Chapter 14
EVEN THOUGH IT wasn’t my case, I was still interested in the autopsy of the young woman found in Golden Gate Park.
Randy Hicks, the detective assigned to the case, was in the medical examiner’s room as well.
I’d known Randy for years and appreciated his understated approach to most police investigations.
That didn’t mean he was slow or lazy. It meant he was methodical and thorough.
I’d also seen him de-escalate a number of situations with his laid-back personality and deep, mellifluous voice.
Even though there was a naked corpse on a metal table sitting in front of all of us, we had been in this room so many times, no one acknowledged it directly. There was a towel draped tactically over the groin area, more for convenience than modesty.
I addressed Randy first. “Again, Randy, I promise I’m not stealing your case here. I’m just curious to see if it might relate to one of mine.”
Randy gave me a smile. “Lindsay, I don’t own any of these cases. You can’t steal anything from me. Besides, in our job, when you take a case, it just means less work for me.”
I looked over to Claire, who said, “You could learn a lot from Randy’s approach.”
I smiled and said, “I’ve already learned a lot from Randy over the years. He took me through my first burglary investigation.”
Randy said, “When you’ve been on the force for as long as I have, you start thinking about how you’ll enjoy retirement. That’s all the incentive I need. It doesn’t hurt that I have two grandkids under ten who keep me pretty active.”
We all chatted for a few more minutes. Then Claire got serious. She’d already done much of the examination. Claire looked up at Randy and said, “Were you able to work up much of a background on this woman?”
Randy nodded. “Her name is Audrey Ware, though officially she’s called Tina Barnes, which is the identity Oklahoma WITSEC gave her.
She’s been involved in a couple of bad groups.
Apparently, she testified against some dopers in Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation put her in witness protection.
They didn’t even know she was out here. It looks like she generally worked as an exotic dancer. ”
I said, “Could it be a case of a patron stalking her?”
“It’s too early to tell. She hadn’t been in town long. Still, it wouldn’t surprise me if she attracted that kind of attention.”
Claire threw in, “I can see that. She was a beautiful young woman.”
It was true. Even with the pallid complexion and hair tucked behind her back, I could tell the victim had been stunningly attractive.
Randy said, “What can you tell us about her death?”
Claire glanced up from the naked cadaver lying on the table in front of her.
“This actually concerns both of you.” She looked directly at me and said, “The method of death is entirely different from the body that washed up on Marshall’s Beach.
That young woman had been strangled. This woman was struck at least twice.
Once in the face and once in the throat. ”
Randy said, “What about the substance on her cheeks and nose?”
“It looks like it was some kind of homemade pepper spray or mace. We’re running more tests to see what we can determine.
I think she got sprayed, maybe she tried to run away, then the suspect caught up to her.
He threw a punch and caught her in the face.
The second punch hit her in the throat.” She paused as she gathered her thoughts.
She set a nitrile-gloved hand down on a small table next to her.
Then she said, “Frankly, I’m not sure whoever struck her intended to kill her.
I think when he realized what kind of breathing problems she was having after being punched in the throat, the suspect panicked and left her on the grass of the park. ”
Randy said, “Are you saying my suspect is some kind of martial artist?”
“No, not at all. From the handprint on the victim’s arm and the force of the blows, I would say the suspect is almost certainly a male and fairly tall. But it was the combination of the homemade pepper spray and the crushed windpipe that interrupted the victim’s breathing until she died.”
I typed a few notes into my phone and thanked Claire for her hard work. Even though it was a different mode of death, something told me to keep an eye on this Tina Barnes case.