He glanced up. “You really don’t watch the news, do you?”
“Not unless I have to.”
“You should. It’s important to know what’s going on in our little town.”
“Like someone stealing chickens?”
“Yes.”
“Live ones?”
“No, cut and trimmed breasts.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, live ones. Been going on a month. Hank the Tank even said one of his calves was stolen right off his farm. I can’t believe you don’t know this. Over a dozen chickens have been found washed up on Otter Lake or at the bottom of Devil’s Cove over the last month.”
“What does this have to do with Carl?”
He looked up again. “Again, the news?—”
“I know, I know. I’ll start watching tonight. Tell me.”
“All the chickens were grossly disfigured. Body parts chopped off, organs missing.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
I scanned Carl from limb to limb. “Well, he looks intact.”
Andrew’s gaze narrowed. “All of the chickens found—every single one—had been electrocuted… just like this. All of them had remnants of the same gel used to stick the electric pads on their skin.”
I blinked. “Who the hell would do that?”
“A mad man.”
I stared at the burns that speckled Carl’s legs, my stomach twisting. A mad man, indeed.
“Is that how he died?”
“No. Unfortunately. Like I said, he was tortured before he officially died. The TOD, or estimated time of death, was about seventy-two hours ago.”
“Three days.”
“That’s correct, Rain Man. The burns happened at least twenty-four hours before he was murdered.”
Twenty-fourhoursoftorture.
“He also had gel in his head, although no burns.”
“Gel? In his hair?”
“Ever seen an EEG helmet? My guess is something like that.”
“That’s so creepy.”
“Agreed. I’ve seen some sick things in my life, but this is up there.”
“How’d he officially die?”
“The cause of death is myocardial infarction, or, a heart attack. His body couldn’t take any more electrical shock.”
