the people of her city saw a woman sitting in the freezing cold and did nothing about it.
They needed to ID the young woman as soon as possible. They would begin a thorough grid search of the parking lot, the riverbank, and the area surrounding the structure-along with a canvass of nearby businesses and residences on both sides of the river-but with a carefully constructed crime scene such as this, it was unlikely they were going to find a discarded pocketbook with any ID in the vicinity.
Jessica crouched behind the victim. The way the body was positioned reminded her of a marionette whose strings had been cut, causing the puppet to simply collapse to the floor-arms and legs waiting to be reconnected, reanimated, brought back to life.
Jessica examined the woman's fingernails. They were short, but clean and painted with a clear lacquer. They would examine the nails to see if there was any material beneath them, but with the naked eye it didn't appear so. What it did tell the detectives was that this woman was not homeless, not indigent. Her skin and hair looked clean and well- groomed.
Which meant that there was somewhere this young woman was supposed to be. It meant that she was missed. It meant that there was a puzzle out there in Philadelphia, or beyond, to which this woman was the missing piece.
Mother. Daughter. Sister. Friend.
Victim.
5
The wind swirls off the river, curling along the frozen banks, bringing with it the deep secrets of the forest. In his mind, Moon draws the memory of this moment. He knows that, in the end, a memory is all you were left with.
Moon stands nearby, watching the man and the woman. They probe, they calculate, they write in their journals. The man is big and powerful. The woman is slender and pretty and clever.
Moon is clever, too.
The man and the woman may witness a great deal, but they cannot see what the moon sees. Each night the moon returns and tells Moon of its travels. Each night Moon paints a mind-picture. Each night a new story is told.
Moon glances up at the sky. The cold sun hides behind the clouds. He is invisible, too.
The man and woman go about their business-quick and clocklike and precise. They have found Karen. Soon they will find the red shoes, and this tale will be spun.
There are many more tales.
6
Jessica and Byrne stood near the road, waiting for the CSU van. Though only a few feet apart, each was adrift in their own thoughts about what they had just seen. Detective Bontrager was still dutifully guarding the north entrance to the property. Mike Calabro stood near the river, his back to the victim.
For the most part, the life of a homicide detective in a major urban area was about the investigation of garden-variety murders-gang slayings, domestics, bar fights that went one punch too far, robbery-homicides. Of course, these crimes were very personal and unique to the victims and their families, and a detective had to constantly remind himself of that fact. If you got complacent about the job, if you failed to take into account a person's sense of grief or loss, it was time to quit. In Philadelphia, there were no divisional homicide squads. All suspicious deaths were investigated out of one office, the homicide unit at the Roundhouse. Eighty detectives, three shifts, seven days a week. Philly had more than one hundred neighborhoods, and many times, based on where the victim was found, an experienced detective could all but predict the circumstance, the motive, sometimes even the weapon. There was always a revelation, but very few surprises.
This day was different. It spoke of a special evil, a depth of brutality that Jessica and Byrne had rarely experienced.
Parked in the vacant lot across the road from the crime scene was a food-service truck. There was only one customer. The two detectives crossed Flat Rock Road, retrieving their notebooks. While Byrne interviewed the driver, Jessica spoke to the customer. He was in his twenties, dressed in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, a black knit cap.
Jessica introduced herself, showed her badge. 'I'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind.'
'Sure.' Pulling off his cap, his dark hair fell into his eyes. He brushed it aside.
'What's your name?'
'Will,' he said. 'Will Pedersen.'
'Where do you live?'
'Plymouth Valley.'
'Wow,' Jessica said. 'Long way from home.'
He shrugged. 'You go where the work is.'
'What do you do?'
'I'm a brick mason.' He pointed over Jessica's shoulder, at the new condominiums being constructed along the river about a block away. A few moments later Byrne finished with the driver. Jessica introduced Pedersen to him, continued.
'Do you work down here a lot?' Jessica asked.
'Almost every day.'
'Were you here yesterday?'
'No,' he said. 'Too cold to mix. Boss called early and said bag it.'
'What about the day before yesterday?' Byrne asked.
'Yeah. We were here.'
'Did you get coffee about this time?'
'No,' Pedersen said. 'It was earlier. Maybe seven o'clock or so.'
Byrne gestured to the crime scene. 'Did you see anyone in this parking lot?'
Pedersen looked across the street, thought for a few moments. 'Yeah. I did see someone.'
'Where?'
'Back by the end of the parking lot.'
'Man? Woman?'
'Man, I think. It was still kind of dark.'
'There was just the one person?'
'Yes.'
'Did you see a vehicle?'
'No. No cars,' he said. 'None I noticed, anyway.'
The two abandoned vehicles were behind the building. They were not visible from the road. A third vehicle could have been back there.
'Where was he standing?' Byrne asked.
Pedersen pointed to a spot at the end of the lot, just above where the victim was found. 'Right to the right of those trees.'
'Closer to the river, or closer to the building?'
'Closer to the river.'
'Can you describe this person you saw?'
'Not really. Like I said, it was still kind of dark and I couldn't see too well. I wasn't wearing my glasses.'
'Exactly where were you when you first saw him?' Jessica asked.
Pedersen pointed to an area a few feet away from where they stood.
