She parked, cut the engine, and pivoted to face Nathan. “It’s not too late.”
“Let’s just get this over with.”
Inside the brick building, Grangeland flashed her FBI badge to the receptionist, who made a call and said Dr. Salk would be right with them.
Nathan took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. He relaxed his hands and focused on Grangeland. She offered a reassuring smile. Harv seemed equally nervous, but was much better at concealing it.
A man in a gray business suit stepped out of a door and extended his hand to Grangeland first. Not unexpected. They’d already met.
“Thank you for seeing us,” she said. “This is Nathan McBride and Harvey Fontana.”
“I’m Dr. Jonas Salk, no relation.” No doubt he said that to everyone. In his mid-fifties, Salk had thinning hair that looked a shade too dark. “I’m the chief medical examiner.”
Dr. Salk looked over the top of his black-rimmed glasses, obviously fascinated by the scars. Nathan was sorely tempted to lean in close and turn his head from side to side so Salk could “examine” the damage in all its glory. “Doctor,” he said, and shook hands.
Salk recovered his composure. “Would you… ah… like a brief tour first?”
“Thank you,” Grangeland said, “but we’ve a got another appointment after this.”
“No problem. This way, please.”
They followed Dr. Salk down a short hall. Salk spoke as they walked. “We’ve got the body in our refrigeration room. I didn’t want to bring it out until you arrived. I should warn you, it’s one of the worse cases of mutilation I’ve ever seen. Whoever did it knew what he, or she, was doing. The victim’s submergence in water washed the exterior applications, but we found traces of QuikClot in the victim’s bloodstream. The only reasonable conclusion is that his attacker didn’t want him to bleed to death. The margins also indicated cauterization. There still would’ve been significant bleeding, just not as much.”
Harv looked back and mouthed the words,
He gave a tight nod. Montez hadn’t used a hot knife on him, but he
They entered the examination room and he noticed the drop in temperature right away. It looked and smelled both sterile and chemical. Lots of shiny surfaces and stainless steel. Drainage sinks. Mobile instrument tables. Cabinets. Computer stations. Four autopsy tables lined one wall. A large stainless door on the far side of the room probably led to the walk-in refrigerator.
“I’ll need one of you to help me with the body.”
Harv volunteered.
He and Grangeland waited in the exam room.
Grangeland spoke softly. “I can’t begin to imagine what you’re feeling.”
Nathan steadied himself for what was about to roll out of that icy cell and what it represented. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Escape was a few steps away. No. Not now. Especially not now. How would that look? Running away at the moment of truth?
The door reopened with a clank.
Chapter 16
Nathan squinted as Salk rolled the body into the room. An opaque plastic sheet covered Kramer’s form.
Harv’s expression told all. One part revulsion, one part anger.
The gurney stopped.
Dr. Salk removed the plastic.
What lay before him looked sickeningly familiar.
An inch apart, diagonal knife cuts savaged the ash-gray skin in a crisscrossing pattern from collarbone to belt line. The cuts on the outer portions of the torso extended down to the steel surface of the table. The flesh within the wounds looked raw and dark. Montez had turned this man into a human wicker basket.
When Nathan spoke, he felt like two people imprisoned in a single body. “We’ve been thinking about something. In the middle of a desert, why would the killer bother to dump the body in the lake?”
Salk answered matter-of-factly. “Because it wasn’t a body when it went into the water.”
“What did you say?”
“I said this man was alive.”
“
“We found silt in his lungs, consistent with the location where he was recovered. Our conclusion is that he held his breath for as long as possible before inhaling the muddy water after he hit bottom. His body was recovered ninety feet down. The diver reported the silt was disturbed immediately around the body. We’re positive he thrashed around.”
Nathan couldn’t respond. He was with Kramer in that pitch-black water during his last moments. Descending. Veins bulging. Eardrums bursting. Eyes wide open in terror. Plummeting into a freezing abyss. Inhaling water when he couldn’t hold his breath any longer. No hope of surviving.…
He sensed Grangeland take his hand.…
And something else. Hatred, deep and vicious, expanded inside him like an acidic fracture.
Grangeland called out, her tone frantic. “
“Huh?”
“My hand!”
He released it.
Harv grabbed his arm. “We’re outta here.”
“What’s going on?” Salk asked.
Harv pulled him toward the door.
The next thing he knew he was sitting on the floor in the hallway with his back against the wall.
“What the hell just happened?” Salk asked.
“He’s been under a lot of stress lately,” Grangeland said, rubbing her hand. “And he’s been really nervous about seeing the body. He’ll be okay. He just needs a minute to clear his head.”
“I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve never seen a reaction like that. I saw him crush your hand. He nearly broke it. You want to tell me what’s going on? That man just spooked me, and that’s not easy to do, not at this point in my career.” Salk started toward the door.
She touched his shoulder. “Please, Doctor, just give them a minute.”
“Breathe, Nathan. Close your eyes and use your safety catch.”
“I can’t.” Images from a tortured past flooded his mind, all of them terrifying. A bullwhip’s crack. Clenched teeth. Scattering birds. Moths. Sneering faces. A bloody knife.
“Do it now.” Harv grasped both his shoulders and yanked him forward. “Send him away, he doesn’t control you anymore. He can’t do anything without your permission. Send him away.”
Nathan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and visualized autumn-cloaked trees. He stood under the branches and spread his arms. A gentle breeze fluttered the leaves past his body, brushed them against his skin. A few swirled at his feet. He took another breath and let it out slowly.
“That’s it,” Harv said. “Deeper.”
It took a moment, but a calmness washed through him. All traces of hatred evaporated.
Replaced by resolve.
Harv smiled and offered a hand up from the floor. “Welcome back.”
“Damn, that was close.”
“Tell me about it. I was about to deliver a haymaker.”
“You’d really do that?”
