Read Online Justification for Murder by Elin Barnes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elin Barnes
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to protest. When he didn’t, she knew she was right. Saffron fought every urge she felt to beat the crap out of him. She wanted to but knew she would feel even worse having assaulted a man in a wheelchair. Her phone began to ring, but she ignored it. The noise filled the room, but she didn’t feel any relief. After the third ring, it stopped.
“Good luck to you, Ranjan,” she said and walked by him toward the door.
She hoped he would grab her hand, ask her to stop, but he didn’t. Outside, she heard him get off the wheelchair and slide his feet toward the bed.
CHAPTER 17
D arcy watched Sorensen put up the new victim’s photo on his case board. Below, he carefully wrote in block letters “NAME: Sheila Rothschild. DOB: 7-16-65. TOD: around 8:30 a.m.” Then he paused and looked back at the file, searching. He wrote “Likes to BBQ?”
“Do you find that useful?” Darcy asked him.
“What? The board?” Sorensen put the file back on his desk.
“Yeah. We didn’t do anything like that in Seattle.”
“I do. Find it useful. It helps me think. I often add things that don’t even seem relevant at the time, but that for some reason grab my attention. Sometimes they end up meaning something. Sometimes they don’t.”
Sorensen turned back to his board. “See this?” he said, pointing to the second victim, Taisha Robinson.
Darcy got up from his chair and walked closer to Sorensen’s board. Leaning on the desk, he said, “Likes gardening.”
“She had a shed and a very nice backyard. Beautiful flowers and bushes all well pruned. She was an old woman and yet she must have spent a lot of time in the yard.”
“Okay…” Darcy said, not really understanding why that mattered. “So?”
“Well, the tool she used to mutilate herself was some gardening shears. See this one?” Sorensen pointed to his new victim.
“Yes. She liked to barbecue.”
“She had a nice kitchen and a full set of Henckels barbecue tools. They are the best in the market. I wish I could afford a set like hers.” He paused and looked at Lynch. “She carved her breast out with a barbecue fork.”
Darcy nodded.
“Does it mean anything?” Sorensen asked, more in general than to Lynch. “I don’t know yet. Maybe. But having it out on the board helps me keep it in the back of my mind. You never know when a brilliant idea is going to surprise you.”
He smiled and hit Darcy on the shoulder. This was the first sign of camaraderie Darcy had felt coming from the huge detective.
“I think I’m going to try it,” Darcy said, heading toward the supply closet.
A few minutes later he came back with a brand-new whiteboard a little smaller than Sorensen’s. He placed it on the right side of his desk, close to his chair, so he could write while seated. He browsed through the first file, trying to figure out what he wanted to highlight. He picked Saffron’s DMV picture and put it up. He stared at it for a few seconds. It didn’t do her justice. He looked for a better photo, but there weren’t any others. Darcy made a mental note to print the photo from her LinkedIn profile later. He rummaged some more and settled on a picture of the totaled car and a smaller one of Ranjan. He still hadn’t ruled him out as the main victim yet, though he was almost sure this wasn’t about him.
He looked over Sorensen’s board to see what type of information he had written on it and copied it on his own. Instead of time of death, he wrote the time of both incidents, the hit and run on the road and the chase after the perp ran away from Saffron’s place when they got there. Then he added everything else he could think of, but specially the first things that popped into his head: knife, Timberland boots, black leather gloves, stolen truck.
When he ran out of evidence, he wrote the biggest question of all in red marker: “Motive.” He looked at the word and then added two question marks after it. He stared at the board for a few minutes, trying to
“Good luck to you, Ranjan,” she said and walked by him toward the door.
She hoped he would grab her hand, ask her to stop, but he didn’t. Outside, she heard him get off the wheelchair and slide his feet toward the bed.
CHAPTER 17
D arcy watched Sorensen put up the new victim’s photo on his case board. Below, he carefully wrote in block letters “NAME: Sheila Rothschild. DOB: 7-16-65. TOD: around 8:30 a.m.” Then he paused and looked back at the file, searching. He wrote “Likes to BBQ?”
“Do you find that useful?” Darcy asked him.
“What? The board?” Sorensen put the file back on his desk.
“Yeah. We didn’t do anything like that in Seattle.”
“I do. Find it useful. It helps me think. I often add things that don’t even seem relevant at the time, but that for some reason grab my attention. Sometimes they end up meaning something. Sometimes they don’t.”
Sorensen turned back to his board. “See this?” he said, pointing to the second victim, Taisha Robinson.
Darcy got up from his chair and walked closer to Sorensen’s board. Leaning on the desk, he said, “Likes gardening.”
“She had a shed and a very nice backyard. Beautiful flowers and bushes all well pruned. She was an old woman and yet she must have spent a lot of time in the yard.”
“Okay…” Darcy said, not really understanding why that mattered. “So?”
“Well, the tool she used to mutilate herself was some gardening shears. See this one?” Sorensen pointed to his new victim.
“Yes. She liked to barbecue.”
“She had a nice kitchen and a full set of Henckels barbecue tools. They are the best in the market. I wish I could afford a set like hers.” He paused and looked at Lynch. “She carved her breast out with a barbecue fork.”
Darcy nodded.
“Does it mean anything?” Sorensen asked, more in general than to Lynch. “I don’t know yet. Maybe. But having it out on the board helps me keep it in the back of my mind. You never know when a brilliant idea is going to surprise you.”
He smiled and hit Darcy on the shoulder. This was the first sign of camaraderie Darcy had felt coming from the huge detective.
“I think I’m going to try it,” Darcy said, heading toward the supply closet.
A few minutes later he came back with a brand-new whiteboard a little smaller than Sorensen’s. He placed it on the right side of his desk, close to his chair, so he could write while seated. He browsed through the first file, trying to figure out what he wanted to highlight. He picked Saffron’s DMV picture and put it up. He stared at it for a few seconds. It didn’t do her justice. He looked for a better photo, but there weren’t any others. Darcy made a mental note to print the photo from her LinkedIn profile later. He rummaged some more and settled on a picture of the totaled car and a smaller one of Ranjan. He still hadn’t ruled him out as the main victim yet, though he was almost sure this wasn’t about him.
He looked over Sorensen’s board to see what type of information he had written on it and copied it on his own. Instead of time of death, he wrote the time of both incidents, the hit and run on the road and the chase after the perp ran away from Saffron’s place when they got there. Then he added everything else he could think of, but specially the first things that popped into his head: knife, Timberland boots, black leather gloves, stolen truck.
When he ran out of evidence, he wrote the biggest question of all in red marker: “Motive.” He looked at the word and then added two question marks after it. He stared at the board for a few minutes, trying to
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