Looking down at the body, he could see it was Kate. Still wearing her light blue nursing scrubs, her feet were encased in thick socks. The prints around her neck indicated strangulation, but that was for the ME to determine and homicide to investigate.
After walking down the hall, he came back to the living room and spoke to Evan, who was near the door. “One bedroom. One bathroom. No signs of injury. No signs of struggle. I’d say she knew who came in.”
Hearing a noise outside, he looked past Evan’s shoulder as Brock King walked in. His gaze swept the room, dropped to the body, and shot back up to Carter, offering a chin lift as his greeting.
“I saw Tara outside,” Brock said. “She the one who called it in?”
“Yeah, it’s a friend of hers.”
“Fuck.” Brock stood with his hands on his hips, looking down at the body.
“Upfront, Brock, this is your scene, but we’re here not just because of Tara but because of the case we’re on.”
Brock’s eyes shot up to his, and he nodded. “Got it. Can you give an ID, or do we need Tara in here?”
“Hell, no, I don’t want Tara in here. She already had to ID another body, and I sure as shit don’t want her to do that again. Her name is Kate Burks. She’s a nurse at the free clinic that’s next to Ever Hope. That’s how Tara knew her.”
“What was Tara doing here this morning?”
Just then one of the officers stuck his head in and said, “The ME is here.”
Brock shifted to one side when Natalie walked in. She looked at them and asked, “You ready for me?” She came further into the room, and Carter stepped to the doorway, Brock next to him.
“We’re working on the investigation involving the death of some homeless men carrying bags of opioids and the free clinic. Kate left a message for Tara yesterday saying she needed to speak to her. Yesterday was a shit-kicking day for all of us, and Tara was too late to talk to her. That’s all I know right now. Tara ended up over here, peeked through the blinds, and thought she saw the body, so she called it in.”
Both men looked at the slats in the blind that had been pulled slightly open. Carter said, “I took a look in the back. No signs of a struggle. I wondered if she peeked out the blinds, recognized who was there, and opened the door.”
Brock pulled out his camera and began snapping pictures as Natalie continued to examine the body.
“You want to talk to Tara now?” he said. “I’ll have Evan send you whatever we’ve got, and we can meet later.”
Following him out of the apartment, Brock said, “Appreciate it, man.” They both walked over to Tara. She opened her arms and slid straight into Carter’s embrace, shifting her gaze from his face over to Brock’s. “I’m real sorry, Tara,” Brock said, sliding his hand to the back of her neck as he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “We’ll find out who did this.”
She offered a half-hearted smile. “Thanks, Brock.” Carter sighed, drawing her attention back to him.
“Honey, I know the drill. You guys need to ask me questions.”
Brock chuckled ruefully. “You can’t be in the McBride family without knowing what we’ve gotta do.”
Natalie came to the door and said to her crew, “Were ready to take the body.” Looking over at Brock, she said, “Tomorrow.”
Carter felt Tara shift in his arms, and she said, “I don’t want to watch this.”
He escorted her down the walkway, finding a bench. Settling her so that she was facing away from Kate’s doorway, he kept his arm around her as Brock settled in on the other side.
“Babe, tell us what happened this morning.”
She went through the phone message she received from Kate the evening before and her efforts to see her at the clinic. “Kate and I were not close friends. I didn’t even have her cell phone number.” Then she told of the message she had received that morning and the events leading up to peeking through the window. Brock took notes throughout her explanation, giving her a chance to speak without interruption.
“Did you save the message on your phone at work?” Brock asked.
Nodding, she said, “Yes. I didn’t erase it. The answering machine said that it came in a little after eight last night.”
“I’ll come by later and hear it. And you’re sure it said the meds had been switched?”
She looked up at Carter and said, “I have no idea what she was talking about, but it has to be with what’s been happening. It’s all got to be related.” Her brow scrunched and she nibbled on her bottom lip. Her gaze jumped back up to his. “Someone must know that she knows something. I mean, that she knew something.”
Brock patted her leg before standing. “I’m going to start processing the apartment. Carter, take care of our girl here.”
With a chin lift, Carter acknowledged Brock as he walked away, then turned his attention back to Tara. “Babe, let me take you home. I’ll drive your car and Evan can pick me up later. He can also send our reports to Brock.”
She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Holding his gaze, she said, “Honestly, Carter, I don’t need to go home. It was a shock, I admit, but I need to get to work and so do you. Me sitting at home wringing my hands isn’t going to solve the crime. I have people that need me at the shelter, and while Brock is handling the homicide, I know you’ve got to work with him to figure out what she was talking about.”
He stared at
