"As I said earlier, I just stopped by to check on the situation." He shrugged then, as though a brotherly visit should be commonplace. "I'll leave you to your work." His gaze sharpened on Harmony. "I would definitely get the GPS fixed on the Raider if I were you. We wouldn't want any complications to arise from that."
He nodded mockingly before lifting his hands from his pockets and striding to the door. Harmony didn't bother to bid him farewell as he left the room, but she kept her eye on him until the door closed behind his broad back.
"One of these days, I'm going to kick him out of my office," Lance mused as he released her arm. "Now, what's the problem with Davy?"
"We need to go to Pinon." She waved the question about the mechanic away. "I need to see the crime scene."
Lance breathed out roughly. "I've already thought of that. I'll contact Sheriff Grasse and inform her we're heading that way."
"This won't have been a coincidence, Jonas knows that," she finally pointed out. The implications of the murder had hit her the moment Jonas informed them of it. "Someone suspects who I am."
"Then we'll just have to figure out who it is," his voice rasped as it lowered, his drowsy, hungry gaze eating her up. "Go get your report written up while I get hold of Sheriff Grasse and then we'll head to Pinon. I'd like to get back before it gets too late." _______
Sheriff Grasse was a forty-something go-getter with a tough attitude and kind hazel eyes. Crow's-feet crinkled at the corners of her eyes, and laugh lines indented the sides of her lips. But she was all business when Harmony and Lance pulled in behind the small cement building that housed Drink Em Up, a small bar just inside the county line. She stepped from her dark blue Raider, pulling her glasses from her eyes as she leaned against the door.
"Lance, it's good to see you again." Her smile was friendly as they stepped toward her.
"Katie, how's Ben and the kids?" Lance smiled back, his familiarity with her obvious. Harmony stood silently as they exchanged pleasantries, maintaining her impatience in the face of social niceties. This was another plus on the side of the assassin. Death had never asked a mark if the kids were doing well.
"Katie, meet Harmony Lancaster, she's on temporary assignment from the Bureau of Breed Affairs." Lance finally introduced them. "Harmony, Katie Grasse, Otero County sheriff."
Harmony nodded coolly. "Can I see the crime scene now?" she asked quietly. Sheriff Grasse's eyes gleamed in amusement.
"She reminds me of that Wyatt fellow, Lance," she drawled. "All business. Is it a Breed thing?"
"It's a Breed thing," Harmony answered for him. "And Jonas is a pu**ycat. You just have to know how to handle him."
The other woman blinked at her in surprise before a spurt of laughter left her lips.
"Go on then." She shrugged. "The investigation unit has already been over it. I doubt there's much left."
Harmony moved away from Lance and Sheriff Grasse, following the scent of blood to the dumpster just behind the door.
"Did you bring the pictures of the crime scene?" She knew Lance had requested them. Bending her knees, she stooped by the bloody stain on the blacktop, calculating the angle and depth of the wound based on what she saw there.
"Here you go." The file was passed to her with a firm snap. Opening the manila folder, Harmony stared at the corpse. Plain features, a sharp nose, and his throat had definitely been cut. The angle was wrong for one of her kills though. Something Jonas should have noticed.
"Your killer was taller than the deceased," she murmured. "How tall was the victim?"
"Six feet." The Otero sheriff knelt beside her. "How can you tell?"
"The angle of the cut." She ran her nail over the wound. "According to the height of the killer to the victim, the wounds will be different. The depth of the cut at pressure points is significant. If the bartender was six feet, then your killer was a few inches taller. Perhaps six-three or -four."
"The coroner is still examining the body, but your Bureau director went over it as well. He didn't mention this," Grasse commented.
"He doesn't know knives like I do." Harmony handed the file back to her. "I would guess the weapon was a Special Forces K-bar."
The killer could in fact be a Breed. Or a Council soldier. Special training protocols were developed for the Breeds simply to be able to identify their kills.
Harmony pulled a pair of latex gloves from her pocket and snapped one on before reaching down. She ran her fingers over the bloodstain before lifting them to her nose. The putrid scent of old blood was all she found.
Grimacing, she stood to her feet before narrowing her eyes on the stain.
"Did the crime unit find any evidence?"
"Nothing. Other than the blood and the body, we don't have jack." The sheriff sighed.
"We were hoping having a Breed check it out would give us a lead." Harmony shook her head. Whoever had made the kill had been careful, and especially careful to use her M.O.
"It's similar to several kills across the States in the past few years," Grasse pointed out then. "Suspected molesters that law enforcement officials hadn't been able to gather proof against. We could have a serial vigilante on our hands."
Or a copycat with an agenda.
Harmony lifted her eyes to Lance then, watching his head tilt, concentrating. What was he thinking? At times she could have sworn he was hearing something no one else could.
"This one is different," she finally answered. "The angle of the cut, the depth and the M.O. It's a copycat."
Grasse's eyes narrowed as Lance shot her a warning look.
"Like I said, I know knives." Harmony shrugged. "And I study the kills made with knives. Trust me, it's different. Your coroner will verify that if he cares to study the other killings closely. I don't know what you have here, but it's not a vigilante killing." It looked more like a setup.
Grasse breathed out tiredly. "The coroner has already begun going over the other killings at Director Wyatt's request. He was the one who suggested the possibility." Why would Jonas do that?
Harmony kept her head down, her eyes on the darker stain as she fought to make sense of the sheriff's comment.