Chapter 18
AIDEN
Istared down at another dead body and cursed my luck. What had once seemed like a golden opportunity to make a name for myself to solve a serial killer case, had turned into a nightmare.
Nearly two weeks had passed since the disastrous breakfast at my parents’ house with Nate.
And I knew I had overreacted, but by the time I realized that maybe it wasn’t as big of a deal as I’d made it out to be, I’d been even more embarrassed over the way I’d acted.
How did I expect him to want to deal with me and my shit when I pulled a stunt like that and pushed him away?
Even if he had been prepared to be my Daddy, that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with someone who acted like a child.
“Who found him?” I glared over at the beat cop who had just come back over after throwing up his breakfast. Death was messy. I understood that. But if he was going to make it in this profession, he needed to get a stronger stomach or he wouldn’t make it very far.
He nodded at the man who was looking around the park, uneasy. “Early morning jogger. Says he likes to go off trail through the park and he stumbled upon him. Said it wasn’t the first time he found someone naked in the park, but it was the first time they were dead.”
I bet.
My gaze wandered back over to the man with a new purpose. Most witnesses who stumbled upon a murder victim usually had something to do with the crime. But the man’s sweat looked like it could be from actual exercise. But that didn’t mean he didn’t set up the victim beforehand.
“What else do we know?” I leaned down and noted the wounds on the body. They were the same as the other victims. Deep, narrow slashes all over the body along with superficial cuts that wouldn’t have contributed to the death. And there, under the ribcage, were the deeper wounds I’d been looking for.
I knew a long, jagged blade had been stabbed right to the hilt over and over into the soft flesh.
A shudder wracked through my body before I shook myself, refusing to let the past drag me down. The last thing I needed was to be the talk of the precinct, or worse, the entire police force.
Of course, when I needed Victoria to be by my side to divert attention, she was giving me a wide berth, something about needing an attitude adjustment.
My gaze flickered over and caught her flirting with the EMT on scene, who stood by, with nothing to do, since there was no live victim to transport anywhere.
“The vic is Jared Mackay and the witness is Christian Carter, a local realtor.”
“Hmph. All right. I don’t want anyone to touch the body except the coroner. Keep back anyone who tries to come near the scene. I’m going to go talk to the witness.”
Despite not looking thrilled at being left to babysit the dead body, the officer didn’t argue with me, which I was glad. I didn’t have it in me to get on him about doing his fucking job.
I walked over to where the jogger was standing with one of the other beat cops who had been first on scene.
“Angie,” I said, greeting her with a half-hearted smile.
“Hey, Coop. Tough one, huh?” She shook her head as she glanced toward where the body was tossed carelessly by whoever had killed him.
With a glance back, I was happy to see her partner had a little bit of color back, and not of the green variety. “Yeah, then again, they’re never easy, no matter how many you go through.”
The last thing I was going to do, would be to indicate it might be the work of a serial killer, not even to another cop. Especially in front of a stranger, a civilian.
“Mr. Carter,” Angie started, “this is Detective Cooper. He’s one of the lead detectives who will be working on the case and will need to ask you some questions.”
The man nodded and turned to me with a shuddering breath. “Of course. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Angie. Can you stay on the perimeter? Keep note of anyone who comes near, especially if they act suspicious?” I glanced toward the small gathering a few hundred feet away.
It wasn’t anything that would be hard to contain, but these sickos liked to come back to the scene of their crimes.
And I wanted to know who all was poking around my crime scene.
“You got it, Coop.” With a smile, she left and went back to her partner. It looked like they exchanged some heated words before she walked off and greeted Doctor Timmons, the coroner, as he arrived on scene.
My gaze went back to the witness, who looked at me like he was less than impressed. I wasn’t sure why, but it pissed me off for some reason.
“So, Mr. Carter, I’m going to record this conversation on my phone, if that’s all right with you?”
He frowned for a moment before he nodded. “Yeah, sure. That’s fine, I guess.”
“Great. Thank you. So, can you tell me how you happened to come across the victim this morning?” There was already something suspicious about the man who stood before me. I wasn’t quite sure what it was, just some gut instinct.
He looked around the dense trees that surrounded us and shuddered. “I like coming out early, before there are a lot of other joggers in the park. Usually, I am pretty adventurous, hiking and climbing. You know?”
Our eyes held, and there was no reason to think he was lying, but there was something else, another meaning that seemed hidden under his words.
There was one thing I knew for sure, and it was that he wasn’t being completely honest with me.
And I wondered what he had to lie about, when it came to such an innocent question.
“Right. So, you were feeling adventurous this morning?” Something ugly twisted in my gut at the insinuation.
He smirked, as though he could sense my discomfort and reveled in it. “I was. So, as I often do, I started to go off path and hike around after I completed a few miles of my run. But I didn’t get very far, maybe twenty minutes or so, and I stumbled upon…”
The words trailed off and his hands waved in front of him, gesturing toward the dead body he had discovered.
“Was anyone else around? Did you see anyone before or after you discovered the body?” I shuffled back and forth on my feet, agitated at how little I was getting out of him. But most witnesses didn’t actually witness very much.
He shook his head. “No, there were a few people walking near the North Entrance when I got here this morning. But they were long gone by the time I went into the woods. I don’t remember seeing anyone around for a bit before then. Definitely no one else in the woods.”
