Carter followed them inside Wolfe’s office.
Wolfe went to the coffee machine, popped in two pods and placed cups under the dispenser. “I love this machine. No wait, no delay.” He waited for the cups to fill and handed them to Kane and Carter before repeating the process.
“Thanks.” Carter removed his hat and dropped it on the desk before taking a seat. “If this is Sophie, how did she get into a lake out of Black Rock Falls?”
Wolfe took his cup from under the machine and sank into his office chair. “I don’t know. It’s too far to walk and she was naked. Even if she’d made it to the falls there are forest wardens and tourists all over the forest, she could’ve asked for assistance.” He sipped his drink and allowed the rich taste to spill over his tongue. “The fishing hole is part of a small lake deep in the forest, it’s called Dead Man’s Drop. From what I understand, people who explored the Whispering Caves and got turned around, headed toward a light source believing it was a way out. According to Atohi, the falls run in to the caves there from a fissure in the rocks causing a whirlpool effect. Once someone is in the water they’re washed out and over the falls. Before entry to the caves was prohibited, some twenty years or so ago, deaths frequently occurred there.”
“So, I guess it’s not a particularly popular fishing hole?” Kane looked at him over the rim of his cup. “You’d never know what you might haul out of there.”
Wolfe leaned back in his seat. Oh, Kane was good, in fact they both were exceptional detectives, and the way they were extracting information from him was very subtle but he wasn’t planning on giving up any vital information just yet. After all, Jenna had taken the lead in the case and would be pissed with him if he gave the information to Carter before her. He smiled at Kane and heard a buzzer sounding from the laboratory. “Exactly. Wait here, I need to check on something.” He emptied his cup and hurried out the door.
He collected the data from the DNA sequencer machine and ran a comparison on his computer to all three of the Wood family. There was no doubt, the young woman in his morgue was Sophie Wood. He pulled out his phone and called Jenna. She picked up after a few rings. “Hi Jenna, it’s Shane. I have a match for Sophie Wood. Kane and Carter are waiting in my office. Carter wants to see the body. I haven’t given them the result yet.”
“Yeah, show them the body. We’ll stop by soon.” Jenna cleared her throat. “Did you get a chance to look at the blue Ford yet?”
Bone weary, Wolfe rubbed the back of his neck. “Not yet. The vehicle is locked up out back of the morgue. I’ll get to it tomorrow.” He leaned against the counter. “I know you need the information yesterday but I’m going as fast as humanly possible. I’ll do the sweep and have answers late tomorrow afternoon.”
“That’s fine. I do understand your workload, Shane.” Jenna sounded sincere. “We shouldn’t be too long. Jo is sorting out the legal side of keeping a minor in a secure ward. She’s already organized around the clock security.” She laughed. “I’d forgotten how fast the FBI moved. I’m hanging around here doing nothing but waiting. I’ll call Rowley and give him the results. He’ll probably be glad to hand over the case to us.”
Wolfe scratched the stubble on his chin and made a mental note to shave before taking Anna to ballet classes. “That will save me the trouble. If you’re planning on dropping by to see the body, I must be out of here by six. I’m taking Anna to ballet this evening and I promised to stay back and watch.”
“Sure. Ah. It looks like Jo is ready to leave. We’ll see you soon.” She disconnected.
Wolfe stood and pushed his phone back inside his pocket. He walked out the lab and grabbed scrubs, facemasks, and gloves for the three of them. When he walked into his office, he dropped them on the desk. “Suit up. The DNA is a match.”
Twenty-Six
Jenna pulled her SUV into an empty space beside Kane’s truck. She turned to Jo. “I hate this part of an investigation.”
“Really?” Jo unclipped her seatbelt. “I find the forensics fascinating. The tiniest discovery can link a criminal to a crime and solve murders.” She sighed. “Although, I have to admit since I’ve had Jaime, detaching myself emotionally from child victims during an autopsy has been difficult.”
Understanding, Jenna nodded. “Yeah, kids are difficult but I have a different response and it’s probably unhealthy.” She collected her things and stared at Jo. “Seeing a murdered child makes me angry. I should be feeling sad but it’s never sadness. I feel this welling up of anger and feel like screaming.” She looked away. “I’m not normal, am I?”
“You’re a sheriff and you’re responsible for the lives of the people in your town.” Jo squeezed her arm. “Of course, you feel angry. You want to bring the criminal to justice. I figure Kane feels angry too. He doesn’t show it but I’ve seen his combat face. He hides his emotions well but not from me.” She waved to the ME’s office doors. “I guess we’d better view the body.”
Jenna used her card to access the door. The reception area was empty, Emily and Webber had left for the day. They went through the next set of doors and the cold chill of the morgue greeted her with its normal unearthly smells of antiseptic laced with a hint of decaying flesh. She headed for the examination room with the red light glowing and peered through the glass window to see Kane’s wide back blocking the view. “They’re inside.” She grabbed scrubs, facemask, and gloves and suited up.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Jo pulled on her gloves. “Let’s go.”
Jenna flashed her card over the scanner and the doors whooshed open. All the men’s eyes turned to her but she was focused on the young woman lying on the metal autopsy table covered with a white sheet. “Okay, what do we have here?”
“I’ve been X-raying the body and taking samples from under her nails so far.” Wolfe turned to examine a slide under a microscope. “No skin or fibers.” He looked at Jenna. “From a preliminary examination of her skull, I’d guess she struck her head during the fall and drowned. Of course, as you know, I’ll have to do a full autopsy to determine COD but I can’t see any other reason for her death. There are no signs of strangulation, ligature marks, or pressure marks around her throat.” He pulled back the sheet and examined the girl’s body under the light. “Help me turn her over.”
“Sure.” Kane stepped forward and they rolled the body over.
“No stab wounds.” Wolfe narrowed his gaze as he laid Sophie back on the gurney. “These bruises on her face are at least twenty-four hours old.” He looked down the body. “Same with her inner thighs.”
Jenna stared at the girl’s body and felt the anger rising. “He raped her, didn’t he?” She pointed to the distinct finger marks on Sophie’s thighs. “I’ve seen that before on rape victims.” Her gaze moved to the girl’s ankle and the deep welt in the skin around the zip-tie.
“I’ll examine her.” Wolfe proceeded to a pelvic examination. He straightened and nodded. “Yeah, there’s clear evidence of rape. I’ll process the swabs in the morning.” He took a sample and smeared it on a slide and then went to the microscope. “No evidence of semen. I doubt we’ll find anything to tie one of your suspects to the kidnapping and rape. I’d say the waterfall washed away any trace evidence on her skin but I’ll check during the autopsy.”