Scene of the Crime Deadman's Bluff - By Carla Cassidy Page 0,5
broken nails, no obvious defense wounds, no wounds at all on her. So, what had happened to her and who had attempted to bury her in the sand?
“Can you tell us your name?” Seth repeated gently, aware of the tremor that had begun to show on her face, in her shoulders.
Slowly, she shook her head and closed her eyes, as if seeking the numbness of sleep once again. Seth and the sheriff remained in the room for another fifteen minutes or so and then left her room and stood just outside it in the hallway as Linda resumed her seat next to the sleeping woman.
“We found nothing at the crime scene,” Sheriff Atkins said as they began to walk down the hallway. “The wind started howling out there and sand was blowing everywhere.” He released an audible sigh. “I was hoping we’d get some answers by talking to her tonight.”
“She’s obviously still traumatized. We’ll probably get some answers in the morning. She needs to rest tonight.” Seth was as frustrated as the sheriff, but nothing could be done for the remainder of the night. “I would like to get the files from the other two crimes that you believe are linked to this one.”
“You’re staying at your sister’s house?”
Seth nodded. “It looks like I’ll be there until we get this mess cleaned up.”
“I’ll have one of my men bring you the files sometime this evening.”
“One more thing, I’d like the names of the young men who were out there on the dunes with me when our mystery woman was found,” Seth said.
“The short one with the dark hair is Jerome Walker. He’s nineteen and home for the summer from college. The blond is Ernie Simpson, also nineteen and works at the hardware store.”
“And the tall one?” Seth asked, thinking of the kid who had stood as if frozen in shock while all the activity had gone on around him.
“Sam Clemmons. He’s twenty-one, spends his evenings working part-time as a bartender at a tavern on Main and most of his days out at the dunes riding.”
Seth mentally took note of each name, intending to check them all out. Just because they’d been there to help him didn’t mean they’d had nothing to do with how the woman had gotten into the sand. It was possible they’d been burying her and had only stopped and pretended to discover her when Seth had shown up. At this point everyone in Amber Lake was a potential suspect.
“I’m glad to have you on board,” Sheriff Atkins said as they stepped out into the waning light of day. “The first young woman I just assumed was some kind of freak party accident. When the second one showed up a month ago I had a bad feeling. And now this...” He allowed his voice to trail off and then continued, “I’m just glad your director allowed you to join me on this.”
“I’ll meet you at your office at seven tomorrow morning and then together we’ll head over here to see if our Jane Doe can wrap things up for us. If this is some kind of a serial killer at work, then she might be able to give you a description, some information that will lead to an arrest.”
Sheriff Atkins raked a hand through his hair. “I hope so. You need a ride back to your sister’s place?”
“No, thanks. We’re close enough that I can just walk there.” Linda’s house was only three blocks away and Seth needed to expend some of the adrenaline that still coursed through him. The walk would do him good.
“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
Seth watched as the sheriff got into his cruiser and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. Only when the cruiser had disappeared from view did he begin the walk to Linda’s place.
It’s just a job, he told himself, like so many he’d worked before in his career. But, even though that was what he thought, he knew it was more than that. Something had happened in that split second of eye connection they’d shared, something that made him decide long before he’d been officially assigned to the case that he was in until the end.
Chapter Two
She awoke in increments of consciousness, first aware of the sharp smell of antiseptic and then the feel of the stiff mattress beneath her. A hospital. Full consciousness came to her like a slap in the face, bringing with it a spill of memories that were too strange for her to