Page 12 of Corpse Roads

His protection means jack shit; we both know that. I’ll have a full unit of our agents down here in under half an hour. Reading my mind without a word, Enzo steps outside to make the call.

“How bad is she?”

Sanderson sighs. “You want the short version?”

“I want everything.”

“Sepsis nearly killed her. It was left untreated for a long time while she fled. Two broken ribs, shattered radius in her left arm, and severe dehydration. Plus years’ worth of badly healed injuries that indicate a long history of abuse.”

He gulps, oddly emotional.

“What else?” I prod.

“She’s tiny and weak from malnourishment. Dunno how the fuck she made it out alive. Looks early to mid-twenties, I’d say.”

I unclench my fists and glance back down at the photographs. The ugly scars cover her torso in harrowing detail. She should have died from these injuries alone. All the other victims did.

The religious symbolism of the Holy Trinity has tied every murder together, if nothing else. All of the women were carved up prior to death. Some were butchered like pieces of meat, the slices cutting down to the bone in places.

“These are old marks.”

Sanderson shrugs. “Looks like she’s been held captive.”

“We weren’t aware of any other victims, let alone hostages. Any idea how long she was held for?”

“She’s being eased off sedation as we speak. I’ll interrogate the victim and get us some answers.”

I don’t think so, dickhead.

This is a very delicate situation that could alter the course of our entire case. The girl doesn’t need this wanker interrogating her.

“Our team is on the way. We’ll take her into protective custody and handle questioning from there.”

“You don’t have the authority to do that,” Sanderson blusters. “She’s mine, Rodriguez.”

“Your authority means fuck all to me. Back off or I’ll give your boss a call. You’ll be on your way to retirement in no time.”

Sanderson’s face turns purple with rage. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me. I’ve worked closely with the superintendent over the years. She’ll be happy to do me a favour.”

Cursing me out, Sanderson takes a step back. “What exactly gives you the right to take jurisdiction here?”

“We have to assume the killer will come looking for the girl. Sabre is best equipped to deal with that eventuality. This is our case.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing, asshole.”

“Stay out of my way or I’ll bury you. Have a great afternoon.”

Stacking the photographs to take with me, I exit into the corridor. Enzo is wrapping up a phone call, and his eyes connect with mine. I can spot the riot of tension and anger a mile off.

It takes a lot to rattle the big guy. He’s used to wrapping himself in barbed wire to get through the hard cases, but those goddamn slashes are harrowing on a corpse, let alone a living person.

“The Anaconda team is coming.”

“Keep this quiet until we know more. I’ll deal with the SCU and get them to sign the girl over to us. We’ll need to get forensics in there immediately.”

“If she’s been here for a week, a lot of the evidence will already be gone,” Enzo points out.

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