Daddy's Little Killer

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

 

My experience with forensic pathologists is not limited to Maya Winslow alone. And what I do for a living predisposes me to profiling more than criminal behavior. It's a hazard of the job I suppose. What I've observed over the years is that medical examiners, those who've gone the extra mile into forensics specifically, tend to be overly organized. Everything has its place. The trash reaches a precise level before it must be emptied. Files are properly catalogued and stored. Not so much as a stray ink pen is found lying on a desk. 

It's that organizational skill and attention to detail that make good medical examiners become great pathologists. It was my opinion that the only thing that held Maya back in Maryland was her refusal to be a politician in addition to a top-notch forensic clinician. She had become my platinum standard for all medical examiners.

What I did to her office by the time she rolled in at six-thirty might be considered a crime in some circles of the country. I had effectively papered every square inch of her desk with printouts from my ViCAP search. Coffee rings stained some, and cups served as paperweights on others. I really meant to clean up before she arrived, but had lost complete track of time until Randy informed me at six that there would be no more coffee runs.

The security staff were all grateful for my hourly generosity that kept them running back for more tall, triple shot skinny cinnies all night. If they went for me, it was only fair that I bought for them after all.

He glanced at his watch. "We go off duty at eight, Eriksson. If I have any more coffee, I'll be up until noon a week from Sunday. Besides. Dr. Winslow will be here in about an hour, and if she finds this mess in here, she's gonna blow a gasket."

"Right. Maya hates messes." I was buzzing from all the extra espresso, not to mention leads that could very well answer every question I had about the Bennett assault, particularly the gap in time.

After several successful hits on rape cases with matching DNA (which Maya would've eventually uncovered through CODIS), I expanded my search of young girls who were status-missing persons. That was the mother lode. Twice the number of missing girls who matched my criteria in this state alone, within a 75-mile radius of Darkwater Bay no less, popped up in ViCAP.

No wonder somebody wanted to halt my search.

"And Eriksson?" Randy wrinkled his nose. "I hate to be blunt but..."

"What?" I tucked an oily wisp of hair behind my ear. Curse this weather. Humidity has never been a friend to my hair.

"You might wanna hit the shower before you go to central this morning."

I grinned. "A little ripe, huh?"

"In a delicate and beautiful sort of way, of course."

"Your wife has trained you well, Randy. Do you suppose Maya would object if I absconded with a pair of scrubs? There's got to be a locker and a shower in this place. Knowing all her little neat-freak-isms, I am positive that she doesn't wear her perfect clothing to and from home without a good sterilization in between."

He chuckled. "C'mon. I'll show you where you can abscond to your hearts content."

I was on my way down the hall to her office, freshly scrubbed and decked from head to toe in blue green scrubs when I heard the shriek. I glanced at my watch. Hadn't Randy said she would be in the office at seven?

Inside her office, Maya stood with her hands clasped over her mouth. 

"I was just coming in to straighten up."