Ice had frozen all over the woman’s face, and blood was crusted around her mouth.
Laurel looked closely but couldn’t see an obvious cause of death. “Put a flashlight closer to her face, would you?”
“Sure,” the first tech said, gingerly releasing his shovel and reaching for a flashlight in his back pocket. He flicked it toward the woman’s face.
Laurel gasped and took a step back.
Huck grasped her arm. “Is that Teri Bearing?”
Laurel swallowed. “The facial characteristics resemble Mrs. Bearing. It’s difficult to tell with all the water frozen around her face, but . . . I believe so.” Laurel stepped closer. “Can you see if her left hand is free?”
The tech gently lifted it. “Barely. I don’t want to move her too much till we get all this ice off her.”
“That’s all right.” Laurel crouched down to look closer. “I believe that’s Teri Bearing’s wedding band.” She had met the mayor’s wife during an earlier case.
“Huh,” Huck said. “She must have bailed out of jail after I arrested her.”
“Yes,” Officer Tso said. “I actually saw the video fromThe Killing Hourwhen she left the station. Rachel Raprenzi followed her and tried to get a statement. And boy, all Mrs. Bearing wanted to talk about was you.”
Huck straightened. “What’d she say about me?”
“She went on and on about Fish and Wildlife picking on people and acting like they were real cops and said that you pushed her hard against the car. That her new mission in life was to get you fired.”
Huck looked at Laurel. “Did you know this?”
“No. I try not to watch Rachel’s podcast,” Laurel said. “But the entire arrest is on video, isn’t it? When you pulled her over?”
“Yes,” Huck said. “Not only did I have a camera on, but I’m sure the deputy sheriff did as well. I didn’t touch her.”
Laurel believed that implicitly. “Please take the body to Dr. Ortega. Hopefully he can perform our autopsies quickly since we have two victims with similar MOs.” She scanned the area. “The snow fell all night?”
“Yes,” Huck said. “The wind also made a mess. I don’t see any footprints.”
She looked toward the Silent River again. “Can you tell what cracked the ice?”
He shook his head. “That’s doubtful, but I’ll try. Tso, take a bunch of pictures of the opening, will you?”
“I already did,” Officer Tso said. “But I’ll take more now that it’s getting lighter out here.” He ambled toward the river, his footsteps sure.
Laurel kept her hands in her pockets. “Who found the body?” Everybody looked around. “Who’s managing the scene?”
“That would be me,” Genesis Valley Sheriff Upton York said, emerging from the back of the church. “I was talking to a witness inside. I took over the scene since I arrived first.”
“We’re on unincorporated land, so this isn’t your jurisdiction,” Huck said.
Laurel nodded.
The sheriff shrugged. Snow fell onto his receding hairline, and he brushed it off. He looked square and tough in his dark jacket, and his brown eyes remained passionless. “The pastor called me in, and here I am.”
Unfortunately, Laurel and Huck were both down members of their respective teams, so they might actually need help with legwork. “Who found the body?” Laurel asked.
The sheriff nodded back at the church. “A guy named Tim Kohnex. He was walking his dog.”
Laurel frowned. “He was walking his dog in the dark?”
“Yeah. Guy says he has trouble sleeping and often takes walks to watch the sun come up.”
“Where does he live?” Huck asked.
