When Darkness Ends (Moments in Boston #3) - Marni Mann Page 0,43

by the mouth of the alley, analyzing the placement of the body. A few feet from the restaurant’s dumpster, it would have been impossible for the chef to miss him.

“Victim’s name?”

“No wallet,” Charlie replied. “But he has plenty of tattoos that can be run through the system to see if anything comes up.”

“And his dental records?”

“No-go on those.” I glanced at him as he added, “His teeth were yanked, gums so goddamn bloody that it must have happened close to the time of death.”

I shook my head. “Fuck me.”

“Whoever did this certainly didn’t want to make it easy to identify the body.” His hand went to my shoulder, shaking it. “Nothing like starting your week out with a John Doe.”

“It’s all right,” I told him. “Challenges keep us from getting lazy.”

Or from sleeping, but I didn’t have to tell Charlie that.

I gave him a nod and stepped into the alley, staying to the side, always cognizant of altering any DNA in the area.

“How are things going?” I asked the forensic analyst.

Kneeling beside the body, he dropped several swabs into an evidence bag and looked up at me. “Should be wrapped up in another twenty or so, just a few more samples to collect.”

“Anything preliminary?”

He lifted the sheet that covered the victim, showing me the wounds that punctured John Doe’s chest. He happened to be shirtless—a detail I noted—making it much easier to determine the location of the entry points.

“Any of these bullets would have killed him.” With his finger, he circled the air above the four holes that were spread around John’s heart. “The need for four shots?” He looked at me. “Whoever it was really wanted to make sure the son of a bitch was dead.”

I scanned the alley, looking at the numbered markers where the evidence was documented. “Any casings turn up?”

“Not a single one so far.”

“Teeth extracted, shells taken from the crime scene—fuck.”

He sprayed some type of solution onto the ground and then rubbed it with several swabs. “Definitely no novice here.”

Wanting him to finish so we could get the body into the lab for testing, I handed him my card, and just as I was turning around, Rivera was walking toward me.

“I heard the call come through, and I was only a few blocks away, getting coffee,” he said to me.

“Another early one for you. Wife kick you out again for snoring?”

He released a long and loud exhale. “She says I need to get some of those nose strips. Can you believe that bullshit? I’ll tell you, man, I need a solid eight hours soon, or I’m going to crash.” He held up his paper cup. “I can only pound so many of these.” He pointed to the alley and asked, “Any leads?”

“No, and not much evidence either.”

“Jesus, it’s going to be one of those, huh?”

I followed him under the tape, waving at Charlie as we passed. “Afraid so.” We walked across the sidewalk and toward the street where both of our cars were parked. “Do you have plans Saturday night?”

“Why do I feel like I do now?”

I laughed. “Dylan is going to be out of town, and he gave me his Celtics tickets.”

“Box seats? Hell yes, you know my ass is in.”

We reached my car, and I leaned my back against the driver’s window. “I keep meaning to ask you, what happened with the case of the missing girl? Anything turn up?”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “The mother gave us a list of all her daughter’s friends, and not one of them had seen her that night or knew her whereabouts. Her younger sister, who shared a room with her, said she vaguely remembered hearing her leave in the middle of the night but didn’t know what time and they’d said nothing to each other. We searched her phone and couldn’t find a goddamn thing.”

“She just vanished into thin air?”

He was quiet for a few seconds. “A fucking tragedy is what it is.” With his eyes on me, he nodded toward his car. “Get in. I’ll take you to breakfast.” When I didn’t immediately respond, he added, “Forensics has more testing to do, and you can’t conduct any interviews. Most of the places around here aren’t even open yet.”

“You have a point.”

“Not my first rodeo, cowboy.” He shadowboxed my shoulder. “Get your ass in my car.”

Thirty

Kerry

There was a doll sitting on one of the stairs.

He had placed her there after.

After he played.

After he violated my body.

I hadn’t thought my life in this basement could get