“How long would it have taken?” Hayashi asked.
Kobe waffled his head from side to side. “Ten or fifteen minutes? Maybe less. Hey, Doc? What would be your guess for this victim’s weight and height?”
I scanned the naked man. “Roughly five ten or five eleven. One sixty to one seventy.”
Kobe hummed, staring at the marks in the snow.
“We need to figure out who this guy is and how he relates to our first victim,” Kobe’s partner said. “I’m going to track down the person who discovered the body and see what they have to say, then I’ll call Sarge and update her. Are we done here?”
“Yeah. Give me a few more minutes. I’ll meet you at the car.”
Hayashi headed to the perimeter of the crime scene and ducked under the tape as she pressed a phone to her ear. I was left alone with Kobe, who rejoined me, peeling his gloves off and stuffing them and his hands into his pockets.
“It’s the same perp,” he said, reiterating his original comment.
“Seems to be.”
“There’s barely any blood around that spike. It’s postmortem, like the other one.”
Since I didn’t think Kobe was looking for confirmation, I stayed quiet.
“That’s… mighty personal. It sends a strong message, don’t you think? A heartless bastard. Spike through the heart. A self-righteous prick. A spike through the… prick. Fuck me. It hurts looking at it.”
I almost laughed when he winced again.
“Our perp is making a statement. A loud statement. What do you think he’s trying to tell us?”
I considered for a long time before shaking my head. “That’s not really my line of work.”
Kobe nodded, seeming to deflate. “Right. Sorry.”
Registering that his question might have been an attempt at building a rapport, I reluctantly added, “But I agree. There does seem to be an evolving pattern.”
More silence.
A thought occurred to me. “Oh, I have a name for you. Dr. Delmar Housing. He’s working on research regarding fragrance transference and identification. It’s still in its infancy, but he might be able to answer some of your questions.”
“You’re amazing. Can you text me his contact information?”
“I will. I have it at the office.”
“Great.” Kobe shifted his weight. “So, um, when do you think you’ll get to the autopsy?”
I removed my gloves, tossing them aside. “Although I’d prefer working without a mass of students hovering over me, I can’t make it happen today. My babysitter only came because I promised I wouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.”
“Not a fan of students?”
“They slow me down. I didn’t work at a teaching facility in Gatineau, so it’s taking some getting used to.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
“If I can swing it. Considering the nature of the case and its relation to the other death, I’ll be sure I’m the one taking care of it.”
“I appreciate that. If I can manage to sneak out, I’d like to observe.”
“You know your presence isn’t necessary. You’ll get a full report.”
Kobe side-eyed me, and a shy smile touched his lips. “I’ll take a second date however I can get it, Doc.”
