ripe one in here.”
“Very,” replied the young trooper. “I’m guessing he’s been dead a week. He’s in the bathroom.”
Carol peeked into the filthy bathroom to see a man slumped over on the toilet. He had a needle sticking out of the underside of his left arm. A thick rubber band was tied around his bicep just above the elbow. The rest of the heroin kit was sitting on the rim of the sink. With her gloved hand, she lifted his head to make a positive ID. She confirmed to Joel it was Gregory Kirsk.
“He must have drove straight here from Sugarloaf,” said Joel.
“More than likely he made a stop or two to sell some of Kate’s jewelry and pick up the heroin,” added Carol. “We need to check every pawn shop between here and the crime scene. Did you guys touch anything?” she asked one of the troopers.
“Not a thing. We had a feeling it was your guy from the picture you put on the wire. His neck tattoo gave him up pretty quick. We didn’t feel it necessary to start CPR.”
“Good call,” laughed Carol. “Although it would’ve been nice to see him fry.”
“Saved the taxpayers a ton of money,” said Joel. “Is the car out front his?”
“Yep,” said the trooper. “Registered to him as of four months ago, but we haven’t looked inside.”
“Great work, you two,” said Carol. “Could you guys knock on a few doors and find out what kind of neighbor our fine Mr. Kirsk was?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the troopers as they headed out of the room.
Carol and Joel followed them out to take a closer look at the car. She opened the driver side door and saw blood stains on the steering wheel, dashboard, and front seats. Joel opened the rear passenger door and discovered a bloodstained Florida state trooper’s uniform balled up on the floorboard. When he popped the trunk, he found a gun belt, a large knife, and a Taser gun. All the items were smeared with blood.
“Joel,” called out Carol. “Take a look at this.”
He walked from behind the car to see Carol standing by the front passenger’s door. As he stepped closer, he heard the tinny sound of a music box playing “Over the Rainbow.” Carol stepped aside to let Joel lean in and get a better view of the contents of the box. Inside were Kate and Caleb’s missing fingers.
10
Water
GREY TURNED ON HIS CELLPHONE as soon as the plane touched down. He was back in Miami after being home in Atlanta for two days. It beeped, notifying him of several messages in his queue. He checked the first message from Evan while disembarking the plane. He quickened his pace when it ended.
Driving well over the speed limit, he arrived back at the hospital in less than thirty minutes. Evan, Paul, and Kate’s family were assembled in the waiting room when Grey turned the corner. “Are they here?”
“Any minute,” replied Evan.
“What did they tell you?”
“They just said they found their primary suspect and would give us the details when they get here. You didn’t get a call from them?”
“No, I didn’t,” said Grey. “But I had a feeling they’d keep me in the dark as much as possible.”
All talking stopped when the investigators entered the waiting area. “We’ve got some very good news,” said Carol as Kate’s family jumped to their feet. “We got him.”
“Oh, thank God,” said Maggie, clenching onto her husband’s arm.
“His name is, or was, Gregory Kirsk,” said Joel. “We lifted his prints at the scene as well as his DNA from objects in the house. Everything was a match.”
“He ‘was’ Gregory Kirsk?” asked Grey.
“Dead when we caught up with him,” said Carol. “The medical examiner’s preliminary report suggests a heroin overdose. The needle hanging out of his arm when we found him helped our assessment.”
“He was a junkie?”
“He was more than a junkie,” said Carol. “He had a long history of violent crimes, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and armed robbery, to name a few. This
“Very,” replied the young trooper. “I’m guessing he’s been dead a week. He’s in the bathroom.”
Carol peeked into the filthy bathroom to see a man slumped over on the toilet. He had a needle sticking out of the underside of his left arm. A thick rubber band was tied around his bicep just above the elbow. The rest of the heroin kit was sitting on the rim of the sink. With her gloved hand, she lifted his head to make a positive ID. She confirmed to Joel it was Gregory Kirsk.
“He must have drove straight here from Sugarloaf,” said Joel.
“More than likely he made a stop or two to sell some of Kate’s jewelry and pick up the heroin,” added Carol. “We need to check every pawn shop between here and the crime scene. Did you guys touch anything?” she asked one of the troopers.
“Not a thing. We had a feeling it was your guy from the picture you put on the wire. His neck tattoo gave him up pretty quick. We didn’t feel it necessary to start CPR.”
“Good call,” laughed Carol. “Although it would’ve been nice to see him fry.”
“Saved the taxpayers a ton of money,” said Joel. “Is the car out front his?”
“Yep,” said the trooper. “Registered to him as of four months ago, but we haven’t looked inside.”
“Great work, you two,” said Carol. “Could you guys knock on a few doors and find out what kind of neighbor our fine Mr. Kirsk was?”
“Yes, ma’am,” said the troopers as they headed out of the room.
Carol and Joel followed them out to take a closer look at the car. She opened the driver side door and saw blood stains on the steering wheel, dashboard, and front seats. Joel opened the rear passenger door and discovered a bloodstained Florida state trooper’s uniform balled up on the floorboard. When he popped the trunk, he found a gun belt, a large knife, and a Taser gun. All the items were smeared with blood.
“Joel,” called out Carol. “Take a look at this.”
He walked from behind the car to see Carol standing by the front passenger’s door. As he stepped closer, he heard the tinny sound of a music box playing “Over the Rainbow.” Carol stepped aside to let Joel lean in and get a better view of the contents of the box. Inside were Kate and Caleb’s missing fingers.
10
Water
GREY TURNED ON HIS CELLPHONE as soon as the plane touched down. He was back in Miami after being home in Atlanta for two days. It beeped, notifying him of several messages in his queue. He checked the first message from Evan while disembarking the plane. He quickened his pace when it ended.
Driving well over the speed limit, he arrived back at the hospital in less than thirty minutes. Evan, Paul, and Kate’s family were assembled in the waiting room when Grey turned the corner. “Are they here?”
“Any minute,” replied Evan.
“What did they tell you?”
“They just said they found their primary suspect and would give us the details when they get here. You didn’t get a call from them?”
“No, I didn’t,” said Grey. “But I had a feeling they’d keep me in the dark as much as possible.”
All talking stopped when the investigators entered the waiting area. “We’ve got some very good news,” said Carol as Kate’s family jumped to their feet. “We got him.”
“Oh, thank God,” said Maggie, clenching onto her husband’s arm.
“His name is, or was, Gregory Kirsk,” said Joel. “We lifted his prints at the scene as well as his DNA from objects in the house. Everything was a match.”
“He ‘was’ Gregory Kirsk?” asked Grey.
“Dead when we caught up with him,” said Carol. “The medical examiner’s preliminary report suggests a heroin overdose. The needle hanging out of his arm when we found him helped our assessment.”
“He was a junkie?”
“He was more than a junkie,” said Carol. “He had a long history of violent crimes, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and armed robbery, to name a few. This
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