"Owen, it seems as if Jenna fled through the field from the opposite side. She might have been trying to run away from the killer," May said. "While Andy is doing the preliminary work on her body, shall we see if we can look for any footprints or other evidence?"
"Sure."
They headed into the field, with May pushing the corn carefully aside, not wanting to accidentally erase any important evidence.
But as they stepped carefully through the field, she saw that there was going to be no footprints visible. The ground was too hard and well-trodden. Too many feet had walked along these paths, which were lined with old corn leaves, leaving no place for a footprint to be seen in the soil. And between the paths, in the corn itself — well, there were simply too many places to look. It was a huge field, covering a few acres. There was no way they could walk the entire length and breadth of it, looking for traces of prints that might or might not belong to the killer, because farm workers would also be walking these rows and tending the corn.
"I don't think we're going to pick up anything here," Owen said reluctantly, after they’d walked a couple hundred yards without any success.
"I agree with that," May said. "Let’s head back and talk to Andy. Sheriff Jack said there was a similar murder a day or two ago, in the north. He reviewed the crime stats yesterday while we were on that takedown. Andy might know about that."
They walked back to the crime scene, their feet crunching the crisp leaves and dry soil.
"What have you found so far, Andy? Do you know what the approximate time of death was?" May asked, hoping for a clearer picture of when this murder had occurred. From now on, she knew, every piece of evidence they could get might be important in catching this killer.
"I would think it occurred in the early evening," Andy said. "We might be able to confirm more accurately in the postmortem, but she's been dead for probably twelve hours."
May nodded. That would fit with an early evening walk.
"And the cause of death?" she asked.
"A direct strike to the heart with a sharp blade. A forceful, accurate blow. She would have died instantly," Andy said, sounding sad.
"It looks like it was a knife?"
Andy shrugged. "It could have been a knife. A dagger of some sort, perhaps. It's a deep wound, made by a long blade. Again, I might be able to pick up more detail in the postmortem."
"Andy, do you know if there was a similar murder in the past two days? Sheriff Jack was worried that this might be the start of a serial," May said.
Andy nodded. "I've only just got back on duty. I was off work the past two days, traveling to attend a family birthday. But I heard about another recent stabbing that sounded worryingly similar."
May glanced at Owen, her lips tight. Sheriff Jack's instinct was seldom wrong.
"The pathologists at the county coroner's office will have done that postmortem, and it will probably be quicker if you take a drive there and ask them. Dr. Edgar will have handled that, and she's on duty this morning."
"We'll do that now," May agreed.
There seemed to be nothing more, right now, that they could learn from this remote crime scene. But the urgency now was to find out if this was the start of a new spate of serial crimes.
The body at the county coroner's might hold answers, May hoped, as she and Owen headed for their cars.
CHAPTER FOUR
Twenty minutes later, May and Owen arrived at the county coroner's office. Here, May knew, they urgently needed to get answers from Dr. Edgar about the other recent murder victim.
The potential threat of another serial killer got her spine prickling with goose bumps. Since being promoted to deputy, she'd had to deal with a spate of murders and crimes that had tested her limits.
It was small comfort that, as her FBI agent sister Kerry had told her, crime in small towns was becoming more prevalent, and the FBI was seeing a spike in serial cases in smaller communities.
So, May knew it wasn't her fault. It wasn't through any failure of policing. It was simply a worsening trend that they were definitely picking up, right here in supposedly peaceful Tamarack County.
She climbed out of her car and Owen climbed out of his. The county coroner's office was set between the downtown area and the industrial area in Chestnut Hill. It was an official looking building, grim and square, which May thought suited its function, even though someone had tried to soften its look by placing small planters at the entrance.
Now, the planters were full of greenery and flowers. May glanced at them as she headed inside, but barely noticed them. Her mind was focused on what she needed to ask the pathologist who had handled the recent similar crime.
"Is Dr. Edgar available?" she asked the receptionist.
"She's doing an autopsy at the moment, but she should be finished in any minute," the receptionist replied. She was an older woman, with a kind face and gray hair wound in a bun.
"We need to speak to her urgently. Can we wait?" May asked.
The receptionist hesitated, her face shadowed with concern. Then she nodded. "I'll tell her you're waiting, Deputy."
May and Owen sat down on the steel chairs near the reception area.
"I'm going to check up on the recent crimes," May said to Owen in a low voice. She needed to try and pinpoint which similar crime it was.
Quickly, she accessed the database from her phone and scrolled through.
Since Tamarack County was not a murder hotspot — despite what May sometimes feared — it didn't take long for her to find the relevant crime report.
"Here it is," May said. "Two days ago, in the early morning, a woman called Hayley Meakin was found dead. She had been walking out in the fields near her home. The cause of death was a stab wound in the heart."
May stared at Owen, feeling a frisson of dread.
"This sounds very similar," Owen said worriedly. "A stab wound, and a victim found out in the crop fields. But who could be doing this, May? What's anyone doing, hunting people down with a bladed weapon out there in the countryside?"
At that moment, there were footsteps behind them, and May stood up hurriedly. Dr. Edgar was rushing out of the postmortem room, wearing her gloves, mask, and gown.
She was a blond, round-faced woman with calm blue eyes.
"Good morning, deputies," she greeted them. "What can I do for you this morning?"
"You did the postmortem on Hayley Meakin?" May asked.
Dr. Edgar nodded. "Yes. I investigated the initial crime scene and did the postmortem on her."
May was always amazed by how calmly this young doctor coped with the demands and horrors of her job. She'd never heard her sound anything less than calm and serene.
"What were your findings?"
Dr. Edgar tilted her head, remembering.
"I was called out to the scene late in the afternoon, as it was getting dark. The body was discovered on the border of a wheat field, adjacent to an apple orchard, on Howarth's Farm. I believe the victim lived a few miles from the farm."
"Go on?" May said.
"The body was probably about ten hours old, so we're guessing she went for a run in the mid-morning, as she was wearing running shoes and a sports top. She lived alone, so there was nobody to account for her movements at her home, but I understand she had family nearby," Dr. Edgar said.