Blood on the Bayou: A Cafferty & Quinn Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

smile. Deerfield was key in that partnership. Older, more experienced, aware of the pitfalls. Beauchamp pulled his weight in their partnership with tech expertise, his phone the size of a notepad, and he had the report up as Deerfield finished speaking.
    “White male between the age of twenty-eight and thirty-four. Five-feet-ten-inches tall. One-hundred and seventy-five pounds. Last meal—crawfish etouffee, grits, and asparagus. He’d eaten somewhere in the hour and a half before his death, and Doc Melloni has been around a while. He knew right away, which is good. Thing is, most places out here do serve crawfish etouffee.”
    “We’re still checking out local restaurants and cafes, and at least they’re a little sparser out in this area than they are in the city. Of course, he could have been in the city and made it out here just in time to have his head bashed in and throat ripped out.” Deerfield shook his head. “Anyway, as you can see, the man was in excellent health, fit and sound before his demise.”
    “He might have lived to a hundred,” Beauchamp said sadly.
     Twenty minutes later, the four of them headed out with a young officer in a police boat, straight to the spot where the body had been found.
    Deerfield did the talking, pointing to the shore.
    “Body was there, right at the edge of the water, mostly head first, or what was left of the head. Feet were caught up on the high grasses. As you can see, the trees are pretty heavy around here. You’ve got a fair distance to the road. Course, you’ve got a few businesses dotting the shoreline, not too close. And you’re a football field from here out to the highway. Locals come around, as do the tour boats. But it’s pretty isolated. That’s what’s hard to figure. What was a guy in a business suit and Gucci loafers doing out in this part of the swamp?”
    “We’re expecting to get an ID on him soon,” Beauchamp said. “No wallet on him, but pretty damned weird for a robbery. I mean, it was overkill.”
    “Can you get me in a little closer?” Quinn asked the captain.
    The man nodded and eased the boat toward the muddy shoreline.
    Quinn jumped out.
    The grasses and mud were heavy right where the corpse had been found. Thick trees sprouted from the more solid ground further in. As Deerfield had pointed out, they weren’t that far from the highway. He could hear the traffic in the distance.
    “The victim was killed right here, right on the shoreline. The blow to the back of his head was first?” Quinn asked.
    “That’s what the medical examiner concluded,” Deerfield said. “The victim had to have been standing near the water. He was then twisted around for the attack on the throat.”
    “And human teeth could have done the damage?” Quinn asked skeptically.
    Deerfield shrugged. “Enhanced human teeth, maybe? People do all kinds of crazy things. We got one of those whacky vampire cults out here, you know. Heaven help us. They use pig’s blood in their rituals, keeping it legal and all, but I’ve seen some of them with their teeth all filed to points. But was there some other kind of creature involved? We don’t know, as yet. And I’m not so sure testing will get us the answers.”
    “Okay, so the killer could have parked up on the road. Possibly came in from the city. I know I go into the French Quarter often. Easy enough,” Beauchamp said.
    “Ah, easy when you’re young and good-looking,” Deerfield said lightly. “But, sure, simple enough to get into the city and out.”
    “Maybe he went into the city and lured the guy out here somehow,” Beauchamp said. “The victim trusted him, thinking they were coming out here for something else.”
    “It’s possible,” Deerfield said, smiling at his young protégé.
    “Could have arrived via some kind of boat?” Quinn asked. “Anyone on the tour report seeing any other boats in the area?”
    “No,” Deerfield said, “but, yeah, they could have come by boat. Thing is, we