The noise became more defined and pinpointed.
“It’s coming from under the bed,” she said.
Trent bent over and looked under but was quick to straighten back up. His face was pale as he took out his flashlight without saying a word and shined the beam under the bed.
Amanda got down on her knees.
A robot vacuum was stuck on a blue polyethylene tarp. Something was inside it.
That’s one way of storing something…
But as Amanda visibly traced the shape of its contents, another smell hit Amanda’s nose. Faint but unmistakable. Decomp.
Now there was no question in her mind about what she was seeing. “There’s a body in there.”
SIX
Amanda called for a medical examiner and crime scene investigators to come to the house. She made a special request when it came to the latter. Her preferred investigators were Emma Blair and Isabelle Donnelly, but Emma was Spencer’s mother. Since his girlfriend was most likely the victim inside that tarp, there was potential for conflict of interest. In that vein, Amanda should probably step back from the case too, though she could make an argument for herself. She just hoped that CSIs Vanessa Stuart and Ruth Keller wouldn’t be assigned. They came as a package deal, and Stuart wasn’t easy to work with.
Amanda called Malone again too, and he said he’d be right over. His initial response was likely to repeat in her head for a long time.Nothing creepy about that…
Trent had tried Dominique Sharp again with no luck, but left another voicemail, stressing that it was urgent she return his call.
That’s if she can…But a quick look in the garage showed three empty bays. It would seem the neighbor was right in saying Dominique was out of town.
Amanda and Trent baked in the midday sun on the front step. All to prevent compromising the scene any further. “This is crazy. Why don’t we wait in the car and blast the A/C?”
“And why the hell didn’t we think of that sooner?” Trent turned to walk away when she caught sight of new arrivals.
“Hold that thought.” She nudged her head toward the Crime Scene van making its way up the driveway. She couldn’t see the driver or passenger for sun glare cutting across the windshield.Come on, luck, favor me…
Trent returned to Amanda’s side, and they watched the investigators unloading from their vehicle.
So much for luck having my back…
CSIs Stuart and Keller walked toward them with collection kits in hand. Stuart also had a camera strapped around her neck. Neither of them looked affected by the heat, but they had just left a cool vehicle. Give them a few seconds in the scorching sun.
“Catch us up. We go through there and…?” Stuart pointed a finger toward the doorway behind them.
“Good afternoon.” Trent pulled off what appeared to be a sincere smile.
“Afternoon,” Keller responded to Trent, not looking at Amanda.
Stuart stood there, mouth pursed, impatient. Amanda expected to see her foot tapping.
“You’ll need to go around back.” Amanda couldn’t care less that the CSI skipped the pleasantries. This wasn’t a social event. “The rear sliding patio door was cracked open when we arrived, alerting us to potential danger inside the home.”
Stuart’s brows rose above her dark sunglasses.
“We used gloves to open the door, but it should be processed for prints and swabbed for touch DNA.” Amanda regretted saying this when Stuart lifted her glasses to her head.
“Yes, we know how to do our jobs,” Stuart said.
“Good to know about the unlocked door, though.” Keller followed up her colleague, showing a softer side.
“Where’s the body?” Stuart shifted her stance, but she wasn’t even breaking a sweat. Literally. Not one bead on her forehead.
“Go through to the front of the home and up the staircase. It’s in the primary suite at the end of the hall, under the bed,” Amanda laid out.
