“Ah, no way.” Carter held up his hands. “I’m off-duty but Kalo is in the office if you need him to hunt down anything for you.”
“I’ll be happy to help.” Jo leaned back in her chair. “But I promised Jaime she could watch the parade.”
Jenna went to the counter and filled the coffee machine. “We’ll have time to run a few things past you later when Jaime is asleep.”
“Sure.” Jo smiled. “I was hoping to introduce Jaime to Shane’s daughters. I think she’d get along with Anna but I guess he’ll be busy too?”
Jenna pulled out cups and the fixings. “He will but Julie will be taking Anna to the festival. She’s very responsible and they have a housekeeper who never misses a parade. Maybe you can tag along with them?”
“I’ll call and ask Shane later.” Jo looked at Kane. “Was it something in my field of expertise you needed to discuss?”
“Yeah, it’s complicated.” Kane dropped into a seat and removed his hat. “Like most things that happen around here.”
“Well…” Carter straightened and tossed the toothpick into the trash. He looked at Jaime. “I have a hankering for a slice of Aunt Betty’s peach pie. She has every flavor of ice cream. If your mom says it’s okay, would you like to come with me and try some?”
“Can I, Mommy?” Jaime grinned. “Please, please, please?”
“Sure, but don’t be too long.” Jo turned to Carter. “You’d better grab a slice of that pie for me as well.” She looked at Jenna. “It’s the best in town, right?
Jenna laughed. “It sure is.”
“Let’s go.” Carter offered his hand to the little girl. “We’ll walk, it’s not far and the dogs need a run.” They headed out the door.
“Okay.” Jo leaned forward in her seat. “What’s happened?”
Jenna poured three cups of coffee and placed them on the table. She sat down and brought Jo up to speed with the Laurie Turner case. “Like Kane said, it’s complicated.”
“Hmm.” Jo drummed her fingertips on the desk. “The cause of death confuses things, strangulation from behind isn’t upfront and personal, which appears to contradict the post-mortem stabbing.”
“Then we have the delay.” Kane indicated to the whiteboard, which had been brought up to date by Rio in their absence. “She was strangled and left in a sitting position for some hours, wrapped in plastic, and moved to the lowlands. We know she was stabbed in that location by the spatter pattern over the metal door to the old mine.”
Jenna chewed on her bottom lip. “It doesn’t fit any crime of passion I’ve seen before.”
“That’s because it’s not.” Jo sipped her coffee and thought for a beat. “I’m wondering if this is a White Knight murder.”
“In what context?” Kane looked puzzled.
“This type is the next step up from a man coming to a woman’s need. This subject is really a subordinate to a dominant personality. He would see her as a goddess, someone he admires. He craves her favor and will do anything to please her including be
ing an accessory or committing murder for her. So, we could have two killers working together. I have no doubt it’s two people involved, likely a male and female but it could be two females. It’s not unusual for two jealous females to hunt down women they hate.” Jo stood and stared at the whiteboard. “So, are you assuming she was strangled by the subordinate and stabbed by the dominant?”
Jenna nodded. “Yes, I think it’s possible. We have a witness to say she took a ride in a car, and we’re assuming from the time of death it happened sometime after that. Kane believes she was strangled inside the vehicle but we can’t ignore the fact she may have been attacked leaving the vehicle by a taller person. From the position of the marks on her neck either is possible so I can’t discount the subordinate male.”
“I’d say inside the vehicle but I disagree with the idea the subordinate strangled her.” Jo stared at the autopsy photographs. “If a person isn’t a killer and is ordered to take a life, the first kill would be clumsy. It takes four minutes to strangle someone to death, sustained pressure is required or the victim regains consciousness. In that time, someone in this category would reduce the pressure, the cord would slip as they tried again. This isn’t evident here.” She looked at Kane. “You’ve seen this before, surely?”
“Yeah, sometimes the victim wakes up and they have to strangle them again.” Kane was on his feet staring at the images. “The marks on Laurie’s neck are from sustained pressure, so this was the dominant of the two and I figure the attack was committed by the same person.”
“Exactly.” Jo stared at the post-mortem wounds and nodded slowly. “This is a frenzied attack but what triggered it?” She stared at the board. “Any clues at the scene?”
“Nothing.” Kane sighed. “As you can see the entire area was swept clean.”
“Okay. Let’s wind it back to the actual murder.” Jo turned to look at them. “So, why take her from the vehicle and sit her on a plastic sheet. Why sit her up? It would have been easier to lie her down. They obviously planned to move her and a sitting body in rigor would have been difficult to move.”
“Maybe that’s why they waited overnight.” Kane pointed to the images of the scene at the mine. “They left very little trace evidence. They must know about forensics to some degree.”
“You’re missing my point.” Jo leaned one hip against the desk. “Why sit her up in the first place?”
A chill ran down Jenna’s back as she contemplated the gruesome scene. “Oh Lord, they wanted her to watch them.”