Fatal Hunt Read online

  “I don’t think so, Connie.” He grabbed her hair, stretched her neck out and sliced with the butcher knife, severing her jugular and cutting through her tender neck and her trachea. She fell to her knees clasping her neck with both hands. She was dead within seconds.

  The professor knelt beside her and placed something in her mouth. He calmly wiped the knife off on his pants and walked out the door. He drove off and before he reached home, Connie was nothing more than a pleasant memory.

  Chapter 10

  Mike and Kacey went to see Dr. Forrester about Alice Benning. They were hoping for a little DNA to get things moving in the right direction.

  “Now, Kacey, let’s try to behave ourselves today.”

  “Shut it, Mike.”

  Mike had to laugh. People thought she was just so sweet. If only they knew.

  It was a perfect fall day, the air just chilly enough to be described as “crisp”, and Kacey cracked her window a bit to take advantage of the fresh air.

  They were silent for most of the drive. Just a few comments here and there. Kacey especially liked the drive because it was mostly backroads and took about twenty minutes, so just long enough to relax a bit and enjoy the view.

  The road curved back and forth as it worked its way around bean fields and crossed over creeks and ravines. The trees were pretty bare, but they had their own beauty about them.

  She was just about ready to doze off when she felt the car stop and Mike announced that they had arrived.

  As they walked towards the morgue, Kacey couldn’t help but go back to the day when she had to send Dan there. Even now, she couldn’t bear to think about it.

  Dr. Forrester greeted them heartily over the corpse of an elderly man. The man’s chest was split open and an organ of some kind was resting on a scale. Kacey paled. Dr. Forrester hastily threw a sheet over the body, took off his gloves and apron and rushed over to get her a chair. Concern was etched on his face.

  “Easy, my girl,” He gently settled her. “It’s just a little gore. The gentleman died of old age.”

  “She’s not been feeling well, today.” Mike said, covering for her.

  “Indeed.” Dr. Forrester looked at Kacey thoughtfully for a moment.

  “Well, you keep your secrets for now, my girl.

  “I have your preliminary report. Ms. Benning was an extremely healthy and fit young woman. She died of asphyxiation and blood loss due to the severing of her jugular and windpipe, in layman’s terms. She died within moments of her injury. There were no other injuries present, and she had not been sexually assaulted. There were no fibers or skin cells under her skin. No DNA present in any way, shape, or form. No hair or fibers. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.” Dr. Forrester handed them the folder with his findings.

  Chapter 11

  Angie was manning the receptionist desk with her usual bright smile and bubbly personality when the call came in.

  “Willow Branch Municipal, this is Angie. How can I help you?”

  “My name is Sarah Forsythe and I’m really worried about my daughter, Connie. I haven’t been able to get ahold of her and I haven’t heard from her for a few days. We usually talk several times a week and I’m really worried. Is there any way for someone to go by and check on her? I live too far away.”

  “Of course, Mrs. Forsythe. We will be happy to. Give me your number and her address and we’ll call you back.”

  After Angie got her contact information, she hung up and put out a call for the closest officers.

  Officers Jacqueline Bishop and Calvin Robb were the closest, so they were the first to respond.

  The officers pulled into the driveway and made their way to the front stoop. Jack rang the doorbell and they waited a few minutes with no answer. Calvin went around the back, pushing his way through the overgrown bushes, to see if he could look into any windows while Jack began knocking harder on the door with no success.

  Calvin called out for Jack and she jogged to the back of the house.

  “I think we just found the daughter.”

  He pointed into the kitchen and she could see what appeared to be the lower portion of Connie Forsythe’s body lying on the kitchen floor. Calvin took the back end of his flashlight and broke enough of the glass to reach inside to unlock the kitchen door. The officer’s rushed over to render first aid, but it was crystal clear that no amount of assistance could save Connie.

  She was lying on her back with her knees together and bent to one side, her right arm was across her chest and the other was thrown over her head. If not for the pool of congealed blood which was under her body, she looked for all intents and purposes like she was asleep. The cause of death obvious from the deep wound in her neck.

  “I’ll make the call.” Calvin said after swallowing hard.

  “That poor woman.” Jack whispered.

  Chapter 12

  Very soon after Officer Robb called it in, the flashing lights began to arrive. First was the ambulance, but all they could do was wait around until the body was released. Next came the Assistant Medical Examiner, since Dr. Forrester was at a conference. Lastly came Mike and Kacey, getting there just a few seconds before the CSI team.

  Jack and Calvin had already put police tape around the perimeter of the property and were keeping the kitchen free of anyone who might disturb the scene before Mike and Kacey could see it. The detectives walked through the house into the kitchen.

