Chapter 3

Three

Izzy

Walking around the metal table, I got low and inspected the cut that was made on Christian's throat. It was remarkably clean. Whoever did this was unfathomably strong, or they had some sort of device that did the cutting. It wasn't a saw or anything else with a serrated edge. I'd almost say a laser did it, but there were no signs of heat or cauterization.

Hitting the record button, I continued my analysis of the body. "Based on the angle of the cut the person is either over seven feet tall or the victim was in a sitting position at the time of decapitation. Not knowing the height of the chair, I'm unable to give an exact height, but I need to compare the angle with the other victims, which should give me an approximate. Unless it is the work of some sort of machine, which changes everything including if the suspect is male. The edges of the skin have been swabbed for residue and have been sent away for testing. Just like the previous victims, there are no signs of self-defense, and all the blood has been drained. Could this be the work of someone with ritualistic tendencies?"

I'd gotten used to seeing those I knew here in the morgue. Everyone from acquaintances to family and friends, and now my ex. It didn't matter how they lived or even how they died. Their bodies always landed on my table with their secrets stripped down and laid out before me. I could tell so much about how someone lived. They told me a story, but the Horseman was stealing their endings. Snatching the answers away from me and leaving me confused.

"The blade was either traveling at great speed or—" I said, just as the door opened and Eli walked in. He didn't look like he had gotten much sleep, either. His hair was a mess, and his normally tidy lab coat was buttoned up out of order, so the jacket was sitting cockeyed.

"You got dragged in as well?" I hit the stop button on my recording.

He shook his head and looked up at the glowing clock on the wall. "No, this is my shift. Have you been in here all day?"

Glancing around, I realized that I had. Did I even eat? "Geez, where did the day go?"

"Do you want me to finish up with this one," he said, walking over to the table. "It looks like you're all done. You never leave any work for the rest of us," he teased, smiling at me. Eli had been flirting with me since he started here a year ago, but there just wasn't a spark for me. Besides, dating someone I had to give orders to wasn't a good idea and I could picture it ending in disaster.

"You know me, I'm an overachiever," I said, pulling off my gloves. "Do you mind cleaning up and doing the paperwork?"

He smirked. "Only because you asked so nicely," he said as the door opened again, and Branson walked in. There was an awkward moment as he looked between Eli's smiling, obviously flirtatious expression and me. The look in his eyes was brief, but I would've sworn he seemed jealous. I had to be imagining it. Branson was happily engaged to Betsy, and I wasn't shocked at all. They'd been high school sweethearts and completely inseparable. She was the main reason why I'd never made my feelings known. What was the point of embarrassing myself and getting harassed or worse by all the senior girls?

"Are you ready to go," Branson asked, walking further into the room. "I was thinking about stopping at the grocery store on the way home and picking up all the fixings to make you a steak dinner."

Heat flushed my cheeks as Eli's shocked eyes found mine. "Are the two of you…." He pointed between me and Branson.

I shook my head, no, but Branson spoke up before I could. "No, I'm not that lucky…." He glanced at me. "At least not yet." My mouth almost fell open. What alternate reality had I stepped into?

Clearing my throat, I got Eli's attention and pointed at Christian on the table. "This is my ex-boyfriend, and the Headless Horseman decided to leave him for me to find in my home."

"Holy shit, are you okay?" Eli grabbed my shoulders and looked me over. I purposely stepped back as the tension notched up in the room. At least, that was how it felt as Branson glared at the back of Eli's head like he was thinking of adding him to my slab.

"Yes, I'm fine, but as a precaution Branson has decided to make sure I have protection. Personally, I think if the Horseman wanted me dead, then I would be."

"It doesn't mean it wasn't a warning, and you could be next. I agree with Branson. You need to be extra careful. I can't believe he was in your home."

"I can't believe I was that close to him and wasn't able to catch him and put him behind bars."

Branson laughed. "Only you would be more upset that you didn't get a chance to tackle him than scared he left you a dead body. You're definitely one of a kind, Izzy," Branson said as I slipped out of my lab coat and walked into my office to hang it up. My brain raced for something to say to that, but luckily, Eli asked how the investigation was going, and I didn't have to worry about stumbling over the compliment. At least, I thought it was a compliment. Grabbing my purse and jacket, I walked out and closed my office.

"Be safe, Izzy. We all love you around here," Eli said as I made my way to the door Branson held open for me.

"Always. Have a good shift. I'll bring you a coffee in the morning."

"You know the way to my heart," he said, and just like that, the tension was back. I stepped out into the hall, and Branson closed the door.

He looked back through the square pane of glass, his features unreadable. "How much do you trust him?"

"Who Eli?"

"Yeah."

"He's not the killer if that's what you're thinking," I said, hitching my purse strap up on my shoulder.

"What makes you so sure? He is tall and seems fit. He has the medical skills necessary and would certainly know how to handle a body so that he didn't leave behind any DNA."

"Because…he's just not capable of it. Eli doesn't have a vicious bone in his body."

Branson looked down at me, but he didn't seem convinced. "Hmm, I'd still like to see his personnel file," he said as we walked toward the exit. "At this point, I'm looking at everyone like they're a suspect, and some simply have a leg up on others."

"I'm not supposed to show you personal files. They are confidential." A gust of cool fall air lifted my hair off the nape of my neck as we stepped outside. I shivered, my eyes searching the darkness.

"You know I'll just get a warrant. At this point, the mayor would order Judge Foster to give it to me for anyone in the area. He is desperate to put this case to bed."

He wasn't wrong. "Fine, I'll let you have a peek tomorrow. But I'm telling you that you're not going to find anything useful," I said as we walked down the steps to the unmarked police car. Branson opened the door for me, and I slipped inside, but he paused there and looked at me.

"Trust me, I've been on this job long enough to know that you never know what skeletons someone has buried in their closet until you go poking around. He also knows exactly where you are in the case. I'm just saying that he's a possibility."

"You're right. I shouldn't be so dismissive. At this point, I could be a suspect," I said, and Branson smiled.

"I really should question you, considering he's your ex. But patting you down and interrogating you sounds like too much of a good time," he said and thankfully closed the door so that he didn't see my shocked and eager expression. Okay…that was now in my head.

Branson got in and started the car, and I reached out and grabbed his arm. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Sure, what about?"

This was so incredibly difficult. If he wasn't flirting and only teasing, I was going to look like an idiot, but if I didn't say something and draw a firm line now, then I was liable to do something that I'd regret. But as I looked at his passive and concerned expression, I lost my nerve.

"You know what, nothing. It's been a long, weird day, and I'm just tired."

"You sure?"

I nodded as his phone rang. "Hello. Yes, this is Detective Crane. Where?" He pulled out his notebook and scribbled an address down. "Right now?" He rubbed his eyes, and I knew that this night was just getting started. "Yes, I'll be there in an hour."

Sighing, Branson looked at me. "You sure you don't want to talk?"

"Nope, I'm all good. What was the call about? You seem upset."

"That was the sheriff from Tarry Town. He says that they found a body, and they think it's our guy."

"The Horseman?" He nodded. "He struck again so soon. He is really escalating."

"I'll drop you off at my house…."

"Like hell, you will." I buckled my seatbelt. "I'm coming with you, no arguments." Crossing my arms, I gave him my don't-bother-arguing look, and he smirked.

"Well, alright then, drive-thru and murder scene it is." Branson smiled and my heart tumbled in my chest. I needed to get my emotions under control. This was ridiculous.