Chapter 3
We pulled into the lot at Taffy Beach, hopped out of the Porsche, and trudged across the sand.
Teal waves crashed against the shore, and gulls drifted with the salty breeze.
The sun hung low on the horizon. It was a nice evening.
Couples had been out for a romantic stroll.
A small crowd gawked at the horrific sight.
First responders swarmed. Deputies kept the curious onlookers at bay. Camera flashes bounced off the sand as Dietrich snapped photos.
JD and I pushed through the crowd and joined the sheriff as he looked on with a grim face. Brenda hovered over the remains as the foamy surf nipped at the body.
"Who is she?" I asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine."
Decomposition gases had bloated the victim’s naked figure. It wasn't a pretty sight. The young woman’s matted blonde hair was more of a greenish color now. It looked like seaweed. Her skin was pale and starting to slough. She’d been in the water a few days, by my estimation.
Mortified faces looked on in horror. Some people snapped photos and videos to post online.
Paris Delaney and her crew arrived. They hustled across the sand to capture footage of the carnage.
"Who found the body?" I asked.
The sheriff pointed to a couple standing nearby. "They're the ones who phoned it in.”
JD and I stepped to the couple, flashed our badges, and made introductions. They were young, 19 or 20. The girl, Lily, had straight raven hair, and her boyfriend was taller with short dark hair that looked like a mop on top.
"I think I know her," the girl said.
I lifted a surprised brow. "What's her name?"
"I don't know, but I think she's in my Econ class."
"Where?”
"Vanden."
It was an upscale university on the island.
“What’s your professor’s name?”
“MacAllen.”
I asked her to take a closer look at the remains. We stepped toward the body. Lily's face soured as we drew near. Brenda pulled the victim’s hair out of her face.
Lily nodded. "Yep. That's her."
"Do you know her name?” I asked again.
Her face scrunched as she thought about it. "I think it's Gabby. But I could be wrong.” Her face scrunched. “I mean, she’s not really looking like herself. We sat next to each other once. I borrowed her notes. She was really nice.”
"Do you know her last name?"
Lily shook her head.
It wouldn’t be too hard to figure out.
I asked Brenda if she had a time of death.
"I'd say 48 to 72 hours. But I'll know more when I get back to the lab. The water can affect decomposition.”
Upon closer inspection, the girl had multiple punctures in the thoracic cavity.
This was no accident.
"It looks like she was stabbed before death," Brenda said.
It wasn't uncommon for people to stab bodies after death, before dumping them into the water, hoping the decomposition gases wouldn't bring them to the surface. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't.
With the amount of time Gabby was in the water, it would be unlikely to recover any trace DNA. The fact that she was naked implied she might have been sexually assaulted.
I asked Lily, "When was the last time you saw Gabby?”
She shrugged. “I don't know. I've been bad about going to that class. It starts at 8:00 AM, and I am not a morning person."
"Do you know anything about her?”
Lily frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't. Like I said, we just talked that one day. I’ve seen her in class before and since, but I never made a point to sit next to her again. I don't know why." Lily frowned. "I feel bad.”
"Are you a freshman?"
Lily nodded.
I took Lily's contact information and gave her a card. "If you hear anything around campus, get in touch."
"I will.”
JD and I stepped back to the sheriff and filled him in.
"I hope to God this isn’t the start of another serial predator," he grumbled.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and say she knew her killer," I said. "Multiple stab wounds. Could be personal."
"Well, why the hell are you still standing here? Find out who did this.”
"We're on it," I said.
Brenda and her crew bagged the body and transferred the remains to a gurney. The crowd dispersed, the excitement over.
Paris approached as JD and I walked back toward the parking lot. "Deputy Wild, what can you tell us?"
"A young girl, presumably a student at Vanden, was stabbed and dumped in the ocean. If anyone has any information about the crime, please contact the Coconut County Sheriff's Department."
"Have you identified the victim yet?”
"Not at this time.”
I stepped out of frame and continued toward the parking lot with Jack.
"What about the fugitives at large?" Paris asked.
"It's only a matter of time before we catch them," I said in a confident tone.
We hopped into the Porsche, and Jack fired up the engine. I called the administration office at Vanden and asked them to look for freshman students named Gabby or Gabriella in Economics 101 with Professor MacAllen.