  “Officers,” Kacey nodded to them as she put on her latex gloves. She walked around the body and began her thought process. She looked the body over for defensive wounds and for any sign of struggle. Nothing was out of place as far as she could tell. The kitchen was pristine except for the large pool of blood on the floor under the victim.

  Unfortunately, the floor was porous ceramic tile with once white grout, now soaked with blood.

  The detectives knelt down by the body. Mike gently turned Connie’s neck so that they could see behind her head for any trauma. At first, it looked like the only damage done to her body was her slashed throat.

  Then Kacey noticed that the right knee of Connie’s navy pantsuit was darker than the rest of her outfit. She gently pulled the hem up until it was above her knee. There was a gash.

  “Jack, it looks like she injured herself. I noticed blood in the foyer, could you get a swab please?” Kacey suggested.

  “On it.” Jack immediately went to find Calvin so they could do just that.

  “Dr. Mathews, can you determine a time and cause of death?” Mike asked

  “I can tell you that it was within 24-36 hours, gauging the temperature of her liver. I’ll have to examine her at the morgue, but she would’ve died from either loss of blood or asphyxiation.”

  Dr. Matthews, did not have a cool accent. But he was an adequate replacement for Dr. Forrester and he was much freer with his opinions at the scene.

  “Mike,” Kacey began. “Look in her mouth.”

  Mike grabbed an evidence bag out of his shirt pocket and tweezers. Kacey used her gloved index finger to pull the woman’s lower jaw down and Mike fished out a folded playing card. He opened it to reveal a ‘king of spades’, showed Kacey, and deposited it in the evidence bag and handed it to an officer.

  “Detectives,” Officer Robb called from the front of the house.

  Mike and Kacey rose to their feet and followed his voice into the entryway.

  “We found blood on the entryway floor, and it looks like someone tried to clean it up. They did a pretty good job of it, but it’s there. More blood on the corner of this bottom shelf. We already swabbed it and put it into evidence.” Officer Robb pointed to the corner.

  “Nice work, Officers.”

  “Oh, please don’t let this be a serial killer.” Kacey sighed. “No cameras here, Mike. Let’s get a couple of officers interviewing neighbors and see if we can access her email, texts, and calls. Did you see a phone?”

  “Not yet. We need to go through the house. We need a phone, iPad, computer, anything
. There has to be a connection between these two women. Is it the same guy? And what’s up with the playing cards?”

  “Let’s start in her bedroom.” Kacey said with a sound of resignation, as she led the way down the hall to begin.

  Kacey and Mike methodically went through every room of the house looking for anything that would connect Connie’s killer with evidence. They removed her laptop from the house and handed it to a tech. Nothing seemed out of place and everything was very tidy and clean. Mike walked to the kitchen trash can and with his gloved finger, flipped the top open. Sitting right on top of the small amount of trash was a water bottle. He asked the photographer to take a picture of it, removed an evidence bag from his pocket, inserted the bottle, and made a note on the bag of where he found it, the time, and the date then handed it to another tech.

  “Got a phone.” One of the techs handed Kacey a phone that she had found under the kitchen island.

  “Already got it photographed and catalogued.”

  “Thanks, Kim.” Kacey held it up so Mike could see it and handed it back to be taken with all of the other evidence.

  By the time the scene had been processed and only two officers were left to secure the scene, Officers Bishop and Robb long gone, darkness was just beginning to fall. Mike and Kacey walked out to the car.

  They both leaned back against the hood. Mike’s arms crossed over his chest, Kacey with her hands resting behind her on the car.

  “I think we aren’t going to like this.” Kacey began. “Definitely looks like these two are connected.”

  Mike inhaled deeply, his nose tingled with the crisp fall air. Someone nearby was having a bonfire.

  “I agree. We have lots of crap to go through tomorrow. I’ll get you back to your car. Breakfast tomorrow?”

  “Well, duh.”

  Chapter 13

  After dropping Kacey off at her car and watching her back out and head home, Mike called Jack as he pulled out.

  “Hey, babe!” Mike thought it was cute that she always acted so excited when he called.

  “Hey, back. I’m just now leaving to head home, want to join me. I have my favorite pizza joint on speed dial. I’ll pick it up on the way.”

  “I’ll be there. I’ll bring the wine.” He could hear the smile in her voice.

  He hung up and called in his pizza order.

  He reached forward to turn the radio off so he could call his order in, and began thinking of just how far he and Jack’s relationship had come. From the beginning, where mutual attraction was all they had in common, through Jack’s jealousy of Kacey, to the awful night of Dan’s shooting.

  The aftermath of that had secured their relationship by leaps and bounds. Once Jack had full confidence that the only attraction Mike had for Kacey is a partnership and a friend, their relationship had blossomed.

