Chapter 4
"We're here for the victim that just came in," Elliot said to the nurse behind the desk, flashing his badge.
"You're too late. We called the coroner's office about five minutes ago," she told them.
"What happened to her?" Olivia asked.
"Massive heart failure. When she was brought in it was easy to tell someone had beaten the crap out of her," the nurse explained.
"Signs of rape?" Elliot wanted to know.
"There was a lot of blood and bruising all over her body. The coroner will have to give you more on that one," the medical woman shook her head.
"Where are her personal belongings?" Olivia inquired. The nurse reached down behind the desk and pulled out a bag containing a few items.
"Figured someone would need these," she gave a tight smile.
"Thank you," Olivia said. Elliot asked for directions to the room where they were keeping the body and the nurse quickly gave them to him. The two partners made their way down the hall where they bumped into none other than Kathy.
"Elliot, Olivia," she regarded them carefully.
"On a case. Tell the kids that I'll see them Saturday," Elliot told her and then he moved on. Olivia didn't know what to say and gave Kathy a slight smile before running to catch up to her partner. She could feel Kathy's eyes burning a hole in her back before she rounded the corner. Wanting to ask Elliot what that was all about, she put a hand on his shoulder but the question went out of her head as she saw the color of the skin on the security guard outside the room where the victim was. He looked green as if he were going to throw up. She handed him her badge as Elliot was explaining who they were.
"It's bad. I hope you catch the bastard," he said. Elliot just nodded and headed into the room. Olivia steeled herself and followed.
"Her toes are frostbitten," Olivia noticed the black skin the first thing as they were sticking out of the cloth that covered their victim.
"This is our guy," Elliot heaved a sigh as he placed the cloth back down. The upper part was soaked in blood.
"Her face is a jigsaw puzzle," he said. Olivia swallowed hard and then grabbed some gloves out of her pocket. Putting them on, she reached into the bag that the nurse had handed them.
"No wallet or ID. Skimpy blood-soaked clothes like the first victim. No shoes," she told him. The door opened and in walked two men in lab coats. One was pushing a cart with a body bag and the other was following.
"You guys are the detectives?" The one pushing the cart asked.
"Yes and you are?" Elliot wanted to know.
"I'm Sam and this is Josh. We transport bodies to our morgue for holding. Doctor Warner called and said to put her on ice. She'll be here in ten minutes," the young man explained.
"Excellent. We'll follow you," Elliot said. Sam nodded and quickly motioned to Josh and the two expertly moved the body off the table and into the bag. Then they headed out of the room and Olivia and Elliot followed them. Olivia quickly called the Captain to let him know of the situation. He told them to get back as soon as they could. They needed to nail down as much as they could before their killer struck again. The brass wanted to keep as much about the case quiet as they could but if they had to go to the media, they would. The last thing they needed was the media all over them so Olivia promised they'd be back as quickly as possible.
"This guy is on a roll isn't he?" Melinda asked as she watched them load the body into her van shortly after she'd arrived and signed the paperwork.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," Olivia sighed.
To Be Continued…
