The haunting scene only furthered his weary gut-feeling about this distinctively troublesome case and Steve symbolically wrapped his beige overcoat tighter around his body as he knelt down, carefully taking in the scene ahead.
He didn't need a Coroner's license to know that the man hadn't been dead for more than a few hours. Many of the white and jaundices features often found on their stiffs were missing still. Reaching forward, he put the back of his hand against the man's cheek, finding it to still be warmer than the outside temps. When he carefully raised his eyelids with one thumb, the bloodshot eyes underneath hadn't turned cloudy yet.
"Inspector, you were right. I checked with Missing Persons and this man's description matches that of Kevin Costello. Went missing four days ago."
"That figures. That you, Sergeant."
Nodding in gratitude at the burly young man with the distinctive metallic blonde hair, Steve stood back up, his eyes remaining fixed on the bright red line around his latest victims' throat, where the sharp wire had cut into the sensitive tissue along the man's neck. Interestingly enough, small trickles of blood running down sideways and into his collarbone suggested that he was already on the ground when he was strangled to death. Several red and purple marks around his wrists matched the signs of restraints found on the other bodies.
Taking a deep breath, he glanced around, looking for any nearby businesses that might have a security camera. Unfortunately for him, the closest bank was more than a couple blocks down the road. Most of the store fronts across the street were small grocery stores and thrift shops.
A sizeable gathering of people was forming along Geary, watching his every move with morbid interest, as a set of patrolmen cordoned off the area with yellow crime scene tape, desperately fighting the growing wind gusts coming off the bay.
"Inspector Keller?"
A slight tap on the arm pulled him out of his observation mode and he turned around to face a gray-haired Sergeant with an impressive salt-and-peppered mustache.
"The coroner just checked in. ETA is still twenty minutes."
"Thank you, Sergeant.", he muttered, suddenly catching an unpleasant scent in the upcoming breeze.
Turning back around and focusing on his stiff once more, Steve went down on one knee, careful not to disturb the crime scene, as he leaned in closer, close enough smell his victim's aftershave and a very faint, unpleasant hint of body odor along the man's shirt collar and sleeves.
Not just did his senses tell him it didn't come from the victim, right now, they also told him that the faint smell wasn't nearly as strong as the matching one he'd picked up in the wind.
"Sergeant…", he said as quietly as possible, trying to get the other man's attention while hoping not to alert their suspect, if he was lurking somewhere nearby watching them work.
Keeping his eyesight low to pretending to focus on their latest victim, Steve used his peripheral vision to scan the crowd ahead, hoping to match any of the bystanders to their sketch drawing.
"How can I help you, Inspector?"
The gray-haired Sergeant reappeared by his side, nervously running a hand through his mustache before straightening out a bit more, as if to make himself appear taller.
"Sergeant, do you remember the APB our Homicide Department put out yesterday afternoon? Middle aged male suspect, sandy hair-"
The man nodded eagerly, before he could even finish his description.
"Then…do me a favor and look over the crowd of people gathered along the road and let me know if any of them resemble our suspect. I bet he's been keeping a close eye on me since I've arrived here and I don't want to give my hunch away."
"Absolutely…let's see…"
Pretending to absent-mindedly look around the area, the older patrolmen let his trained eyes drift across the group, before facing him again.
"I can't be completely sure but I think the guy three rows deep, behind the lady with the red scarf might be your guy, Inspector. Do you want us to apprehend him?"
Feeling the heart in his chest beat faster, Steve shook his head decisively and leaner closer toward the other cop.
"I've got a clear shot at chasing him down from here; your guys are way over on the other corner of the road installing tape still. Let me see if I can approach him. Send a couple patrolmen after me for support, in case he tries to make a break for it. Do radio Unit 1-Charlie-8 and request for them to bring Lieutenant Stone down here for assistance."
"You sure about all that, son?", the Sergeant asked kindly, the tone of his voice changing to that of a worried father.
Reaching for the revolver on his left and opening the holster, Steve cocked his head in gratitude.
"Yep. Just eh…just wish me luck."