Chapter Fourteen
Detective Ross Yotes
I t never gets easier. No matter how many times I come to a crime scene, the sight of their body still cuts through my soul, taking pieces of it to disappear with the souls of the dead.
“Time of death?” I ask.
“No more than an hour,” the medical examiner tells me.
“Damn,” my boss, Andrea Hall, says as she steps beside me. “Have they noticed that she’s gone?”
“No,” I sigh. “They started prep for the all-staff meeting, and they are in that right now. They knew she left to get lunch, but they won’t really be looking for her until after the meeting.”
“How did you know she was missing?” Andrea asks.
“I was working on notes while they were prepping and realized she was still gone. I messaged Carlson and asked him to call the sushi place, and they said she had left the restaurant already. When they went into the meeting, I left Carlson there and went to look around. Her bag and the food were in the alleyway beside the office,” I explain.
“They don’t even know that Beatris is missing, and now I have to tell them she’s dead. ”
“Want me to do it?” she asks.
“No, but I’d like for you to be there,” I say. “I think they will gravitate toward one another, but I’d just like for them to see you so they know we are working to find who did this.”
“Remington is the one who worries me,” she says.
“They level each other out, and I’ll make sure Cameron and Lorelei’s parents are there as well. It’s Lorelei that I’m worried about,” I tell her. “I’m afraid she will do something reckless to try and prevent someone else from getting hurt.”
“Those girls look alike, so they probably just thought she was Lorelei, but that won’t make her feel any better,” Andrea says. “Miranda?”
“Yes, ma’am?” The medical examiner asks as she continues to examine Beatris’ body.
“If they ask to view her, do not explain her injuries. Do not let them see any wounds. I don’t care if they want to sign a release or not. They will not know the details of the murder unless it goes to trial,” Andrea says.
“I am going to heavily suggest they do not see her,” I say.
“Get a picture of just her face, and we can show that if they want to see her,” Andrea says. “We also need to officially offer witness protection.”
“They won’t take it,” I say.
“I know, but they need to know we are trying to protect them. I want you with them at all times. If you can’t be with them, I will be. We will rotate out, so they are never alone.”
“Okay,” I sigh and tap on my phone to capture a picture of Beatris’ face. I crop the image to make sure the massive wound on her shoulder isn’t visible.
“If you had to guess a cause of death?” Andrea asks Miranda.
“Uh… well… Her clitoris was cut off, and the perineum has been completely cut into her rectum. I’m going to say someone raped her with a very large knife,” she says carefully.
“The amount of blood loss tells me that the wounds extend up into the abdomen. She has semen on top of this blood, so I’m going to say that he probably raped her after raping her with the knife. So… massive blood loss.”
“Goddamn it,” I snap. “What the fuck do I even tell them, Andrea?”
“Ross, you’ve done this before, man. Be blunt but not crude. Leave no room for doubt and be empathetic,” Andrea says.
“I hate this fucking job sometimes,” I grumble.