Page 24 of Pretty Broken Dolls

As if he’d read her mind, McGaven said, “She’s dressed for summer. Is that on purpose, or a way of the killer trying to send us a message?”

“I’m not sure, but it is unusual for clothes to be chosen by the killer.”

McGaven looked closer at the car and the body.

The victim was without shoes and her feet looked battered underneath all the blood. Two of her toes on her right foot appeared to be broken, judging by their odd position. They would know more when the victim was cleaned up and examined by Dr. Dean.

Katie took a pen and carefully moved the torn neckline of the top to see what appeared to be a heavily discolored area.

“Bruised?” he said.

“It looks like it.”

“Maybe that’s how the killer was able to get her into the car. Perhaps hitting her on the chest to either incapacitate or kill her. The killer could have partially drugged her… we’ll have to see what the medical examiner has to say.”

“We found something!” yelled a deputy.

Chapter Nine

Tuesday 0415 hours

The sheriff’s deputy ran up to Katie and McGaven.

“What do you have?” said Katie.

“Shoes,” he said breathlessly.

“Shoes?” she said.

“Yes, and blood.”

“Show us.”

Katie grabbed a walkie-talkie.

The deputy led them to an independent concession stand. It would have been easily missed on a general search. It was located between two buildings and in a darkened area. “Wait,” he said. He turned on his flashlight and trailed the beam along the walkway. There were bloody barefoot prints leading away from the stand. Sitting in the ordering window were black, two-inch-heeled shoes.

“Let’s get John over here to document this and collect evidence.”

“I’m on it,” said McGaven as he jogged back to the main area.

“Anything else?”

“No. As soon as I saw this I didn’t want to touch anything.”

“Okay.” Katie began to examine the area, waiting for John. There were some bloody fingerprints on the side of the food cart. She looked for any jewelry, but there was nothing.

“What have you found?” said John, as he approached with his gear and lights. One of the technicians, Rob, began taping off the area.

“Bloody footprints along the walkway, and fingerprints. Those shoes. I haven’t found anything else.”

John took his digital camera and began taking photographs for documentation.

“I’m going back to the main crime scene. I’ll let you know when we’re done with our initial assessment.”

“Ten-four,” he said with a smile.

As Katie made her way back to the victim’s location, she heard a radio communication coming from Deputy Pendleton’s radio.