Just then, Duke came back, crashing through the scrub with bits of forest debris stuck to his coat. He gave an excited bark, bounced on his front legs, looked at Kane, and whined almost mournfully. Jenna moved to Kane’s side. “You talk dog, what is he saying?”
“He’s found something and it’s not a dead animal.” Kane led the way down a narrow path between the trees. “His first owner must have given him extensive training. I know he tracks scents but this is the second time he has reacted like this, as if he is trying to tell me something. Last time we found a grave.”
A shiver ran down Jenna’s back as she followed Kane down the rough trail. She clambered over tree roots and pushed through brush that tore at her clothes. The leaves on the variety of bushes had turned a rich copper. Underfoot, twigs, leaves, and pinecones littered the ground, making the way hard to negotiate. She scanned the area but the forest was densely packed and trees in all stages of life blocked the light, leaving the odd shaft of sun to dapple the forest floor.
When the wind rustled the trees, dust and seeds appeared to dance in the sunbeams. It was both eerie and beautiful, almost magical. She heard a squawk and stopped walking to stare into the canopy in time to see a bald eagle take flight. The birdlife in the mountains and surrounding forests was incredible. I should feel safe here but no one is safe with a lunatic stalking the forest.
“Jenna.”
Kane’s voice got her attention and she stared at his serious expression. “Have you found something?”
“Over there.” He indicated with his chin. “We have a homicide.” He bent and patted Duke. “Good boy.” He waved a hand at him. “Seek.” The dog wandered off into the bushes.
She peered through the tree trunks and swallowed hard. Tied to a tree with yellow nylon cord sat the skeleton of a tall man, held together by the remnants of a thick padded jacket, thermal underwear, T-shirt, and jeans. His mold-covered hiking boots had tipped over, leaving the tattered fragments of blue jeans covering the end of the bones, and both hands appeared to be missing. In an effort to remain calm, she sucked in a deep breath then moved her attention back to the skull. Looking into the face of a victim was the hardest part of a murder investigation. The expressions of victims haunted her and made her determined to find them justice.
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An arrow complete with fletching pinned the head to the tree and around the shaft, the skull had fractured like the crazing on an old piece of porcelain. She swallowed the bile rushing up the back of her throat. Pine needles and leaves had collected on the top of the skull and foliage grew from eye sockets, giving it a surreal, grotesque appearance. She moved closer and squatted in front of the corpse. “Don’t touch anything; that could be blood on his shirt. It looks like bullet wounds—hard to tell but it would be shredded if an animal had eaten the flesh post-mortem.”
“Bullets. I’ve seen similar corpses during my tour of duty.” Kane wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as if disgusted. “What it looks like is someone used this man for target practice. This is overkill.”
6
Horrified by the remains, Jenna forced her professional side to take in the details before her but it was difficult to confront the results of torture. This was the medical examiner’s field of expertise, and as no personal property lay scattered around the body, she would leave everything to him. Duke’s bark startled Jenna and she straightened to welcome the return of the dog. “What is it, Duke?”
“He has likely found something else.” Kane frowned. “Coming?” He headed in the direction Duke had taken.
“Yeah.” Jenna followed him away from the trail and into the forest.
The bloodhound had taken them close to the rock face and the temperature dropped considerably as if cold seeped from the mountain. Not fifty feet from the crime scene, Duke barked again, and ahead Kane ducked as he pushed bushes aside to look at something.
“What is it?”
“It’s a backpack… no, two back packs.”
She took the pair of surgical gloves Kane handed her and pulled them on then bent to examine the two bags half-hidden under the forest debris. She lifted a purple and pink backpack from a bed of leaves. “I would say this belongs to a woman or kid.”
She turned it over, and after a little persuasion, one of the zippers slid open to reveal a wallet. She pulled out the wallet and opened it with care to examine the contents. “There are bills in here, so this wasn’t a robbery.” She lifted the driver’s license. “Californian driver’s license, Paige Allen, aged twenty. She has shoulder-length black hair.” She looked over at Kane and frowned. “Maybe this backpack has a connection to the skull?”
“I have Dawson Sanders, twenty-four, same state. He has five hundred bucks and change.” Kane pushed the wallet back into the bag. “I figure they had a campsite somewhere; this bag has essentials for one day’s hiking. Did you find a cellphone or satellite phone?”
Jenna shook her head. “Nope, and what idiot goes hiking without a phone?”
“No one and there are other inconsistencies.” Kane’s eyes narrowed. “Why hasn’t the body been disturbed by animals? If the skull belongs to the woman, I would figure wildlife disturbed her remains, which, with the number of carnivores in the forest, is usual. His should have been scattered too; it doesn’t make sense.”
“No attempt at burial either. This is the ‘use and disposal without feelings’ you’ve described to me as psychopathic behavior.” Jenna removed her gloves with a snap. “Remind me to check the billboards next time we leave town. I’m starting to believe we have one saying ‘Psychopaths are welcome in Black Rock Falls’ posted along the road somewhere.”
Jenna took the coordinates of the body and the backpacks. “We’ll mark the area but leave the bags here. Wolfe will need all the information we can supply.” She shrugged out of her backpack and delved inside to find the police tape then passed a few bright-orange flags to Kane.
After securing the sites, she patted Duke on the head. “You’re an asset to my team. We would have overlooked the remains without you.”
“Maybe not.” Kane had a map of the old trails on his cellphone and showed it to her. “I downloaded these maps, to plan my own hike. This overgrown track is on a list from some years ago and leads to a spot near where the Canavars found the skull. I was going to suggest we search for remains in this area.”
“How long has that old map been handed out?”
“Five or so years but looking at the style of hiking boots on the victim, he hasn’t been here for more than a year.” Kane’s brow winkled. “I have a pair in the same style and that was last winter.”
Interesting. Jenna pulled on her backpack. “Do you think Duke will be able to find their camp?”