To my surprise, there was already a cluster of local and not-so-local media in a small clearing on the low ridge above where the bodies had been discovered. A murdered homeless drug addict could be a decent mention on the evening news, but a mass dump of six bodies in various states of decomposition couldn’t be passed over. No, this one would probably make national news.
I saw Dr. Lanza on the ridge, standing next to a slender, leggy woman with blond hair and a lovely face. The woman wore jeans that were low-cut and form-fitting without looking painted on and a black T-shirt that showed her obvious dedication to her workouts. There was no layer of pudge above the jeans on this woman, and I found myself standing straighter and pulling my stomach in. Damn doughnuts.
Dr. Lanza caught my eye and motioned me over. “Detective Kara Gillian, this is Dr. Susan Vaughn,” Doc said when I reached him. “Dr. Vaughn is a forensic entomologist.”
I shook the woman’s hand, but there must have been something resembling a blank expression on my face. “I do bugs,” Dr. Vaughn added with a smile.
“Oh! Right.” I shrugged sheepishly. “I was either going to go for that or foot doctor, and the latter didn’t make much sense.”
“Susie … um … happened to be in town when I got the call,” Doc said, “and I’m hoping she’ll be able to help us determine how old these corpses are.”
It’s Susie? And she just happened to be in town? Doc, you dog!
Doc must have picked up something in my expression, because his lips twitched into a smug smile. Then he glanced down the ridge and all trace of humor slipped away. “Let’s get started,” he said tersely, and started making his way down the small slope, with the two of us following. I grimaced as the nauseating odor grew stronger, but even if I hadn’t smelled it, the sound of the flies would have warned me that something ugly was nearby. The buzz was constant, and any motion sent clouds of the insects swarming up, only to settle back on the flesh as soon as they could. Now I understood the need for someone who knew their bugs.
I took in the surrounding area. Under any other circumstances, it would be an idyllic setting, lightly wooded with a scattering of spring wildflowers and a beautiful view of the lake—perfect for camping or trysting. The location definitely offered privacy, and it occurred to me that these bodies could have easily gone undiscovered for years if not for the fisherman’s engine trouble. The demon had to have dumped these bodies, too, I realized. The pile wasn’t far from the water, but there was enough of a climb from the shore to make it difficult for someone carrying a body, much less six. And it was definitely a significant distance from the road. I just couldn’t see someone loading bodies onto the back of an ATV to trek them all the way back here to dump.
They were all nude, piled haphazardly and limbs splayed, swollen and black with decomposition, and rippling with a patchy gray-yellow carpet of maggots. It was difficult to tell what kind of injuries had been inflicted, due to the maggots and the state of decomposition, but there was enough evidence to tell me that these were uncomfortably similar to my other Symbol Man cases.
Dr. Vaughn stepped closer cautiously as she pulled on latex gloves, her heavy fall of blond hair swinging forward as she peered at the maggots and flies. I couldn’t help but think that she looked a lot more like a member of the Swedish Bikini Team than a bug expert. “A lot of injuries here,” she said, utterly unperturbed. “Maggots tend to cluster around orifices”—she gestured at the maggot-filled nose and mouth of one body—“and also any break in the skin.” Her gaze traveled over the nearly unbroken mass of maggots. “This is unbelievable.”
“Can you tell how long they’ve been dead?” I asked.
Dr. Vaughn nodded, pursing her lips. “Oh, yes. Or, rather, I can tell you how long the bodies have been out here.” She flicked a finger at a fly. “These are blowflies.” She glanced over her shoulder at the lake. “And out here in the open like this, flies are going to find these bodies almost instantly.” She looked down by her feet, then picked up a number of tiny black pellets. She peered at them, then held them out toward me. “These are the egg cases, and these,” she poked at a few of the pellets that looked as if one end had been cut off, “have already hatched.”
I looked at the egg cases and then up at her. “Okay.”
Dr. Vaughn met my eyes. “Give me a few minutes and I should be able to give you a time frame.”
“You got it. Just don’t make me pick up any bugs.”
Dr. Vaughn gave a throaty laugh. “Deal.” She turned away and crouched, examining the insects on the bodies with what I privately thought was an insane amount of interest.