Her Broken Wings by D.K. Hood
Twelve
It was a miserable, gray day but the sight of the bright orange pumpkins piled up outside the grocery store made Shane Wolfe smile. It had become a tradition for him and his three girls to carve up a pumpkin for Halloween. It was one of the few remaining traditions left over from when they’d been a real family before his wife had died of cancer. After purchasing a suitable specimen, Wolfe stepped over the river of leaf-strewn muddy water hurtling down the gutter and slid the pumpkin inside the back of his SUV. These days he immersed himself in his work but his determination to give his daughters, Emily, Julie, and Anna, a normal life was paramount. All three took after him in coloring, with blonde hair and gray eyes, but thankfully they all had their mother’s petite build and attitude to life. Emily was following in his footsteps and studying to become a medical examiner at Black Rock Falls College, Julie was in high school, and as bright as a button and his baby, Anna’s priority in life was riding the paint pony Kane had given her for her last birthday. He grimaced when his phone rang and shook the rain from his hat before climbing into his vehicle. He fished the phone out of his top pocket. “Wolfe.”
“It’s Jenna. I’m afraid you’ll have to postpone the autopsy on Robinson. We have a double homicide out on Stanton Road. Multiple gunshot victims. The killer chased them down and shot them in the back. We’re on scene. I’ll send you the coordinates.”
“I’m in town. Emily and Webber are at my office. I’ll go grab them and my van and be with you ASAP.” Wolfe disconnected and started the engine.
He’d left his daughter Emily and his other intern, Colt Webber, a deputy who’d joined his staff to study forensic science, studying blood spatter from the Robinson case. Now he had more cases piling up to limit his precious family time. He sighed and headed through the mist-shrouded town, arriving a few minutes later at the ME’s office. He strolled inside and swiped his card, glad to see his interns fully involved in the task he’d set them. “We have a double homicide in Stanton Forest. Dave and Jenna are on scene. It’s cold, wet, and muddy—wear boots and wet weather gear.”
Moments later they climbed inside the van and he punched in the coordinates for the murder scene. “Do you have classes this afternoon?”
“Yeah.” Emily peeked out from the hood of a raincoat two sizes too big for her. “But we’ll be through by three.”
Wolfe turned onto Stanton Road and peered through the swirling mist. The few people braving the weather hustled along the sidewalk, bowed over into the wind, chins tucked in and holding tight to the brims of their hats. “We’ll delay the Robinson autopsy until four. I’ll see what we have here, but I’ll leave the autopsies of the Stanton Forest victims until the morning. I’ll want you in my office after breakfast as you don’t have classes until after lunch.”
“Oh, Dad, why so early?” Emily shivered. “It’s freezing.”
“Have you changed your mind about becoming an ME?” Wolfe kept his gaze on the murky road ahead.
“Don’t be silly.” Emily pulled an aghast expression. “I’m entitled to ask, right?”
Wolfe bit back a grin. She was so like her mother. It warmed his heart to see she’d inherited her mother’s grit. In her chosen profession, she was going to need it. He glanced at her and shrugged. “Nothing we do in this job is particularly enjoyable, Em, you just gotta grin and bear it.” He cleared his throat. “Any problems, Webber?”
“No, sir.” Webber frowned. “Three homicides in twelve hours. I hope we’re not having a Halloween killing spree.”
Wolfe glanced at him. “Don’t jump to conclusions before we’ve completed the autopsies. Many things are not what they seem.”
“Dad.” Emily looked at him. “Has Jenna determined how Mr. Robinson’s killer entered the home?”
Wolfe shrugged. “I haven’t read her report yet. I’d guess she was called out to this murder before she had time to file it.” He frowned. “I’ve never seen weather like this before, so windy with sleet and yet the mist still hangs around.”
“It’s because we’re at a higher altitude.” Webber rubbed the condensation from the side window. “Or it’s just because it’s Halloween. They say strange things happen around this time, spirits and all coming through from the other side.”
“So you’ll be planning a visit to the Old Mitcham Ranch on Halloween to sleep over?” Wolfe chuckled. “Or are the college students too old to do that these days?”
“There’s no way I’m going near that place.” Webber gave a choked laugh. “I’m not afraid of ghosts, it’s just way too cold to hole up there overnight.”
“Right.” Wolfe kept his eyes on the road.
Ahead the wig-wag lights on Kane’s black truck loomed out of the mist. Wolfe slowed and, turning on his hazard lights, pulled up in front of it. He removed his warm leather gloves and exchanged them for surgical ones from a box on the dash. “Glove up, use the masks. Webber, get the metal detector from out the back. If the killer used a rifle, we might find casings.”
“Do we need our coveralls?” Emily thought for a beat and then shook her head. “No, we don’t, right? It’s been raining for two days and any trace evidence will have been washed away?”
Wolfe noticed Jenna and Kane emerging from the forest, rain dripping from the brims of their hats. “Probably not. Wait here and I’ll take a look.” He slid from the van and walked up to Jenna and Kane. “What have we got?”
“Looks to me like the vehicle was chased, the driver lost control, crashed through the trees, and came to rest over there.” Jenna pointed. “The doors are wide open, so they left in a hurry. I checked for footprints, from back here where the bushes are broken from the path of the truck.”
“I found skid marks on the road, but with the sleet, it’s hard to determine how long they’ve been there.” Kane peered in the truck and then straightened. “I found nothing to point to the shooter following them into the forest. The pine needles are so thick, they’re like a carpet. It looks like the shooter used a rifle. We haven’t found any casings using the flashlight. It’s so dark in the forest today, we could’ve missed them.”
“Two gunshots per victim, from what we can determine.” Jenna’s mouth turned down. “We disturbed a bobcat, so one of the victims is torn up some. We’ve taken photographs of the scene. I’ll forward them to you now.”
Wolfe nodded. “Okay.” He turned and waved to Emily and Webber to join them.
He took his forensics kit from Emily and turned to Webber. “Run the metal detector from the edge of the road to the bodies. Photograph the position of anything you find before bagging it.”
“Yes, sir.” Webber went to work.
Wolfe turned to Jenna. “Lead the way.” He looked at Emily. “Follow behind Jenna and be aware there’s a bobcat close by.”
As he walked, Kane moved beside him. Wolfe turned to his friend. “Coincidence?”
“I’m not sure.” Kane ducked to avoid a low branch. “Both crime scenes have the feeling of professionalism, although in this town, we have a number of marksmen.” He slapped him on the back. “Just another string of mystery deaths for you to solve in Black Rock Falls.”
Wolfe shook his head. “Me? Nah. It’s usually no mystery discovering how a person died, but if these murders are connected and as professional as you say, I don’t envy the investigation you and Jenna have to wade through.”
“Me either.” Kane frowned. “I thought I’d seen every side of human nature before I moved here.” He sighed. “Man, I hadn’t touched the surface.”