I wave my hand at her to carry on. “I’m going to need more than that. Why were you meeting for lunch today?”
“To discuss Ryan’s state of mind because of the murder last night.”
What?
“I’m confused. What does Ryan have to do with the murder? He’s confined inside these walls.”
The past months flood through my mind. Blake’s peculiar cold front and unfocused state of mind, and my dreams were all a warning. Did I somehow know the answer all along but was too frightened to voice it or let my mind believe it?
“He’s out, isn’t he?” I breathe and the nausea threatens.
“Mrs. Braxton, let me get you a glass of water.” I dart from the chair and out of the office. Water won’t freaking help me. I push out the doors and claw at the air to feel my lungs. I’m suffocating. Blake hadn’t told me he was out there. Ryan killed my parents and tried to kill both him, and me and he hadn’t told me he was free! How as this allowed to happen? I force my feet to carry me to the gate and instead of being startled by the buzz and the clanking I welcome it. My car feels like it’s parked miles away. I want to get home and lock all the doors and keep everyone I love locked inside until they realize their mistake and put Ryan back where he belongs. I reach my car and press the fob to unlock it and then my worst fear manifests in front of me. Dark black pools of evil pin me to the spot. Dark waves of thick hair frame his face and the cruel smirk makes my insides crawl. I’m mute. I can’t scream but that’s all I want to do, Tears ignite my eyes and my body shakes so forcible my eyesight blurs. “Hey, Mel.” His voice echoes in my mind as darkness coats me and swallows me into its abyss.
I DON’T KNOW WHETHER IT’S a mental state of mind or if you really can just smell death when you first walk in this place, but chills dust your skin no matter how thick-skinned you are. I have killed and seen dead people at all kinds of crime scenes but walking in here still gives me a cold feeling. I knock before entering the autopsy room and when John sees it’s us he waves us over. It takes a special breed of human to be able to do his job.
“Force blunt trauma to the back of the head with a heavy object causing the brain to bleed and fracture, resulting in death.”
“Any other injuries?” I ask and he shakes his head.
“Not that I’ve found but I need to do a more thoroughly detailed report.” He raises a greying brow. I grin my appreciation and he tuts at me.
“He didn’t see the attack coming. He couldn’t prevent or defend himself. The first blow would have dazed him or knocked him unconscious and the blows following came in quick succession.” He points to some injuries towards the back of the neck. “These lower injuries came once the victim was face down. It was a frenzied attack, thirty three injuries.”
“Can you tell us anymore?”
“I can tell you from the in impact of the wounds I would say the killer is likely to be a small man, or maybe a teenager or strong woman.”
Ryan was none of those. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I have the results of Dr. Leighton as well. I have the report for you but while you’re here you may as well come see. Good call on that one, Detective.”
I follow him over the wall of death and he opens a door and slides out another slab. He hands me something to stick in my nose before uncovering the doc. John goes to his feet and spreads the toes, indicating something between them. I drop down to see what he wants me to but there’s discoloring everywhere. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be looking at, so I look up at him and he huffs. “An incision, small, but there,” he says. “Poison administered by a needle between the toes made to look like a natural death. There are traces of the poison in the hair follicles and bones.”
That’s not Ryan’s style. This is premeditated and sophisticated. I turn to Donovan who I’m sure is thinking the same thing I am. “Did we get anywhere with finding his girlfriend?”
“No, but it was filed as a natural death so no one has looked further into it.”
Leighton’s neighbor gave a brief description of the supposed girlfriend of the Doctor but has no known address and the woman hasn’t been in contact with her or us in regards to her dead boyfriend. Mrs. Bellway, his neighbor, says the woman was much younger than the Doctor and wasn’t there often. I’ve called a forensic team to dust for prints after I examine the place; I leave other detectives there to thoroughly go through his belongings while I boot up his computer and download all his files to go over at the office. Donovan and Mills appear in front of me with furrowed brows and cautious stances, making my instincts kick in and every hair on my body stand on end. “What is it?”