Vendetta in Death (In Death #49) - J. D. Robb Page 0,55
detective, but a uniform will do. Have them serve it, get the data.”
As they approached Morris’s doors, her comm signaled. “What now?” Then she read Commander Whitney on the readout, and had a pretty good idea what now. “Dallas. Sir.”
“Lieutenant. You’re needed in The Tower for a conversation with Chief Tibble.”
That proved a higher what now than she’d expected. “Commander, I’m in the field, currently at the morgue about to speak to Dr. Morris regarding Thaddeus Pettigrew, who all evidence indicates is the second victim in my current investigation. We also have an interview with Pettigrew’s live-in scheduled in ninety minutes.”
“Report to The Tower at thirteen hundred hours.”
“Yes, sir.” She stuffed her comm back in her pocket. “Geena McEnroy.”
“She went straight to the top,” Peabody commented. “At least we’ve got some time to interview Horowitz.”
“He didn’t send for you. You weren’t there for my interview with her anyway.”
“Uh-uh.” Peabody put her stubborn face on. “Partners. You have to risk an ass-frying, my ass is in the pan with yours.”
“I didn’t need the visual of your ass bumped up against mine in some damn pan. Ass partners,” she muttered, and pushed through the doors when Peabody snorted out a laugh.
Morris had one of his favored bluesy numbers going and wore a suit in forest green. Cord, stone gray like his tie, wound through the braid he’d doubled up at the back of his head in a loop.
He currently had his hands in Pettigrew’s open chest.
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends. This poor soul won’t fight another battle.”
“He didn’t get to fight the last one,” Eve pointed out.
“No, he didn’t. No defensive wounds though he suffered more trauma than our previous guest. I have no argument with your on-scene conclusions, Dallas. He hung by the wrists, from above, and his weight, his struggle eventually dislocated both shoulders. An electric prod—the same dimensions as the one used on McEnroy—was used to beat, burn, sodomize. I estimate at least four hours between the first burn and the last.”
“She’s … dedicated.”
“I’d say that’s an accurate term for it. It takes a kind of dedication to torture another human being for hours. There’s no sign of gagging, so he’d have screamed, likely have pleaded. COD would be severe blood loss from the amputation. He was, as was McEnroy, alive when she used the blade. The same blade, in my opinion, that was used on McEnroy.”
“Was he drugged?”
“As before I put a rush on the tox report. It’s the same mix. In this case, the first dose was administered into the palm of his hand.”
“Okay, okay, that’s how it’s done.” Nodding, Eve circled the body. “He comes to the door to let her in. She introduces herself, offers her hand. She’s got the syringe palmed. He wouldn’t even have time to react. She just leads him out to the waiting car, and she’s got him.”
“He ingested the second dose.”
“Probably in the car.” She could see it. Yes, she could see it very clearly.
“Puts him out,” she continued. “Whoever’s driving helps her get him inside once they get where they’re going, maybe helps her string him up.”
“Only one deviation I’ve found thus far,” Morris told her. “Have a look at his toes.”
He offered her, then Peabody, microgoggles. Peabody eased back a step.
“That’s okay. I can see fine from here.”
Eve adjusted hers, bent down with Morris. “With McEnroy, there were scrapes and bruises on the balls and heels of his feet. He’d swing, you see, when the prod struck, or jerk. And his feet would beat on the floor or ground. But in this case—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. She elevated him a little higher. He barely had his toes on the floor surface, so he’s digging in with them to stay up, to try to relieve the weight on his arms and shoulders. They’re scraping over the floor when he swings. Anything under the toenails?”
“Funny you should ask.” Smiling, Morris straightened. “Yes, I scraped substance from under them, sent it to the lab. It’s not fiber, so not a rug or carpet, not fabric. I don’t think it’s wood. Stone or concrete perhaps.”
“Good, that’s good. She didn’t think of that, did she? Wanted him to hurt so she didn’t think of that.”
“One can never overestimate a human being’s capacity for cruelty.” Morris drew off his goggles, met Eve’s eyes. “But this one runs wide and runs deep. I hope you’re closer to her than she is to the next.”