"Messer." Flack called out as they got out of the car.
"What have we got?"
"Something nasty." Flack grimaced. "Try not to puke on the body, okay."
"A little cold and everyone takes pot shots."
"Actually I was thinking about the body. The responding officers both lost it when they saw it."
"Well if it's that bad, Hawkes will love it. He goes for gory."
Flack led the two men past the tape and into the vacant lot. "Early morning jogger found it. Poor guy was taking a short cut and literally stumbles over this."
Flack pointed to the body. For a moment, Danny wasn't sure he wouldn't vomit. The body was undressed. There was blood everywhere. And worse, almost all of the skin had been removed from the torso, arms and legs.
"Well I can give you a time of death range." Hawkes jumped right in. "Has to have been since last night."
"Why do you say that, Doc?"
"Blood appears fresh and no dogs or animals have gotten to it." Hawkes explained. "In fact, given the lack of postmortem damage, I'd say the body couldn't have been dumped more than an hour or two before discovery."
"Almost like the killer doesn't care if the body was found." Flack suggested.
Danny looked up from his camera. "Exactly like that."
"Hey Danny." Hawkes waved him closer to the body. "Check this out." He pointed to the gapping wound down the torso. "What do you make of that?"
Danny shock his head. "We got a serious sicko on our hands."
"How sick?"
"Sick enough that this might not be the first time." Hawkes replied grimly.
"Or the last." Danny added.
The words hung between the three men. None of them wanted to say it outloud but the fear was palatable. They might have a serial killer on their hands.
