“The younger they are, the harder this is,” Lina agreed. “To start, Ariella was still dressed when she was buried, and the fabrics are synthetic. They take a long time to break down, so her clothing is mostly intact. It should’ve preserved any present evidence.”
“I’m not seeing bloodstains on the fabric, though,” Olivia said. “Just mud from the storm.”
“Unless her clothes are hiding something, I still believe Ariella’s cause of death was strangulation. There would be no blood,” Lina said as she settled behind the skull. “There are no signs of blunt force trauma, and if she had any superficial defensive wounds, they’re long gone now. Based on my initial exam, her broken hyoid bone is her only injury.”
“Strangled to death.” Olivia shook her head. “It was either a spur-of-the-moment decision, or someone wanted to look her in the eyes as the life drained out of her.”
“I know one of your original theories regarding her disappearance was that a predator was stalking the party as his hunting grounds, and I’m not the detective, but I don’t think that’s right,” Lina said.
“What makes you say that?” Bel asked.
“Her lack of injuries,” Lina said. “She wasn’t fighting for her life. If a predator had been on the hunt for drunk girls, his intentions would’ve been heinous, leaving more damage on her skeleton or skull, but Ariella’s death happened quickly. Based on her burial site, the killer felt guilty or a sense of responsibility and care, so I can’t help but wonder if her death is linked to the mermaids. Maybe she saw the killer, so he silenced her.”
“That’s certainly possible,” Olivia said. “The mermaids were left in an arguably beautiful location. So was Ariella.”
“I don’t want to get too narrow-minded, though,” Bel said. “We’re most likely dealing with separate cases. A sheltered girl who’s afraid to disappoint her dad asks her best friend to fake date her boyfriend just so they can hang out? Maybe the adrenaline of the police chase, combined with alcohol and the limited dating experience, pushed her to make regrettable decisions with another partygoer after Erik left? Maybe halfway through a consensual encounter, she freaked out that she was cheating, and the hookup turned violent. Or she saw someone she knew engaging in something they didn’t want her to witness. Or perhaps she knew her attacker, and the choking was an accident.”
“What’s your gut telling you?” Olivia asked. “Are our cases related?”
“No.” Bel shrugged noncommittally. “Connecting them seems like a stretch… but then again, we’ve seen weirder.”
“This case being one of them,” Lina said. “But Bel might be right, and these aren’t connected. Or they are, but the killer left her in the woods instead of the lake because of her hair. We identified a few of the mermaids. As expected, the victims are from out of town, but our killer definitely had a type. I’ll send you their information, and hopefully, you’ll find connections I can’t, but they’re all from different cities. They have nothing in common except their similar ages, builds, and hair color, but Ariella obviously doesn’t fit that M.O. She’s a redhead.”
“She would’ve ruined his menagerie,” Bel completed the M.E.’s thought. “So he buried her.”
“Eamon texted me back.”Bel slid the coffee cups onto her partner’s desk. They’d spent the past few hours looking into the identified mermaids, hoping to find connections between the victims or a lead as to the killer’s identity, but when nothing promising surfaced, the women needed an afternoon pick-me-up. “He didn’t take your car. He only organized the rental to be dropped off this morning.”
“Then what on earth happened to it?” Olivia stared at Bel as if her connection to the supernatural might gift her with an answer.
“I have no idea.” Bel was just as confused as her partner.
“It didn’t just drive itself away. I feel like I should call the police, but…” She gestured between the two of them.
“A lot of help we are,” Bel laughed.
“I know. What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB? I already called both the mechanic and the body shop. Neither has my car, so who towed it?”
“What about the tow company? Did their work order have a client name listed?”
“They weren’t called to move it, so there is no work order. I mean, who steals a crushed car?”
“Someone who needs the parts?” Bel shrugged. “We’ll find it.”
“I hope so. I can’t drive this rental forever.” Olivia grabbed her coffee cup off the desk and took a sip.
“Who knows? Maybe Eamon has another spare car collecting dust in a storage lot.”
“I’m sure he has a hoard of cars hidden away somewhere. Wasn’t he there when they were all invented? Man…” Olivia’s eyes turned dreamy. “The vintage classics he must have because he bought them brand new when they were first released. Yeah, he’d never let me drive one.”
“You know, I’ve never considered that, and now I’m kind of mad at him for holding out on me.”
“If I were his girlfriend, I’d be more upset that he gifted me an SUV and not one of his classics.”
“And what would I do with a classic car?” Bel cocked her head at her partner. “Put a panting, dirty Cerberus on the original leather after a hike? No, the SUV is perfect for my lifestyle, but I’d love to take a trip along a scenic highway in one of his vehicles. Preferably a convertible… I hope you’re happy. You just made me realize I should go home and start a fight.” Her face fell as the words left her mouth. She meant it as a joke, but there was a very real, unsettled conversation lingering between her and the man she loved. One she would gladly trade to argue about vintage cars.
“At least you have someone to argue with.” Olivia stretched her neck, and Bel wanted to ask if she meant that there was hope for her and Ewan or if she was merely ready to move on, but she didn’t want to risk the camaraderie Eamon’s kindnesshad bought them. “Anyway.” She drank another few sips of her coffee before shoving it away with a grimace. “It’s lunchtime, so we should eat, but even coffee’s bothering my stomach. Ariella’s autopsy was hard to watch, then this.” She gestured to the information they’d gathered about the identified mermaids. “No connections. None of them lived anywhere near each other. They don’t have any mutual friends or interests, and they aren’t from Bajka. All they had were similar appearances. How did he find them?”
“Jax Frost had a job that required travel. It’s how he found the Matchstick Girls,” Bel said. “And Charles Blaubart was a sought-after plastic surgeon. People came to him.”
