Faith nodded.“Where’s the dog she was working with?”
“Sedated.Big ‘ol Rottweiler named Max.Rescued him from a dog fighting ring.Poor boy was beside himself when I got here.”
Faith glanced sideways at him.“You seem to know a lot about this place.”
“Yep, got a dog from here a while back.Australian Shepherd.Name was Rufus.Good dog.Died about four years ago, but I still stop in to chat from time to time.”
Faith looked back at the victim.“How well did you know Sarah?”
“Just by sight.I don’t see any of these people outside of the occasional stop by.We’re not exactly friends, just acquaintances.”
“So, you couldn’t tell me if there was someone new in Sarah’s life who might feel an urge to shove a railroad spike down her mouth because she was a killer?”
“No, can’t say I do.”
“Where’s Ray?”Jessica asked.“We should talk to him.”
“Oh, I sent him home.Guy was scared witless.He’s got an alibi, anyway.Cameras got him across the street and here.He didn’t come over until after she died.”
“How do you know that if there are no cameras on the inside?”
Frank reached up and scratched the top of his head.“Well, the coroner said she was killed just after dark.That’d be right around six o’clock this time of year.I guess he won’t rightly know until he performs the autopsy, though.”
Faith pulled the note off of the spike and held it up to the light.It shone through the ink, and she could see the little tears and imperfections in the paper that proved this was actual handwriting and not something printed.The writing was thick and jagged, like the blade of a knife.Or a row of spikes.There was no doubt about it.This killer was angry.“Do you have a handwriting analyst, Sergeant Hansen?”
“No, not so much.You want to keep that to compare handwriting with our suspects?”
“Yes, but before that, I want a handwriting expert to analyze it.They might be able to give us an idea who our killer might be.”
“From looking at handwriting?”
“Yes.It’s not foolproof, but it can be helpful, and since we don’t have anything else to go on right now, we might as well start there.”She pulled a baggie from a pouch on her belt and dropped the note inside.“I’ll send this to the Dallas Field Office.They’ll have someone there who can take a look.”
Frank nodded.“Wow.I thought that stuff was just for television.”When the two agents looked at him, he explained, “Looking at handwriting and stuff.I didn’t know that was real.”
Faith wanted to like the easygoing sergeant, but he was giving her the impression that he was a little naïve.That wouldn’t be a problem as long as he didn’t get in the way, but it was a little frustrating to think of someone with authority in law enforcement whose judgment was this compromised.
Relax, it’s just the first night.You’re upset at David, and it’s coloring your thoughts.
That only reminded her about David and the fact that she wasn’t there with him.So, finish this up quickly and let’s get back home.
“I want to interview the staff,” she told Frank.
“Ray too,” Jessica added.
Frank nodded.“All right.I can make that happen first thing in the morning.”
“Thank you, sergeant.You can call your coroner to come take Miss Garrett.”
“Will do.Sure, do hope you find this asshole.”
Faith managed a smile.“Me too.”
The three FBI agents left the animal shelter.Faith was used to dealing with the most macabre oddities of the human race, and as far as oddities went, a railroad spike through the mouth was almost mundane compared to what Faith had seen.
Mundane didn’t always mean simple, though.People were very good at keeping secrets.This killer might look like they were broadcasting their feelings to the world, but they had left them nothing to connect them to this.Just a blunt statement of rage and hate.
One thing was for sure, though.A person with that much pent-up aggression would kill again.They had a taste for blood now.They wouldn’t stop until Faith and her partners stopped them.
