Drained (Edgars Family #6) - Suzanne Ferrell Page 0,59
after she’d rested.
“You two have had a very busy couple of days.” Matt pulled four cans of pop out of the fridge, giving one to each of them. “Castello and Jake only gave us the bare bones of the case.”
“That’s because that’s all we had when I talked with them yesterday,” Aaron said.
Katie laughed. “Castello was a little grumpy that you were light on the details.”
The others all laughed, too. The former Deputy Marshal was known for using as few words as possible when speaking. His wife, Sydney, joked that if you looked up the word taciturn in the dictionary, you’d find Frank’s picture beside it.
“So why did Jake send you two up here?” Aaron asked, popping the top of his can and taking a long drink of the cold soda.
“His profiler called him last night,” Katie said. “He’d looked at the files you’d sent him and warned Jake this case would probably turn into something big.”
Matt stared straight at Aaron. “He said you’d be pretty consumed with it. Jake and Castello decided if you were protecting a witness, then you might need some round the clock security. Kirk F is helpful, but he’s still untrained. With Luke and Abby unavailable, they thought we might fit the bill.”
“And with me you get a security specialist and nurse all in one,” Katie said with a cocky grin.
“What about your son, Russell?” Brianna asked.
“Matt’s parents have him. He’ll be spoiled rotten by the time we get home,” Katie said. “But since it’s time I got back to work, Jake thought this would be a good first assignment and could use my skills with little danger to me. At least we hope so.”
“I’m glad you’re here. Paula hates hospitals and we’re lucky to have kept her in for two nights,” Brianna said, with a nod towards the couch. “If Kirk F’s nana hadn’t taken charge, I doubt we’d have convinced her to stay there the first night.”
“Nana and the promise that we’d continue her search for Art. If we hadn’t made her that promise, I have no doubt she would’ve discharged herself and gone back out looking,” Aaron added. “Your friend isn’t just stubborn, but very loyal. I like that.”
“What I want to know is why your killer is draining them of all their blood,” Matt said. “What’s the significance in that? And how is he doing it?”
“The why’s of what he’s doing is probably something Jake’s profiler might be able to answer, but the how is probably the same method used by blood donation centers,” Katie explained, drawing all their attention. “The patient, or in our case victim, is hooked up to an IV angiocath large enough for blood to pass through in the arm and it slowly drains out the blood out, collecting in a specially made bag to be stored for later use.”
“So, just gravity?” Aaron asked.
“Usually. Why?”
He inhaled and exhaled. “I was hoping there was a machine involved. Something we could trace.”
Katie shrugged. “There is a machine that can be used to sort the blood cells from the plasma and platelets, but then it sends the red blood cells back into the patient.”
“That’s not happening. According to our coroner investigator, this guy’s collecting it all.”
“Maybe he is using a machine,” Brianna started to say, an idea forming in her head. “What if he could hack the machine to actually pull out the blood and save it all.”
“Bypassing the return to the patient ability?” Katie nodded. “Would be much more efficient than the slow process of draining the blood. The heart would lose its power to pump blood at some point, and gravity-based blood drainage would probably trickle down to the point the cells would clump and clog the tubing.”
Brianna looked at Aaron. “Art had a hole like one for an IV in his arm. Did Mia?”
He nodded. “Left antecubital space, same as Art.”
“Well, that gives us the how,” Matt said. “Wonder how you get one of these machines? How much it costs?”
“I would imagine several thousands of dollars,” his wife answered. “Unless he bought a used one somewhere. He’d also have to buy IV equipment, the right size tubing and bags to store it in, if he’s storing it.” She gave a shudder. “I don’t even want to think about what he’s doing with the blood.”
“I have just the person to do some research on supplies and machinery.” Matt pulled out his phone and started pressing numbers. “Kirk F, you tired of doing guard duty?”