Grave Visions (Alex Craft, #4)(38)
He took it without comment, waiting in the open doorway.
Falin leaned down, his words a whisper meant only for me. “You up for this?”
I wasn’t sure if he meant the scene or if I was strong enough for the ritual. Maybe both. I nodded again and hoped I was right.
I started forward but John held up a hand before digging out gloves and covers for my boots. I accepted them and pulled them on, the three men doing the same. Yeah, this was going to be a bad.
“You know I’m going to have to disturb the scene to draw a circle, right?”
“It’s already been photographed,” Falin said, sliding on a bootie over his dress shoes. “That doesn’t mean we should track in unnecessary trace.”
Okay, he had a point.
“So why aren’t we doing this back at the morgue?”
“Because we’re in a disagreement over who has jurisdiction and it was agreed you would be the fastest way to settle it. Besides, in all likelihood you’d end up on the case anyway. This expedites things.” John didn’t sound happy about it. Nice to be wanted. But I guess I couldn’t really blame him. The FIB and NCPD didn’t have a great track record of working well together.
Roy and Icelynne floated ahead of us into the room. I still couldn’t see what was beyond the door, but Icelynne made a sound somewhere between a scream and a gasp. I couldn’t quite make out what Roy said in response, but the rhythmic sound of his murmuring made me think he was comforting her. Apparently they’d become fast friends.
John motioned me forward, but I hesitated, thinking about what he’d said about the scene being up for debate on who had jurisdiction. If the victims were fae, it would be clear-cut, so it must have been the killer the police were uncertain about. Okay, maybe I was stalling stepping into the room, but from what I already knew by Jenson describing the scene as a locked room mystery and John’s explanation, it appeared we had a murder with no apparent means of unmonitored egress. Unless, of course, the killer slipped out when the maid entered or while the police were there.
“You think it’s possible the killer was using an invisibility charm?” I asked.
John nodded. “We scanned the room once we arrived, but personal charms don’t leave a trace once the witch has left the premises.”
The other option was glamour. That didn’t even need to be said. So it would come down to what the kids’ shades said to determine if the FIB or NCPD would be taking lead here.
“Ready?” Falin asked, his hand moving to the small of my back. The touch surprised me. I tried to believe it was just a friendly urge to get this over with, but the heat that lifted in my cheeks betrayed me. I hurried forward, almost stepping on John’s heels as I followed him into the room.
The curtain covering the wall-length window in the far corner of the room had been drawn aside, letting in the late-morning light. All the lamps were on and a few extra work lights had been brought to the scene, but despite the fact there was adequate light in the room, my eyes refused to make sense of what I was seeing. At least when trying to take in the room as a whole. I frowned, trying to focus on one piece of the room at a time.
There, closest to the door, was an armchair toppled over, stuffing exploding from it in long vertical slits. Beyond that was a desk, the wood scarred by a gash that nearly bisected it. My eyes moved farther over the wall, where it looked like someone had pressed their hands in red paint before running them over the otherwise neutral wallpaper. I knew it wasn’t actually paint, but I didn’t stop to dwell on it, instead letting my gaze move on to the bed, only slightly disheveled and still covered with a teal comforter. A figure knelt at the end of the bed, leaning against it heavily. It was a male, as soon as I saw him my grave magic told me that much. Young, maybe eighteen. Blood had dried in a dark stain where it soaked the carpet around his legs, almost blending in with his black tuxedo slacks. At first I couldn’t tell if he still wore a shirt or not, there was too much blood, but I decided he didn’t and the flayed material hanging from his back was flesh.
I tore my gaze away, forcing myself to keep inspecting the room when what I really wanted to do was squeeze my eyes shut and back into the hallway. But I had to look. I could already feel the second body, the grave essence pulling at me.
The girl was a few feet from the boy, between the baseboard of the bed and the large-screen television. She wore only a slip that must have been tan or white when she put it on the night before. It was a dark brownish-red now. Lacerations covered her arms, her torso, even her face. Congealed blood matted her blond hair and had dried in flaking rivulets on her arms and bare legs.
I moved on. The way the girl had been facing, I couldn’t tell if she’d been running toward the door or the bathroom when she’d been . . . stabbed? That made the most sense, but I’d know for sure soon. Sprays of blood trailed across the TV screen, the walls, even the ceiling sported blood. The bathroom door hung open, but I couldn’t reach it without stepping over the couple. Whatever evidence might or might not be in that room wasn’t my concern—I was here only to raise the shades—so I didn’t bother trying to navigate to the bathroom. The carnage ended before it reached the back of the room anyway. From my vantage point just inside the main door, I could see an emerald green dress hanging in the open closet. She must have undressed before whatever happened began. I didn’t know anything about the girl, not yet at least, but I was guessing she and her boyfriend hadn’t been receiving visitors while she was wearing only a slip.