“Not inconsistent.”
So, probably.
“Rough guess at time of death?”
“Again, I’ll know more when I get back to the lab and check liver temp. If I was forced to hypothesize though, I’d say in the last six or eight hours.”
Darnell entered the room, hardware tools in hand. He held up a reciprocating saw.
“Detective Ryan? Ready to get to work?”
“You have at it.”
“Don’t need to ask me twice.”
Darnell revved the battery-powered saw, made a pose reminiscent of something fromThe Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
With the sound of the blade biting into drywall filling the room, Vaughn went outside to clear his head and met up with Delaney.
“What a mess in there.” The cop had a bit of a twinkle in his eye as he said this.
What did Darnell like to call the young officer?
Puppy dog.
Yeah, it fit.
As much as Darnell’s distaste for Delaney was without merit, Vaughn’s partner was right about that part.
“Yeah. Hey, there’s some sort of cable hanging from the wall in there. Probably went to a camera that was smashed. Also, a speaker. Any way to track incoming or outgoing signals?”
“I can look into it.”
“Do it. What about Cedar Ridge security?”
“Like I told the grumpy old guy—”
“Delaney,” Vaughn warned.
The smirk vanished.
“Sorry. There was a patrol last night, but nobody noticed anything.”
Vaughn glanced around.
The dirt path that led to the barn was overrun with vehicles now. More PPD cruisers, the CSU van, the ME’s car. If there had been castable tire tracks in the dirt, they’d since been obliterated.
“How the hell did they get here?” Vaughn wondered out loud.
“What do you mean?”
He turned his attention to Delaney.
“This is pretty far from any bus stop or parking lot. There are ten victims... did they all drive here? If so, where are their cars?”
“I mean, if it’s a game show, maybe they had a bus?”
A bus?
