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Cyn gestured at the body "May I?" she asked politely
Hartzler gave her another toothless s room for Cyn next to the pallid corpse Hammel’s skin, which had probably been pale in life, was all but translucent in death, already dry and paper delicate, collapsing onto the bones beneath Death was death Refrigeration could only do so loves which Cyn drew on quickly before tilting the dead girl’s head to better expose her neck Two small, round wounds were visible to the left center of the throat surrounded by a considerable a Cyn wasn’t a medical expert of any kind, but even she could see that the attacker had exerted far ainst it being a vaested Hammel had been held in place while the carotid was punctured Cyn frowned So else about those wounds bothered her, but she couldn’t quite figure out what it was She filed it away for later consideration and glanced up to find Hartzler’s pale eyes watching her avidly She straightened and glanced at Eckhoff "Can I see the file, the autopsy photos?"
Dean regarded her silently, and then nodded in Hartzler’s direction Cyn heard the tech’s shuffling feet, and a folder appeared in front of her She opened it quickly, skiraphs of the many trauination to conjure the brutality of her final, terror-filled moments of life
Cyn closed the folder and said quietly "Can I see the others now, please?"
Hartzler see Patti Ha it back into the anonyain without referring to notes, he went directly to another door and pulled it open, repeating his actions of only moments earlier
"Jane Doe nuame show host
"No ID?" Cyn asked Eckhoff abruptly
He shrugged "These are street kids mostly"
"Luci said she offered to help, but no one called her"
Eckhoff flipped through the new file "This one carried no identification and no one on the scene adative" He picked up Ha his brow "Ha notaries, subcontracted to a bunch of different coerprints on file for the ID No next of kin, no one she worked with knew her socially Most of her repeat contact was by phone She kept to herself, rented an apart soht a lot"
Cyn looked up "Boyfriend? Did he report her ?"
"Nope"
"Curious" She looked down at the body of Jane Doe nuer than Haer," Hartzler confir user" He slid a hand down her ar her elbow out to reveal a rash of needle tracks
Cyn didn’t co two neat puncture wounds that matched Hammel’s almost exactly "Same MO on this one?"
"Not exactly," Eckhoff responded "No blunt trauure the assailant learned from the first attack and did it cleaner this tiuination, pure and sih, no need to subdue her before the attack"
"Uh, huh Next"
They went down the list, one after the other, five young wo with Patti Hairl Luci had known from the shelter, listed only as Carlene Doe Hammel was the oldest, the only one who’d been struck first and the only one not living on the street The others followed the same pattern as Jane Doe nus or alcohol, and bled out through the neck Cyn pulled the sheet over Carlene’s face and nodded an okay for Hartzler to return the body
He did so with s the unit door with a reverential flourish, before fixing those pale eyes of his on her expectantly Cyn avoided his stare unco notes on a sed out of her backpack, wanting to remember as much information as she could fro and was shoving the tablet back into her backpack when Eckhoff’s phone went off It was a discordant jangle in the otherwise silent ave her a skeptical look and then stepped into the hallway, his voice drifting back through the closed doors Cyn shuffled uncertainly, unhappy that courtesy left her stuck in the ue until Eckhoff finished his call
"I knoho you are" Hartzler’s thin voice was fevered with e an automatic step back when she realized how close he’d come to her "What?"
"I knoho you are," he repeated, staring "You’re the investigator The one they trust"
She didn’t have to ask who they were "I’m sorry, Mr Hartzler--"
"It’s okay You can rely on fully in Eckhoff’s direction "Are you working for the I can do to help?"
"Uh, thanks, but no I’m not really--"
"Of course, of course I understand It’s difficult for them, I’m sure One of their own" He slipped a folded piece of paper into her pocket "If--" HisEckhoff’s return