamp at night alone, not dressed in his fancy gallery-showing clothes. He had to have been brought here. He’s not a target of opportunity for them.”
“And they have a lot of others to choose from, people they were really angry with,” Gage agreed. He waited for more. Remy puzzled things out, a master at it, and learning from him would only make him better at his own job.
Remy kept looking at the body. The altar was perfect. The discarded plastic suit was in the exact position it should have been, but there was something off and he just couldn’t put his finger on it.
“If the Rousseau brothers did this, and I wish they had, it makes no sense at all to choose Carson.” Remy carefully moved closer to the body, wanting to examine the neck to the see if the killer had done the same thing to Carson as he had to Cooper.
“Carson could have accidentally filmed something the Rousseaus didn’t want him to see,” Gage ventured.
“We’ve got to find the camera,” Remy said over his shoulder.
“Got it!” Drake triumphantly held up the very expensive camera still inside its case. “It was near the road, where the killer must have parked his car. He walked in. There are depressions in the grass. He carried Carson, so he’s very strong. I couldn’t find a decent print of a shoe, but he definitely walked in and it’s a long way to carry a grown man.”
“Two people?” Remy asked.
Drake shook his head. “I don’t think so, Remy. You can take a look yourself, but it looks like one man carrying a very heavy load. If Carson had been knocked out, he’d be even heavier. If he wasn’t, he would have been fighting and the steps wouldn’t have been so precise and steady.”
“He’d have to carry his bag of equipment as well,” Remy mused. “I doubt if he’d make two trips. His car would be on the road for any passerby to notice and if he left his victim, anything could have happened, from a poacher huntin’ alligators at night to Carson coming to and getting away. He’s strong. Like a leopard strong.”
“Robert was in custody,” Drake said, his tone neutral.
“Jason Durang was in prison,” Gage said. “He worked out like most prisoners and he’s an extremely strong—and dangerous—man. He could easily have overpowered Carson. Carson’s not exceptionally big.”
Remy kept looking at the body while Gage examined the photographs on the camera.
“We do have an excellent timeline, Remy,” Gage pronounced. “Carson took a whole hell of a lot of photographs last night.”
In the distance, they could hear the sheriff’s boat making its way toward the spot, coming in from the water with the forensic team. Word would be spreading up and down the bayou that another murder had taken place in their backyard.
Remy continued to look at the body. Carson had taken a while to die, mostly because the killer hadn’t severed any arteries when he began carving him up. But still, there were no marks on the throat indicating multiple chokings. He sighed and ran a hand down the back of his neck. It was right there in front of him, but he wasn’t getting it.
“Remy, you have to take a look at these pictures Carson took,” Gage said again. He walked the camera over to his brother. “Start here. There’s an entire series, startin’ at the gallery, inside, before we tossed him out. The first few pictures were of the sculptures