Chapter 23 #2
I turn and find him pointing at a chunk of bloody flesh in the corner of the room. Upon closer inspection, the flayed skin appears to have contained a tattoo.
“Get a picture of that over to command right away,” I suggest to him.
He’s already pulling out his phone. “On it. I’d like the gang unit to see it too. It looks familiar.”
The ERT arrives as he’s putting his phone away. We meet the team lead in the hallway while dozens of agents swarm the scene. If the killer left anything behind, they’ll find it.
Systematically, Luke and I work backward, moving from the bedroom through the rest of the house. Despite his initial wave of discomfort, McBride handles the investigation like a polished professional.
And best of all, he doesn’t ask questions about my family or needle me about Lila.
Once we finish analyzing the scene, I step out for some fresh air and to let my thoughts unfold.
Luke joins me, retrieving his phone immediately. “I’m gettin’ the boss lady on the horn.”
She answers after one ring, her tone controlled and direct. “What do you have for me, McBride?”
“Gotcha on speaker, ma’am. Hayes is here. Andrews is still with the girlfriend. We’re wrapping up at the scene.”
“Break it down for me.”
Luke starts from the top. “No sign of forced entry. We suspect the perp or perps subdued the vic and dragged him down the hall to the bedroom and tied him to the bed.”
I jump in to share one of my thoughts. “The deceased was a large man. So he was about the same size as our perp in the hoodie. But the vic was fighting for his life, so it would have been hard for the perp to handle him without an accomplice.”
“Could have been at gunpoint,” SSA Chase interjects, posing it as a question.
I already considered that, so I explain, “Not likely. There are clear signs of a struggle that wouldn’t have occurred if the vic was complying.”
Luke nods. “I reckon Hayes is right, ma’am. They knocked over shit all up and down the hallway. He didn’t go quietly.”
SSA Chase prods us to continue. “So we’ve got two perps, which matches Hemsley’s initial assessment of the video. What happened once they got to the bedroom?”
I answer flatly, which isn’t a problem since I haven’t brought my emotions back inside me yet.
“Tied him to the bed and butchered him. Cut off toes and fingers, and his chest cavity was flayed. They carved out and removed his tattoo. We’ll have to wait until we get the autopsy, but I’d imagine you’ve got over thirty separate stab wounds.
And that’s only what we could see without moving the body.
Most likely, his throat was slit to finish him off. ”
Our SSA’s volume spikes. “This sounds personal.”
My eyes scan the clouds while I muse aloud. “This crime is completely different, except for the casino affiliation and the basic appearance of the perps from the footage. Yet all other victims reportedly had no idea who the perpetrators were. If this is the same duo, they’ve changed the game.”
“Yep. And why do MOs change?” she asks, leading us somewhere.
“Cause their goal changes,” McBride responds.
“Hang on a second, guys. Hemsley’s ringing on my other line.”
The phone goes silent while she takes the other call.
I squeeze the bridge of my nose and bounce my thoughts off Luke. “New motive. New MO. This wasn’t a threat like the other cases or intimidation gone wrong. It was torture. Punishment. Information extraction. Maybe both.”
“Yeahhh, buddy,” he drawls, agreeing in his own country bumpkin way.
SSA Chase returns to the call. “You there?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer.
“Hemsley got confirmation on that image you sent of the removed skin.”
Instinctively, I lean closer to the phone. “And?”
“Looks like our victim, this Troy Hartley, was a member of STK. That is their tattoo brand. Same gang as Elliot Riddick.”
STK, also known as the Shoot to Kill Brotherhood, is a gang operating in pockets across the country.
They've got their hands in a little of everything.
Drugs, murder, trafficking of all types, and illegal weapons.
They're frequent flyers on the ATF's radar and on every other alphabet soup agency’s radar.
When we first got this case, it had already been run past the gang unit. They ruled out STK since none of their informants had reported any casino involvement or home invasions.
Our task force wasn’t as quick to count out STK, especially once we learned Riddick was in the gang. But without chatter about a casino ring inside STK, we kept them on the back burner.
Guess that’s about to change.
“With Hartley in STK, our suspect pool and possible motives for his murder have spiked tenfold,” I muse.
“Might not be part of our home invasion investigation at all,” McBride offers. “Gangbangers end up murdered every day. Nature of the beast.”
SSA Chase adds, “Yeah, but we’ve also got Riddick in STK.”
