Page 18 of The Hanging Dolls
His eyes, sober and tired, scanned the room of reporters before he spoke. “It is with great sadness that I inform you we have found the body of the missing girl, Lily Baker, in the woods just outside of town. At this time, we don’t have much information to share, but I can tell you that the FBI is assisting with the investigation. We are doing everything in our power to find out what happened to Lily. I want to extend my deepest condolences to Lily’s family and friends during this unimaginably difficult time. I also want to ask the public to come forward if they have any information that could help us. Even the smallest detail could be crucial. We need your help to ensure that justice is served.”
The camera lingered on Hunter’s face for a moment longer before cutting back to the newsroom.
Regina’s eyes darted to Connor who was leaning against the wall. She sensed a sly plan was forming in his head.
TEN
Zoe drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. It was a bleak morning—sky painted with a dull gray and clouds lazily gliding. She sipped on her coffee with three sugars, hoping for the caffeine to kick in after a sleepless night. But her brain was too foggy after the discovery in the woods. It was refusing to wake up and begin solving that puzzle. She was getting used to the perpetual grimness of the Pacific Northwest. The cold she could tolerate. She had spent years in the windy city. But the lack of people and noise in this town grated on her nerves at times. The silence and vast stretches of empty land was agonizing, making it harder to be her regular chirpy self. But she couldn’t afford to let the depressing nature of her job drag her down.
When Scott’s car pulled up next to hers, she climbed out. He emerged, looking as tired as she felt, his hair disheveled and tie askew. “Morning.”
“Morning.” She handed him a cup. “We need some working neurons.”
“Where’s Dr. Wesley?”
“He’s going through the archives to check if this MO matches any old or cold case.”
He grumbled something and took the cup and led her to the chalky white block of building that Zoe thought was the hub of drug deals before finding out it was the coroner’s office.
The space was stark and clinical, walls tiled in white, giving the room a sterile and antiseptic feel. A harsh fluorescent lighting buzzed faintly overhead. The smell of disinfectant hung heavy in the air.
The coroner, with thick glasses, a stubble, and gloved hands, came up to them. “Detective Cohen and Agent Storm. Please follow me.”
Zoe’s footsteps echoed in the hallway as they rounded into a room with a steel autopsy table in the center, gleaming under the bright lights. The body of Lily Baker lay on a stretcher beside the autopsy table, covered with a crisp, white sheet. Zoe almost tripped over her feet but steadied herself against the frame. Currents ran up and down her skin like little snakes. Next to her, Scott stilled, his jaw locked so tight that it looked like it would break if he released the pressure.
She decided to distract herself with the details of the room. The table was slightly tilted, with a drainage system at one end. Nearby, a stainless-steel cart was lined with various surgical instruments, meticulously arranged in neat rows: scalpels, forceps, scissors, all cleaned and ready for use.
“Do you know the cause of death?” Scott asked, his voice thick.
The coroner stood on the other side of the table. He turned on a monitor which displayed a detailed scan of Lily’s body. “An X-ray of her neck confirms that she was strangled. The hyoid bone was broken.” He spoke with an odd melody in his tone.
“What was used to strangle her?” Zoe asked.
“The ligature marks on the neck of the victim match the texture of the rope. The rope has been sent to the crime lab to lift any DNA or prints. The marks were slightly angled andthe bruising on the neck was more pronounced on the sides of the neck, suggesting that the assailant most likely strangled the victim from behind.”
“Did she struggle?” Zoe tried not to look at the body, albeit covered, just a foot away from her. Somehow its small size was taking up the entire room.
“No defensive wounds found anywhere. We have collected samples from under the fingernails. We’ll have the results by this evening but I don’t think we’ll find anything there.”
“Were there any signs of… assault?” Scott rubbed his forehead.
The coroner crossed his arms. “There was no injury indicating sexual assault. Protocol dictates to swab it anyway, which we did, but I’m ruling it a negative.”
Zoe’s mind ticked over the note that was found with the rope. “Okay. Anything on the tox screen?”
“Yes.” He pulled up the tox screen results on the monitor. “We found high levels of chloroform and trace amounts of Loratadine, which is the active ingredient in Claritin.”
“Chloroform has a short half-life in the body. One to three hours,” Scott said. “If it was found in large quantities that would suggest recent exposure prior to death.”
“That’s why the victim didn’t struggle. Killer knocked her out and then strangled her,” the coroner agreed.
“And what about the Claritin?” Zoe asked. “When do you think that was administered?”
“If we extrapolate based on her weight, age, and the contents of her stomach, I would say around two days ago.”
“Two days ago, when she was in captivity. Do we know what she’s allergic to?” She turned to Scott.
“The parents would be able to shed light on that one.” Scott scratched his ear. “Travis visited them last night, but we still need to go and talk to them.”
