Page 46 of Cold, Cold Bones

DOD:

COD: suicide (?)/ligature strangulation by hanging

Body type: full corpse/mummified

Body location: Lake Norman State Park

Postmortem body treatment: none

NOK:

I had nothing else.

Again, I considered the grid. Kwalwasser and Sanchez lived far apart, on many levels. It was unlikely their paths had ever crossed. Kwalwasser died of natural causes. Sanchez was murdered. Sure, the two corpses were missing body parts, but what were the chances both were targeted by the same person? And why include the hanging man? He’d committed suicide. And was missing nothing.

Yet my subconscious kept hinting these cases were linked. Or was I misreading the messages?

I vowed to finish my analysis on the mummified remains. And to view the original police file and scene photos from Happy Trails.

Call Henry?

Why not? Slidell was obviously preoccupied.

She answered after three rings. “Detective Henry.”

“Dr. Brennan, here.”

“Oh.” Flustered? “Sorry to go dark on you. I’m OOT.”

“Hope it’s somewhere nice.” Assuming she meant out of town.

“We got a credible tip on a terrorist threat. LT sent me to Asheville.”

“Lots of snow up there?”

“Shitbuckets.”

“Listen, I’d like to get a look at the hard copy and scene pics from a 2019 homicide.”

“An open case?”

“Yes. Sanchez, Miguel. Street name Scrappy.” I gave her the police file number.

“Never hurts to take another look, eh? I’ll call in, let them know what you want. By the way, I haven’t forgotten your eyeball.”

“Slidell briefed you on Kwalwasser?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Anything new on your end?”

“A preference for burial over cremation.”

“Stay on it. I caught a suicide that’ll keep me busy for a while.”

Ten minutes later the house phone rang.

The voice was one I’d never expected to hear again.