Chapter Six #2
Despite having a solid reputation with her department in Dallas, Leanne had no illusions about how she’d landed this job.
McBride would have preferred someone who wasn’t a literal lightweight, someone who looked the part of a take-no-shit border cop.
But pressure to hire at least a token female, plus the weight of her father’s legacy, had forced the chief’s hand.
If not for those two factors, though, Leanne had no doubt McBride would have hired a man.
But whatever. She didn’t like to dwell on how she’d gotten here or the weight of her dad’s reputation around this town. She wanted to focus on her job and let her work speak for itself.
“Water?”
She glanced up as Korbin returned. His do-rag was gone, and now he had a pair of reading glasses perched on his bald head. He set a water bottle down in front of her and took the chair at the head of the table.
“There was a mix-up with the time. I—”
He held up a hand. “I’ve only got ten minutes. What are your questions?” He set down a water bottle for himself and opened a manila folder.
“First off, any ID?”
“No. We collected prints, so we’ll see if anything comes back.”
Leanne took a notepad from her jacket pocket and started writing.
“Manner of death, homicide—as you’re obviously aware.” He settled the reading glasses on the end of his nose and peered down at the file. “Cause of death, asphyxiation due to manual strangulation.”
Her gaze snapped up. “What? I thought—”
“The head trauma occurred postmortem.” He nodded down at the paperwork. “And it was extensive. However, she was strangled first. The hyoid was fractured, and I found signs of petechial hemorrhaging.”
Leanne made notes in her pad.
“As for other injuries…” He skimmed the paper, which showed a black-and-white diagram of a female body with handwritten notes along the sides—presumably made by Korbin’s assistant as he conducted the exam.
“Fractured right parietal.” He glanced up.
“The side of her skull was smashed with a heavy object.”
“Okay.” She jotted it down. “A rock, maybe?”
“I don’t think so. I would expect to see grit or dust in the wound. No, this was something smooth, possibly the butt of a pistol. She was bludgeoned after death, in other words.”
She stared at him, absorbing the violence of it.
“The same object, in my opinion, was used to inflict additional damage to the torso. Although it’s hard to say for sure due to the postmortem animal activity.”
Leanne took a deep breath and looked down at her notes.
“Any idea how long she’d been out there?”
“About thirty-six hours. Maybe more.”
“So…if she was found at ten yesterday morning, we can assume—”
“We can estimate,” he corrected, “that she had been dead for about a day and a half.”
“So, she was killed Friday night.”
“Most likely, yes. Postmortem interval is not an exact science.”
“Do you have anything to indicate where she was killed?” Leanne asked. “I mean, was it maybe in a car, and she was dumped there? Or maybe she was killed on a train and thrown off? Her body was recovered right by the railroad tracks.”
Korbin was shaking his head. “She had abrasions on the heels of both feet, and there was dirt in the wounds. I believe her body was dragged at least a short distance to the place where it was found.” He flipped a page in the file.
“And finally, a fractured scaphoid.” He glanced up. “Her wrist was broken.”
“Would that have been a defensive injury?”
“Possibly. Also, multiple abrasions suggest sexual assault. We’ll know more when the rape kit comes back.”
Leanne took a deep breath. “All right. What about age?”
“Based on the X-rays? I’d say late teens. Early twenties, at the most.”
Leanne watched Korbin, trying to read his eyes. He looked haggard, and she didn’t know whether it was because of the autopsy he’d just performed or because the last decade as a medical examiner in a border region was taking its toll.
Leanne glanced down at her notepad. She needed his insights now, not next week or next month, when his final report would be ready. Korbin was a busy man and hard to pin down—which was precisely why she had wanted to be present at the autopsy. She still couldn’t believe she’d missed it.
“Is there anything else that might help us?” She glanced up. “Maybe a scar, or tattoo, or some other distinguishing mark?”
“She appears to be Hispanic, if that helps. Also, she had a small tattoo on her right wrist.”
For the first time all day, Leanne felt a twinge of relief. “A tattoo of what?”
“A butterfly.” He shuffled through the file and pulled out a Polaroid. The picture showed a close-up of skin, some of which was ragged and blackened. “The animal activity makes it difficult to see the design, but it’s easier with our overhead light.”
He slid the Polaroid toward her, and Leanne’s chest squeezed. It was a small tattoo, only black ink. There was something so sad, and personal, about the simple feminine design on that torn flesh.
Shitty time to have a body turn up. We’re crawling with reporters.
Leanne clenched her teeth. It was beyond callous. McBride made everything about him, as though this young victim had picked an inconvenient week to be strangled.
“You can have that snapshot. My assistant took two.” The pathologist checked his watch and closed the folder. “Any other details you need will be in my report.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate this.”
“No problem.” He pushed back his chair. “Oh, one last thing. The bone.”
“What bone?”
“A fragment of bone was recovered at the scene. It looked to me like a deer femur or maybe a small cow. I sent it to the university to be sure. The anthropologist there can confirm. In any event, this victim’s legs were intact, so it wasn’t associated with her remains.”
Leanne made a note in her pad as the doctor stood up.
“Hopefully, the tattoo will help you get an ID.” He checked his watch again. “The sooner we have somewhere to release the body, the better. We’re short on storage space here, as I’m sure you know.”
He turned to leave, and she jumped up.
“One more thing, Doctor. Her clothes? I’m guessing you had them sent to the lab, with the rape kit?”
“My assistant is packing everything up now.” He reached for the door. “Exam Room Two. You may be able to catch her if you hurry.”