Ties That Bind

Chapter 27

MADISON COULDN'T MANEUVER HER WAY through the mass of lazy Sunday drivers fast enough. And she found herself doing what she preferred not to do on the way to a crime scene—speculate. The fact there was another necktie of the same brand was too much to ignore. That piece of evidence wasn't released to the media, so it ruled out a copycat. It meant her inclination to believe Laura was an isolated incident was incorrect. Were they looking for a serial killer?

Both victims were women. Possibly because he could overpower them, or maybe he was wronged by a woman at some point in his life? Assuming it was an emotional trigger, it must have been an incredibly personal wound to choose strangulation as his MO. The killer may have something to prove, and with the tightening of the tie, he regained his sense of control, bringing with it liberation and a powerful release. It was such an intimate killing method. He would feel their last breath on his arms. The thought sent a chill running through her.

She worried that the killer was escalating and becoming less inhibited. He had risked exposure coming out from the seclusion of a house to a public place.

Terry had told her the body was at the point where the trail went through Mitchell Park. She recalled a parking area and headed there. Pulling into the lot, gravel crunched under her car tires, spewing dust into the air. She caught a glimpse of a shiny reflection in her rearview mirror and realized it was Terry pulling in behind her.

She couldn't see the body from the lot, but a couple of uniformed officers stood at the edge of the woods. There were also two young girls sitting on a bench. From the body language, she knew they must have found the body. One of the girls talked animatedly with an officer while the other leaned forward with her face cradled in her hands as she rocked back and forth.

"Hey, Maddy." Terry performed a light jog to catch up.

She kept walking.

"I didn't pick sides."

"Sure seems like you did." Usually, he would attempt to smooth things over, talk it out, but he just shrugged and walked past her, headed toward the bench. He must have already been having a bad day.

An officer came toward them. He barely looked twenty. "Her name is Heather Nguyen, age thirty-five, married. She lives at 86 Springbrook Crescent. No children. She holds a job as a General Manager at Wow FX Incorporated. They're a special effects company for the entertainment industry. Fog machines, snow machines, stuff like that. Anyway, I'm FOS."

"FOS?" Madison asked.

"Yeah, first officer on scene." He said it like it was self-explanatory.

These recruits were getting younger, and the bar apparently lowered. Before people knew it, laughing would be replaced with saying LOL. "Those two found the vic?"

"Yes, about forty minutes ago. Speaking of which, you guys made it here pretty fast. She's over there." He pointed to where the trail rounded the bend and dipped down.

"Anything else to tell us?"

The officer nodded toward the teen girls on the bench. "They both claim to have never seen her before, and by the way they're shaking I'd say they weren't involved."

"Yes, that would seem obvious." The words came off so clipped she felt like a bitch for saying them. She needed more sleep, to be able to crawl back into bed, and get back to that good dream she was having. Speaking of which, the images were so faint they had disintegrated into shadows by this point. "We'll have to speak to them. I assume you called crime scene and the ME?"

The officer nodded. "Same time as you."

She took a few steps. He spoke again. "And, by the way, it's Officer Tendum."