Dead Woman Crossing J.R. Adler (early reader chapter books txt) 📖

Kimberley rubbed her forehead as if she were trying to conjure up more details that she knew about this woman.

“The couple of times I’ve spoken to her, she seemed frazzled, tired, lonely,” Kimberley said.

Sam nodded.

“But that’s characteristic to most single moms,” Kimberley thought out loud. “But she seemed nice, and she was good with her daughter. It’s hard to believe she got wrapped up in a situation like this.”

A couple of deputies walked toward the decapitation resting site, joining Burns who had found the severed head. They spoke quietly.

“This isn’t a hen house. This is a crime scene,” Kimberley snapped. “Cordon off the area.”

They froze, glancing back and forth between Sam and Kimberley.

“You heard her. Get this area sealed off!” Sam commanded.

Their faces reddened and they immediately shuffled to get to work, bumping into one another at first. Finally, one of them grabbed some wooden stakes from a nearby pile that were brought to seal off where the body was. Another grabbed a hammer and pounded them into the ground while Burns unrolled the police line and wrapped it around the stakes, creating a barrier separating the surrounding area from Hannah’s head.

“Thanks,” Kimberley said to Sam.

She appreciated that he had backed her in front of the deputies. She knew it’d take time to garner their respect, but she didn’t have time now—not with a murderer on the loose.

“Of course.” He nodded at her.

Megan stood up and dusted off her pants. She handed a few bags to one of her workers, telling him to tag them and load them up.

“What’s the plan?” Sam asked.

“My team will do a final sweep of the area. Clear the scene, and I’ll examine the body down at the Custer County Medical Examiner’s Office. Should have toxicology, DNA, and forensic exam results in forty-eight hours.” Megan removed her white gloves.

“Sounds good.”

“Let me know if you need anything else,” she said as she crossed over the newly erected police line.

“I trust you’ll be thorough, as per usual,” Sam said with a nod.

Megan walked off, leaving Sam and Kimberley standing near the severed head of Hannah.

“I’m going to make a call,” Kimberley said, pulling out her phone.

“To?”

“Social services. They’ve got to come get Isobel, and I’ll see if they can identify next of kin.”

“Good thinking.”

Kimberley walked out of earshot of the other deputies on the scene. She pulled her phone out, but her hand began to shake as she went to look up the number for social services. She had seen lots of murder scenes in New York; this was nothing new to her. But something about this one had her jarred. Maybe it was the proximity to Jessica. A woman who dropped her child off at the same daycare, a child who was supposed to meet her Jessica and all be one sweet and happy group together. Or maybe it was the feeling of guilt lodged deep inside her. If she had just grabbed a drink with this woman the night before, made a better effort.

“Get out of your own fucking head, Kimberley,” she whispered to herself. You can’t dwell on what you can’t control, she thought. If she wanted to help this woman now, the first thing Hannah would have wanted was her daughter taken care of.

Kimberley brought her phone back up and dialed. Ten minutes later, she hung up the phone satisfied with her call. Instead of walking back to join Sam and Megan, her feet and her heart pulled her toward the stroller where a young deputy stood at attention beside it, as if he were guarding a bank vault instead of a baby. Kimberley gave him a slight nod.

“How is she?”

“She’s unharmed,” he said matter-of-factly. It was clear he had no experience with children.

Kimberley leaned down. Isobel’s big green eyes stared up at the vast blue sky in wonderment. Her mouth was slightly open with a couple of small pearly white teeth peeking out just above her bottom lip. Her cheeks were bright red.

“Hi, Isobel. How are you, sweet girl?” Kimberley smiled, but moisture filled the corners of her eyes, cracking the façade she was trying to put on for Isobel. That everything was okay.

Isobel smiled and gurgled, kicking her legs and reaching out her arms.

Kimberley wanted so badly to pick her up and hold her, but she knew she couldn’t as there might be evidence on her. They needed to reduce the number of people that would handle her.

“It’s all going to be okay, sweet girl, I promise,” she whispered.

Kimberley stood up straight and gave her another smile before heading back over to Sam.

“Social services are on their way here to pick up Isobel,” Kimberley called out to Sam, who was chatting with Megan.

Kimberley joined them.

“Area is swept. We’ll finish loading everything up. Preliminary reports will be ready this afternoon,” Megan said. She walked back toward the road where her vehicle was parked, striding briskly like a woman on a mission.

Kimberley looked out. Scanning the horizon, she saw a mixture of dissimilar images. At some angles, her view revealed peace and tranquility. A steady, flowing creek under an unmoving bridge, swaying fields of wheat that would bend to the wind but not break, and a still sky that allowed for the human eye to see for miles and miles. She could also see squad cars aplenty, swirling lights, a darting and converging of tan and blue polyester, yellow police tape. The scene was both chaotic and serene. A weird blending of two worlds, like the convergence of a warm and cold front in the atmosphere, an impending storm not a possibility but an inevitability.

“I never expected something like this to happen in my town,” Sam said, shaking his head.

Kimberley nodded.

“That poor girl.” He looked over at her.

“I can’t believe another person could do something like that, especially in front of a child. It takes a monster.” Kimberley twisted up her lips.

“A real cold-hearted son of a bitch.” Sam tightened his eyes and shook his head.

Kimberley let out a deep breath. She