He nodded. “I think you’re right. Usually it’ll be demolished at some point in time when it’s behind a construction fence like that,” he explained. “This looks a little more possible than the other side. Let’s check this side first.” He hopped out and walked closer. As soon as he headed into the building, her nose lifted. What?” he asked.
“Something I don’t like.” She picked up the pace, as she raced forward.
“We need to figure out what’s here,” he added, following her. “Don’t you want to take your time?”
“No,” she snapped. “I already have a damn good idea.” She had her phone in her hand.
By the time he squared up behind her, he gasped in shock. “Jesus.” He immediately turned away from the gruesome sight.
Kate was already on the phone, making calls. She watched Simon as he pivoted and forced himself to take in the body. What it must look like to a civilian to see this much devastation done to a fellow human being. It was hard for her, even now, after all her years as a cop and now as a detective. She hated to think that this poor woman, this mutilated body, had once been human. The damage done to it was incredible. And he must feel worse, since he had that psychic connection with her before she died.
He took several steps back, looking around the area.
By the time Kate got off the phone, she looked at him. “I have to stay here,” she stated. “You don’t.” He looked at her in shock, and she walked over and said, “This isn’t your fault.”
“No,” he agreed, “but the thing is, I don’t think that’s my victim.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“If you’ll notice, this one has been dead for quite a while.”
She nodded. “I got that much. What do you mean? Are you saying it’s not the woman you’ve been connecting with?”
He tapped the side of his head. “I can still hear her breathing.”
“Another one?” She looked back at the one in front of them. “Why would he take another one so fast?”
“Maybe because this one died too quickly,” Simon suggested. “Maybe there was no fun in it, not enough torture time for him.”
She nodded. “We’ve certainly seen that happen before,” she muttered, with a grim tone.
“Jesus,” he moaned. “How can any of this be something anyone has seen before? It’s just too horrific to even believe that somebody could do this one time.”
“Don’t look,” she told him. “We’ll have to do a full workup. So you need to go back to doing whatever it is that you have to do.” He stared at her, and she shook her head. “I know you want to stay, but it’s not necessary.”
“I do want to stay,” he agreed. “I don’t want her alone, and I don’t want you alone.”
She stared at him in surprise. “It’s my job, you know?”
He raised an eyebrow. “A serial killer’s been here. Better off that you’re not alone.”
She went to protest again, but he reached out, snagged her into his arms, and whispered, “Humor me. I’ll just stay until the circus starts. And then I promise I’ll stay out of the way.”
There wasn’t a whole lot she could do to argue with him, particularly when he’s the one who had driven her here, and a moment later she nodded quietly.
“But you have to abide by your promise to stay out of my way,” she stated. “My team is coming, and so is the coroner.”
“They’ll be so thrilled with you.”
“No, they won’t, but, at the same time,” she noted, “this is another crime scene, and it’s all about the same killer. So this is huge. It really is huge.”
“Is it?” he asked doubtfully.
“Yes, every time we get a scene like this, it tells us so much. And it’s even more important since this time it’s a change in his pattern.”
“Are you sure?” Simon asked. “Maybe you just missed the pattern, and you should be looking for more victims.”
“Maybe,” she agreed, “but the more we find, although it’s depressing as all hell, gives us more options to locate this guy.”