Unmasking The Shadow Man. Debbie Herbert

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       Chapter Three

      There. He’d almost stepped on the prone body lying facedown in the boggy soil. Liam shone his light on the victim, automatically categorizing details—Caucasian male, approximately six feet tall, long brown hair, wearing jeans, army boots and a flannel jacket shredded in the back upper torso area. Beneath the jagged slits, blood oozed from multiple lacerations.

      It fit the pattern.

      As he’d told Harper, this had been going on for years. Whoever the murderer was, he was smart enough to space the crimes out. The choice of victims was calculated, too. Usually, the homeless had cut ties with their families, and no one would report them missing for years—if ever. It was entirely possible that his missing uncle Teddy had met a similarly violent end in the backwoods of some small town. Perhaps even this one. Liam shook off the speculation to focus on his duty. Before he called out a team, he wanted to take a good look at the scene for himself. He knelt and searched the ground near the body for small clues—a button, a gum wrapper, anything the killer might have left behind unnoticed.

      But there was nothing incriminating to be found.

      Not only was the killer smart, but he was as cowardly as he was vicious. Each victim had been attacked from behind and stabbed multiple times. Liam pulled out his cell phone, hit the dispatcher contact button and quickly explained the situation.

      A limb snapped nearby. “Officer?” a deep voice called out from the darkness. “That you, Officer Andrews?”

      A group of about half a dozen men approached, in various states of dishevelment and sporting long hair and beards. Liam recognized a few of their faces.

      One of the men stepped forward while the others lingered in the dark. “It’s Gunner, sir. We out here lookin’ for our buddy—Larry.”

      “When did you last see him?”

      “It were morning time. He gathered up our spare change and offered to go into town to buy us a few veggies for our stew tonight. Nobody seen him since.”

      “Does your friend have long brown hair? Dressed in a flannel jacket?”

      “Yes, sir. You seen him?”

      “Unfortunately, I believe I have.” Liam waved him over. “Brace yourself. It’s not a pretty sight.”

      Liam turned the flashlight on the body for a brief second. “That look like him?”

      Gunner sank to his knees, gagging.

      Liam gave him a moment, then asked, “Did you see anyone roaming around here minutes ago?”

      “We saw a light and headed right over in the general direction.”

      “Larry have a beef with anyone in town that you know of?”

      “No, sir. He ain’t been in Baysville but a week or two.”

      That was often their way. Ride the rails, then jump track to stay in a town for a bit until the urge hit to travel again. It made tracking someone damn difficult. Easy to get lost in this counterculture. Years ago they were referred to as hobos, a word probably derived from poor migrant workers who traveled from town to town toting knapsacks and a hoe for working the fields.

      Baysville had once been a boomtown for them. Plenty of work in the old tobacco and corn fields. During the off-season, they could sometimes find jobs in the pork-processing factories. But these days, Baysville’s largest industry was tourism, and those farm and factory jobs for transients had almost dried up.

      “If you don’t mind, I’d like you and your friends to stick around a bit longer. Might have a few more questions for y’all after forensics arrive and we search the area.”

      “Yes, sir.”

      Gunner clearly would rather slink away than face a group of cops, but Liam figured he knew better than to take off.

      Looked like he’d be here awhile as well. Might be best to call Harper and explain the situation. After they were through here, it’d be too late to stop by her house. There was no reason to return, anyway, except to leave her flashlight on the porch and retrieve his car from the driveway. He’d checked her home and found no cause for alarm.