The Silent Wife (Will Trent #10) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,108
after this one.”
“There’s another case, a living victim, who might be connected to this.” Jeffrey wasn’t going to share the details. “We need to look at the sex offender list.”
“Easy-peasy.”
Jeffrey tried not to let Frank’s sarcasm get to him. The GBI was mandated by law to maintain a searchable database of registered sex offenders, but the legislators, in their wisdom, hadn’t allocated additional money or resources to make that happen. The backlog was tremendous. Some of the rural counties were still using dial-up to go online. The Department of Justice had found the state’s records deficient almost from the outset.
That didn’t mean they shouldn’t try.
Jeffrey told Frank, “Pull somebody off patrol and sit them down in front of a computer.”
“Why don’t I hang one more exit sign on the Titanic while I’m at it?”
“You got any better options?” Jeffrey demanded. They had no clues, no suspects, and their only possible witness was lying dead at their second crime scene. “What did Chuck Gaines say?”
Frank made a face. “He came down here swinging his dick around. I told him to get the hell back to his cave. Matt’s checking the security cameras, but there’s no way this guy parked on campus. He must’ve come up the other side of the woods. Maybe the fire road.”
“She’s been missing for over twenty-four hours.” Jeffrey took in his surroundings. The woods were dense. Ivy kept tangling around his shoes. “Why do you think she was here all night?”
“I didn’t see any ligature marks on her ankles or wrists. She’s fit, young. She would’ve fought back. He would’ve tied her up.” Frank horked up some phlegm, then spat it out. “I’m not a coroner, though. And I damn sure ain’t a medical examiner. What happened yesterday, there’s no way I would’ve said Caterino was anything but an accident.”
Brock said, “We’re lucky you were there, Sara. I’m not sure I would’ve asked the right questions, either.”
Jeffrey hated that he was thinking about the lawsuit Gerald Caterino might file, which meant that none of them should be tossing around what ifs that they might later be compelled to explain in a deposition.
He directed his thoughts back toward the case, remembering something Tommi Humphrey had told him, a detail that connected her attacker to Rebecca Caterino’s.
He asked Frank, “Did you see anything blue on Truong, maybe around her mouth or on her throat?”
Frank stopped walking. “How did you know?”
Sara was paying attention now. She asked, “Know what?”
“Her lips had a blue stain here.” Frank pointed at his mouth. “Reminded me of when Darla was little and she drank too much Kool-Aid.”
Sara caught Jeffrey’s eye again. The stain wasn’t from Kool-Aid. It was likely from blue Gatorade. That would explain why Truong’s wrists and ankles showed no ligature marks. As with Tommi Humphrey, she had been drugged during the attack.
Frank asked, “What am I missing?”
Jeffrey nodded for him to lead the way.
They formed a single-file line as Frank took them deeper into the forest. Jeffrey readjusted the tent poles to get a better hold. He silently reviewed what he knew about the attacks on Tommi Humphrey and Rebecca Caterino. He wanted to have the details at the forefront of his mind when they reached the body.
The blue Gatorade. The woods. The university. The hammer. The attacker had used bleach on Humphrey. They were guessing that he’d used unscented wipes to clean up Caterino.
That was a lot, but it wasn’t enough.
Jeffrey ran through the differences. Caterino was gay. Humphrey straight. One was a freshman. The other a junior. One kept to herself. The other had been surrounded by friends. The photos along the Humphreys hallway had given him a good idea of what Tommi had looked like before the attack. She had been slightly on the heavy side. Her blonde hair was cut in a bob. In the group shots, she had appeared shorter than her friends.
Caterino was very slight, almost too thin. Her brown hair was shoulder-length. Her approximate height put her around five-six. She was physically active where Tommi had appeared to be more sedentary. As far as they knew, Rebecca hadn’t suffered the same internal damage during her attack.
Then again, maybe Leslie Truong had interrupted Caterino’s assailant before he’d been able to mutilate her. Jeffrey needed to look at Lena’s notebook again. She would’ve taken down the details from Leslie Truong before releasing her back to campus. Jeffrey had read Lena’s official report, but her notebook could have a piece of information that might offer a lead.