Unholy Shepherd by Robert Christian (rooftoppers txt) 📕

the crime scene as some grand fit of inspiration. Any analytical mind could see that he had gleaned a fair bit of information from her that necessitated her presence.

“So, are you going to share what she told you with me, or am I going to have to file obstruction charges?”

Manny knew he had to be careful. Any sound-minded FBI agent wouldn’t believe what he had witnessed, but he couldn’t lie. He decided to massage the truth, for his own sake and for Maureen’s. “She had some kind of fit in her cell last night, maybe two in the morning or so. It was probably epileptic or something. She vomited pretty good. I collected some and sent it over to the county lab for comparison to the other sample from the first scene.”

“What else?”

“She starts going on about having a dream about how another kid was going to get murdered,” he continued. “Raving like a lunatic, really. It was all really bizarre. The way I figure it, if she’s involved somehow, she had to know that her accomplice was going to do this tonight. Maybe she’s a distraction. Or maybe her guilty conscience is starting to get the better of her. I don’t know. Either way, I wasn’t going to leave her in that holding cell with only Officer Collins to watch her. He’s a good kid, and will be a good cop someday, but he doesn’t have the experience right now.”

Manny cast a look at Agent Layton from the side of his eye. Though an observer would think the agent wasn’t paying attention, Manny suspected he was listening intently and scrutinizing his every word, so he decided to try to turn the focus back to the present. He wasn’t going to earn the confidence of the Feds by spouting thin theories and unfounded suppositions.

Stacey Winherst was now making her way toward them, stripping off her plastic gloves as she climbed up the slope from the crime scene. Her dark hair was tied back and her boots were covered with footies. She wore her usual expression: the corners of her mouth ever so slightly turned down.

“The firefighters left this crime scene in even better condition than the last one,” she said, speaking directly to Layton and not giving Manny a second look.

Manny rolled his eyes.

“I was able to get a very good look at the body,” she continued in her measured tone. “The flesh is all but gone, but the skeleton is in as good a shape as I can hope for. I can say with full confidence that the victim was a pre-pubescent male, no more than nine or ten. There appears to be a nick on the C1, and I was able to observe a significant amount of blood on the wood under the victim’s neck, indicating severe blood loss prior to death. As with the last body, I was able to find a pile of internal organs on a separate part of the woodpile.”

“So in other words, the same perp is responsible,” Agent Layton finished for her.

“I didn’t say that,” Dr. Winherst responded with a speed and earnestness that caught Manny completely off guard. “All I can say is that this crime scene follows the same MO as the last one.”

“Of course,” Layton replied with a subtle grin. “Is there anything else?”

“Actually, yes,” she said. “I believe I may have identified an accelerant of some kind. There was an oily substance that was found on some of the unburnt wood.”

“Do you have a sample?” Agent Layton asked. Stacey nodded. “Could you bring it over?”

Manny could hear in his voice that it wasn’t really a question. He stood quietly, half expecting Dr. Winherst to object to the handling of evidence before she had a chance to take it to her lab. To his surprise, she immediately turned over her shoulder and called to Derrick Emmsley, who was walking away toward the road with an evidence box. He changed his direction at the sound of his name and strode up to the group. Stacey pulled an extra glove out of her pocket and used it to pick up a test tube from the box.

“Go ahead and open it,” Agent Layton said coolly.

Dr. Winherst hesitated for a moment, but obeyed.

Agent Layton bent forward and sniffed the contents of the tube. He nodded to Agent Lorenzo who leaned over and sniffed as well. He then turned to Manny and indicated that he should do the same. Stacey seemed to take offense, but allowed Manny to come over nonetheless. He took a deep breath, paused, and took a second one. The odor that overwhelmed his nostrils was the smell of burnt wood and smoke, but underneath was a second smell. It was equal parts spicy and sweet. Manny was sure he’d smelled something like this before, but couldn’t place it.

“Well?” Agent Layton’s voice came through the haze of his concentration.

Manny looked up to see that the agent was looking at him, no doubt expecting his assessment. “There’s something familiar about the smell,” Manny said slowly. “I’m just not quite sure what it is.”

“I had the same thought,” Agent Layton replied before turning to Dr. Winherst. “I’d pay really close attention to this sample, Doctor. I have a notion that finding out exactly what this substance is would go a long way to helping us in this case.”

Dr. Winherst nodded, turned, placed the tube back in the box, and hurried up the hill with Derrick. Agent Layton leaned in and said something in Agent Lorenzo’s ear. She nodded and followed the doctor and her assistant at a casual distance. Layton then turned to Manny and cocked his head in the direction of the burn pile. Manny nodded and they descended the gentle slope.

“I’ve never seen Stacey Winherst submit like that,” Manny found himself saying, before he gave a thought as to whether it was appropriate.

“Well, we go back a while,” Agent Layton replied, still facing forward, eyes fixed on their destination.

“Really?” Manny was surprised.