Cat and Mouse
By Terri D. Thomas
Part 2
Tom rubbed his fingers over his tired eyes. He glanced at his watch and sighed. It was only 7:30 in the morning and he still had a full day ahead of him. Cassy had offered to buy him breakfast, but he wasn't hungry. The sight of the partially eaten body had taken away his appetite.
"Good morning, Thomas," a chipper voice sounded from the doorway of the squad room.
"Mornin' Harry," Tom mumbled.
Harry moved next to his detective giving him a mischievous grin as he examined the tired hazel eyes. "I take it you had a late night."
"Early morning," Tom corrected. "A DB washed up under the Flagler Bridge. Cassy and I were at the scene at four this morning."
Harry turned serious, his professional mode kicking in. "Who was it?"
"A woman. No ID, no cause of death. . .other than drowning. We're waiting for Morton's report."
Harry glanced around the room. "Where's Cassy?"
"She wanted breakfast. Went to the Java House with Marks."
The captain raised a suspicious eyebrow. "And you stayed here?"
Tom turned up his nose. "Wasn't hungry."
Harry nodded, understanding. "Lost your appetite."
"It was a bad one, Harry."
"They all are."
Tom shrugged his shoulders. "Guess you're right."
Harry clapped a reassuring hand on his detective's shoulder. "Let me buy you a cup of coffee. . .make that tea."
Tom turned up his nose. "I'd prefer the coffee."
"If you've been up since four my guess is that you've had enough of that. It's probably eating a hole through your stomach as we speak."
Tom gave his boss a crooked smile as he realized his stomach was burning. "You know my thoughts about tea." Harry lowered an eyebrow towards the younger man. Resigned to his fate, Tom sighed. "Fine. . .tea it is."
He followed Harry to the small break area on the upper level of the squad room. "So no ID on the woman," Harry confirmed. He pulled two cups off the shelf and filled them with hot water. He dropped a tea bag in each.
"Nope, nothing."
"Fingerprint match?"
"Morton's going to run them. If she's in the database, we're home free."
"Not much hope of that. Have you checked the missing persons reports?"
"Yeah. There are a few possibles. But everything's a long shot until we know more about the woman. I don't even have an age to go on."
Harry cringed slightly. "You couldn't tell?"
Tom shook his head. "No. . .the face was. . ." his words drifted off. Harry didn't need to hear more to understand what had happened.
Movement in the doorway caught Tom's attention. Sterling Morton entered the room. Tom motioned for the medical examiner to join them at the small table. "Coffee?" Tom asked the newcomer.
"Tea?" Harry interjected.
Tom shot an exasperated look at his boss. "What? Do you have something against coffee beans?"
Harry ignored the snide remark. Sterling looked at the two men. "Tea's fine."
Harry gave his detective a smug smile. "So what do you have for us?"
"Well, our DB is still officially a Jane Doe. We're running the prints now, but so far, nothing. No identifying marks on the wedding ring either." He handed a manila file folder to Harry. "Female, Caucasian, 35 to 40 years old. . .details are in there. She did have a birthmark on her right shoulder. I put a picture of it and the ring in the file."
Tom leaned forward to read the file over Harry's shoulder. "Cause of death?"
"Drowning."
"No other signs of foul play?" Harry pushed.
Morton shook his head. "It's really too difficult to tell. There are no obvious signs of foul play, but the body was submerged in the water for at least a week."
"Any other oddities?"
"Only this." He reached over and pulled a photograph of the corpse from the folder. "The sweater was torn in the back. Right here." He pointed to the hole in the pale blue fabric.
"Was the skin damaged?"
"The skin was broken, but not enough to have been of any consequence. There was some bruising."
"Bruising?" Tom asked.
The examiner nodded. "On the arms and back. My guess is that the body ended up snagged on something when she hit the water. That's probably what kept it submerged for so long."
"So she could have been a jumper."
Morton nodded. "Yeah. She could have jumped from the bridge and been hung up underwater, then the current broke her loose."
Harry turned to Tom. "Did any of the missing persons match this description."
"A couple. One was a thirty-eight year old woman from the Riviera Beach area. She went missing the Sunday before last. Her name's Sara McCarthy. The other was a forty-two year old woman from Lauderdale. A. . .a. . ." Tom paused and then left the break room for his desk. He grabbed the file folder on top and looked at the tab. "Michelle Hathaway. She's been gone for over two weeks."
"Okay, it's a long shot, but you and Cassy check into Sara McCarthy first since she's closest to the area. If that doesn't pan out, try the Hathaway woman."
Tom nodded. He heard the sound of footsteps behind him. "Anything?" Cassy asked as she entered the room, a half-empty bottled water in hand.
"Not much. Come on Partner. I'll fill you in on the way," Tom said as he grabbed the other file on his desk and pocketed his car keys. He moved to the door, motioning for the petite blond to follow.
Cassy glanced with confusion at Harry and Sterling, then shrugged her shoulders, grabbed her purse and followed Tom out the door.
End Part 2
To Part 3