Triptych (Will Trent #1) - Karin Slaughter Page 0,71

the dog liked cheese and he kept some on hand for her.

Angie had followed him into the kitchen. He asked, “When did Ormewood get transferred to Homicide?”

“About six months ago.”

Will had been living in north Georgia six months ago, exiled to busting abandoned chicken farms that had been turned into methamphetamine labs while his boss decided what to do with him.

“Vice was his first big assignment when he got his gold shield,” she said. “He worked it about ten years.”

Will figured she was trying to tell him something. “Why did he leave?”

“Me.” She pulled out a chair and sat at the table. “I told him he had to leave or I’d report him.”

“For?”

“He was diddling some of the girls.”

Will put the cheese down on the counter. “That’s interesting.”

“I thought it was pretty fucking disgusting, but to each his own.”

Will mulled this over a moment, his picture of Michael Ormewood changing yet again. The man was certainly hard to pin down. “Was he doing this the whole ten years he worked Vice?”

“I only worked on his team for a few months. If I had to guess, I’d say yeah.”

He asked, “Is that common?”

She shrugged. “Happens sometimes, especially with the married guys. Free pussy, who’s gonna say no?”

Will turned to get a plate out of the cabinet so she couldn’t read his expression, but Angie had known him since he was eight years old and she laughed anyway.

She said, “You’re such a prude, William.”

“Not much has changed in two years.”

She didn’t take the bait. Two years and a handful of months was more like it. They had been in this same kitchen, Angie screaming at him and Will looking down at his shoes while he waited for her to stop. She had stopped finally, only it was when she slammed the door on the way out.

He cubed the cheese with the knife, trying to ignore the expectant look Betty gave him. “What did you hear about what happened this afternoon?”

“Michael’s neighbor?” Angie clarified. “Not much. Just that it’s probably connected to the Monroe case.”

“The neighbor’s tongue was severed. They haven’t found it yet.”

“Why would someone go after Michael’s neighbor?”

“That’s what I was wondering.”

“Do you think it’s random?”

He leaned his back against the counter and looked at her. “Doesn’t seem likely. Does Ormewood have many enemies?”

“I’m not his best friend, but from what I can tell, the guys like him. He hangs around with that asshole Leo Donnelly a lot, so there’s no explaining his taste.”

“Were there any cases you heard about where he might have angered somebody?”

“You mean pissed them off?” She shrugged again, a new habit she’d picked up since he had last seen her. “Nothing spectacular. You really think it’s connected to Monroe?”

“The coroner’s report on the girl will be ready tomorrow. From what I could see, there were some differences.” He paused, recalling the scene in his head. “The top of her foot was scratched. She had obviously tripped over the fence. There was a wound here.” He touched his temple. “She hit a rock when she fell, pretty hard from the look of it. And the blood.” He paused again. “There wasn’t enough blood. With Monroe, the mouth filled with blood pretty quickly, enough to choke her. This kid was facedown, of course, but there wasn’t much blood on the ground. If I had to guess, I’d say her heart had stopped beating before the tongue was removed.”

“Was she raped?”

“There was bruising on her thighs, but we won’t know for certain until they get her on the table.”

“Pete Hanson’s handling this?”

“Yeah. The murder was in DeKalb County, but I asked them to let him handle the body just for continuity.” He provided, “Hanson did Aleesha Monroe this morning. He seems like a good man.” Will thought of something the doctor had raised during autopsy. “Do condoms with spermicide and lubricant cost that much more than the ones without?”

She stared at him. “Do I look like an expert?”

He knew that she probably was but did not want to have that particular discussion right now. “Monroe’s killer used a condom that had lubricant and spermicide on it. I was just curious if they cost more.”

Angie made the obvious conclusion. “He didn’t want to leave his DNA.”

“Ormewood thinks it means he didn’t intend to kill her.”

“That’s bullshit,” Angie countered. “The johns don’t bring rubbers with them. They’re not exactly worried about the girls they’re banging. You know what they call all that extra skin around the vagina? A woman.” She added,