Bloodstain Read Online Free

“Can we get the ballistics guy to look at these?”
    “Sure. We’ll drop them off on the way up to the fourth floor.”
     
    *******
     
    The fourth floor, all of it, i s Homicide. It appeared to be a quiet day, with just a few officers at their desks. One read a newspaper, while a couple others seemed to be intent on some paperwork.
    Nina Jefferson took them across the floor to where two glass-paned conference rooms came together, and opened the door on the left. “You can set up in here. I’ll get the evidence we didn’t send down to you guys. I’ll be back shortly.”
    In less than twenty minutes, Vanessa and Jason had the Marcie Walker evidence spread out on the conference table in front of them. The extensive set of photos was almost a mirror image of their own crime scene. Jason had an involuntary shiver.
    Nina Jefferson came back into the room carrying the zippered evidence bag Vanessa had given her earlier.
    “It’s a match. Of course, you already knew the caliber was the same. What really cinched it is the bullet casing. The firing pin on the gun your guy used has a nick on the right side.”
    She showed the detectives a blown-up photo of the back end of the casing. The nick was clearly visible.
    “This photo,” she flipped to a second picture. “Is of the casing from our killing. Same nick, same gun in both killings.”
    Vanessa grunted. “Yeah, seemed pretty likely after looking at these photos from the two crime scenes. We have victim description, ballistics, and the posing of the body all the same. It’s likely the same guy. Your medical examiners report says she had been dead about a week when she was found. How long had she been missing before time of death?”
    “Twenty-four hours, give or take.”
    “I don’t see in here that you guys had any solid suspects.”
    Nina sat down at the table and sorted through the file until she found the piece of paper she was looking for. “We questioned all her friends from school and her job. We also looked for some kind of connection to the wine glass but found nothing.”
    “Did you ever locate her missing clothes?” Jason asked.
    Nina shook her head. “We were able to determine what she was wearing when she was last seen because it was her work uniform. She was a clerk at 7-11 and was seen leaving with her smock on. She never made it home.”
    “What about the wine glass?”
    “Generic discount store type made in the eighties. We figured he picked it up at a flea market or garage sale.”
    Jason got up and started to pace. “Okay, we have two murders, apparently by the same man, done six months apart. We don’t have any other matching crimes reported in Texas. The two crimes are in different cities,” He made a turn and headed toward the far end of the room. “Which suggests he traveled from San Antonio to Austin on the first killing, and did the second in his backyard, or the reverse?”
    Vanessa raised her hand as if she was in school. “It’s also possible he moved from Austin to San Antonio, and we should consider the possibility business may bring him to both cities.”
    Vanessa turned to Nina. “How far off the beaten path was your victim found?”
    “Oh, she was way back in the woods, pure luck she was found at all. Some guys, who got lost doing one of those ‘cache’ searches, stumbled onto the body.”
    “Well, that doesn’t mesh with our scene. It was close to the road, almost in the open.”
    Jason stopped pacing and looked at his partner. “Meaning what?”
    “I don’t think our victim was number two, more likely number three or four.”
    “You think he was too comfortable and practiced by the time he got to our victim?”
    “That’s my gut instinct.”
    Jason looked at Nina. “Did you guys interview her parents?”
    “Yeah, we drove down and gave them the news. They didn’t have a clue who would want to hurt their daughter.”
    “I think we’ll go by and see them again. Maybe they’ve thought of something since