Chapter 7
Seven
The smell of death crawled up Carter’s nostrils as he stared at the blue-tinged arm, its fingers pointing as if accusing them of murder.
He placed a hand on Rhett’s shoulder. “Don’t go any closer.
This is a crime scene and we don’t want to destroy evidence.
Come back and wait in the chopper. I’ll call Wolfe.
” He made the call. “He’s on his way. Which direction did the tire tracks come from? ”
“I… er… I’m sorry, seeing that just shook me up a bit.
That will be my first dead body. I am assuming if I plan to keep on living in Black Rock Falls I’ll need to get used to seeing them.
I hear a serial killer left bodies in displays over Halloween.
” Rhett gave his head a shake and then pointed in the direction of the ranch house.
“The tire tracks came from that way and looped back. It looks like the tracks were made by heavy machinery. I know they bring out machinery to dig holes when cattle or horses die—but there haven’t been any cattle in this paddock for a time and I can’t see any cowpats anywhere. Not even old dried-out ones.”
Sweeping his gaze across the landscape, Carter took in the location.
The fencing was recent, maybe erected in the past year.
There would be no need to send out fence-mending crews in this area.
“The work schedules and where everyone is located during the day are up on that noticeboard in Bowman’s office.
The thing is, a killer wouldn’t be stupid enough to bury a body near where anyone is working, would they? ”
“Not likely.” Rhett pinched the end of his nose. “The smell is making my stomach churn.”
Carter walked to the chopper and pulled out his forensics kit.
He went through it until he found face masks and a jar of mentholated salve.
He handed the jar to Rhett. “Put some of this under your nose and wear the face mask. It won’t remove all the smell, but it will help some.
” He dropped into the pilot’s seat and strapped in.
“When you’re ready, we’ll take the bird up and see where those tire tracks lead us.
We can watch out for signs that someone was around.
I’ll send Kane a message to let him know what we’ve discovered.
We’ll need to go back and collect them. I’ve given Wolfe the coordinates.
He’ll probably be along soon. He was out at the Larkins’ piggery assisting Norrell with the removal of the soil from the pigpens.
” He glanced at Rhett. “You’ve met Dr. Johnny Raven, the K-9 deputy? ”
“Yeah, big guy with a dog wearing a badge.” Rhett smiled. “Wolfe likes him, which is just as well as he’s dating his eldest, Emily. What does Raven have to do with a pigpen?”
Chuckling, Carter nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.
Last month during routine questioning, Bill Larkin and his wife attempted to murder Raven and feed him to their pigs.
They’ve been arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer and are currently in County awaiting trial.
It took forever to convince the judge to issue a search warrant to Wolfe and Norrell, to remove the soil from the bottom of the pigpen and have it analyzed.
They’re hunting for bone and tooth fragments that might be human. ”
“You—what?” Rhett’s mouth hung open. “What have I gotten myself into?” He handed back the salve and face mask.
“I won’t need these if we’re leaving now.
You know I figured this county was as pretty as a picture when I googled it.
Julie told me that it was known locally as Serial Killer Central, but I thought, hey, nothing can be that bad.
” He climbed into the chopper. “She wasn’t joking, was she? ”
Carter stowed away the forensics kit and climbed into the pilot’s seat.
He turned to rub Zorro’s ears and then strapped himself into the seat.
“Nope, unfortunately, this county and the others around it, with the mountains and dense forests spreading for miles and miles, are a perfect environment for criminals. There are thousands of places to murder people, dump bodies, and live off the grid without anyone even knowing they exist. We deal only with the killers who leave a body where we can find it. Over six hundred thousand people go missing every year. I figure we’re seeing only the tip of the iceberg.
When you take into account the size of this county, per acre, we have only a very small percentage of murders in comparison to some of the other states.
In some cities they have more murders in one weekend than we have in an entire year. ”
“Including my parents.” Rhett strapped in and then stared straight ahead.
“I can’t stop thinking about how smart my pa would have been, to build this business.
I’ve been going through some of the ledgers and reading his day-to-day running notes.
He wasn’t a fool, that’s for darn sure, which makes me wonder why he didn’t go and tell someone about his suspicions, if someone was out to get him. ”
Lifting the chopper into the air, Carter swung back toward the ranch house and followed the tire tracks in the long grass.
It didn’t surprise him when the tracks led back to the covered area holding a line of Lawson’s Ridge trucks and machinery.
The vehicle had made a round trip, so the body had been taken to the parking area.
From there, tire tracks led all over. He landed in the empty paddock reserved for his chopper and turned to Rhett.
“I figure the hands take the vehicles as needed. They likely all have the keys in the ignition and no one has to sign them in or out. That’s the usual practice on big spreads like this, so our chances of finding out who was driving what over the last few days is going to be difficult. ”
“Oh, my Lord.” Rhett stared into the distance and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. He turned his attention back to Carter. “I’ve inherited a cattle business with a resident serial killer.”