I jump in to share one of my thoughts. “The deceased was a large man. So he was about the same size as our perp in the hoodie. But the vic was fighting for his life, so it would have been hard for the perp to handle him without an accomplice.”
“Could have been at gunpoint,” SSA Chase interjects, posing it as a question.
I already considered that, so I explain, “Not likely. There are clear signs of a struggle that wouldn’t have occurred if the vic was complying.”
Luke nods. “I reckon Hayes is right, ma’am. They knocked over shit all up and down the hallway. He didn’t go quietly.”
SSA Chase prods us to continue. “So we’ve got two perps, which matches Hemsley’s initial assessment of the video. What happened once they got to the bedroom?”
I answer flatly, which isn’t a problem since I haven’t brought my emotions back inside me yet. “Tied him to the bed and butchered him. Cut off toes and fingers, and his chest cavity was flayed. They carved out and removed his tattoo. We’ll have to wait until we get the autopsy, but I’d imagine you’ve got over thirty separate stab wounds. And that’s only what we could see without moving the body. Most likely, his throat was slit to finish him off.”
Our SSA’s volume spikes. “This sounds personal.”
My eyes scan the clouds while I muse aloud. “This crime is completely different, except for the casino affiliation and the basic appearance of the perps from the footage. Yet all othervictims reportedly had no idea who the perpetrators were. If this is the same duo, they’ve changed the game.”
“Yep. And why do MOs change?” she asks, leading us somewhere.
“Cause their goal changes,” McBride responds.
“Hang on a second, guys. Hemsley’s ringing on my other line.”
The phone goes silent while she takes the other call.
I squeeze the bridge of my nose and bounce my thoughts off Luke. “New motive. New MO. This wasn’t a threat like the other cases or intimidation gone wrong. It was torture. Punishment. Information extraction. Maybe both.”
“Yeahhh, buddy,” he drawls, agreeing in his own country bumpkin way.
SSA Chase returns to the call. “You there?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I answer.
“Hemsley got confirmation on that image you sent of the removed skin.”
Instinctively, I lean closer to the phone. “And?”
“Looks like our victim, this Troy Hartley, was a member of STK. That is their tattoo brand. Same gang as Elliot Riddick.”
STK, also known as the Shoot to Kill Brotherhood, is a gang operating in pockets across the country. They've got their hands in a little of everything. Drugs, murder, trafficking of all types, and illegal weapons. They're frequent flyers on the ATF's radar and on every other alphabet soup agency’s radar.
When we first got this case, it had already been run past the gang unit. They ruled out STK since none of their informants had reported any casino involvement or home invasions.
Our task force wasn’t as quick to count out STK, especially once we learned Riddick was in the gang. But without chatter about a casino ring inside STK, we kept them on the back burner.
Guess that’s about to change.
“With Hartley in STK, our suspect pool and possible motives for his murder have spiked tenfold,” I muse.
“Might not be part of our home invasion investigation at all,” McBride offers. “Gangbangers end up murdered every day. Nature of the beast.”
SSA Chase adds, “Yeah, but we’ve also got Riddick in STK.”
“Evidence linking him to the casino shit is weak, ma’am,” Luke retorts.
He’s right. If it weren’t for the interaction with Lila and his running from me out of the casino, he wouldn’t be on our radar for this.
Thinking out loud, I ask, “What is the removal of the tattoo meant to symbolize?”
“Rival gang hit?” he suggests. “Maybe they were sending a message to the STK gang members that they’re coming for them.”
