The other woman blinked at her in surprise before a spurt of laughter left her lips.
"Go on then." She shrugged. "The investigation unit has already been over it. I doubt there's much left."
Harmony moved away from Lance and Sheriff Grasse, following the scent of blood to the dumpster just behind the door.
"Did you bring the pictures of the crime scene?" She knew Lance had requested them. Bending her knees, she stooped by the bloody stain on the blacktop, calculating the angle and depth of the wound based on what she saw there.
"Here you go." The file was passed to her with a firm snap. Opening the manila folder, Harmony stared at the corpse. Plain features, a sharp nose, and his throat had definitely been cut. The angle was wrong for one of her kills though. Something Jonas should have noticed.
"Your killer was taller than the deceased," she murmured. "How tall was the victim?"
"Six feet." The Otero sheriff knelt beside her. "How can you tell?"
"The angle of the cut." She ran her nail over the wound. "According to the height of the killer to the victim, the wounds will be different. The depth of the cut at pressure points is significant. If the bartender was six feet, then your killer was a few inches taller. Perhaps six-three or -four."
"The coroner is still examining the body, but your Bureau director went over it as well. He didn't mention this," Grasse commented.
"He doesn't know knives like I do." Harmony handed the file back to her. "I would guess the weapon was a Special Forces K-bar."
The killer could in fact be a Breed. Or a Council soldier. Special training protocols were developed for the Breeds simply to be able to identify their kills.
Harmony pulled a pair of latex gloves from her pocket and snapped one on before reaching down. She ran her fingers over the bloodstain before lifting them to her nose. The putrid scent of old blood was all she found.
Grimacing, she stood to her feet before narrowing her eyes on the stain.
"Did the crime unit find any evidence?"
"Nothing. Other than the blood and the body, we don't have jack." The sheriff sighed.
"We were hoping having a Breed check it out would give us a lead." Harmony shook her head. Whoever had made the kill had been careful, and especially careful to use her M.O.
"It's similar to several kills across the States in the past few years," Grasse pointed out then. "Suspected molesters that law enforcement officials hadn't been able to gather proof against. We could have a serial vigilante on our hands."
Or a copycat with an agenda.
Harmony lifted her eyes to Lance then, watching his head tilt, concentrating. What was he thinking? At times she could have sworn he was hearing something no one else could.
"This one is different," she finally answered. "The angle of the cut, the depth and the M.O. It's a copycat."
Grasse's eyes narrowed as Lance shot her a warning look.
"Like I said, I know knives." Harmony shrugged. "And I study the kills made with knives. Trust me, it's different. Your coroner will verify that if he cares to study the other killings closely. I don't know what you have here, but it's not a vigilante killing." It looked more like a setup.
Grasse breathed out tiredly. "The coroner has already begun going over the other killings at Director Wyatt's request. He was the one who suggested the possibility." Why would Jonas do that?
Harmony kept her head down, her eyes on the darker stain as she fought to make sense of the sheriff's comment.
"Are those copies of the crime scene pictures, Katie?" Lance asked then. "I'd like to keep them if I could; maybe Harmony can go over them later and spot something."
"Yeah, they're copies." She handed the file over. "I sure hope you find something. Bert Feldon wasn't liked much, but until he was convicted, he had a right to breathe." If he was innocent, he had a right to breathe, though Harmony kept the thought to herself. At this point there was no way to tell.
"Did you find anything in his home?" she asked the sheriff instead. Sheriff Grasse shook her head. "It was clean." She checked her watch then, breathing out roughly. "I have to head out, but if you need anything else just let me know."
"Thanks again, Katie, and tell Ben I said hi." Lance nodded as she lifted a hand in farewell and turned away.
"I'm ready to go," Harmony said as the sheriff moved to her vehicle. Harmony refused to look at Lance as she headed for his Raider.
"Would Jonas try to frame you, Harmony?" The question Lance posed didn't surprise her.