“Evidence linking him to the casino shit is weak, ma’am,” Luke retorts.
He’s right. If it weren’t for the interaction with Lila and his running from me out of the casino, he wouldn’t be on our radar for this.
Thinking out loud, I ask, “What is the removal of the tattoo meant to symbolize?”
“Rival gang hit?” he suggests. “Maybe they were sending a message to the STK gang members that they’re coming for them.”
“Plausible,” Chase responds. “Before we go there, how is Andrews coming with the girlfriend?”
“Didn’t look like it was going well,” I answer, while trying to tug on the clue threads we’ve got.
SSA groans, no doubt frustrated with the delay. “What did you get for forensics?”
I answer this one. “We found a handgun in a lock box under the bed. Most likely unrelated to the murder. Aside from the signs of struggle and the dead body, there isn’t much else to go on.
Based on ERT’s remote analysis, all the fingerprints we’ve lifted thus far are of the vic or his girlfriend.
What about you or the others? Find anything good? ”
“Carson is seeing some connections between the vic and the casino shit, which is why I’m not a fan of the rival gang theory.”
“What did she find?” McBride prods.
“The victim’s cash flow doesn’t match his income, for starters.
Not by a long shot. Significant deposits into his bank account, followed by a handful of large purchases for jewelry and electronics.
Those deposits coincide with the times of each home invasion.
Hemsley just texted me to say he’s found more video footage.
So it’s looking like this case is giving us more leads than we’ve had on all the others combined.
We’ll go over everything as a team back at the rig. ”
I rub my palms together, eager to return. “We’ll be back as soon as Andrews wraps up with the girlfriend.”
She sighs, the heavy sound crackling the phone line. “As much as it pains me to say this, don’t rush him. You know I sent him for a reason.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Luke answers for me.
“One last thing,” SSA Chase starts, her tone oddly unsteady.
“Hayes, you need to find out whether your contact is involved or not. Her life could be in grave danger. I know you’ve been playing it easy with her, but it’s time to turn up the pressure.
If Troy Hartley was involved in the casino ring, perhaps he was a loose end and had to go.
Lila could be another person ripe for pruning. ”
All I can manage is a one-word response. “Understood.”
Pressing a metaphorical dagger against my chest, she adds, “Carson checked Lila’s phone records again. She sent a text to a burner phone last night.”
“What did it say?” I ask, teeth beginning to grind.
“It was vague. She asked for a meeting, and the mystery person on the other end replied that they’d be in touch soon with details. Nice and cryptic.”
“But suspicious as hell,” McBride replies for me, casting a concerned look my way.
I close my eyes, reluctantly asking, “Anything from Oak Winds on her yet?”
“Yeah.” Chase sighs loud enough to crackle the phone line. “Her table is one of the hot spots. They’re going through footage from the eye-in-the-sky cameras. She made the short list. All signs point to her involvement. Sorry, kid.”
Words fail me, but Chase thankfully isn’t waiting for my response. “See you back at command.”
Throughout this entire conversation, my little cloud technique has kept me protected from heavy emotions.
But my soul is clawing to get back inside me. Grudgingly, I tug that vapor back into my chest and sense my body become one with my emotions.
No longer cold and detached, I’m instantly socked with a paralyzing fear.
Lila’s face comes to the front of my mind.
At the end of our date last night, I gave up most hope of her innocence. Now, I’m faced with the realization that she’s mixed up with people who could do something as heinous as this murder.
If SSA Chase is right about the ring tying up loose ends, could Lila become the next victim?
Suddenly, the need to solve this case isn’t only about justice or preventing further violence. Now, I need to protect the woman who rarely escapes my thoughts. The woman who’s always held the broken scraps of my heart in her hand.
Even if those hands aren’t clean of wrongdoing.
I planned to let the dust settle a bit before contacting her again, especially considering how shitty last night’s date ended. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of time anymore.
I check my watch. It’s barely eleven, which means I have time to set something up with Lila for this afternoon, assuming she’s off work today. And I’ll have to pull out all the stops to get her guard the rest of the way down.
Should I be direct and tell her precisely how dire things have gotten? Tell her I know she’s involved and that I’ll help her out of it if she’s honest with me. And can I do that and uphold my oath?
One thing is for sure—it would kill me to turn Lila in. Especially since my stubborn heart still clings to the belief that she’s innocent.
Despite the mountain of proof stacking up against her, I still hope she isn’t involved.