Read Online Little Belle Gone by Stephanie Whitlock - Free Book Online
Authors: Stephanie Whitlock
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his reaction might be, wondering what her reaction might be, but the moment passed too quickly. Before she could act, he turned and moved to the door.
“Come on, I’ll get a uniform to take you home. Once the scene’s been processed I’ll call you with the details, you don’t need to be here.” The concern in his voice warmed the icy wall around her heart, melting it a bit, but she was determined now.
“Thank you, Matthew,” at the use of his first name he turned to look sheepishly at her. The shy smile on his lips made her thighs tense, forcing her to take a step toward him. “But I’m quite all right now. I can stay.” Seeing the rebuttal forming in his throat, she continued, “You’re right. He did this, and I intend to see him pay for it. The best way to grieve for Pam and Carl is to catch him. I can handle it. At least, I think I can. Besides, there would be nothing for me to do at home but sit and wonder about what you were finding out here. So, let’s just go.” He stared at her for a second and she braced herself for an argument, but one did not come. With a heavy breath, he nodded and stepped though the door. She followed and they made their way back down the hallway to the studio together.
The first glimpse of the bodies made her sway a little, but she recovered quickly. Reaching down deep inside herself for that cold intellectual facade, she steeled her mind and body and approached the scene as if it were a classroom experiment. A test. Together, she and Barrow moved over the room, careful not to touch the bodies or their blood pools. The bodies were positioned directly in front of the raised platform where she would have been standing had she been teaching that morning. Remembering the previous victims had been squared in front of the tenant board in a similar fashion, she made a note of it. Aside from the sizable blood pools, the rest of the room seemed completely untouched. As she moved past the small podium at the corner of the platform, something caught her eye. Backing up, she crouched down next to the thin wooden structure and took a closer look. There, tucked into one of the shelves near the bottom, was a wad of dark, polyester like, cloth.
“What is it?” Matthew had seen her kneel down and, being the cop that he was, had come to see what had grabbed her attention.
Turning her head slightly to see his face, so very near to her own, she said, “I’m not sure, but I do know it shouldn’t be here. It’s not a towel and no one wears a sport coat to a gym. Least of all into a martial arts studio.” Looking at him confidently, she listened as he called a C.S.I. over to pull the fabric free. She watched as the roll of dark fabric turned into the desk clerk’s uniform coat from her building. The smell that accompanied the unfurled jacket made her nose bunch. Chemicals and filth. Exchanging a glance and a nod with Barrow, the C.S.I. bagged the article. The rest of her search yielded nothing and when the coroner arrived they stayed long enough to find out that the time of death was sometime between 6 and 7 am; no surprise there.
She stayed to watched the coroner zip the body bags, while Mathew returned to the lobby. One last good-bye to two kind souls. Making her way back to the lobby, she found Barrow giving orders to one of the uniforms. When he finished, he turned to face her and sighed. “Looks like our killer is a smart bastard. The surveillance camera’s been tampered with. All the video is distorted and grainy, but we are getting copies all the same. Maybe the lab guys can make something out of it.” He sounded weary, frustrated. She knew how he felt. Part of her hoped that the uniform coat from the first crime would give them something, but she doubted he would leave it for them if it could lead them straight to him. No doubt it would offer them more taunting clues that would get them no closer to catching him.
“Pam and Carl lived two floors down from me. Should we go check
“Come on, I’ll get a uniform to take you home. Once the scene’s been processed I’ll call you with the details, you don’t need to be here.” The concern in his voice warmed the icy wall around her heart, melting it a bit, but she was determined now.
“Thank you, Matthew,” at the use of his first name he turned to look sheepishly at her. The shy smile on his lips made her thighs tense, forcing her to take a step toward him. “But I’m quite all right now. I can stay.” Seeing the rebuttal forming in his throat, she continued, “You’re right. He did this, and I intend to see him pay for it. The best way to grieve for Pam and Carl is to catch him. I can handle it. At least, I think I can. Besides, there would be nothing for me to do at home but sit and wonder about what you were finding out here. So, let’s just go.” He stared at her for a second and she braced herself for an argument, but one did not come. With a heavy breath, he nodded and stepped though the door. She followed and they made their way back down the hallway to the studio together.
The first glimpse of the bodies made her sway a little, but she recovered quickly. Reaching down deep inside herself for that cold intellectual facade, she steeled her mind and body and approached the scene as if it were a classroom experiment. A test. Together, she and Barrow moved over the room, careful not to touch the bodies or their blood pools. The bodies were positioned directly in front of the raised platform where she would have been standing had she been teaching that morning. Remembering the previous victims had been squared in front of the tenant board in a similar fashion, she made a note of it. Aside from the sizable blood pools, the rest of the room seemed completely untouched. As she moved past the small podium at the corner of the platform, something caught her eye. Backing up, she crouched down next to the thin wooden structure and took a closer look. There, tucked into one of the shelves near the bottom, was a wad of dark, polyester like, cloth.
“What is it?” Matthew had seen her kneel down and, being the cop that he was, had come to see what had grabbed her attention.
Turning her head slightly to see his face, so very near to her own, she said, “I’m not sure, but I do know it shouldn’t be here. It’s not a towel and no one wears a sport coat to a gym. Least of all into a martial arts studio.” Looking at him confidently, she listened as he called a C.S.I. over to pull the fabric free. She watched as the roll of dark fabric turned into the desk clerk’s uniform coat from her building. The smell that accompanied the unfurled jacket made her nose bunch. Chemicals and filth. Exchanging a glance and a nod with Barrow, the C.S.I. bagged the article. The rest of her search yielded nothing and when the coroner arrived they stayed long enough to find out that the time of death was sometime between 6 and 7 am; no surprise there.
She stayed to watched the coroner zip the body bags, while Mathew returned to the lobby. One last good-bye to two kind souls. Making her way back to the lobby, she found Barrow giving orders to one of the uniforms. When he finished, he turned to face her and sighed. “Looks like our killer is a smart bastard. The surveillance camera’s been tampered with. All the video is distorted and grainy, but we are getting copies all the same. Maybe the lab guys can make something out of it.” He sounded weary, frustrated. She knew how he felt. Part of her hoped that the uniform coat from the first crime would give them something, but she doubted he would leave it for them if it could lead them straight to him. No doubt it would offer them more taunting clues that would get them no closer to catching him.
“Pam and Carl lived two floors down from me. Should we go check
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