Into the Night(69)

Macey glanced at Bowen. “Peter kept saying it was an accident.”

“What? You think the vic fell and hit her head?” His lips twisted. “Don’t buy it. He kept the skull. He was covering up his crime. He killed her.”

“And he might have killed more, right?” the doctor blurted.

Macey and Bowen both glanced back at her.

She swallowed. “I, um, I went ahead and got to work on Captain Henry Harwell. And I noticed something really interesting. Something you’ve got to see.” She put the skull back down on the exam table and hurried toward the line of storage lockers.

They weren’t in McKinley’s lab, but instead were in another space just down the hallway. When Macey had walked in, she’d seen the uniformed police officer standing in the hallway. He’d demanded to review their ID before allowing them inside.

Dr. Lopez opened the locker and pulled out the slab. She unzipped the body bag, and Macey saw Henry Harwell’s still face.

“I had him transferred in,” Dr. Lopez said. “Now look at this.” She turned his head sideways and Macey realized that the ME had shaved the hair around his wound.

“It’s exactly the same size,” Dr. Lopez said. “His wound matches the wound in the skull you gave me! Both are the exact same diameter. Both caused the exact same kind of damage, and I believe,” she added, eyes gleaming, “they were made with the exact same type of weapon.”

“A hammer,” Macey said.

The doctor nodded. “Damn straight.” She rolled back her shoulders. “So maybe you do have your killer. Your Peter Carter killed this mystery woman and Captain Harwell. He could have killed them all!” Dr. Lopez added, as her voice hitched. “Maybe Harwell was his intended target all along, but he killed the others to throw you off his scent. He wanted you to think the murders were for another reason, when all along he was just working his way up to Harwell—”

“No.” Macey’s quiet voice cut through the other woman’s tumble of words.

The ME blinked.

Macey eased out a slow breath. “I know you followed Haddox’s crimes, Dr. Lopez.”

“I studied them extensively,” she said, her eyelids flickering. “I knew about Haddox, and I’ve studied other big serials, too. There’s so much to learn from them—”

“You don’t hunt down some of the most infamous serial killers in the US because you want their deaths to be cover for you.” No, there was much more at play. Macey shared a quick look with Bowen.

He cleared his throat. “These serial killers were hidden, well hidden. They were predators at their core. It would have been very hard to catch them unaware, and Peter Carter...to go and kill them just so that he could work his way up to Henry Harwell? That would have created unnecessary risk for him.”

The ME’s gaze dropped to Harwell’s body.

And Macey’s phone rang. The shrill cry caused Dr. Lopez to jump.

“Excuse me,” Macey murmured. She backed away as she saw that Tucker’s number appeared on the screen of her phone. She exited the lab space and nodded toward the uniformed officer who still stood guard. Macey put the phone to her ear. “Tucker? Is there news?”

“Jonah Loxley is missing.”

Those were the last words she’d expected. “What?”

“There are some things...shit, there’s some stuff you need to know, okay? Listen, where are you and Bowen right now?”

“We’re at the ME’s building with Dr. Lopez.”

“Get to the police station. I’m on my way there now.”

“Tucker, what happened?”

“Jonah walked out of the museum and vanished. All I found was his busted cell phone.”

Her heart lurched in her chest. “You think he was taken by our perp?”

She heard voices in the background.

“I’ve got an APB out for him now,” Tucker said. “I’ll tell you more at the station, okay? Meet me there in twenty minutes.”

He hung up.

She heard the lab door open. Her gaze swung to find Bowen standing in the doorway. She could see the concern in his gaze. “I—I need to talk with you.” Dr. Lopez was peeking over his shoulder. Macey cleared her throat. “Dr. Lopez, please update us right away when you learn new information.” But the ME couldn’t possibly stay there all night. “Did you get your room in town settled?”

“I did. I’m heading there now.” Wearily, the doctor rubbed at the back of her neck. “I just need to crash for a while, and then I’ll be back at it. Count on me calling you the minute I have news.” She eased around Bowen, then nodded to both him and Macey. “Thank you for bringing me onto this case. Thank you for trusting me with the job.”

Macey’s hand flew out and touched the other woman’s shoulder. “No, thank you for helping us. I know that you and Dr. McKinley are friends—”

“He’s been a mentor to me,” the ME replied, and for a moment, tears gleamed in her eyes. “He’s...he’s going to be okay, right?”

“Yes.” She was certain of this. He would recover. “He spoke highly of you, Dr. Lopez. He said he trusted you to get this job done.”

Her shoulders straightened. “I will get it done.”