“You mean rape?” Kate asked.
“Those kinds of injuries, yes. Some were fairly old. I would say our victim was likely a prostitute.”
Kate’s fingers tightened on the leather purse in her lap, but she managed to keep any show of emotion off her face. “Jason thinks the women could be victims of a sex trafficking ring.”
“I wouldn’t know about that,” Dr. Chow said. “You need to speak to Detective Edward McKenzie in the homicide division. He’s in charge of the case.”
Jase had met the guy once. McKenzie wasn’t a fan of bounty hunters in general, but he’d been grudgingly willing to exchange information when he thought there was some payback for him in return.
Jase stood and so did Kate. “We’ll make that our next stop. Thanks for your help, Dr. Chow.” They both shook the doctor’s hand before they left the office.
It was late in the day by the time Detective Edward McKenzie managed to carve out some time for them. McKenzie agreed to meet them at a Mexican restaurant called the Thorny Cactus, downtown on the Riverwalk.
By five thirty, the after-work crowd was swelling inside the bar, patrons trickling in from the famous walkway that ran beside a winding channel off the San Antonio River. After the Alamo, it was the city’s most famous landmark.
As they traveled the concrete walkway beside the channel, an endless stream of excursion boats filled and dumped passengers at various stops along the route. Even on a hot, sticky mid-May day like this one, the Riverwalk crawled with tourists.
They stepped inside out of the heat. Recognizing McKenzie, Jase set a hand at Kate’s waist, guiding her through the crowd to a booth off to one side upholstered in a serape-style, striped, multicolored fabric. Bright piñatas hung from the ceiling, and Mexican music played in the background.
McKenzie looked past the shot of whiskey in front of him, and spotted Jase walking toward him. He was off duty, the meeting unofficial. McKenzie was divorced and balding. He practically swallowed his tongue when he saw Kate.
The detective slid out of the booth and extended his hand to her. “I’m Detective Edward McKenzie.”
“Kate Gallagher.”
“I understand your sister was also a victim of murder. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Kate slid into the opposite side of the booth.
“McKenzie.” Jase slid in beside her.
The detective smiled sardonically. “Heard about your little fiasco with Randy Harding up in Waco. Another dead guy added to your body count, Maddox?”
“I guess you missed the part where I wasn’t the guy who shot him. Not that he didn’t deserve it. You might check with Rosa Diaz on that.”
McKenzie just grunted.
A smiling Latina waitress arrived with a basket of tortilla chips and a couple of menus. Jase handed the menus back. “Maybe later.” The server whirled away in a flurry of orange gathered skirts to take care of another customer.
McKenzie snagged a chip. “So you’re investigating a murder in Dallas you think might be connected to the one we have here.”
“That’s right. Your ME more or less confirmed it. Same tattoo, same location behind the vic’s left ear. Murder weapon either the same or similar.”
“Are you thinking we might have a serial?”
“I guess it’s possible. Considering the tats, I’m thinking it’s more like trafficking. Some kind of brand that signifies ownership. Restraints used on the vic’s hands and feet. Any evidence of anything like that going on in San Antone?”
McKenzie frowned. He took a sip of whiskey, then shook his head. “Nothing I’ve heard about. I’ll make a point to look into it, though. You say the murder weapon was the same in both cases?”
“The same or similar. A bat or club of some kind, wooden in the first case, unknown here, but used to kill in different ways. First vic died of blunt force trauma not strangulation.”
“I need to take a look at the Dallas file. Who’s the lead on the case?”
“Detective Benson.”
“I know Roger. I’ll get in touch. Anything else?”
“Where did they find the woman’s body?” Kate asked softly.
