Page 38 of Finding English

Arriving at the scene, he saw the swarm of cops in the quiet suburban neighborhood, as well as the ME’s van where Calder stood with Cruz.

“Cruz, Calder.” Henry greeted them solemnly hating that this was so close to home.

“Henry.”

“Any clear indication on the cause of death?”

“Can’t confirm yet but looks like a similar set up to Cassie parents. Husband is dead in the chair, wife spread-eagled on the floor covered in scarves. Husband had both his legs and arms broken, and his tongue cut out. Looks like he may have choked on the blood and drowned. The wife was beaten so badly I wouldn’t mind betting her internal organs are shredded. But her face is clear of any marks, which is why we could ID them.”

“He wanted us, or more importantly Cassie, to know the identity of the woman he’d killed.”

“That’s what we think.”

“Why is he targeting her so obsessively and why now?”

Cruz shrugged. “My guess is she’s unfinished business. She’s the only account we have of anyone getting away alive and from what our profilers are saying, he won’t allow that.”

“Hmm. Doesn’t answer the why now, though.”

Cruz put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head. “No, but we’re moving forward. We’ll catch him, Sax.”

Henry’s lips twitched at the nickname. “I know we will.”

“Here.” Calder handed him boot covers and gloves. “Let’s walk the scene, see if you spot anything we may have missed.”

“Doubt that, but happy to lend my eyes.”

Cruz quirked a brow. “None of us are infallible.”

“True.”

Henry donned the protective clothing he needed to ensure he didn’t contaminate the scene and followed Cruz.

The house was a small, one-story property with lots of knickknacks and pictures of family all over the walls and surfaces. Nearly every one of them was covered in blood spatter. The amount of blood would’ve given him a clue to the level of violence inflicted in the couple, even if Calder hadn’t warned him. His heart ached for the family members who would have to hear about this in the coming hours. The grief they’d suffer knowing their loved ones were gone would be compounded by the pain from the way they’d died.

Nobody wanted this for those they loved, they’d have wanted a peaceful death in their sleep for this sweet old couple who had loved their children and grandchildren. Sadly, he couldn’t give them that, but they could offer them the knowledge that the man responsible wouldn’t get away. In every investigation he’d been part of, that had always been his silent vow. To make a family’s pain a fraction easier by finding the perpetrator.

“This seems more violent than the others.” Henry walked past the crime techs as they swabbed and searched for any clues that would help them find and convict Bunce.

“It is. It looks like he’s escalating fast. Last time we saw him here, his kills were six months apart, now we’re talking weeks.”

“Call me when Calder does the autopsy. I’d like to be there.”

Cruz nodded as they walked outside. The daylight was coming up with the sun, the beauty of the sky heralding a bright new day for some and sadness for others. Henry took a cleansing breath to clear the stink of death from his nose, even though a shower was the only thing that would do that.

“Yeah, okay. Calder isn’t going to get to them until tomorrow as he has two more on today for the drug users. Two high schoolers that had no history of previous drug use.”

Henry shook his head, hating that young kids were dying because some greedy asshole wanted to lap it up with a fancy fucking house.

“Shout if I can help in any way.”

“This is some vacation you’re on.”

Henry smirked. “Yeah, but I met Cassie and Michaela, and that’s worth everything.”

Cruz smiled. “I’m pleased for you, Sax. Cassie is a great girl, and you two seem happy.”

“We are. We clicked, and it feels like the most natural thing in the world to be with her.”