He looked over her head at the drowning victims’ case. She had placed pictures of the victims at the crime scenes at the top, with persons of interest at the bottom. That included the mayor, Pastor John, Tim Kohnex, Jason Abbott, Pastor Zeke, and him. “That’s quite the picture you have of me.”
She nodded, the top of her head bumping the bottom of his chin. “I know. I’ve included anyone who might be involved. The problem is, we don’t know enough about your mom to know who would want her dead. I’m hoping Nester will have a more complete picture of her life tomorrow. He’s working remotely from Seattle and is doing a good job so far—even though we haven’t been able to find the mayor or his sons.”
“We’ll find them. To be honest, I’d like to know more about my mother,” Huck admitted. “Everybody on that board has some sort of connection to Teri Bearing. I’m the only one who has a connection to Delta Rivers.”
“That we know of,” Laurel said. “The victims could be randomly chosen as well. For now, take a look at the two crime scenes, more specifically the ice.”
He studied the pictures of the ice.
“In each case, something different was used to chip it away. See how the ice at Delta Rivers’s scene is more . . . I don’t know. What would you call it? Rougher and more chiseled. But the ice that was cut or chipped away at the second scene has smoother edges.”
He nodded. “It’s possible a spud bar was used in the ice by my mother’s body.”
“A spud bar?” Laurel asked. “I don’t know what that is.”
She sounded surprised. The woman was a walking encyclopedia, so he grinned, careful to hide his amusement from her. “A spud bar is a long heavy metal rod that has a chiseled end. It’s used for chipping or breaking through thin ice. We have several around here. Most people do.” He studied the cuts in the ice near Teri Bearing’s body. “That looks more like somebody just smashed the ice, maybe with a hammer or some sort of smooth implement. Possibly a sledgehammer.”
“Would a regular hammer do that?”
“Sure.”
She placed her hand over his against her waist. “So we either have a killer who doesn’t care how the ice is broken or . . .” She let the word hang.
“The thing is,” Huck murmured, “there aren’t a lot of defensive bruises on the victims. He subdued them pretty easily and could have cut or chipped a hole in the ice while also maintaining control. Do you have the toxicology results back?”
“Not yet,” Laurel said. “You think they were drugged?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. The other option is that the killer prepared the sites before taking the victims there.”
Laurel nodded. “In that case, the fact that he used two different implements surprises me. Serial killers like the ritual.”
“Maybe the ice isn’t important.”
She was quiet for several moments. “So he doesn’t care how the ice is broken. It’s the manner of drowning them that matters—in the freezing cold water?”
Huck shrugged. “This is more your purview than mine, but maybe it just doesn’t matter to him.”
“That remains a possibility.”
He looked at the list of suspects that she had kindly labeled “persons of interest,” probably because his picture was there. “You think Jason Abbott would do this?”
“I don’t think there’s a limit to Jason Abbott’s need to kill,” she mused.
Huck studied the pictures of the crime scene, which included the bodies. “Would he change his MO like that?”
“Yes,” Laurel said. “It’s not unusual for a serial killer to change their MO for various reasons. They adapt to avoid detection, or their fantasies evolve.”
“Huh,” Huck said. “I didn’t know that.”
“Sure,” she said, her voice quiet. “Ted Bundy initially lured female victims with charm, but later changed his approach to breaking into victims’ homes. He evolved as he experimented with different ways to gain control.”
Sometimes it shocked him, the knowledge that Laurel possessed. He had difficulty sleeping at night because of some of his cases. He couldn’t imagine dealing with the images she’d witnessed in her young life.
She patted his hand. “There are several other serial killers who changed, so it’s entirely possible that Jason Abbott is another one.”
“I thought cutting off the hands was a big deal to him.”
“It was and might still be,” Laurel said, “but he’s been locked up for months. There’s something about the cold water and the drowning that I can see appealing to him, the absolute control over a victim while she sucks in frigid water and tries to breathe.”
