Read Online Shades of Temptation by Virna Depaul - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Virna Depaul
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“These contain The
Embalmer’s first two letters. He mailed them in Fresno. Generic self-sealed
envelopes, generic stamps, no forensic evidence left behind.”
Jase opened the envelope she’d handed him and carefully pulled
out two plastic baggies, one that contained the letter and one that contained
the envelope it had been mailed in. “The envelope and letter went through a
printer. Any idea what kind? Laser or ink jet?”
Carrie frowned. “Would that matter?”
“Ink jets are much more common now. If it was printed on a
laser printer, which is more rare and involves buying expensive toner
cartridges, it wouldn’t hurt to check Fresno supply stores to see if anyone
purchased them or toner around the times of the murders. Little needle in a big
haystack, but we’re tossing out all possibilities, right?”
She grinned. All of a sudden, she didn’t feel as if she was an
outsider. Even when Jase had been questioning her, she’d been pissed, but she
hadn’t felt out of place. She supposed that meant something, right?
“No other links between the victims?” Jase asked.
“They ranged from late twenties to early fifties. Nothing in
common except their careers and hair color. Brown.”
“One of those is likely significant, then. Maybe he’s choosing
them because they remind him of someone. A teacher he had.”
“That’s what I thought. Or his mother. A girlfriend. But
where’s he picking them from? The schools? Don’t you think a stranger hanging
around at schools would be noticed?” She chewed her lip, then said, “So maybe
he’s not a stranger. Maybe his job gives him access to a variety of different
schools. Maybe he delivers school supplies, so it doesn’t matter what the grade
level is. Everyone needs paper and pencils, right?”
Jase nodded. “That’s exactly the kind of thinking that’ll close
this case. You’re digging deep for the microdetails, but what about the broader
things? Why’s he killing them the way he is?”
She sat forward, wincing a little when pain shot up her injured
leg. Automatically she rubbed it. “There’s two things that are obviously
significant. He embalms them and photographs them in that state. And he cuts off
their eyelids, which isn’t part of the embalming process. The eyelids are
probably some kind of trophy. Something he takes with him, along with the
photographs, to replay the murders in his mind. But we also have to assume they
have symbolic significance, don’t we?”
Jase’s attention had been on her leg, which she’d continued to
rub. When she stopped talking, his gaze returned to hers. “Maybe not. Does he
take the eyelids when the victims are alive or dead?”
“Let me check.” She turned back to her table and pulled out
Steward’s autopsy report. Scanned through it. “It says here she was already dead
when he cut off her eyelids.” She checked Johnson’s autopsy. “Same thing for the
first victim.”
“If he cut off their lids while they were alive, I could see
the lids meaning something. For example, that the victims had vision problems.
Or that he was fixing their vision. But what kind of problems? You might want to
confirm whether the victims wore glasses.”
“Got it.” She began to pace. “Now, about the embalming. He does
it when they’re still alive, and at some point during the process, they die. He
gives attention to every last detail. He’s trying to preserve them. At first,
he’s preserving their bodies and then their images on film. But he doesn’t pose
them. Which seems to suggest it’s the embalming itself that is the important
thing rather than how they actually look in the photographs.”
Jase leaned back on her sofa, legs sprawled out in front of
him, arms stretched wide. He looked comfortable. Right at home. And somehow,
despite the gruesome facts they were talking about, having him here felt right
to her, too.
“But then he burns them,” he pointed out. “Why?”
“The preservation is symbolic.
Embalmer’s first two letters. He mailed them in Fresno. Generic self-sealed
envelopes, generic stamps, no forensic evidence left behind.”
Jase opened the envelope she’d handed him and carefully pulled
out two plastic baggies, one that contained the letter and one that contained
the envelope it had been mailed in. “The envelope and letter went through a
printer. Any idea what kind? Laser or ink jet?”
Carrie frowned. “Would that matter?”
“Ink jets are much more common now. If it was printed on a
laser printer, which is more rare and involves buying expensive toner
cartridges, it wouldn’t hurt to check Fresno supply stores to see if anyone
purchased them or toner around the times of the murders. Little needle in a big
haystack, but we’re tossing out all possibilities, right?”
She grinned. All of a sudden, she didn’t feel as if she was an
outsider. Even when Jase had been questioning her, she’d been pissed, but she
hadn’t felt out of place. She supposed that meant something, right?
“No other links between the victims?” Jase asked.
“They ranged from late twenties to early fifties. Nothing in
common except their careers and hair color. Brown.”
“One of those is likely significant, then. Maybe he’s choosing
them because they remind him of someone. A teacher he had.”
“That’s what I thought. Or his mother. A girlfriend. But
where’s he picking them from? The schools? Don’t you think a stranger hanging
around at schools would be noticed?” She chewed her lip, then said, “So maybe
he’s not a stranger. Maybe his job gives him access to a variety of different
schools. Maybe he delivers school supplies, so it doesn’t matter what the grade
level is. Everyone needs paper and pencils, right?”
Jase nodded. “That’s exactly the kind of thinking that’ll close
this case. You’re digging deep for the microdetails, but what about the broader
things? Why’s he killing them the way he is?”
She sat forward, wincing a little when pain shot up her injured
leg. Automatically she rubbed it. “There’s two things that are obviously
significant. He embalms them and photographs them in that state. And he cuts off
their eyelids, which isn’t part of the embalming process. The eyelids are
probably some kind of trophy. Something he takes with him, along with the
photographs, to replay the murders in his mind. But we also have to assume they
have symbolic significance, don’t we?”
Jase’s attention had been on her leg, which she’d continued to
rub. When she stopped talking, his gaze returned to hers. “Maybe not. Does he
take the eyelids when the victims are alive or dead?”
“Let me check.” She turned back to her table and pulled out
Steward’s autopsy report. Scanned through it. “It says here she was already dead
when he cut off her eyelids.” She checked Johnson’s autopsy. “Same thing for the
first victim.”
“If he cut off their lids while they were alive, I could see
the lids meaning something. For example, that the victims had vision problems.
Or that he was fixing their vision. But what kind of problems? You might want to
confirm whether the victims wore glasses.”
“Got it.” She began to pace. “Now, about the embalming. He does
it when they’re still alive, and at some point during the process, they die. He
gives attention to every last detail. He’s trying to preserve them. At first,
he’s preserving their bodies and then their images on film. But he doesn’t pose
them. Which seems to suggest it’s the embalming itself that is the important
thing rather than how they actually look in the photographs.”
Jase leaned back on her sofa, legs sprawled out in front of
him, arms stretched wide. He looked comfortable. Right at home. And somehow,
despite the gruesome facts they were talking about, having him here felt right
to her, too.
“But then he burns them,” he pointed out. “Why?”
“The preservation is symbolic.
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