Tainted Mind (31 page)

With caution, she made her way down the hill—looking carefully, every step of the way, for evidence or anything that might tell them something about what had happened here. When she reached the bottom, she stilled about two feet from Meghan's head and studied the area up close. Her eyes fell to Meghan's wrists, which bore the same signs of shackling, then traveled up to her elbows. Her arms were splayed in such a way that Vivi could only see the insides of her elbows and not the outsides, not the part where they had found the slivers on Rebecca. Vivi was focused on the soft skin of Meghan's inner arm, lost in thought, when she froze.

“Vivienne?” Ian called. By the worried tone of his voice, he must have sensed her changed state. She said nothing, but continued to stare, not sure if she had seen what she thought she had. And then, again, she saw it.

“Jesus,” she shouted and stepped toward the body. Kneeling down she felt for a pulse. “I think she's alive, Ian.” He was beside her in an instant, waiting for her to determine one way or the other.

When she felt the faint pulse under her fingertips, everything seemed to jump to Mach speed. As if from a distance, Vivi heard her own voice confirm the presence of a pulse. She heard Ian barking orders and together, bracing Meghan the best they could, they turned her over. A shock blanket made its way down to them. Daniel was at Vivi's side, offering assistance. Their crime scene would be shot to shit, but nothing mattered more than keeping Meghan alive.

What seemed like forever passed before an ambulance arrived. Vivi and Daniel, with help from Ian and the EMTs, moved Meghan to the gurney as gently as possible. Heedless of the fact she wasn't licensed to practice in New York, she started giving orders to the EMTs even as they rushed Meghan into the ambulance. Climbing in after them, Vivi caught one last look at Ian. His face was grim, he was pulling out his cell and he was pushing Daniel in after her. Then the doors closed, and she focused on the woman before her, praying that she could shift the delicate balance of life in the young woman's favor.

Meghan managed to stay alive during the ambulance ride. Still at her side, Vivi monitored her vitals as the EMTs unloaded her. When they entered the emergency department, nurses flocked to Meghan's side, and Vivi felt herself being pulled away. She fought to stay but slowly became aware of a hand on her arm, holding her back. She looked down at the slender fingers then up into the face of Jesse Baker, the woman she'd met just a few days before. Ian's friend.

“We have a doctor waiting for her. Ian called. Dr. Martinez is very good.”

Vivi blinked, then regained her senses. Of course she couldn't take care of Meghan. Aside from the practical issues, like not having hospital privileges, she was an ME, not an emergency doctor. She could handle herself in an emergency situation and had many times before. But with a qualified emergency doctor on hand, it made more sense for her to turn over the reins. But there was one thing she couldn't let go of. She met Jesse's gaze head on.

“Meghan may have been raped in addition to what was done to the rest of her body. She is a crime scene. Can you tell Dr. Martinez?”

Jesse seemed to regard Vivi for a moment before the import of her words sunk in. Then she nodded and turned toward the room Meghan had disappeared into, talking as she walked away. “I'll tell
Dr. Martinez, and we'll put a sexual assault nurse in there to gather and document evidence. We have the locker downstairs. We'll be sure everything is taken care of by the book.”

Vivi let out a small breath as Jesse disappeared. It was the best she could do without being in there herself. Now all she could do was wait.

“Dr. DeMarco?”

Vivi turned to find Daniel standing behind her looking shell-shocked.

“They'll do the best they can, Daniel,” Vivi told her student. She didn't know what Meghan's chances were. It hadn't looked good in the ambulance, but then again, Vivi knew Meghan was a fighter.

“I don't understand. She doesn't look a thing like the other victims. And—”

“Daniel,” she cut him off with a look of warning. No one knew they were after a serial killer and she didn't want it to get out, not like this. His eyes widened and she felt his pain. Apparently, Daniel had been spending more time than she knew with the pretty, young store owner.

“Viv, luv.” She looked up to see Nick striding toward her. Taking her somewhat aback, he pulled her into an embrace. “Ian doesn't want you alone,” he whispered in her ear.

She'd almost forgotten a killer was obsessed with
her
. With an understanding nod, she pulled away.

