Page 104 of Forever Dead

“Somebody could’ve chosen those places to point us toward him,” he said.

“Or Ray chose them because he knew their history.”

Selena shifted her injured leg. She kept returning to Eleanor, alone in that farmhouse, and the possibility that somebody had killed her over a dispute she thought had ended years ago.

“I want those deeds to explain what happened to Eleanor,” she said. “But we still need to establish why Patricia was at the Tully place.”

“We know she worked shifts at Curtis Halle’s facility.”

“We don’t know whether they ever met. We don’t even know how she ended up at that farmhouse.”

Connor nodded. “So, we work both angles.”

“Yeah. Did the killer choose the women and find suitable locations, or choose the locations and find women who fit?”

“Neither one makes me feel better.”

“Then we’d better find out.”

“Any word from State Police?” Selena asked.

“Arnold’s following up on the request. He’s sending them the scene reports and photographs.”

“Good. We’ve got two murders and more leads than your department can chase on its own.”

“Tell me about it.”

His phone rang through the SUV speakers. The display showed BLETHAN. Connor pressed the call button.

“Hey, Doc.”

“Your office said Selena was with you?”

“She is,” Connor said.

“Good. Saves me chasing you both down.”

Selena leaned toward the speaker. “That’s almost efficient, Doc.”

“I am capable of being precise, you know.”

“What have you got?” Connor asked.

“I’ve finished the closer examination of the debris collected from Patricia Vanes’s fingernails. There’s something important in it.”

Selena straightened.

Connor’s voice changed. “What kind of something?”

“Black fragments that closely resemble what we recovered from Eleanor Marsh.”

For a moment, the only sound inside the SUV was road noise.

Selena said, “You’re certain?”

“As certain as I can be without a definitive identification,” Blethan replied. “The gross appearance is nearly identical. Thin black fragments. Flexible. Organic. Dry, almost leathery.”

Connor turned to Selena. “Same composition?”