Jake called Miller over, instructing him to retrieve the department-issued tactical knife from the patrol car.While they waited, Jenna circled the hanging form, studying it from all angles.The craftsmanship was crude but deliberate—someone had taken time with this macabre display.The rope was standard hardware store variety, tied in a simple but effective knot to a branch about six feet above the ground.The burlap bag itself appeared to be industrial-sized, the kind used for landscaping materials or large agricultural products.
Landscaping.The word registered with a jolt.Was there a connection to Keir's business?
As they waited, Jake used his cellphone to take photos from every angle.Then Miller returned with the knife, and they all put on their gloves.Jake climbed onto a nearby stump to reach higher, sawing through the rope while Miller and Jenna positioned themselves below to catch the thing when it fell.
“Easy,” Jenna cautioned as the rope frayed.“We need to preserve whatever evidence is here.”
With a final slice, the rope gave way.The bag dropped, and Jenna and Miller staggered under its weight—definitely human-sized, definitely containing something solid.They lowered it carefully to the ground.
Jenna knelt beside the grotesque creation, steeling herself as Jake again documented the scene from multiple angles, his expression grim behind the camera.When he'd finished, Jenna used the knife to carefully cut through the coarse burlap material, starting at what would be the “belly” of the wolf.
Just like Piper said,Jenna thought.
The fabric parted to reveal a glimpse of pale skin and dark fabric.Jenna cut further, working methodically to open the bag without disturbing the contents more than necessary.As more of the opening widened, there was no mistaking what they'd found.
Claudia Kingsley lay curled inside, her body contorted to fit the confines of the bag.Her eyes were closed, her skin pallid with the unmistakable gray undertone of death.She was fully dressed in what appeared to be work clothes—a modest blouse and skirt that had probably been chosen for a day of teaching.There was no immediately obvious wound, no blood soaking her clothing.
Jenna sat back on her heels.“It's Claudia,” she confirmed unnecessarily.“Call it in.We need Dr.Stark and her team out here right away.Full crime scene protocol.”
Jake stepped away to make the call.Miller, Ramirez, and Delgado returned to their previous positions, securing the area.Alone for a moment with the victim, Jenna studied Claudia's face.In death, she looked younger somehow, the lines of worry erased from around her eyes and mouth.Whatever had happened to her, Jenna would find out.
CHAPTER FOUR
Jenna stood watching as the county coroner, Dr.Melissa Stark, knelt beside Claudia Kingsley's body, anxious to hear if she could offer any explanation for this woman’s death or any clue as to why her body was found hanging in a tree—or why somebody had gone to the trouble of creating the wolf image to hold her there.
Around them, the scene pulsed with activity—officers securing the perimeter with yellow tape, technicians collecting samples.Photographers were documenting the body and the entire area.Jake was conferring with them, sharing images he’d taken of the burlap wolf when it was hanging and when it was taken down and cut open, revealing the victim inside.
Claudia lay on her back now, arms at her sides.Her skin had taken on the waxy pallor of recent death, but her face appeared serene, almost peaceful—a stark contrast to the violent circumstances Jenna suspected had brought her here.
A few minutes later, Jake approached Jenna.“Forensics is finishing up with the surrounding area,” he said, keeping his voice low.“Nothing obvious yet, but they're being thorough.I’ve turned over the photos I took.”
She gestured for him to step away from the immediate vicinity of Dr.Stark's work.When they were out of earshot of the nearest officer, she turned to face him.
“I want to tell you about something that Piper said this morning,” she said.“About vultures and a wolf's belly.”
“Another vision?”
“Yes.She was just fine after she saw Dr.White, but on the way home she suddenly became agitated and started talking about a wolf out hunting.”
“The timing of that is …”
“Yeah, I know.She also said she saw vultures circling, and that they would show us where the wolf was.Then she told me, ‘You have to cut open his belly.’”
Jake glanced back at the papier-mâché wolf's head and burlap bag that still lay on the ground.“Sure sounds like it must be connected to this.”
“And that’s a problem.Piper's been doing so well with Dr.White.I'm worried that whatever is happening here could set back her recovery.”
“You told me that Dr.White said these things take time.Years, even.”
“I know.But Piper's obviously sensitive to...”Jenna hesitated.“To things most people aren't.If she's picking up on this—whatever this is—it could overwhelm her.”
Jake stepped closer, lowering his voice further.“Are you thinking what I'm thinking?That we might have another serial killer on our hands?”
“I don't want to jump to conclusions,” she said carefully, “but this is certainly ...staged.And if the killer is sending a message, we’ve seen that kind of thing in serials before.”
“The wolf's belly,” Jake murmured.“Could be symbolic.Or literal, in some twisted way.It’s like the killer is trying to tell us some sort of story.”
“I agree.And we need to be careful about how much of this gets out.The last thing Trentville needs is panic over another—”