I exchanged phone numbers with him so he could call if any plans changed and to make him feel better about the whole thing, and then Violet and I started back toward the SUV.
“Thanks for talking to my dad,” she said quietly. “He’s really overprotective.”
“I think it’s nice that he cares so much,” I told her honestly.
She nodded. “Most of the time. But sometimes, he’s protective about things he shouldn’t be.”
I followed Violet’s gaze toward Luke, who was staring at us as if we were a walking miracle.
I dropped my gaze to my feet, grinning at my shoes. I might not be able to fix everything for Luke, but I’d donesomething. And I’d faced a fear to do it. That knowledge made me feel stronger, braver.
But maybe it shouldn’t have because there was still someone out there who had stolen a woman’s life. And there was a chance it washim.
20
LAWSON
I pulledinto a makeshift parking spot in front of my house. I had a garage if I needed one, but it felt like one extra unnecessary step on long days. And today had been one of the longest.
My temples pounded as I stared at the light streaming beyond the windows, but I didn’t make any moves to shut off the engine. I needed a minute to pull it together. To try to release the dark cloud hanging over me.
My phone rang in the quiet space, and I glanced down at the cupholder. Luisa’s name flashed across the screen. More darkness.
Grabbing the phone, I tappedaccept. “Isn’t it past your cutoff time?”
Luisa was religious about not working past five unless she got called to a crime scene. She said it helped keep her healthy, both mentally and physically. I could probably use some of those boundaries.
“She wouldn’t leave me alone, so I needed to finish,” Luisa said, and I could hear the exhaustion in her voice.
But I understood it. Cases like this dug their claws in, and this one, in particular, had me in a chokehold.
“She tell you anything?” I asked.
“Quite a bit. One piece was that she suffered.”
My gut soured. I knew there was no way she hadn’t, but it sickened me to know for sure.
Luisa kept talking. “Contusion to the back of the head suggests a blitz attack from behind. My guess is he incapacitated her, then tied her wrists and ankles to keep her from fighting back.”
An acidic taste filled my mouth. “Sexual assault?”
I hated even asking the question, but I needed to know. The man who’d taken Hallie had assaulted the majority of his victims. Only one hadn’t been violated in that way. I didn’t know about Hallie. It was far too personal and invasive for me to try to find out.
“There are no signs of sexual trauma,” Luisa answered. “But there were far more cuts and stab wounds than I initially saw. Her arms, legs, and torso were covered with them.”
Like Hallie.
“You said there was a mixture of peri and post-mortem?”
The sound of papers shuffling came across the line. “Yes. From what I can tell, he used the initial cuts to bring her back to consciousness. She fought him to the best of her ability, which made him mad. He started stabbing instead of slicing and finally strangled her. But he was so angry. He had to get a little more rage out.”
“So, he kept stabbing,” I surmised.
“That’s my best guess.”
God, I hoped the family didn’t ask for details. I’d already had to tell them they’d lost their girl in the worst way imaginable. Sometimes, next of kin thought the details would give them closure. But they never did.
“Thank you for taking care of her, Luisa.”
