put down her coffee cup. “You found the girl. I don’t need to ask you if she was dead.”
“No, you don’t.”
Claire nodded sadly. “I’m with my team,” she informed him. “May I put you on speakerphone?”
“We’re really pushing the envelope here. But fine.”
Claire pressed the speaker button and set her phone in the center of the table. “Go ahead.”
“It was pretty much as you described. The body was in a warehouse on Jay Street.”
“Shit. That’s my neck of the woods,” Ryan muttered.
“She was nude,” Tom continued. “Her clothing was torn to shreds. Her wrists were bound together. There was physical evidence of rape. The hyoid bone in her neck was fractured, indicating strangulation. The body was wrapped in a canvas tarp. Pieces of her hair had been snipped off. There was a red ribbon tied around her throat in a bow. And he’d applied lipstick to her lips. It was almost like he was leaving us a carefully wrapped gift, as sick as that is.”
“Sounds like a signature mark of some kind.” Marc spoke up. “Detective Werner, this is Marc Devereaux, one of Claire’s colleagues. I realize this entire conversation is off the record. So can you give me a description of the girl?”
“Caucasian. Petite—about five foot three, a hundred and five pounds. Brown eyes, shoulder-length red hair.”
There was a long moment of silence at the conference table before Casey spoke up.
“This is Casey Woods, Detective. What else can you tell us about the victim?”
“Her name was Kendra Mallery. She was a freshman at Columbia. Her family’s been notified and they’ve ID’d the body, but they’re in shock and not able to tell us much. I haven’t spoken to any of her friends yet. So I don’t know too many details about her habits or where she was headed when she was abducted.” Tom paused. “I realize Claire is invested in this because she visualized the crime. But I get the feeling there’s more at stake here. Why is your team asking so many questions?”
“Because it’s possible the killer was in touch with me at the time of the murder.” Casey tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.
“What?”
She went on to explain the call she’d gotten, reporting it as accurately as possible. She also told Tom about the cold case they were investigating and her caller’s allusion to it.
“Shit,” Tom muttered. “That’s no coincidence. The killer is targeting you. And keeping tabs on you in the process. Do you have any idea who he is?”
“None.” Casey fiddled with her pen as she spoke. “But the description you gave of the victim? It could as easily be a description of me. And not just the physical elements. I got my undergraduate degree at Columbia.”
At this point, the tension in the conference room was suffocating.
“Look,” Casey said at last. “We can speculate all we want. But the truth is, we have nothing but an untraceable, voice-scrambled phone call and a series of coincidences. That’s not enough to take action.”
“It’s enough to assign you police protection,” Ryan said.
“Minimal protection,” Marc corrected. “Our team can provide a whole lot more.” He cleared his throat. “Tom, based on Claire’s tip, which led to your finding the body, along with the threats that were made against Casey—could you speak to your captain about Forensic Instincts working together with your precinct on solving this one? Our skills and resources can complement each other’s.”
“While working within the boundaries of the law?” Tom asked pointedly.
“That’s always our intention,” Marc responded. “We’re not interested in being at odds with law enforcement. Just understand that we’re protecting one of our own. Anything we do that falls into the gray area will be our responsibility and will in no way implicate the police.”
“Fair enough,” Tom agreed. “Let me finish the paperwork, including all the information you just gave me. We’re in
“No, you don’t.”
Claire nodded sadly. “I’m with my team,” she informed him. “May I put you on speakerphone?”
“We’re really pushing the envelope here. But fine.”
Claire pressed the speaker button and set her phone in the center of the table. “Go ahead.”
“It was pretty much as you described. The body was in a warehouse on Jay Street.”
“Shit. That’s my neck of the woods,” Ryan muttered.
“She was nude,” Tom continued. “Her clothing was torn to shreds. Her wrists were bound together. There was physical evidence of rape. The hyoid bone in her neck was fractured, indicating strangulation. The body was wrapped in a canvas tarp. Pieces of her hair had been snipped off. There was a red ribbon tied around her throat in a bow. And he’d applied lipstick to her lips. It was almost like he was leaving us a carefully wrapped gift, as sick as that is.”
“Sounds like a signature mark of some kind.” Marc spoke up. “Detective Werner, this is Marc Devereaux, one of Claire’s colleagues. I realize this entire conversation is off the record. So can you give me a description of the girl?”
“Caucasian. Petite—about five foot three, a hundred and five pounds. Brown eyes, shoulder-length red hair.”
There was a long moment of silence at the conference table before Casey spoke up.
“This is Casey Woods, Detective. What else can you tell us about the victim?”
“Her name was Kendra Mallery. She was a freshman at Columbia. Her family’s been notified and they’ve ID’d the body, but they’re in shock and not able to tell us much. I haven’t spoken to any of her friends yet. So I don’t know too many details about her habits or where she was headed when she was abducted.” Tom paused. “I realize Claire is invested in this because she visualized the crime. But I get the feeling there’s more at stake here. Why is your team asking so many questions?”
“Because it’s possible the killer was in touch with me at the time of the murder.” Casey tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.
“What?”
She went on to explain the call she’d gotten, reporting it as accurately as possible. She also told Tom about the cold case they were investigating and her caller’s allusion to it.
“Shit,” Tom muttered. “That’s no coincidence. The killer is targeting you. And keeping tabs on you in the process. Do you have any idea who he is?”
“None.” Casey fiddled with her pen as she spoke. “But the description you gave of the victim? It could as easily be a description of me. And not just the physical elements. I got my undergraduate degree at Columbia.”
At this point, the tension in the conference room was suffocating.
“Look,” Casey said at last. “We can speculate all we want. But the truth is, we have nothing but an untraceable, voice-scrambled phone call and a series of coincidences. That’s not enough to take action.”
“It’s enough to assign you police protection,” Ryan said.
“Minimal protection,” Marc corrected. “Our team can provide a whole lot more.” He cleared his throat. “Tom, based on Claire’s tip, which led to your finding the body, along with the threats that were made against Casey—could you speak to your captain about Forensic Instincts working together with your precinct on solving this one? Our skills and resources can complement each other’s.”
“While working within the boundaries of the law?” Tom asked pointedly.
“That’s always our intention,” Marc responded. “We’re not interested in being at odds with law enforcement. Just understand that we’re protecting one of our own. Anything we do that falls into the gray area will be our responsibility and will in no way implicate the police.”
“Fair enough,” Tom agreed. “Let me finish the paperwork, including all the information you just gave me. We’re in
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