there might be a simple explanation. In any case, the cause of death was loss of blood.”
I waited.
“There was an agent in her system that I’ve never run across before. All I can tell you right now is that it has paralytic properties. Like succinylcholine. That’s what they use sometimes for surgery.”
“Can you spell that for me?”
“I can’t tell you what it is. I’m just saying it’s a paralytic like succinylcholine.”
“Please. I just want to keep it in my notes.” He spells it for me. “Do you have any idea how it got in her system?”
“I can’t tell you yet. I found a needle mark on the skin of her neck. I’ve taken a biopsy of the neck muscle where the injection—if that’s what it is—was placed to see if I can find the same chemical. I sent it to the crime lab but it’ll be a while before they get back to me.”
“Were there any other injuries?” I ask, as if being skinned isn’t enough.
“I didn’t find any broken bones. There were no abrasions or cuts on the skin that would indicate anything other than the skin being removed. I can tell you this: whoever did this is a professional with a blade. I don’t know many surgeons who could have done that to her. It had to be a very sharp instrument. I would say a scalpel, but there are indications that it was a longer blade. Maybe six or seven inches. Like a fillet knife. A damn sharp one.”
He pauses and I can tell he has something else to say. I wait, not knowing where he’s going with all of this.
“Megan, if the chemical is a paralytic like succinylcholine she would have been conscious but unable to move. She may have been alive when her skin was removed. The pain would be so great that she wouldn’t have stayed conscious for long, but she might have lived until she bled out.”
My heart is still in my chest and my throat tightens. I feel dizzy and take several breaths before the world is back in focus. His words run through my mind like a song you can’t stop thinking of.
She may have been alive when her skin was removed.
The bastard paralyzed her and then sliced her skin from her body. It’s personal. It’s more than that. It’s a threat.
To me.
Thirty-Two
We’re back in the office. Ronnie gives me the address book. I’m going to make the calls she already made and the ones she might have missed. I might get lucky if someone remembers something after the first call.
Ronnie is going to run Michael Rader down. If she can’t find him, I can supply things I know about him and tell her it came from Gabrielle.
“Gabrielle didn’t give you much to go on. There are forty-two Michael Raders in Washington. Five of them are females. ‘White male’ narrows it down to thirty-one. ‘Middle-aged’ I take to mean older than thirty and younger than fifty. There are fourteen that fit. Maybe we can get a better description from Gabrielle, since she gave you the name.”
“I don’t think she’ll be any help. She said her mother told her the name at one time or other and she thought Monique was afraid of the man. She gave Gabrielle the description that I gave you in case he bothered her.”
Ronnie pauses and looks up from her notes. “I can tell you that none of the Raders I found have police records. If that helps.”
It doesn’t.
I know that Michael was a correctional officer. I can call the prison and see if he’s still employed there. I can get his personal information from their personnel. I’ll tell them I’m doing a background check for a car loan. Or I can have Ronnie do that, but I’d have to tell her what prison.
My phone rings again and I don’t recognize the number. “Detective Carpenter,” I say.
“This is Gabrielle. Have you found out anything?”
“Not much right now, Gabrielle. How are you doing?”
“As good as can be expected with what’s going on.”
“I don’t need to know where you are; I just want you to be safe.”
“Thank you for coming to let me know in person. I haven’t told my son what’s going on. If I tell him his grandmother is dead, he’ll wonder why I’m here and not making funeral arrangements. I’ll have to come home soon.”
“I understand. Call me before you do any traveling, okay?”
“I’ll do that, but can you keep me informed, please?”