Ghost Canyon (The John Decker Supernatural Thriller Series Book 7) Anthony Strong (popular romance novels .TXT) 📖

I wasn’t the ME on duty, or it would’ve been me driving out there, and I’d like to go home on time tonight.”

“We won’t keep you long, then,” Decker said.

“I appreciate that.” Callow gripped the edges of the sheet and folded it back to expose the upper half of Sasha Martin’s body.

Her skin was pallid and tinged blue. A Y-shaped incision, now sewn up, ran from her neck down between her breasts and followed the line of her rib cage. But it was the mess of torn flesh beneath her chest that drew Decker’s attention.

“Remind you of anything?” He asked, looking sideways at Barnes.

“Yeah. Looks very much like the wounds on the two bodies we just left.”

“I think it’s safe to assume the same culprit killed all three.”

“I concur.” Barnes nodded his agreement. “Still doesn’t get us anywhere closer to identifying who or what is responsible, except that it was in the Ghost Canyon Mine at the same time as Sasha.”

“It’s unlikely a human did this,” Callow said. “It has all the hallmarks of an animal attack, but it’s too…” He paused a moment, searching for the right word. “Frenetic. I’ve seen bites from coyotes. Black bear attacks. I even attended the autopsy of a woman mauled by a mountain lion several years ago when I was working in California. This is nothing like those. The weirdest thing is the lack of defensive wounds. Normally there would be bites and scratches to the forearms and hands from the victim’s attempts to fend off the attack. We see none of that here. Frankly, it’s perplexing. Honestly, I have no idea what kind of wild animal could have done this.”

“That’s because it wasn’t a wild animal,” Decker said. “It was something much more dangerous. A supernatural creature.”

“A what now?” Callow looked at Decker as if he’d misheard. “Did you say supernatural?”

“He did,” Special Agent Barnes confirmed. “And that information is to go no further than the three of us.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Callow replied. “I have no intention of mentioning the supernatural to anyone or putting it in my report. Frankly, if that’s your working theory, I think the pair of you are nuts.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time someone came to that conclusion,” Decker said ruefully. “Will you send me a copy of the report when you have it?”

“Sure. It’s going to be a few days, though. We’re pretty backed up right now.”

Decker nodded. He turned to Barnes. “I think we’ve seen enough to confirm that we’re dealing with one assailant.”

“Agreed.” Barnes let his gaze drift to the dissection table as Dr. Callow replaced the sheet, hiding Sasha from view. “Which means it’s not in the mine anymore.”

“Maybe,” Decker replied thoughtfully. “But Sasha’s attack occurred in the mine where it’s dark. The campers were killed in the middle of the night, also under the cloak of darkness. My hunch is that the creature does not like daylight. And don’t forget the mine entrance was left unlocked last night.”

“You think it came out, attacked those poor people, and then returned to the mine before dawn?”

“That’s exactly what I think. If I’m right, it’s been stuck in those tunnels since pioneer days. It would return to the place it knows.”

“At least we can rest easy tonight then,” Barnes said. “You padlocked the mine entrance after we ran those two guys off.”

“I did,” Decker said. “I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do at the time, but now the decision appears to have been prudent.”

Callow cleared his throat to let Decker and Barnes know he was still there. “Gentlemen? If it’s all the same with you, I’d like to get this body back to the cooler and finish up my day.”

“Absolutely.” Decker shook the man’s hand. “You’ve been very helpful.”

“Anytime,” Callow said. “If you’d like to follow me, I’ll show you both out.”

Chapter Forty-Four

After they left the coroner’s office, Decker and Barnes made their way over to the Strip and stopped at the condominium tower address the license plate check had turned up. They parked inside the first level garage but when they arrived at the entrance found it locked, with a key code required for entry. It only took Special Agent Barnes a few minutes to get them in. He placed a call to the Las Vegas PD, who had an emergency access code in their computer database. This was standard procedure with restricted access buildings. Decker had used many such codes to gain entry to similar apartment and condo blocks when he was with the NYPD.

They crossed the lobby and took the elevator to the eighth floor, but when they arrived at Wagner Mitchell’s door, there was no reply. They waited a few minutes and tried again, to no avail. Wagner Mitchell was not home.

“What now?” Barnes asked. “You want to hang around a while and see if he shows up?”

“Nah. He might not be home for hours,” Decker replied.

“Or he might not come back tonight at all,” Barnes observed. “He could’ve gone home with a date, or even be out of town entirely for all we know.”

“It’s unlikely he’s out of town. We only ran into him this morning.” Decker looked back along the corridor. “I can’t see the point in staying here, though.”

“Me either.” Barnes started back toward the elevator. “I’m getting hungry, and you owe me that burger.”

“I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

“Not likely,” Barnes pushed the elevator call button. The car must’ve still been there because the doors slid open immediately. He stepped inside and waited for Decker. “I never forget a free burger.”

By the time they arrived back in Haley, it was almost nine o’clock. Special Agent Fowler had returned from the crime scene in the desert and was now sitting at a table in the saloon, making idle conversation with Robyn. Tieg lay at their feet, his head between his paws. When they entered the bar, his tail wagged.

Barnes petted him and told the senior agent about their visit to