Hunting Death

Chapter 25

Damien wasn't a homicide detective, so he only learned about the second body after the M.E. came to deliver the report on Kieri. He'd been right in the middle of filling out a missing person's report.

"You look like shit Kimmy." He joked, noticing the dark circles under her eyes, and her worn-out appearance overall.

"I feel like shit." She responded wincing when she caught sight of the little boy in his stroller a few feet away from where a young woman sat filling out paperwork. "Oops. I caught another body early this morning." Kimmy said in a lower tone of voice while setting the report for Kieri on top of the desk.

"Like the last one?" Damien asked with both interest and dismay.

Kimmy nodded. "I think she might have been a dancer."

Damien's stomach churned, his heart sank, he turned and looked at the woman and the little boy. Kimmy seemed to understand.

"Are they here filing a missing person's report?"

"Yeah. That's Marissa, the babysitter. She says the boy's mother never came home from work last night, a dancer at Club Good Times. I was getting ready to head over there as soon as we figured out what to do with the boy. Looks like I'll need to call social services after all."

Kimmy grimaced, "Did they give you a picture?"

Damien nodded, pulling the picture out from underneath the statement he'd been writing up, and handing it over.

"That's my Jane Doe alright."

With a sigh, Damien stood and walked over to the young babysitter, Kimmy looked on, her heart breaking when the young woman slumped in her chair, burying her face in her hands while she began to cry, the sound ringing loudly throughout the bullpen, and drawing several of the other officer's attention.

"You're sure?" She sobbed.

Damien shook his head. "The M.E. confirmed it, but since her next of kin is in Miami, and you're listed as her emergency contact, I'm going to need you to formally identify the body for me."

Marissa looked at Joey, who sat peacefully in his stroller and looked around all wide-eyed clutching a tattered teddy bear to his chest. "What's going to happen to Joey?"

"We'll have to get a hold of the boy's father, but until then, the state will find a family to take care of him."

"Oh God, I can't believe this."

"Let me know when you're ready to view the body."

Marissa nodded, pulling Joey and his stroller closer to her, whether to comfort herself or the boy, Damien didn't think it mattered, they'd both need it.

Stopping for a second to talk to another officer to inform them of the situation, and directing them to see to Marissa and contact social services, Damien walked back to Kimmy, who sat at his desk, waiting patiently, and asked her to take him to the latest victim.

"This one isn't quite like the other." She said on the way to the morgue.

"How so?"

"I found multiple ligature marks, so it looks like she'd been restrained, probably to a table or something, but no pre-mortem wounds like the first time."

"They didn't torture her?"

"No. Whoever did this killed her quickly, I doubt if she felt it at all."

"Okay, so what about it is the same?"

"Well, if you had read over my report on the Krycek woman, you'd know that the damage to the throat appears to be animal related trauma."