Deep Trauma

“Any thoughts, Joe?” Riley asked. “You’ve seen enough of these cases to have an idea on what kind of person we’re looking for.”

“Looking for?” Joe’s eyebrows flew up, so did his voice. “I don’t have any objections to the mental chess you all are playing, but this is a brutal, cold-blooded murderer we’re talking about. I sure as hell hope you’re not ‘looking for’ anyone like that, Rye.”

Riley flinched, remembering just how terrified she’d been the night she’d seen the giant in the pickup spying on her. Nor had she forgotten what Bella had said about the possibility he was a foot soldier working for a psychopathic mobster.

Joe was right, of course, but they were on a roll now. And if there was anything Riley could do to shed light on who had done such awful things, she wouldn’t be stopped. She hadn’t known Lexi, but she felt a sense of connection to Clive after having talked with his mother earlier that day. And what had happened to Sofia and her baby was profoundly disturbing. Riley knew she was in far too deep to get herself out, even if Joe was making perfect sense.

“Let me rephrase that, Joe. What sort of person do you think the detectives should be looking for?”

“Well, I have no real experience in profiling killers, but I can say we’re talking about someone relatively strong—male, most likely. I don’t get the sense it’s more than one person who’s calling the shots. The crimes are just too cookie cutter. This is someone who sticks to the script. Get more than one person involved and the MO usually changes a little as the crimes continue.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Bella noted. “I’d agree with all of that. Each of the victims was physically small, easily handled by one strong person, and they all met the same bizarre fate.”

“Bella, you said you had a chance to go through Sofia’s things this week. Any leads there?” Riley probed.

“So, as we’ve already figured, Sofia comes from money. The few items she had with her were all high-end designer brands. Not the typical homeless teen fare. I came across a small diamond bracelet in her carrying case. I could tell it was real, so I took it to a local appraiser. It’s worth almost ten grand. What kid has something like that on her?”

“Who’s to say it was hers?” Cedrick frowned. “Couldn’t it have been stolen?”

Holly immediately came to Sofia’s defense. “She wasn’t like that, Cedrick—she was very naive. I don’t think she would have had the nerve to steal anything.”

“Holly’s right. She didn’t fit that profile.” Bella rested her head on Holly’s shoulder, eyes tearing up. “Sofia was just a scared little girl. I went through her artwork too. Now that’s a different story. Dark—very dark,” Bella pulled out her phone. “Fortunately, I was able to get photos of some of her sketches before the detectives showed up yesterday. They impounded everything from her room.”

“These are beautiful,” Riley said, tilting Bella’s phone in her hand and flipping through several photos. Joe peered over her shoulder, observing them as well. “You’re right, Bella. These are sad, but the girl had talent. Most of these could make it to galleries.”

“That one is disturbing,” Joe said, reaching over and touching the screen to enlarge the picture. The sketch on white paper looked like it had been drawn in black pencil. It was Sofia’s self-portrait. In the drawing—a close-up of the girl’s face—she was crying, and in the reflection of a tear rolling off her lashes was the dark shape of a man with a chain hanging from his hand.

“There were several like that,” Bella said, taking her phone from Riley and flipping through a few more of the photos. “Look at this one.” She held up a picture of a small girl cowering under a four-poster bed.

“What are you thinking? Sexual abuse?” Riley looked at Bella with a pained expression.

“Well, it sure would explain a lot,” Holly interjected. “She got pregnant somehow, and I don’t think she had the confidence or maturity to be in a consensual relationship. God knows how old she was—”

“Old enough to have very expensive jewelry,” Cedrick interrupted. “Sorry if that sounded cold, but who gives a kid a ten-thousand-dollar bracelet?”

“Well, unless items like that were used as coercion. Maybe something to keep her silent.” Bella countered.

Riley turned to Holly. “Anything in Lexi’s notes on Sofia indicating abuse?”

“Couldn’t find Lexi’s notes on Sofia,” Holly said, dropping her gaze. “I have no idea what Lexi would have done with those; I went through all her locked files and found nothing from her sessions with Sofia. The detectives were very interested in locating them too. As medical records, they are protected information, so they had to go to the trouble of getting a judge involved, and they weren’t too happy this afternoon to come up empty-handed.”

Riley noticed the expression on Cedrick’s face as he listened to Holly’s explanation. His brows knit before he shifted in his seat, subtly bumping Bella’s foot with his own under the table. The girl looked at him and raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“I’ll know more about her age and the possibility of sexual abuse once the autopsy is completed,” Joe offered pensively. “I’ll get to that first thing in the morning.”