“Vivienne?” Jesse came back down the hallway toward them. All three stood with bated breath. “I don't have any information on her yet, they're just getting started,” she spoke as soon as she reached them. “But I made it clear what you need and they'll do their best. Believe me, they'll do whatever they can to help you investigate who did this. It may be a while, so I wanted to offer you a room to wait in. We have one that isn't being used right now.”

They all agreed and shortly she, Nick, and Daniel were ensconced in a small room that somehow managed to feel a million miles away from the hustle of the emergency room. Knowing Ian wouldn't call her, wouldn't want to interrupt her if she were working on Meghan, she pulled out her cell and dialed him.

“Is she alive?” he asked without preamble.

“For now. She made it to the hospital. Jesse made sure that everyone working on her knows to do the best they can to save her and preserve any evidence. Now we're waiting. What about her mom and son, Ian?”

“Marcus and Carly are on their way over to their house. I'm not sure why her mom didn't report her missing, since I don't think there's a day that goes by without Meghan helping her out,” Ian answered.

“I don't like the sound of that,” she said.

“Me neither, but I'm not going to invite speculation. We'll have to wait until we hear from them to know. Nick there?”

Vivi mumbled an affirmative then asked about the scene.

“There are tire tracks we're casting. Maybe a couple of boot prints, but it's hard to say how old they are. Could be from the owners. I think they might be, but we'll see.”

“Why do you think they are from the owners?” she asked.

Ian let out a deep breath. “I think whoever dumped her pulled up to the edge of the gulley, opened the doors, and tossed her out. Judging by the tire marks, that is.”

Vivi recoiled at the callousness of the image. She'd seen a lot of ugly things in her work, and for good or for bad, it still got to her. With nothing much more to report on either end, they hung up, promising to call if anything new developed.

“She doesn't look like any of the victims,” Daniel repeated. He was slumped in a chair, eyes cast down, shoulders hunched.

Vivi looked at him, then at Nick, who was watching the younger man. Nick's eyes transferred to hers, and she gave him a small nod.

“You're right, she doesn't.”

Daniel's gaze shot straight to Nick's. “Then, why her?” he demanded.

“Because he's crazy. His mind is fucked up. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who the hell knows?”

It wasn't what Daniel wanted to hear. And when his eyes shot to Vivi's, she saw the boy she met all those years ago. She wished she could fix this for him, but this was the world he was walking into. He'd already lost his sister, and while she didn't want him to get used to it—no one should get used to it—he would need to figure out how to cope. They all had to figure it out at some point.

“I'm going to get something to drink.” Daniel stood abruptly then stalked out. With a look at Nick, Vivi finally sat.

“Is this his first real case? First time he's seen a body somewhere other than the dissecting table?” he asked.

Vivi thought of the remains of Daniel's sister they'd found and shook her head. “No, but this is the first active crime scene he's been to. It doesn't help that he has a bit of tendre for Meghan.”

After that there was nothing left to do but wait. Daniel came back with his coffee, and every now and then Nick pulled out his cell. But other than that, the room was silent for close to two hours. Just as Vivi was contemplating going in search of someone, her cell rang. Glancing at the number she answered.

“Where are you?” she asked.

“Do you need me?” Ian replied.

“No, we're fine. Still waiting. No word.”

Across the line Ian was silent for a heartbeat. “I called in some assistance from the sheriff, and we're almost done with the evidence collection. I'm going to leave Marcus and Carly here to finish up and head back to the station. There are a few things I want to check into, and I need a better computer than my cell phone.”

“Sounds good. I'll give you a call when we hear something, and we can figure out where to go from there. Any news on her mom or the baby?” Vivi asked.

“Yeah, well, at least that was good news. Meghan was supposed to head down to the city for a seminar associated with her online classes. She'd arranged for a neighbor to come in and care for both her mom and the baby, which is why she wasn't reported missing,” Ian answered.

“So they're both okay?”

“They're not physically hurt, but as for okay? This is going to be rough on that family given everything else going on.” Vivi couldn't agree more and hoped that, like in a lot of small towns, the community would come together to help. But that, of course, remained to be seen.

“Let me talk to Nick.” Ian's voice interrupted her thoughts, and with a look, she handed her cell over. Nick's gaze shifted away from hers.

