Deadly Consequences (6 page)

Lombardo leaned towards her. “Looks like maybe we have a full course meal here.”

She shot him a look, the corners of her lips curling downward at his comment. Just the same, she clenched her fists, praying he was right. A buzz of excitement hummed through the air, punctuated by the mournful sound of the howling animals. Sam held her breath in anticipation. A body would make identification so much easier, and they’d have one less set of remains to find.

Alec returned. Without a word, he passed her a radio; she wrapped her hand around it, nodding her thanks. A hush settled over the night. As the men digging the grizzly grave revealed another inch of flesh. Sam tensed, gripping Alec’s arm.

“Damn it.” She turned away, shielding her eyes from the ravaged thigh, blocking out Lombardo’s snicker.
The UNSUB left more of the leg intact, but the amputation was savage, saw marks slicing into the leg in angry slashes, cutting through the bone at a ninety degree angle. A chill of unease tickled her spine.

“He’s escalating,” she said to Alec. “His rage is reaching the boiling point.”

Matsuda joined them. “She’s right. There’s a series of shallow cuts below the amputation. He drew a pattern into the victim’s leg before he used the saw on her.”

“He was taunting her.” Sam bit her thumb, snatching another peek at the severed limb. “Giving her a taste of the knife…” She broke off, an image taking shape in her mind. “He wanted something from her. He used the knife to torture her, and when he didn’t get the right response he flew into a rage.”

There was more
. She paced, thinking aloud. “The attacks are personal.”

“You think he knew the victims?” Alec said.

“I don’t know.” she shrugged. “I do know he’s acting out of anger that he’s likely bottled up for a long time. He may very well have known his victims, or he could be transferring his rage onto women who have strong similarities to his ultimate target.”

Alec ripped his gaze away from the scene. “Which is a pretty standard M.O. when it comes to psychopaths.”

“We don’t know that we’re dealing with a psychopath.” Shedding her repulsion, she crouched beside Matsuda to get a better look at the leg and empty grave. “We need to forget for a minute how horrific his crimes are, and think about his actions. He’s burying women’s legs feet up in the ground. How bizarre is that?”

“I have to say damn bizarre,” Matsuda agreed, motioning for the gurney.

“His actions aren’t random. He’s fantasized about this.” Sam rose to her feet, waiting while they placed the leg on the gurney. “I think that he’s intentionally putting them on display. In his mind, it’s a form of humiliation. The question is why here and why now?”

“An even bigger question is what is he doing with the rest of the bodies?” Alec said.

“Whatever he’s doing, you need to find him.” Matsuda’s voice turned grim. “I wish I could be more specific, but my guess is that this leg was amputated between nine last night and one this morning.”

Sam looked at Alec. “We showed up around two, it’s possible we interrupted him before he finished.”

Alec met her gaze. “Which means there’s a better than good chance, he’s still here.”

Lombardo rocked back on his heels, a pained expression on his face. Snooty Sam Black, and her circle of buddies huddled together, treating the latest discovery like they’d landed on the frickin’ moon.

From where he stood, he saw a lot of jaws flapping. What he didn’t see was any good old fashion police work. He missed the old days and the old rules when a cop could do his job the way he saw fit, and he didn’t have to worry about offending every jerk that came down the pike. What about his frickin’ God given right to use his brains
and
his balls to bust the assholes who belonged behind bars?

His lips curled. He could almost hear Sam spouting her psychobabble, working up her profile of the UNSUB and how the devils in his past drove him to whack off the victim’s legs. Fat lot of good her psychology background did her. Her fancy degree sure as hell didn’t help her find her missing sister.

Lombardo poked Rafe with his elbow. “Go see what they’re talking about,” he said jerking his chin towards Sam, Alec, and Matsuda.

Rafe leaned over and sniffed him. “You been smokin’ some of the funny stuff? Thanks to you, I’m persona non gratis. Besides, last time I checked your legs were working fine.”

“Real funny,” Lombardo pretended to chuckle, and then scowled. “Come on, don’t be a jackass. You know if I go over there, Sam is going to be skimpy with details.”

“Maybe because it’s her case.” Rafe’s words belied his curiosity. He craned his neck, watching Matsuda examine the leg. “I’ll tell you something, though. This is some sick, twisted shit, man. You really think a bunch of kids could pull this off?”

“Hell, yeah, I do. These days, you hear about kids whacking their parents and siblings for cripes sake. Ain’t a real big stretch to think kids did these two women.”

Lombardo watched forensics prepare to clear the area, standard procedure once the remains had been properly dealt with. Sam didn’t have a clue what was really going on with the case, and Rafe was too much of a boy scout to be a willing participant in subterfuge. Meanwhile, there was no time left to waste. He had to appeal to Rafe on another level.

“I don’t need a frickin’ baby sitter,” Lombardo said, “and you’re chomping at the bit to be in on the action. Go. I won’t think any less of you for it.”

“You sure?” Rafe asked.

“Tell you the truth, I’d like some time to myself. I’ve got some thinking to do.”

Rafe took a few steps, stopped, and pointed at Lombardo. “Don’t get into trouble while I’m gone.”

“Who me?” Lombardo spread his arms. “What kind of trouble could I possibly get into?”

