Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Not often, but whomever did this purposefully left her in the snow for us to find. They were making a statement.”
She reached for a pen to twirl. “A statement? How so?”
He lifted a shoulder. “That such a crime can take place under Paxton’s leadership. That nobody is safe.”
“Or there’s just a bad guy out there who hates humans,” Lyrica said thoughtfully. “It might not be about Paxton.”
Vero nodded. “We’ll see once we find the killer.”
Movement sounded, and Jonathan emerged next to Vero. Flanking him were four Kurjan soldiers. Jonathan’s eyes glowed a wild hue. “We were patrolling and found another dead female body.”
Chapter Seventeen
Illuminated by powerful flashlights, the naked victim lay face up on the icy terrain, her head close to the Yukon with its thick chunks of ice floating by. Fingers splayed out on the brutal terrain, her hands appeared both bruised and frozen, while spikes of ice covered her bare feet. Her long, black hair spread over the frozen ground, and her face was turned to the side. Dark bruises covered her throat, and a circle with slashes through the center had been dug into her neck with what appeared to be blue ink.
Anger speared through Vero, and he pushed all emotion away, forcing himself to concentrate. He looked up and measured the distance across the river and studied the nearby snow-filled trees and starkly looming mountains. He didn’t sense a threat near, but considering Lyrica stood next to him, he remained vigilant.
He crouched down and angled his head. Bruising marred the victim’s face, and her nose had been broken. Blood pooled onto the ice around her.
“I don’t recognize her.” He looked up at the doctor, whom he’d called in immediately.
Fizzlewick dropped to his haunches, fury rolling off him. “I haven’t seen her before, but I don’t know everybody in the camp yet.”
The human victim appeared to be in her mid to late twenties.
Vero angled his head. “We have new Kurjans who have moved to this camp from outlying satellites, so I don’t know everybody yet, but I’ve never seen her.”
The doctor looked up at Lyrica, where she hovered closer to the victim’s feet. “Do you recognize her?”
Slowly, Lyrica shook her head. “No, I’ve never spoken to her. She’s not one of the kidnapped females, for sure.” She paled, and her lips had turned blue from the cold, even though she huddled in a thick, black puffer jacket.
“Why don’t you return to the lodge?” Vero tried to make the statement sound like a request.
She stuck her hands in her pockets. “No, I’m good. Was she strangled?”
“It looks like it,” Dr. Fizzlewick said. “I’ll know more when I get her into the lab.”
Vero leaned over again and took another look. “She didn’t belong to the Kurjan encampment that I moved from Eastern Canada, and I’ve met with most of our recent newcomers.”
Although it was entirely possible he had met with the female’s mate and not with her.
Jonathan stood, anger etching lines into his strong face. “Lyrica, are you sure she’s not one of the kidnapped females?”
Lyrica nodded, her nose red from the cold. “Yes. In addition, I’ve spoken with most of the mated females in the territory, and I don’t recognize her. I’ll provide you with a list of everyone I’ve met with so far, which will greatly narrow down your search.”
Vero leaned in and smelled only female. The victim’s scent still lingered in tones of rich roses, but terror also filled the freezing air with the smell of burned lemons. “I don’t sense that she’s mated.”
“Neither do I,” Dr. Fizzlewick said. “However, she’s frozen, and she could be newly mated.”
That could make sense, but even still, who was she?
Lyrica shifted her snow boots as her body shook with cold. The wind blasted into her, throwing her hair back, but she didn’t complain. Not a bit. “Is it possible somebody brought her here from a nearby town?”
Vero wanted to cover the female but knew the doc had to perform an autopsy first. “No. The nearest town is four hundred and thirty miles away, which takes nearly three hours in our most advanced helicopter.” Although, he would ask Silas since he’d recently headed to a town. “Even Kurjans on foot, snowmobile, or in a UTV would be gone long enough they’d be missed. Nobody could’ve left here and brought her back…absent a helicopter.”
“We need to speak with every pilot,” Jonathan said grimly, standing.
Vero stood and brushed icy snow off his jeans. “Agreed, but other than our raiding party the other day, where you and I were present, only Silas has flown out of here. I’ll seek him out immediately.”
Ice began to gather in Lyrica’s thick hair. “Is there any way a helicopter could be taken without you knowing?”
“Negative,” Vero said. “Our hearing is too acute.”
Jonathan shoved his hands in his jeans pockets, his angry gaze still on the prone victim. “We also feel the vibrations as they bounce back from the ground. Nobody has taken a helicopter secretly.”