Cade spoke. “It’s interesting that he put them outside, too. Why not a basement or something like that?”
“Because,” DeeJay said, “there was someone at home who might have discovered them. He put them as far as he could to keep them out of sight, and it worked for years. But he also had to be able to reach them to enjoy them.”
Cade leaned forward. “Now I’m wondering if he might have come back a few times to take a look.”
“I’m sure he did when he came back for good,” DeeJay answered.
Nate spoke. “Never would have found ’em except for the resort surveyor. Bet he didn’t plan on that. You think he’s still hanging them outdoors? In these temperatures they wouldn’t leave an infrared signature. Too cold.”
“But he might,” said DeeJay. “If he’s hanging them in the woods again.” She sighed and reached for her own coffee. “I can’t imagine the expense of trying to keep infrared eyes on all that territory. Then you’d have to pick out the wildlife... Hopeless.”
“But what I’ve been thinking,” Nate said, “was that using the cargo netting is so weird it must have some kind of meaning to him. Which ain’t no help at all if you’re not a mind reader. It might just have been the handiest way to hang the bodies in one place.”
He rose, saying he had to get back to his grandchildren. “My wife loves ’em, but she’s getting to a point where they can drain her fast. Me, too, come to that. Wish I had the energy of a toddler.” Laughing, he zipped his jacket as he headed to the door. Then, just before he opened it, he paused.
“I’ll keep thinking on it,” he said. “I reckon I don’t think about much else these days, except the grandkids.”
Then he stepped out into the icy night. Even after the door closed, the frigid air hung in the small entry. DeeJay shivered again.
“He’s right,” she said.
“About what?”
“That cargo netting. I’d almost bet it’s part of his ritual. Scene setting.”
Their eyes met, and she could almost see the wheels spinning inside his head. “Damn, don’t I feel like a fool,” he said finally.
“Why? It was Tate who mentioned the netting, and I think he’s right. We never saw the original scene—we never got to evaluate it forensically or psychologically. Everyone assumed it was just a handy way to display his trophies for his own pleasure. We’ve been working from files and some photos that are less than great.”
She headed to get more coffee and take another look at the files. A new perspective. Cade was right behind her.
“Scene setting,” he repeated. “Now if we can just figure it out.”
They’d have a better insight into their perp, but it wouldn’t necessarily provide any useful answers. Still.
She sat across from him. The coffeepot now resided at one end of the table. “All right, let’s review it as scene setting. And frankly, I was getting hellaciously creeped out by the photos of the vics they found last time. Wrapped in plastic for preservation is one thing. Wrapping them so that their faces can be seen is another. Let’s add that to the scene setting.”
“You’re on,” he said, reaching for the forensics envelope.