Where the Blame Lies(11)

He peered down at the magnification of the scratches. A few of the letters were so slight as to be unreadable, as if the blade had pressed harder in some spots than in others. He read the partial words, filling in the rest from memory, and his blood ran cold. “Casus belli?”

Cathlyn nodded. “Latin. It means—"

“Where the blame lies,” Zach murmured, shock rolling through him.

Cathlyn nodded, her lips set in a grim line. Jimmy furrowed his brow, looking back and forth between them. “Where have I heard that before?”

“The Josie Stratton case we were talking about last night.”

Jimmy looked mildly shocked. “You don’t say. But wait, that suspect was caught. Case closed.”

Cathlyn nodded. “I remembered the phrase immediately from that case and looked it up this morning. The information about the words carved into her skin was printed in the paper, leaked by someone.”

Most likely a member of the UC Medical Center staff, talking to any one of the reporters milling around outside the hospital. People liked to gossip, liked to talk about what they were privy to, especially when the details were lurid and the other person’s reaction would likely be shock and horror. Zach vaguely remembered his boss being pissed about the leak. But he was a rookie back then, trying to learn his beat and how to be a good cop. Once his post at the hospital had been done, he’d put Josie Stratton from his mind—or tried to anyway. As far as details though? He hadn’t had them then, and he didn’t have them now.

“So if the perp on that one committed suicide, what is this? A copycat?”

Zach gritted his teeth. They couldn’t jump the gun, but why else would someone carve the exact same phrase into the exact same spot on his victim’s skin? Then there were the chains . . . the abandoned location . . . “It’s gotta be. He’s recreating the crime committed nine years ago against Josie Stratton.” Zach’s heart picked up in speed for some reason he couldn’t completely articulate. But why? Why now?

Zach looked back to Cathlyn, who was placing the pictures back in the open file folder on her table. “Were you able to pinpoint cause of death?”

“Cardiac arrhythmia caused by starvation. I found both tissue degradation and severe electrolyte imbalances.”

“Jesus,” Jimmy muttered as Zach let out a slow exhale. “How the fuck long does it take a person to starve to death?”

“Anywhere from three to six weeks.”

“Wouldn’t you dehydrate much more quickly than that?” Jimmy asked.

Cathlyn nodded. “Yes, but this girl didn’t. She was hydrated. For whatever reason, the perpetrator gave her water, but no food.”

“Did he want her to suffer longer?” Zach muttered, feeling sickened by the thought of anyone torturing another human being to that extent. There was a particular cruelty to the length of time it took to starve a person until their heart gave out. He remembered what he’d read about the Josie Stratton case on the computer the night before. She’d been deprived of food too. But apparently the perpetrator had given her enough to sustain a pregnancy.

“That’s for you gentlemen to find out,” Cathlyn said. “And please do, because the person who did this to her is walking our streets right this minute. This girl was not only mutilated and starved to death, she was sexually assaulted as well. I found evidence of vaginal tearing.”

“Semen?” Jimmy asked.

Cathlyn shook her head. “No, but there was powder residue from a condom.”

“That’s different than the Josie Stratton case,” Zach said.

Cathlyn worried her lip for a moment, nodding. “Yes, Josie Stratton became pregnant, didn’t she?” She sighed, shaking her head. “Maybe this perpetrator learned from his predecessor. Don’t knock up your victims. It leaves far too much DNA behind in the form of a child. Then again, that baby was never found, was he?” Cathlyn sighed again, the sound of someone who was used to having to attempt to move past the unthinkable, categorize the horrific. He supposed all three of them could relate.

“I do have one more thing though, and hopefully this will help ID her.” Cathlyn moved to the bottom of the table where she picked what was left of the girl’s foot up. “She has a tattoo on her ankle. Very small, and almost completely destroyed by the decomposition, but it appears to be a daisy.”

Zach looked at Jimmy. “I don’t recall any of the women we pulled from the missing persons list having a daisy tattoo on her ankle. Do you?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, but she could have gotten it right before she went missing. It’s usually parents who give the details. Maybe they didn’t know.”

“All right, boys. I’ve gotta get back to work. You go do what you need to do. I’ll call you if I find anything else of relevance,” Cathlyn said.

Zach nodded. “Thanks.” She gave them both a small salute. They turned and left the exam room, Zach taking in a few deep breaths when they entered the hallway leading to the elevator. He hated the smell this place would leave lingering in his nose the rest of the day, despite the pungent peppermint oil he’d applied. It made him vaguely nauseated.

“Hey listen,” Zach said to Jimmy when they made it the parking lot. “Since we drove here separately, you want to visit the contacts of the missing persons we pulled while I go through the files of the Josie Stratton case? See if I can pull up any other similarities?”