I did that and pointed the light at Jace’s left hand. His thumb looked completely dislocated and his little finger was at a right angle to his hand. The other three fingers looked unharmed. I moved the light to unnatural indentations in the snow.
“What the hell?” Manny was at Jace’s feet looking at the snow illuminated by the light. “Doc, what’s that?”
“Numbers.” An uncomfortable emotion surfaced and I pushed it down. I’d come to recognise it as grief and didn’t like experiencing it. I hadn’t known this young man, yet I felt a sense of loss. I stared at the blood-lined grooves in the snow that formed five numbers. “Three, one, seven, one and six. Jace tried to communicate with the last of his strength.”
“Good man.” Manny narrowed his eyes. “Any idea what these numbers are?”
I looked up at Manny and frowned. “Of course not.”
Vinnie grunted and moved away. “I suggest taking loads of pics for Franny to run searches.”
“She only needs one photo.” I paused. “Not even that. Francine only needs the numbers.”
“But I bet you would like the scene to be well documented with photos.” Daniel waved at a crime scene technician chatting to Pink while waiting for us to finish. “I’ll get them to take a complete 3D scan of the area. Pink also has a 3D scanner in the truck, but I’d rather he come with us. The crime scene techs will send us the scan as soon as it’s done.”
“Anything else you see, Doc?” Manny looked at the bottom of Jace’s sneakers.
I took my time running the light alongside Jace’s body and also under the bush. “Nothing.”
“Then we’ll leave the crime scene guys to do their thing.” Manny straightened. “Do we have the boy’s address yet?”
“Francine sent it to our phones.” Pink walked closer and shook his head when he looked at Jace. “He looks so young.”
“Twenty-five, but with more brains than you and I put together.” Vinnie put his hands in his jacket pockets. “We need to find out who did these things to this kid.”
“Then let’s go to his flat.” Manny turned towards the parking area. “Maybe we’ll find something there that will clue us in.”
“And could explain why he sent a photo of a Roubaud to Caelan.” Colin took my hand after I gave Vinnie his flashlight. We followed Manny and the others to our vehicles.
No one spoke as Colin followed Daniel’s vehicle onto the main road back into Strasbourg. I turned on the sound system in the SUV and chose Mozart’s Quintet in A for Clarinet and Strings from the uploaded playlist. Mozart’s affinity for the clarinet was evident in this piece, its soothing sound filling the interior of the SUV. I leaned back in my seat and allowed my mind to process what I’d seen.
The injuries Jace had suffered were unlike anything most people would ever experience. I wondered if his non-neurotypical mind had been able to process what was being done to him. Then I thought about his inability to communicate. He hadn’t even been able to tell his torturer what had been demanded of him. Or tell him to stop.
It felt like a strong band was constricting around my chest and the urge to start rocking and keening made me stop this line of thinking. Instead I focused on the intimate scale of the Quintet that Mozart executed so masterfully with his chamber music and stared out of the window.
We drove through the port area. I counted thirty-three freight wagons that I assumed were waiting to be either offloaded or filled with goods. The buildings here were huge and mostly shipping companies. We crossed the river a second time, going towards the city centre, and a thought came to me.
I turned to glance at Vinnie in the back. “Why didn’t you know about Jace?”
“I didn’t know about Jace because Caelan didn’t tell me about him.”
“But you have been spending so much time with him. How could he not have told you about his best friend?”
Vinnie looked at me for a few seconds. “You spend time with the president’s wife, right? Do you tell her about Francine? Or me?”
“Of course not. My friendship with you is not relevant to our conversations.” Unless Isabelle asked me directly about Vinnie. Usually, Francine joined us for our lunch meetings which eliminated the necessity to talk about her. I realised the point Vinnie was trying to make. I nodded. “I see.”
Vinnie smiled. “I knew the dude had found some activity that was making him happy. I guessed he had also found someone who shared his interests, so I didn’t push when he didn’t answer my question about it. I don’t know why he didn’t tell me.”
Colin slowed down the SUV and parked next to Manny’s sedan. I settled back in my seat and unlocked the seatbelt, but quickly moved closer to the door when Vinnie leaned forward and punched Colin lightly on the shoulder. “You’re cool with all this, dude?”
Colin turned off the engine and looked at Vinnie, his corrugator supercilii muscles contracting his brow in a frown. “Why wouldn’t I... ah, the torture.”
“It was pretty rough on you.”
“But it was almost six years ago and I’ve moved on.” Colin cupped Vinnie’s cheek in a surprising gesture of intimacy. “You care about me. I’m touched.”
Vinnie jerked back. “Oh, fuck off.”
Colin laughed and got out of the SUV. Vinnie followed him and punched him again in the shoulder, this time hard enough for Colin to wince. He laughed harder. “I’m fine, Vin.”
“Yeah, see if I care.” Vinnie stomped toward Daniel’s vehicle just as Pink got out, ignoring Manny’s questioning look.
“What’s up with the big guy?” Manny pulled his coat tighter around his neck. His habit of wearing ill-fitting clothes seemed impractical and even silly at the moment. In these temperatures, surely it made more sense to wear the warm and fitted coat Francine had bought for him.
“Vin’s okay.” Colin took my hand and we walked to the entrance of the apartment building. It was one of the more modern buildings in an area bordering the older parts of Strasbourg. Manny pushed open the glass door and we walked to the security desk. A man in his late fifties was reading a magazine.
I stayed back and watched Daniel and Manny build rapport with the guard until he was happy to send us up to the third floor. The elevator was large for an apartment building, yet I was relieved when Pink, Vinnie and Daniel said they were taking the stairs.
As the elevator doors opened, Vinnie was waiting for us, his hands on his hips. “Even with an elevator helping you, I’m still faster than you, old man.”
“Oh, bugger off.” Manny pushed past Vinnie and realised he was going in the wrong direction. “Holy hell!”
Everyone laughed as Manny turned around, marched past us to the left and stopped in front of door number three-one-five. “Well? Are you all just going to bloody stand there or is someone going to open this door?”
Vinnie snorted. “I wish this was an American movie where the building had a super with keys to each apartment.” He looked at Daniel. “Don’t you think your job would be so much easier if everything was like in the movies?”
“Most definitely.” Daniel narrowed his eyes when Colin walked closer and leaned forward to study the lock. “What are you doing?”
Colin looked over his shoulder and smiled. “What do you think?”
“You can’t break into this flat, Frey.” Manny pushed his hands in his coat pockets and nodded at Daniel and Pink. “Not when there are law enforcement officers watching you.”
“Ah.” Pink smiled and turned his back on Colin. “I’m not seeing anything.”
Daniel shook his head. “This is a murder victim and we’re investigating. Do you need a kit?”
“Yes, thanks.” Colin accepted the small wallet Daniel took from his vest. He opened it and studied the set of tools. “I’ll only need these two.”
He took two thin tools and turned back to the door. He inserted the larger, more curved of the two lock picks and turned it gently. His muscle tension decreased and he inserted the L-shaped tool. Colin’s posture was relaxed and confident while twisting the tools. The gears in the lock clicked.