as he dropped what looked like a piece of lint into a paper evidence bag. He confirmed for them that the victim had been garroted just the same as the other two male victims, and there was a fresh brand on the back of his neck.
“If he’s like the first guy, the eyeballs are down his pants,” Ransom said as they stood. Lewis gave them a curious look. “Didn’t want you to be surprised,” Ransom explained, though Reed had never seen the guy anything other than as cool as a cucumber, even now as he leaned over an eyeless corpse.
“Wasn’t planning on checking, but thanks for the warning.”
The first officer on the scene was standing at the back of the vehicle in the space next to the body, and as Reed and Ransom approached him, he nodded at them. “Detectives.”
“Brendan, good to see you.”
He fidgeted nervously with his hat held in his hand and shifted from one foot to the other. “That’s some sick shit, huh?” he asked, jerking his head backward to indicate the body.
“Yeah. It is. The owner of this vehicle found him?”
Brendan nodded. “She’s over there with Marsh and a few other guys who showed up after we did. They’re from a different district.” Reed peered over the red SUV to see a woman in her late twenties or early thirties in leggings and a long sweatshirt, sitting on a concrete half wall with mascara streaked down her cheeks. Several officers stood around her and she was nodding at something Marsh said.
A disturbance near the entrance of the garage caught their attention. Looked like news people arguing with the officers who had the area blocked off.
Reed looked back at Brendan. “Thanks. The coroner should be here soon to pick up the body.”
They walked over to the small group and Reed introduced himself to the woman who stood to shake his hand. Her grip was limp and she looked as though she was at risk of falling over. “Sabrina McPhee.”
“Go ahead and have a seat where you were, ma’am.” He turned to Marsh. “Would you mind grabbing her a bottle of water from over there?” Ransom asked, pointing to a well-lit elevator bank with a couple of vending machines. He took a few dollar bills from his pocket and handed them to Marsh.
“Sure thing,” Marsh said, heading to the machines. The other two officers walked over to stand with Brendan.
“Can you tell us what happened this morning, ma’am?”
Marsh came back and handed her the bottle of water and she gave him a thin smile, twisting off the cap and taking a couple of big gulps. “Thank you,” she said to Marsh as he, too, went to join the other officers.
“Uh, sorry, um. Well, there’s not a lot to tell. I came down the elevator to leave for my studio like I do every morning. Same time. I’m a painter. I have an art studio about ten minutes from here. I’m self-employed but I try to be very regimented about when I work, otherwise”—she let out a small laugh that sounded a hint away from hysteria—“it’s too easy to let the day get away from me without getting any work done.” She looked between them and they nodded. “Anyway, I was holding a mug of coffee and a bag with some supplies. I walked around my car to the driver’s seat and that’s when I spotted . . . him.” She took another drink of the water. “Scared me half to death. I screamed and dropped my coffee.” She pointed to a spot near the back of her parked vehicle where there was still a large, dark stain on the concrete. “I ran back to the elevators and called 911 from right over there.” She indicated the same spot where Marsh had just bought the bottle of water.
“Was there anyone else in the garage? Anything that seemed out of place?” Ransom asked.
“You mean other than the zombie corpse waiting for me next to my car?” She shuddered, her hands wrapping around the half-empty water bottle as if she was holding on to it like a lifeline. “No.”
Reed checked over his shoulder at her vehicle. “Is that an assigned spot?”
“Yes. All the spots on this floor are assigned to residents of the building. Visitors and delivery people park on the lower level.”
“I hate to ask you this, but did you take a really good look at the victim? You’re sure you didn’t recognize him?”