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flashlight.
    "How's it going?" Randy asked.
    "We'll be awhile yet," Connor
said. "The vic wasn't wearing shoes and there are some spots clear enough
where we've got shoe prints, but none of bare feet."
    Randy considered that. "So, he was
dressed when he got here."
    "Or someone carried him in and then
shot him. But that seems like a lot of extra work."
    "The techs are processing the shoe
prints. And maybe some facial bone fragments, if they can find them. A lot of
leaves on the ground, though, and the wind was pretty strong last night."
    Randy blew out a slow breath and took one
more look at the scene. "Damn. It's not supposed to rain, is it?"
    Connor shrugged. "Hey, this is
Oregon. It could rain anytime."
    "Let's hope this isn't one of those
times. With luck, we'll get enough tonight, but plan on coming back tomorrow."
    "You're the detective."
    Which meant he was in charge, but he also
needed to work on the victim's identity. "And you know your job."
Randy dragged his fingers through his hair. "What do you think?"
    "How about we go out about ten feet,
then if Kovak finds the entry point, we'll work that way."
    Randy nodded. He respected the lab crew's
ability to know what was likely to be part of a crime scene and what was
superfluous. He trained his light on the ground as he walked back to where
Kovak was working. "Any luck?"
    Kovak pointed to what looked like partial
shoe prints and dislodged rocks and branches. "This is my best guess."
    "Why don't you go hit the computers?
I'll meet you in the office." He rotated his neck, working out the kinks. "I'll
update Brody and follow up with some of the neighbors."
    "He did okay for his first scene,"
Kovak said. "You gonna keep him on all night? One officer isn't going to
be able to control the perimeter."
    They walked back to Kovak's car while
Randy thought about the size of the crime scene he'd taped, considering the
options. "I'll get a couple of uniforms from the night shift. Neville, if
he's on duty. He's got that intimidation factor. And maybe having a cruiser
parked out here will keep the rubberneckers away. Brody's done enough for his
first homicide scene." And he wasn't about to leave a rookie out here
alone in case the killer came back.
    Kovak nodded. "Probably save the kid
a few nightmares, too. Nothing like being alone in the woods somewhere you've
seen a dead body."
    "There is the scary movie factor,
yes."
    "Right. See you later." Kovak
said.
    "Hang on a sec." Randy got into
his truck and rummaged through his suitcase for the bag of designer coffee he'd
bought for Kovak in San Francisco. If they were going to pull an all-nighter at
the station, at least they wouldn't be drinking sludge. "Here you go."
    Kovak's eyes lit up. "Thanks, big
guy." He slid into his car and drove off.
    Randy ran what he had through his head as
he went to check on Brody. The key was a start. If they could tie it to
the victim. On television, they'd take the key to the lab, stick it in a box,
punch a button and in seconds, a computer would spit out what the damn thing
unlocked and who owned it. Probably what he'd had for breakfast.
    Why couldn't it have been a wallet? A
nice smooth leather wallet covered with prints and filled with ID.
    Yeah, right.

Chapter Three
     
    Randy sat at his desk and stared at the
pictures of his faceless victim. Not exactly what they'd put in the paper with
a "Do you know this man?" caption.
    "You think it was a mob hit?"
Kovak asked. "The vic was shot in the back of the head."
    Randy looked up from the monitor. "The
mob? In Pine Hills? What the hell for? And why strip him?"
    "Harder to identify?"
    "If that was their goal, why leave
his hands? Charlotte's already sent his prints to the network." He
swiveled his chair and faced Kovak's desk. "It's the abdominal carving
that worries me. What if we do have a serial killer here?"
    "Why did that reporter bring it up
out of the blue, anyway?" Kovak asked.
    "Good question. I've never seen her
before and I thought I knew them