Chapter 21

It had taken longer than expected for the forensic team to process the crime scene, and hunched against the cold, Rowley made another sweep of the house perimeter, searching for anything of interest. One footprint could make so much difference in a murder investigation. Rio had walked the entire driveway, up one side and down the other, searching for tire tracks. They’d found no trace of the stun gun killer. It was like hunting down a ghost. How could a guy move around without leaving a trace behind? Heck, he’d made footprints alongside the gravel pathway to the back of the house and yet they’d found no trace of anyone. As he walked, his mind flicked back to Jenna. They’d heard nothing from her since she’d left with Agent Styles, and no news wasn’t good. The choppers could cover a wide area in a short time and it had been three hours since she’d left.

Pushing the concern to one side, he concentrated on the murder cases. Jenna had taught him well and Rio had handled his fair share of homicides. There was no reason they couldn’t find this killer alone. It would be nice to be able to remove some of the burden from Jenna’s shoulders right now. She was holding up well, but he suspected the brave exterior was hanging on by a thread. They must move on with the murder case and have something for her when she returned. He walked back around the front of the house and met Rio. “I’ve found nothing at all. You?”

“Nope and I’ve just spoken to Norrell.” Rio blew out a long sigh. “She gave me the laptop and phone, but she didn’t find any fingerprints not belonging to the victim. No signs the place was wiped clean either. The only thing she believes might me a possibility is that the killer moved the hair to one side to get access to the neck.” He shrugged. “He might have left something on her skin, a trace of sweat, something. So she’ll be concentrating on that. She also believes that as there is one sandwich and one cup of coffee, the victim wasn’t expecting company.”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Rowley looked at him. “The place has high security and yet the alarm was switched off and the front door unlocked. How did he get in if she didn’t open the door to him?”

“This is something we need to concentrate on.” Rio stared into space. “Why did she just sit there and allow him to touch her hair? Why didn’t she run? Victims are usually found in hallways or places where they’ve tried to escape. All these victims just sit in front of the TV and there’s no indication they were moved postmortem.”

Putting himself in the victim’s shoes for a while, Rowley frowned. “Maybe he knew the code for the door, and most guys carry a weapon out here. He maybe walked in and held a gun on her.” He looked at Rio. “She’s alone, no neighbors, and a guy sticks a gun in her face. She’s not going anywhere, is she?”

“That makes sense.” Rio stared at the door as Webber pushed a gurney with the body out to the ME’s van. “What doesn’t is his motive. This is a serial killer and they usually have something that makes them kill. They enjoy the kill and it’s usually messy. This is almost nice in comparison to what we usually see. I can’t see the thrill in killing someone with a stun gun.”

Sickened by the sight he’d witnessed of the wide-open black holes for eyes in each victim, Rowley shook his head. “Maybe he gets his thrill after the kill. He likes the look of what he’s done. He enjoys ruining their faces. Maybe eyes are a trigger and he wants to destroy them. Don’t ask me to figure them out or I’ll be as crazy as them.”