I nodded as I typed some notes on my phone.
“Okay. Thank you for that, Mr. Carter.”
“Did you touch him or anything around him when you found him, Mr. Carter?”
His brow furrowed as he thought back on the memory.
“I-I don’t think so. But honestly, it all happened so fast and I hadn’t realized it was anything I was going to need to have to think back on and remember.
At first, I thought he might be someone who was homeless or maybe hurt.
But then…” His gaze drifted back to the man.
There was a sorrow in his eyes that couldn’t be faked.
No matter what lies he was telling, he was sorry the man was dead.
“When I moved around him, and got to his front, I saw… well, you see what he looks like.” His eyes met mine again and they were wet with unshed tears. “It was awful. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything so terrifying in my life.”
He began to shake, the last few of his words unsteady. Afraid he was going into shock, I motioned for one of the paramedics to come over. Victoria trailed behind with him. Nice of her to join our investigation after all.
“Hey, Zeke,” I whispered, when he got closer. “Can you make sure Mr. Carter is all right?”
Zeke glanced over at where our witness stood, shaking, and he grimaced as he offered me a fist bump. “Of course.”
“When forensics gets here, his hands will have to be checked for evidence. Maybe his clothes too. They’ll make that determination. But I’m worried about shock.”
He gave me a soft smile over his shoulder as he turned to head over to deal with his patient, since he was finally needed on site. “You got it, boss. We’ll take good care of him and make sure everything is taken care of.”
“Thanks, man.”
I turned back to my partner, bitch face on full display.
“What?” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me a glare in return.
Shaking my head, I made my way back to the car. “We’re supposed to be working a case here, Vic, not flirting with EMTs.”
She huffed and I could hear her following behind me as she stomped on the leaves and branches that littered the ground. “Oh, that’s rich. Like you haven’t flirted with Zeke at crime scenes.”
My back stiffened. She had me there. The man was fine. But I never let flirting with him keep me from actually doing my job.
“You’re just salty because you broke up with your boy toy. Or, were you the boy…toy?” I ignored her callous laugh and slid into the driver’s seat, slamming the door. My breathing was heavy, heart pounding in my ears, and I had half a mind to leave her ass stranded.
I gripped the steering wheel like my life depended on it. Anything to keep from throwing the car in drive and peeling away without her. Not that she wouldn’t deserve it. That had been a low blow to bring up my breakup with Nate, if you could even call it that.
But I never thought Victoria would use something I told her in confidence against me. It had been really difficult to open up and tell her about what happened at my parents’ house. To admit to how I called Nate Daddy, and that I liked it.
The longer it took her to get in, the more I wanted to leave her. When I glanced over and saw her standing next to the door, with her hand ready to open it, I wondered what had stopped her.
“You coming, or what?” I needed to get the fuck out of there. Away from her, but I would never tell her that.
Everything had been crumbling since I watched Nate drive away that morning. I couldn’t breathe. And I didn’t know what to do.
That was a lie. I did. But I didn’t know how I could go back and fix it, because I couldn’t. It was done. We were done. I’d broken us. All over something so stupid. My own insecurities and hang-ups.
And the worst part was, Ma fucking loved him and couldn’t wait to see him again.
So, fuck my life. Because I was fucking screwed.
And this goddamn killer.
I shook my head as Victoria finally, fucking finally got in the car.
She looked out her window as I sped away, back toward the station.
We were in a holding pattern now. Had to wait for forensics and the coroner to give us their reports.
There hadn’t been anything the witness could give us that could help.
Not that I had expected there to be, but it sucked either way.
Victoria turned toward me, taking a deep breath. “Hey,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a bitch.”
I snorted. “Yeah, you have. But so have I.”
She gave me a half smile and nodded. “Yeah, but you have a reason. I haven’t been a good friend about it, and I should be.”
With a sigh, I turned into my spot in the precinct parking lot.
“Yeah, you should have. But I haven’t been a very good friend either.
Because it’s obvious you’re going through something, too.
And I haven’t been there for you either.
So, that changes now. Whatever it is, I want you to know you can talk to me. ”
She didn’t say anything for a minute, just looked out her window before she turned and launched herself into my arms. “Whoa, whoa. It’s okay, Vic.”
I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight and petting her hair. She scared me, acting that way, but I wasn’t going to press, if she wasn’t ready to talk about it.
After a few minutes, she pulled back and wiped a stray tear from her eye, which sent a spike of panic through me. “Vic?”
“I’m okay.” She gave me a watery smile and punched my arm. There was my girl.
“You sure?” I wasn’t convinced, but I’d accept whatever answer she gave.
She bit her lip and looked down at her lap, twisting her fingers together. “Yeah. I will be, and so will you.”
I let out a heavy sigh and glanced out my window, unable to look her in the eye. “Yeah… I will be. I know I will.”
We sat there in an uncomfortable silence for another minute or two before she opened her door and got out of the car. When I hesitated, not turning off the engine, she leaned down. “You coming?”
My jaw flexed as I tried to find the words to answer her. “Naw. I’ll see you later.”
I willed her to close the door and walk away, and finally, she did. My hands shook as I pulled out of the parking lot and hit the call button on my phone and waited with bated breath.