“Yeah…no…yeah…you have what I have…no. Yeah, of course I'm staying. We'll call before we leave.” Nick ended the call and handed Vivi's cell back without a word.

“Any interest in telling me what that was about?” she asked.

“No.” He didn't hesitate. There were a hundred and one reasons Nick might not want to talk about his conversation with the Deputy Chief of Police, but Vivi trusted Ian to tell her what she needed to when she next saw him. She sat back and looked at her watch. It was hard to believe less than two hours had passed since they'd all rushed out of the police station. She sighed.

“So you're going to take ‘no’ for an answer?” Daniel's tone was bordering on a belligerence Vivi knew was based in fear.

“Yes,” she said.

His jaw ticked. “Well, I'm not. What did Ian say? What does he have?” He directed his questions to Nick.

“Nothing that concerns you, Daniel.” Nick answered.

“If it involves this case, if it involves Meghan, it's my concern,” Daniel insisted.

Nick yawned and stretched his arms overhead before answering. Vivi thought his nonchalance was a bit overdone, even if he was trying to make a point.

“Look, Daniel, I like you. You seem like a good kid, and you're one of Viv's students, so you can't be all dumb. But this is your first rodeo, you don't get to call the shots, you don't get to demand information,” Nick said.

“Like hell—”

Daniel cut himself off when Jesse knocked on the door and entered the room. Vivi figured the woman sensed some tension, because she stopped a stride into the room and cast her eyes across all three of them before focusing in on Vivi.

“You're the only law enforcement officer officially on this case, according to Ian, so you're the one we'll talk to. What I can say to all of you is that her mother was well enough to make it here and is sitting with her now.”

“So Meghan's alive?” Daniel stood. The hope in his voice was almost painful.

Jesse inclined her head. “Alive, but in a coma. That's all I'll say. Dr. Demarco?” Jesse opened the door and gestured Vivi out, leading
her down the hall to another small room where a woman was removing her scrubs and washing up. Her head came up as they entered.

“Abigail,” Jesse said, “this is Dr. Vivienne DeMarco. She's working with Ian on trying to sort out what happened to Meghan. Dr. DeMarco, this is Dr. Abigail Martinez. I'll leave you two to talk.”

When Jesse was gone, Vivi turned to Dr. Martinez.

“Call me Abigail, please. I'd shake your hand, but, well, you'll have to forgive me,” she said as she stepped on the foot pedal and started to wash the soap off her hands and forearms. “Meghan suffered severe trauma to the head as well as an attempted strangulation. The trauma was a beating—maybe by an object, but more likely, in my opinion, by a fist—that was concentrated on her face.”

“Was she raped?” Vivi asked.

Abigail shook her head. “Surprised us, too. Given the state she was in when she arrived, I was all but certain we'd find evidence of rape. But we didn't. She's pretty banged up in a couple of other places—her left arm, both sides of her rib cage, and her lower spine.”

“Damage from the strangulation?”

“Yes, but nothing she can't recover from. Like I said, it's the head trauma we're worried about. The beating was so severe she has a broken jaw, two shattered cheekbones, and a fracture that originates at her right temple and runs up to the top of her skull. And there is significant swelling around the brain,” Abigail supplied.

She dried her hands and turned to face Vivi. “Even if she makes it, we won't know for a while if there is any permanent damage,” she added.

“And what chances are you giving her?”

Abigail's head cocked to the side. “I wouldn't tell her family this, but maybe thirty percent. As you know, these first few days will tell us a lot about her ability to recover from the injuries, but we'll still have to wait to see if she comes out of the coma.”

Vivi considered what she was hearing, and for more than the obvious reasons, she didn't like the sound of it. In front of her, Abigail Martinez must have been thinking along the same lines as she let out a deep sigh.

“Whoever did this to her had a lot of rage. Maybe at all women, but I'd bet my retirement there was something specific about Meghan.”
She paused, then shrugged, and shook her head. “I'm not a psychologist, but if you ask me, anytime a person's face is attacked the way Meghan's was, there's got to be some underlying psychosis there.”

Vivi was a psychologist and couldn't agree more. So, after making arrangements to collect additional evidence from Meghan and gather the evidence already collected by Abigail and her team, Vivi thanked the doctor and made her way toward Meghan's room.