Jessica looked over the stained patch of grass where Patterson’s body had been found.The entire park had been cordoned off, and a pair of sheriff’s officers lingered a respectful distance away to make sure no one disobeyed that cordon.“So, the woman who was killed yesterday was the same thing, huh?Single gunshot to the head, left where she fell, dog beaten but not badly?”
“Yes,” Faith said.“Same thing.”
Turk sniffed around the patch of grass, pausing every few seconds to whine softly.He hadn’t had a chance to comfort Beau the way he comforted Luna, but Faith knew he was empathizing with the poor retriever.
Her phone rang.Sergeant Meyers.“This is the responding officer from the first scene,” she told Jessica.
She answered, and Meyers said, “Hey, Special Agent.I’m so sorry to bother you.Um… It looks like I’m going to keep this case after all.I guess I couldn’t let it go.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Faith replied.
“Well… We got the coroner’s report back, and I just talked with Stafford County.They said the second victim… I don’t know if you knew there was a second victim.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Got it.Well, they were both killed the same way..22 caliber ceramic bullet that shattered upon impact and sent fragments through the braincase that shredded everything to pieces.Instant death.Well, Patterson—that’s the second victim—was shot in the back of the head, but my guess is that’s what the killer wanted to do to Iris too, and she just turned around before he fired.”
“That’s probably a good assumption,” she replied.
“Anyway… I guess I’m sticking on the ceramic bullet thing.It seems… I don’t know.Almost professional.I mean, I shoot guns all the time, even in my personal life, but I’ve never been to a gun shop that sells ceramic bullets.”
“They don’t,” Faith said.“Ceramic bullets are illegal for civilians to own.They’re used to defeat metal detectors.They’re actually not very good as combat rounds because they fragment so easily.You have to use a lower-powered cartridge, and they have exactly zero armor-piercing capability, not to mention lower range and less stopping power.”
“All of which makes them perfect as close-range, point-blank assassination weapons,” Meyers said.
“Exactly.”
“I guess my question is… You don’t think this is a professional hitman, do you?I mean, it sounds odd, but you have experience with high-profile cases like this, so I thought maybe you could tell me if you’ve ever run into a professional hitman going berserk on normal people like this.”
“I haven’t,” Faith said, “I doubt our killer is a hitman, but ceramic bullets are easy enough to find on the black market.I think the place to start is looking at the victims, determining if there’s a connection between them and who might want to kill them.Then we can explore the hitman angle or the personal angle.”
“Yeah.”Meyers laughed bitterly.“So now itcouldbe personal.”
“I’m not ready to say that exactly yet,” Faith replied.“But we have two people walking their dogs at dog parks shot at point blank with the same gun in two days.That’s not a coincidence.Someone had a reason to want both of them dead.”
“Yeah, for sure.”He sighed.“Well, I’ll get back to it.Thanks, agent.”
Faith realized that Meyers didn’t understand that she was on the case now.“Oh, sergeant?Before you hang up, I should tell you that my partner and I are assigned to this case now.”
“Oh, really?”Meyers said, hope evident in his voice.“Oh, thank God.Does that mean… I mean, I hate to ask, but…”
“I’ll still want you available to help,” Faith replied, “but you no longer have to take lead on the investigation.”
Meyers sighed with relief.“Oh, thank God.I just… I don’t think I can handle it.I had a nightmare about my mom getting shot last night, and… I think I’m just too affected by this.Hell, if I know why, but it’s hitting me different.”
“No need to apologize,” Faith said.“It’s better to recognize when you’re emotionally compromised and take yourself off the case than to try to fight through those feelings.”
“Well, in any case, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.Hey, well I have you on the phone, I’ll need access to your police station.My partner and I will set up there as a base of operations.”
“Sure.Of course.I’ll let the chief know.He won’t mind.”
“Thank you, Meyers.”
He hung up, and Faith looked back at the crime scene.Turk stood next to the spot where Patterson had fallen, staring at the ground.
“Ceramic bullets, huh?”Jessica said.“You forgot to mention another advantage to ceramic bullets.”