Rafe shook his head and laughed. “You be cool, Spaghetti man.”

“You’re looking at Mr. Cool, asswipe. Now go on, get the hell outta here.”

Lombardo shifted from foot to foot, waiting until Rafe’s back was to him. He approached the forensics team and withdrew the plastic evidence bag. “I need you guys to turn the dirt over a couple more times. We’re looking for something specific, a match to this garter.”

“Where did you find that?” One of the diggers wiped his brow. “We examined the last area thoroughly.”

Not wanting to alienate them, Lombardo lied. “This is evidence from another case but there are certain similarities we need to explore. Right now, we’re looking for a link, which is why we need you to dig a few inches deeper. We’ve got five suspects on ice, and Detective Black needs to know if we have enough to hang them for both crimes.”

“Sure, no problem. Anything that will help nail this bastard.” He grabbed his trowel. “Should only take a few minutes.”

Beads of sweat formed on Lombardo’s upper lip as the man started to dig. He cast an anxious glance towards the others, hoping Rafe or Sam didn’t look his way.

“Detective,” the man called. “You were right, I’ve got something.”

Lombardo grunted, lowering himself to his knees to peer into the hole. He extracted a pair of tweezers and an empty plastic bag from his pocket, leaned over, and clamped a small piece of lace between the tongs. Lifting gently, a garter emerged from the dirt.

Hot damn.
This night kept getting better and better
.

He dropped it in the plastic bag, and sat back on his haunches with a wide grin.

“Gentleman.” He braced a hand on his knee, hauling himself up.” It’s been a pleasure.”

“Glad we could help,” the man said.

He saluted them, tucked the evidence in his pocket, and with a jaunty step, went to join the others.

Sam groaned. Lombardo swaggered towards them, a shit-eating grin on his face, like a cat that’d lapped up every last drop of cream.

“You ready to admit I’m right yet, Sam –I-am? Those punks did it.”

“Nobody’s in the mood for your bullshit, Lombardo. Give it a rest,” she said.

He cocked his head to one side. “What about you, Alec? You gonna sit back and watch while she tanks the case? Anybody here knows better, it’s you.”

Alec shot to his feet. “It’s her case. Leave it alone.” He yanked Lombardo by his shirt collar, pulling him off to the side. “What is wrong with you? Why are you riding Sam’s ass so hard?”

“Odd choice of words.” Lombardo flicked his wrist, knocking Alec’s hand off him. “Maybe you want to ride her so bad, you can’t see that she’s fucking up.”

“You sonofabitch.” A thunderous expression crossed Alec’s face. He pulled his arm back, ready to punch Lombardo in the face.

Rafe leapt between them before Alec could strike the first blow. “Enough.” He pushed Alec aside and rammed his chest against Lombardo’s. “You’re crossing the line, man, and I’m getting a little tired of dealing with your bullshit.”

“Back off.” Lombardo’s face tightened.”

“No.”
Rafe stood firm. “You back off.
You back off.
You hear what I’m saying, partner?”

Lombardo’s face twisted in anger. “Twenty years, I gave my heart and soul to this job. This is what I get in return?”

“Stop it.” Sam’s voice rang out through the night. She stepped up to face Lombardo. “I don’t give a damn what you think about me, but we have a case to work.” She turned towards Alec and Rafe. “I appreciate the two of you coming to my defense, but I’m a big girl and can handle myself.”

She drew a shaky breath. “We think the UNSUB is still on the premises. Back up hasn’t arrived yet, so we’re stretched thin, even with all the uniforms we have. Alec, Rafe, we need to make sure all the buildings are secure. I need men at all the entrances and exits.

“Alec, grab a radio from Officer Becker. I’m going to keep him and his partner at the barn. The director should be here any minute. I need to wait here so I can brief him, and I need to have someone review the security tapes. Check back with me when all the buildings are secured.” She paused, looking at Lombardo. “I don’t give a damn what you do. Stay, leave, just stay the hell out of my way.”

Sam slapped her arm, killing a mosquito, punctuating the sound by letting her gaze linger on each of the men’s faces. She was tired, and the case had taken another grizzly turn. She wasn’t in the mood for bruised ego’s or Lombardo’s moronic games. A monster roamed the zoo tonight, more terrifying than any of the beasts who called the park home, and it was her job to find him.

Satisfied that no one had anything else to say, she took a step back, ready to return to work.

“You better tell her, man,” Rafe brushed past Lombardo, hitting him with his shoulder.

Lombardo flexed his arm, swinging his jacket to his left shoulder. “What the hell do you think I’m sticking around for? I’ll tell her.”

“You do that,” Rafe warned. “Because if you don’t, I will.”

Sam folded her arms, waiting until the men were out of earshot. “Tell me what Lombardo? What was Rafe talking about?”

Lombardo picked at a nonexistent stain on his tie. He hesitated long enough for Sam to know he wasn’t going to tell her the truth.

“I don’t have time for this.” Sam walked away, afraid she’d explode otherwise. Lombardo had a way of getting under her skin, and she wasn’t going to stoop to his level by begging him to talk or by playing his game. She didn’t understand why he was too stubborn to realize that by doing her job she wasn’t trying to compete with him.