Read Online Requite by E. H. Reinhard - Free Book Online

took place. We parked and walked over.
    Hank opened the folder our Forensics Department put together. We spent a few minutes looking at the blood stains, trying to recreate what happened.
    “Looks like the drips start here and continue a few feet to here.” I pointed to the ground as I walked and the drips stains to the large puddle.
    “Forensics has it that Jake laid there.” Hank jerked his head to a blood stain on the ground.
    “What about this one here?” I pointed to the twelve inch stain a few feet away from the others.
    “It has to be Jessica’s or her attacker’s. Sheet says it’s a different blood type.”
    “Doubt it belongs the attacker. Witness reported that Jessica and Jake were both lying on the ground. What else does it say?”
    “Says estimated blood loss using the MAR method, was around 60 milliliters.”
    “So what is that?” I asked.
    “Let me check my phone. I’m not so hot with the whole metric conversion thing.” Hank dug his phone from his pocket and clicked away at the screen. “Comes out to about two ounces of blood lost.”
    “So she was on the ground bleeding, but only two ounces of blood lost?”
    “Looks like it.”
    “Good chance she was still alive when the guy took her.”
    “How do you think it went down?” Hank asked.
    “Well, I’m guessing our guy came up from behind the couple and struck Jake first. Eliminate the bigger threat. That happened around here.” I pointed to the start of the blood drops.
    “He had to have hit Jessica here. She went straight down at the blood pool there.” I pointed.
    “Think Jake was on his hands and knees, crawling forward?” Hank asked.
    “It would account for the drips moving in that direction.”
    “Then our guy went to finish the job on Jake?”
    “Probably after seeing Jessica was no longer a threat, yeah. Finish Jake off, and then go back for Jessica. Then he got interrupted from our witness driving up the ramp there, and tossed her in the van to finish elsewhere.” I walked over to the side of the parking structure and looked out over the corner of East Whiting and South Franklin Street. “They both attended the college right next to us here, huh?”
    “That’s what Casey said, yeah.”
    “My eyes locked on the sports bar across the street. How many bars are within walking distance?”
    “Nothing within a couple blocks, except Gamers.”
    “They could have gone to the bar after class. Let’s go see if anyone is there.”
    We left the car parked and walked down the stairs of the parking structure to the street. A half of a block later we were tugging at the front door—locked.
    “Sign says they open at four o’clock,” Hank said.
    I checked the time. They wouldn’t open for around another two hours.
    “Hank.” I pointed up above our heads to the security camera aiming down at the entrance.
    “They got video,” he said.
    “Let’s take a peek around back.”
    Hank and I rounded the side of the building toward the back. A large parking lot with a few scattered cars took up the entire side of the building. A delivery driver with a dolly was loading beer from his truck at the back.
    We walked up. “Owner inside?” I asked.
    He sat a keg of beer on the dolly. “Manager is. Do you need him for something?”
    “We do. We’re from the TPD.”
    “Sure, I’m just heading in now. I’ll get him.”
    The driver carted the dolly through the propped back door and disappeared into the building. A minute or two later a different guy walked out. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. His black polo had a name tag that said Bruce with Manager below it.
    “Bruce Leonard, I’m the manager here. Driver said you guys were from the police department?”
    “Lieutenant Kane, this is Sergeant Rawlings. You have a minute to talk?”
    “Sure, I got a couple minutes for you guys. Come on inside, we’ll grab a seat.”
    We followed the manager through the back, passing a couple offices and the kitchen before we found a booth