“That’s what I thought.”
The wind surged again. The creek churned, relentless. Trees bent and whispered. The storm was nearly on top of them now. May could feel it in her bones and in the pressure building behind her eyes. Lightning slashed across the sky.
May flinched. “Oh, crap.”
Dutch gently leaned over her to stare at the body. “Yeah. Rain’s coming. She’s too exposed out here.” He pressed a hand to May’s shoulder. “At least she’s dressed.”
“True.” May studied the deceased woman’s creme-colored sweater over jeans that led to tennis shoes. She squinted and angled in, careful not to touch. “There might be fingerprints indented in the skin, but I’m not sure.”
The first drops of rain hit the stones like scattered taps.
“The wind is picking up too much.” Brock’s gaze tracked the sky and his jaw visibly flexed. “We need to get the body out of the elements and not wait for the troopers, especially since they haven’t taken off yet. I have a body bag in my rig. I’ll go get it.” He turned immediately, his thick boots digging into the slick bank as he climbed.
Ophelia drew out her phone and started taking pictures. “I already have a full set of shots of the entire scene, but I’ll take another set before the wind destroys everything.” Her hair blew wildly in the breeze, thick and black. She pivoted slowly, methodical, documenting every angle. The creek, the disturbed pebbles, the flattened weeds. Her expression stayed neutral and controlled.
“Did you find anything around the body?” May asked.
“Not a thing,” Dutch said. “Didn’t even find a beer bottle.”
May took a deep breath of the pine-scented air, fighting the urge to close the woman’s eyes. That wasn’t her job, and she couldn’t get in the way of the medical examiner. “I can declare time of death as of now.” May looked at her watch and gave the time. “But that’s about all I can do.” Although she’d bet on the cause.
“What else do you observe?” Dutch asked.
“Just that she…” May exhaled slowly. “I’m not a medical examiner, Dutch. The procedure is to send the body to Fairbanks. They’ll do a good job.”
“I know. She’s so young,” he said softly.
May swallowed. The woman had to be in her early twenties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked like the girl next door. The kind who should’ve been laughing somewhere, complaining about the rain, not lying still on a cold patch of river stones. Her face had already gone waxy. No life left in those eyes. “She fought back.”
May gingerly lifted the girl’s arm to reveal bruises and scrapes on both arms as well as her hands. “Gave it a good fight. There are several defensive wounds on her fingers, knuckles, and hands, as well as her other arm. There’s hopefully trace evidence under her fingernails.”
The wind gusted again, colder now. Rain thickened with the drops landing heavier and faster. The smell of wet earth intensified.
May lifted her head. “Hey, Brock. Tell me you have paper bags.”
“I do.” Brock lumbered down the embankment just as the rain began to fall in earnest. His jacket glistened with moisture as he handed the over the bags.
May quickly secured the paper bags over the woman’s hands, sealing them carefully, protecting any evidence that might be on them or under her nails. “Do we know who she is?”
“Yeah,” Brock said. “Laura Jordan from Montana State. She and a bunch of friends came up to camp for a week.”
May’s heart clutched, but she kept her movements steady. This part never got easier. “Let’s get her into the body bag as smoothly as we can.” They’d have the body flown to Fairbanks for an autopsy.
Brock laid the bag down on a clear area and pulled on fresh gloves. He crouched, his movements respectful and controlled. He gingerly picked the woman up and placed her inside. The zipper slid closed just as a heavier rain began to fall.
Ophelia instantly took pictures of the ground where the woman had lain. “I don’t see anything here but small pebbles and dirt.”
Rain hammered down now, drumming against their jackets and soaking the earth. The creek surged louder, water churning white against rock. The wind tore through the brush, bending tall grass flat.
“We’ll put her in the cooler in the back of the hospital and will fly her out as soon as we can later today,” Dutch said grimly.
May’s heart hurt. The woman had been so young. What a tragedy.
Dutch cleared his throat. “May? We need you to come in for a formal interview.”
May blinked. “A formal interview? Why?”
“We need to talk about Ace,” he said.
