Stone Cross (Arliss Cutter #2) - Marc Cameron Page 0,63
get you some measurements, and comb the snow for any evidence, including tracks.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Warr said. “Get the body and anything else in plain sight. I’ll have a team out there as soon as humanly possible. At least by tomorrow morning. Right now I’ve got a suicide in Nunam Iqua, a moose hunter up the An-dreafsky River who’s two days overdue, and the body recovery Earl was supposed to go get today in Nightmute.”
“Kind of a perfect storm,” Cutter said.
The lieutenant gave an exhausted sigh. “Nope. Just an average day in C Detachment—nothing sixty good troopers couldn’t handle. Trouble is, we have to make do with twenty-seven.”
“We’ll help however we can.”
“All I can ask,” Warr said. “Anything jump out at you at first glance? Something I can tell my brass other than we’re not responding to a homicide and kidnapping?”
Cutter eyed the body. “Looks like Hagen was shot from the trees.”
“That doesn’t rule the Meads out,” Warr said. “But it makes them less likely. Jasper will stay out with the crime scene until we get a trooper out there.”
“Due respect, Lieutenant,” Cutter said. “He’s unarmed. At the very least, we have a murder and a couple of fugitives. They could be the killers, but I tend to agree that this feels like an abduction.”
“I hear you.” Another phone rang on Warr’s end. “Listen,” he said. “I have a call from the captain I need to take. If you don’t mind, give me a call back before you leave.”
Cutter handed the satellite phone back to Ned. “Looks like he wants you to stay and guard the crime scene.”
“He told me,” Ned said. “Honestly, I’m fine with that. But I’m thinking it’s going to be a while before they get anyone out here. That leaves Stone Cross with no VPSO.” He shrugged. “It is what it is, I guess.”
“It’s your business,” Lola said, “but somebody shot that guy over there in the head. You think it’s a good idea to stay out here by yourself?”
Ned smirked. “No,” he said, lowering his voice. “Vitus is staying with me. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Ned tramped down to the boat to retrieve a body bag while Cutter and Lola took photos and measurements, noting how far the body was from the lodge wall and the direction Rolf Hagen had been facing before he was killed.
Cutter squatted next to the body. “There’s some solace in the way he fell.”
Lola gulped. The corner of her lip curled, like she might get sick at any moment. “I can’t see any solace in having your brains blown out.”
“See how his boots are slightly crossed at the ankles?” Cutter pointed toward the river with an open hand. “If you look at the track impressions under the snow, he was walking this way.”
“Then why is he facing the trees?”
Cutter gestured to the wound. “Bullet hit him here, where the collar of his coat touches his skull. He didn’t have time to know he’d been shot. His body collapsed instantly, corkscrewing as it went down.”
Lola gave a tiny nod, back to her robust self now that she focused on science instead of the gore. “That accounts for the crossed legs.”
“Yep,” Cutter said. He studied the sole of each rubber boot, then checked the loose rubber tops. More than once he’d found an ankle gun on a dead body.
“How long do you think he’s been here?”
“That’s a tough call.” Cutter nudged Hagen’s outstretched arm with his knuckle. “Rigor is still present,” he said. “That usually starts to relax after fifty hours or so, but in these temps, when the body doesn’t start to break down for a while, it could hang on for twice that, or even longer. Aften Brooks said she hasn’t been able to reach the Meads since the afternoon of the day before yesterday. If the killing happened right after that . . .”
Lola checked her watch. “A little less than forty-eight hours. That’s a long time to be kidnapped.” She looked up at the log wall. “What do you want to do about that?”
Cutter stood with a groan, and went to examine the hole where the bullet had burrowed into the wood.
“Sloppy,” Lola said. “Leaving evidence behind that way.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a tidy murder,” Cutter said. “Except in the movies.” He stooped a little, putting the entry point at eye level. “Hagen’s lying on top of a half bottle of R&R whiskey. He’s not wearing socks with his boots, which suggests he