Page 17 of Shadow Sabotage
“Right.” I could practically hear her eye roll through the line. “I’mhopingI can have that for you tomorrow, but no promises. I do have something else in the meantime.”
“What’s that?”
“Preliminary cause of death.”
I pumped my fist in the air. “Lay it on me.”
“The victim’s hyoid bone was broken, meaning she likely died of strangulation.”
“Homicide then.”
“Exactly.”
I frowned, remembering how Sheriff McGrath had mentioned the slope and a possible fall. “Is there any way a fall down a difficult slope could have caused that?”
“No. There were no other fractures noted that would indicate a fall or other trauma. Just the hyoid bone and the damage associated with scavenger animals.”
“Got it.”
“I have something else for you, too.”
I sat forward, hearing the change in tone. “What is it?”
“We pulled a fingerprint off the bracelet. It’s a match for Katelyn Brown. Considering the size and age of the skeleton, I’d bet money the DNA is going to match, too.”
“Thanks. Call me as soon as you know for sure.”
“I will.”
I hung up the phone and stared into space. Katelyn Brown had left Laramie on her own, saying she was never coming back. She’d ended up here, of all places. Why?
Wildwood wasn’t the kind of place that was on most people’s radars. Either she’d had a connection here…
Or she had come here to hide.
Someone rapped sharplyon my office door.
“Come in,” I called.
Deputy Hawkins poked her head inside. “I have those lists for you.”
I glanced at the clock. “That was fast. What did you find?”
She walked in and plopped a file on my desk. “The only unresolved SAR cases that correspond with that area are a forty-five-year-old man who went missing on a hiking trip in 1988 and an eight-year-old kid who wandered off from a campsite in 2010.”
“Neither of which is our victim.”
“Exactly. But there are some potential matches on the second list you asked for.”
I picked it up and flipped through it. It was thorough. She hadn’t simply compiled the list from a database. She’d done her homework and made a serious attempt at matching up possible missing persons with our remains, making notes about why some of them were more likely than others.
“Good work,” I said, glancing up at her. “I don’t think we’re going to need it after all though. We got a print back on the bracelet.”
She sat down and leaned forward. “Is it Katelyn?”
“The print belongs to Katelyn, yes,” I confirmed. “And the preliminary exam says we’re looking at homicide by strangulation.”
She sank back, sighing. “Damn. Part of me still hoped it was an accident.”