  He stopped off at the florist before he got the pizza and headed home. He chose a dozen red roses with baby’s breath and fern fronds, Jack’s favorite.

  When he pulled up, he saw that she was already there and had gone in. He loved how the house looked when she beat him there. The lights were on and he could here light jazz through the slightly open front door.

  When he walked in and locked the door behind him, he called out to her.

  “In the kitchen.” She replied.

  He walked in to the prettiest sight. She had just finished lighting candles and was starting to pour the wine. He brought the pizza over and handed her the roses.

  She took them and kissed him before thanking him. While opening the cabinet to grab a vase, Jack smiled as Mike wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. She turned around, vase in hand, and pulled him close. They stood a minute, just pulling comfort from each other.

  Finally, they sat down and began their evening by chatting about their respective days. They had decided a few weeks ago to not discuss cases they were working on together. It just seemed to drag their time together down. They wanted their time together to be fun and uplifting, not depressing. So they talked about family, friends, Kacey being back at the job, the baby, etc.

  After they had finished eating and all of the dishes were back where they belonged, Mike took her hand and they danced to Jack’s favorite song.

  “That was one dip too many, Mike Parker.” Jack said with a breathless laugh.

  “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something, Jack.” Mike said, taking her hand and leading her to the couch.

  “Uh, oh. That sounds ominous.” Her eyebrows knit together, forming a crease between them.

  “No! Nothing like that.” Mike rushed to reassure her.

  “What is it? You’re making me nervous.”

  Mike cleared his throat.

  “I was wondering if you would like to be an official couple. You know … exclusive.”

  He was shocked when Jack began to laugh.

  “What?” Mike asked, slightly offended.

  “You big dummy … what did you think we were doing?” Jack laughed even harder. “We even have keys to each other’s houses!”

  Soon, Mike joined in.

  “Here, I thought I was being so proactive.” Mike said as the laughter wound down.

  “I’m sorry, Mike. It was very sweet.” Jack leaned in for a kiss.

  They spent the rest of the evening, cuddling on the couch, watching mindless television until it was time for Jack to leave.

  Kacey’s evening went much differently.

  First, she let Thor out. He definitely put a smile on her face, so clumsy and cute. She watched him romp around the back yard, falling more in love with him every time he looked back at her to make sure she was still there. He thoroughly sniffed all around the back deck, perking up now and then as a new smell flowed through his little puppy snout.l

  After a few minutes, she called him over, picked him up, and went inside. She filled his food and water bowl and made herself a grilled cheese. She added chips to her plate and went into the living room to eat. She turned on the news and when the puppy jumped up on the couch to steal a few bites, she didn’t even mind.

  By the time she was finished eating, he had edged close to her and his little head was resting on her leg. She stretched out on the couch, settled him by her, and drifted off to sleep. The most peaceful night’s sleep she’d had since the night Dan died. No nightmares, no tossing and turning. Her protector was on the job.

  Chapter 14

  Kacey was already seated at the 'Cafe' with two cups of coffee in front of her when Mike arrived. He greeted a couple of people he knew on his way to the booth.

  “How’s Thor?” Mike asked.

  “He’s perfect. I’m completely in love.” Kacey said, smiling. “We both fell asleep on the couch last night and stayed there. He’s my bodyguard.”

  She pushed one of the cups towards Mike as she added creamer to hers.

  “I already ordered for you.”

  “Thanks, Kace.”

  “Mike, they are telling me that they think Dan was killed by a random hunter. Captain Wells told me that you were on the team that was investigating for a little while. Is this what you think, too?”

  Mike looked into Kacey’s sad eyes.

  “I wish I didn’t, but there’s really no other explanation, Kace.” He began. “It’s a very unsatisfying answer, but as of now, that’s the only one we have.”

  They paused as their plates were set before them.

  “I guess that’s it, then. What a waste.”

  Mike reached over and put his hand over hers for a second as Kacey picked at her food with her fork.

  “I’m so sorry, Kacey.”

  They finished their breakfast in relative silence, Kacey mostly picking at hers, neither really knowing what else to say.

  As they walked out in to the beautiful fall day, Kacey looked up at Mike and said, “Thanks for being there for me Mike. You and Jack have been great friends throughout all of this. I’m lucky to have you both.”

  Mi
ke just nodded at her, knowing words were inadequate. They got in their respective cars and headed towards the station.

  The weather was glorious. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky. A light breeze rustled what few leaves remained on the trees. The breeze was chilly, but refreshingly brisk. Kacey felt her spirits lifting in the fresh air. This was her favorite time of year and she loved every moment that she could be outside. She rolled the window down a few inches to get the most out of one of the last days of warmer weather.