*
Otto stood next to Cowan, pretending to look down at the dead body while instead gazing directly above the body and across the room to a poster of the periodic table. He suspected that Cowan knew he had a weak stomach, and that’s why Cowan delighted in discussing the case over the top of a cold stitched-up cadaver. There was no need for Otto to see the body. Cowan could have easily explained his findings without the theatrics, but Otto couldn’t figure out a way to tell Cowan he didn’t want to see the body without feeling incompetent.
“You’ll notice the bruising and lacerations on her inner thighs and pubis area.…” Cowan went on and on, finally stating what he could have said initially without the poor dead woman being laid out on the steel gurney. “The victim was most definitely raped multiple times before she was shot and killed.”
“What’s the time frame on the rapes?”
“Recent. A matter of a week or two.”
“Was she killed instantly?”
“The gunshot wound would have killed her within minutes.”
“Does it look as if there was any tampering with the body after she was shot?” Otto asked.
“No. Other than insects and animals, I didn’t see evidence the body was moved or touched.”
“How long before we receive toxicology reports?”
“I’d expect two to four weeks.”
“Was there anything exceptional about the bullet wound?” Otto asked.
Cowan reached out to turn the body over and Otto put a hand out to stop him. “That’s not necessary. Just tell me your findings.”
Cowan smiled slightly and began pulling the plastic covering over the body. If Otto had been three decades younger, he would have thrown a punch at the man’s smirk. He couldn’t understand why Josie seemed to think so highly of Cowan. Otto found him arrogant and intolerable.
Once Cowan had replaced the body and washed up, he returned and opened his notes on the lab table. He described the time of death as the same as his initial assessment. “The bullet has been logged as evidence and it’s available for you to take. Same with her clothing and jewelry. Regarding the wound, it was just as expected. The trajectory was straight, and the wound is consistent with what you would expect from a shot fired from twenty-three feet away.” He paused and looked up at Otto. “Correct? The casing found at the scene was about that distance from the body?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, then. I’ve got the finger-and palm prints, dental X-rays, photographs, hair specimens, and so on. I’ll post a photograph of the victim’s face on the missing persons database and we’ll hope for a hit. For now, I’ll keep her in the freezer.” Cowan clasped his hands in front of him. “In my years here working in Arroyo County, we’ve only utilized the potter’s field a few times to bury an unidentified body. I certainly hope that won’t be the case with this young woman.”
*
When Otto left the coroner’s office at the county jail, he called Josie from the jeep. For late October, the temperature was still running hot, so he cranked the air conditioner. It had reached ninety-eight that afternoon and the relentless sun was making him irritable.
“You had supper yet?” he asked.
“Nope. But I could use some. I’m just leaving the hospital. Want to meet at the Hot Tamale?”
“I do.” Otto paused, knowing he was going to piss her off. “You want to swing by and grab your mother for dinner?”
She sighed into the phone. “It’s after six. She’s probably eaten.”
“Josie. She’s your mother.”
“Otto. I know that.”
Otto waited out the silence.
“Damn it. All right. I’ll stop by the motel. See you in a few.”
*
Manny’s Motel was a six-room establishment shaped like a strip mall, with all six doors opening toward the street. Manny’s office was located in the center of the building, with a green neon sign that hung crooked from the window. One afternoon Josie had stopped by with a question about an investigation and she’d asked him, “You want me to straighten up your sign for you?”
Manny had replied, “No, I like it that way. It’s not pretentious. It lets people know, Here’s a comfortable place where I can put my feet up and relax.”
Since then the crooked sign made her smile every time she noticed it. She thought how awkward it would look hanging straight in his window.
She found Manny sitting in a recliner behind the front desk reading a book. When he looked up, his expression was distraught. “What timing! She’s ten feet from opening the door and ruining the rest of her life. You couldn’t give me five more minutes?”
Josie laughed. “Then you’d need five more after that. Just get this over with and you can get back to your book.”
Manny groaned as he got up out of the chair and smiled when he reached the counter. “For you? I would toss the book into the trash. What can I do for you?”