Hide and Seek (Criminal Profiler #1)(40)

“About an hour.”

“Good.” He clicked on a local rock station. “The music is tame by your standards.”

She smiled. “As long as it’s not about horses and broken hearts, I’ll survive.”

“You must have gotten your fill of country music in Texas.”

She rolled her head from side to side, seemingly working stiffness from her neck. “You have no idea.”

They drove in silence for most of the trip, each lost in thought as the rolling countryside passed. He took the Salem exit just past Roanoke to where the Western District Office of the Virginia State Medical Examiner was located.

He parked close to the main entrance. He noticed it took her a moment to work the kinks out of her leg after the hour trip, but he said nothing. They made their way inside, showed their badges to the receptionist behind the glass partition, and soon were escorted to the office of Dr. Russell Squibb.

Dr. Squibb was in his midfifties and stood about five foot eight inches. He had a round belly, a balding head, and a firm handshake.

“We appreciate you seeing us,” Nevada said.

“I had another call from Tobi Turner’s father this morning. That’s the hardest part of this job.”

“We understand,” Macy said. “If you can take us to her.”

“Of course.”

They followed the doctor down a long nondescript hallway to a large examination room outfitted with several sliding refrigerated drawers where they kept the bodies. Dr. Squibb opened drawer 210 to reveal the sheet-clad remains.

Nevada was good at detaching himself from the horrors of death, but he never wanted to forget the victims were somebody’s loved ones. He remembered the girl’s pictures hanging on her father’s walls. She was bright eyed and smiling as she played soccer and T-ball, sang at her church, and laughed with friends at the beach. He wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

Macy shifted, and he saw her left hand curl into a fist. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

The doctor handed them both latex gloves, which they snapped on in seconds. Neither spoke as the doctor removed the sheet to reveal a set of discolored bones laid out in anatomical order.

Dr. Squibb pulled out a pair of glasses from his lab coat pocket, put them on, and proceeded to lift the skull. “We were able to positively identify her through her dental records. The cavities and even the crown on her front tooth to repair a crack were perfect matches.”

“How did she fracture her tooth?” Macy asked.

“It happened when she was twelve, according to her father. She was trying to hit a soccer ball with her head, and the ball caught her in the mouth.”

With only bones remaining, there was no way to definitively determine what kind of soft-flesh injuries Tobi Turner had suffered. The killer could have raped her before or after death, or he could have masturbated on her backpack. Unless a killer confessed, there was just no way of knowing.

“What was her cause of death?” Macy asked.

“Strangulation. The small hyoid bone in her neck appears to have been crushed.”

Those horseshoe-shaped bones were delicate and easily fractured. “Can you tell if he choked her once or multiple times?” Macy asked.

“Sorry,” Dr. Squibb said. “Bones can tell us a lot, but they can’t always give us the complete picture.”

“Your examination results are a big help,” Macy said. “This offender has a distinct pattern.”

Dr. Squibb rotated the skull sideways. “There’s also a circular crack behind her left ear. The fractures radiate out like a spiderweb. He hit her with a blunt object. And given the damage I see here, she was rendered unconscious.”

“Would the blow have led to her death?” Macy asked.

“Not likely.”

“Any other injuries?” Nevada asked.

“She did have several fractures on the fingers of her right hand,” Dr. Squibb said. “They appear to be defensive wounds.”

“She fought back,” Macy said.

“I would concur.” Dr. Squibb lifted up a long flat bone. “This was her sternum.”

Macy studied the bone closer. “Is that a hairline fracture?”

“It is,” the doctor said.

“What would cause that?” Macy asked.

“It’s consistent with a fall, blow to the chest, or even CPR.”

“CPR? He tried to save her?” Nevada asked.

“Possibly,” Dr. Squibb said. “Perhaps he strangled her and panicked.”

“Or maybe he tried to revive her so they could keep playing,” Macy said.

“God, I hope you’re wrong,” Nevada said. “No kid deserves to die like this.”

Anger and sadness strengthened Macy’s drive to solve this case as she laid her hand on the top of the skull. “Tobi, your dad said he loves you.”

As she pulled back her hand, a heavy silence settled in the room. The doctor carefully covered Tobi’s bones and then closed the drawer.



After Macy and Nevada left the medical examiner’s portion of the building, they crossed the lobby to the forensic side. Macy felt a bit like a wimp pushing the elevator button instead of taking the stairs to the third floor. However, she needed to be practical. The less mileage on the leg meant the farther she could go. This wasn’t about her proving her stamina. It was about catching a killer. Nevada, to his credit, didn’t make a comment.