Page 105 of Chaotic Curse
“Daniela got the roses yesterday.Based on how much he’s decomposed, Haynes has been dead for a few days at least.That’s all I need to know.”
Falcon grunts.“Loren will tell us for sure.”
Once the body is safely in my truck—fuck, did I just think those words?—we drive in silence.
Loren’s office is tucked behind the county medical complex.The kind of place most people avoid unless they’re here to claim a body or identify one.
We back into the loading bay.The air here smells faintly of antiseptic.
Peter Loren meets us at the door.White coat over jeans, stethoscope slung lazily around his neck.He’s older now—lines deeper around the eyes—but has the same sharp stare.
He smirks.“Damn it all.Falcon Bellamy.And Hawk.I haven’t seen you two in a while.”
“Pete,” Falcon says.
“That’s a troubling look on both of you.”He crosses his arms.“Which means you’re bringing me the same.Trouble.The question is which.Your own, or are you cleaning up someone else’s?”
“I guess a little of both,” Falcon says.
“We’ve got a guy named Clifford Haynes,” I say.“He’s a registered sex offender.We found him dead at his place, throat slit.We need a time of death.”
“And discretion,” Falcon adds.
Loren sighs.“With any son of Austin Bellamy, discretion’s a given.Let’s see what we’ve got.”
We unload the bin and tote it into the exam room.We place the bag on the table and slide it off the body.
Loren doesn’t flinch.He’s seen worse.He snaps on gloves and palpates the neck.
“Neck wound,” he says.“Deep.Clean cut.Likely from a blade with some heft.”
“When?”I ask.
“Two days.Maybe three.Judging by lividity, ambient temperature… He’s been in that bed since he died.”
Falcon glances at me.“Daniela’s flowers came yesterday, you said.”
“Yeah,” I say.“And this guy’s DNA was on the card.”
Loren raises a brow.“Which means what?”
“Means it was planted,” I say.“This guy was already dead.”
Loren strips off his gloves.“You want an official report?”
I shake my head.“Unofficial is better.No paper trail.”
He studies us for a beat.“Falcon, this could be bad for you.”
Falcon shrugs.“Depends on your definition of bad, I guess.”
I ignore them both.My mind’s already spinning.Haynes is out.Which means I’m back to square one.
Reyes?
No.
Jordan?
