Page 51 of The Girls in the Snow

She stalked past him, and Newport closed in.

“No comment.”

“I haven’t even asked you anything yet.”

“Saving you the energy.”

“She’s not one of Frost’s.” Newport lowered her voice. “She’s frostbitten. That means she died out here. Frost’s girls are already dead when they’re put on ice, right?”

“How do you know she’s frostbitten?”

“I overheard your people talking,” Caitlin said.

“Of course you did.” Nikki turned to Miller, who’d trudged through the heavy snow to join them. “Would you have one of your deputies escort Ms. Newport to her vehicle?”

“No need. I’m sure I’ll see you later.” She sauntered toward the street.

Nikki followed Miller past the snow-covered gazebo. “Newport claims she overheard the medical examiner say the victim was frostbitten.”

Miller scowled. “I don’t trust her as far as I can throw her.”

“But the woman did have frostbite?”

“Quite a bit,” Miller said. “Poor woman died out here. I just hope she wasn’t conscious.”

Nikki and Miller quickly reached Liam and Courtney, who were standing in the middle of the small park, examining the area between a swing set and a large tree. “Where’s the body?”

“Hardin had the jurisdiction to have the medical guys bag her and take her in. She’s been out here for a while, and this is a family park. Liam and Courtney were already here, and you were stuck in traffic.”

“It was Hardin’s call, anyway. I can’t fault him for wanting to get her out of here. What do you guys have so far?”

“Hispanic female, approximately five foot seven, about one-hundred thirty, one-hundred forty pounds. Frostbite means blood still flowing, so she was left out here alive.” Liam handed her his phone, and she scrolled through the pictures he’d taken of the body.

At first glance, it was easy to see why someone without intimate knowledge of Frost’s methods would think the victim belonged to him. She lay flat on her back, arms and legs spread like a snow angel. The true position of Frost’s girls—flat on their backs, arms folded over their midsection—had never been made public. Her dark hair had been pulled to the side and tied with a red silk ribbon. But Frost’s ribbons were red velvet—another detail they’d kept out of the media.

“We might be able to get a fingerprint from the ribbon,” Courtney said. “I think we all know it won’t match Frost’s.”

The victim had been wearing makeup, including false eyelashes. Her skimpy dress and heels suggested she hadn’t intended to be in the cold for more than a few minutes. The fishnets she wore certainly weren’t going to keep her legs warm.

“Every finger is significantly frostbitten,” Nikki said. “What did the medical examiner say about getting prints?”

“It doesn’t look like her fingers got to the point of splitting open, so she’s hoping they can warm her up and peel the skin off with tweezers to get prints.”

Close-up photos of the back of the woman’s head showed possible blunt force trauma. Blood caked her dark hair. The fishnets had been torn in the front, exposing both thighs, which also had black patches of frostbite. A small bird tattoo on her left ankle might be their quickest way to identify her.

“Something hit her hard in the head,” Nikki said. “Had her bleeding been stopped before she came out here?”

“The medical examiner thinks so,” Liam said. “Which means she was hit and then left to die hours later. We won’t know without the autopsy.”

“The medical examiner was able to move her limbs,” Courtney said. “She doesn’t think she was out here for more than a few hours. But Frost’s victim’s being frozen solid isn’t public knowledge.”

Bits of red dotted the area where the body had been. “Frost’s girls never bleed. Did the wind blow very hard this morning?”

“Nope,” Courtney said. “I checked as soon as we got here. The wind was light, and the snow looks like it’s been rolled around in.”

“That means whoever dumped her waited and came back to stage her body.”

“Exactly.” Courtney pointed to the impressions in the snow. “She was dragged out here. And whoever left her tried to cover their tracks. No good impressions of the footwear. Looks like they basically shuffled. It’s impossible to tell if they made more than one trip, but I can’t rule it out, either.”

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