Breach of Peace (The Lawful Times #0.5)(6)

That was the damned irony: when these two worked together, the results were amazing.

“Ah, yes,” Samuel replied. “Ladies’ shoes hardly make for secure footing.” Samuel leaned back in his own chair as he put together the rest of the scene. “She lands from the fall and snaps one or both of her legs. Unable to get up, she desperately tries to drag herself to the door. Whoever is chasing her catches up, breaks her neck, and begins the mutilation.”

Chapman furrowed his brow. “What makes you think the neck was first?”

Samuel leaned forward. The fact he had caught something Chapman missed brought the light of competition back into his eye. “One: it fits a pattern. The two guests, the men found in bed together, were killed quickly. The little boy outside killed with rapid stabs to the back. That alone would lead me to believe the girl was as well, but on top of that, point two: the blood on her is wrong.”

Khlid kicked in, “The gore is all localized, Chapman. She wasn’t fighting when they tore her apart. The blood smears lead up to a relatively clean site. How did you miss that?”

Chapman let out a grunt and said, “I was just getting there when the smell of your husband interrupted my cogitations. Overwhelming everyone with your cologne is not a substitute for bathing, did you know that, Samuel?”

Samuel gritted his teeth. “I've been on the road.”

“Oh, you’ve been gone?” Chapman stood. “Well, we have a manor to investigate. How about you two take the upstairs and I’ll take the cellar. Meet in the middle, about, I don’t know…” He rolled back his sleeve, consulting a non-existent watch. “Lunchtime?”

As Chapman had risen, his coat opened just enough for Khlid to notice the holster at his hip, empty. Samuel rolled his eyes and began to walk from the room. Khlid grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Samuel looked at her, confused, but Khlid’s eyes were fastened to Chapman. She wasn’t sure how, but she knew she was about to catch him in a lie.

“Why is your coat torn, Chapman?”

Chapman paused imperceptibly before saying, “Ripped it last night in a chase. Horrible timing, really. The bastard got away and everything.”

Khlid held his gaze as she stepped forward. “It must have been a remarkably fast suspect, Chap.” She gave him a sickly-sweet grin. “Everyone knows you’re the fastest one on the force.”

“Hm.” Chapman was always ready with a retort, yet he paused. “Guess he must have been.”

“Hm,” Khlid said, and took her husband forcefully by the arm, all but marching him out of the room.





2





The Madness





The rest of the house was like a museum of gore and death: bits and pieces of the victims had been left on display for Khlid, Samuel, and Chapman to find and examine. If the two children had been left as a signal flag, then the matriarch and patriarch of the family were what they signaled.

The wife was found in the master bedroom, her arms and legs bound to the canopy bed, each limb now bent in a stomach-turning fashion. Naked, skinned, her insides distributed across the room. Her heart lay on the dresser in a pool of blood. Her femur had been roughly torn off and left on the floor. As with the other victims Khlid had seen so far, there was surprisingly little blood. She had been dead before they really got to work on her.

A particular blood stain on the pillow caught Khlid’s eye. She leaned in close to peer at the woman's cheek.

Samuel appeared next to her. “They haven’t gotten the cellar open yet. It appears to be locked from the inside. The first officer claims he heard movement down there. The lot of them are spooked.” Noting his wife’s preoccupation, he leaned in close to look at the same markings and stain that had caught her eye.

Samuel’s brows shot up. “Well, shit. Is that a bite mark?”

Khlid nodded. “Someone bit this woman’s face and spat the flesh out on the pillow.”

Samuel took a step back from the bed and rubbed his neck. Khlid turned from the body and gave her husband a once-over. His shoulders were tense, his brow fixed in a furrow.

“You okay?”

“I will be. Have we found any trace of the husband?”

“Well.” She pulled out her notes to add a few thoughts. “From what you’ve just told me, I’m guessing we might find him in the cellar.”

“That is what I feared.”

“Why is that?”

Samuel grinned. “Chapman is trying to get it open. If there is a panicked man down there…”

“Ah.” Khlid closed her notes. “We should get moving.”





Chapman hated when things would not open for him. He tugged on the cellar door, harder this time, but it still refused to budge. “Damn fucking thing.” Chapman looked to Rollins. “Do we have anything that goes boom?”

Behind him, Rollins let out a cough. “I don’t believe that will be necessary. May I, sir?”

Chapman stepped back, holding his arms wide. Rollins took his place, crouched down, and pulled a lock-picking set from his coat pocket. After a few seconds of trying at the keyhole, he stood up straight and let out a confused “Huh.”

“Problem?” Chapman asked.