Free Hunting Eve by Iris Johansen

smell it?”
    “Smell something that has only been dead for a day or two and submerged in fifty-five-degree water? Even if you’re right, there wouldn’t be much to smell here.”
    “The corpse will be bloated.” She took a moment to prepare herself for what was inside the trunk. Detach. Focus on the irritation she was feeling toward the skepticism that she sensed in Venable. She didn’t need to deal with that right now. “Eyes bulging, cheeks swollen, the whole nine yards. It won’t be a pretty sight.”
    Venable shrugged. “I doubt if it will be that bad already. I’ve seen water corpses before.”
    “So have I.”
    “It’s open.” The locksmith with the picklock stepped back as the trunk swung open.
    A black tarp.
    Kendra inhaled sharply.
    The scent of death was immediately in her nostrils.
    It wasn’t really shock. It was the confirmation that an innocent man’s life had been taken and his body thrown away like this. It never ceased to bring her sadness as well as anger.
    “Move the tarp,” Venable said to the forensic tech next to him. “Carefully.”
    Kendra watched as the tech gripped the edge of the tarp and peeled it back. Half a dozen flashlight beams darted toward the open compartment.
    “Holy shit.” Venable instinctively stepped back.
    Kendra’s first instinct was to close her eyes, but she made herself look at the puffy and grotesque face inside. The eyes bulged from their sockets like something from an old cartoon. His lips and cheeks had puffed to five or six times that of any normal human dimensions.
    A few minutes later, the sodden gray hair of the dead man was exposed.
    “Okay, it appears Margaret Douglas was right on the money,” Venable murmured. “The body was in the trunk. Though it could have been a guess.”
    She didn’t like the idea of Margaret’s being right, but she didn’t know whether it was because the ridiculous concept of animal communication offended her or that she didn’t want Margaret to be criminally involved with Doane. The girl was so appealing that Kendra liked her in spite of her suspicions. Get a grip. Think logically. “And the location of where the car went into the water?” Kendra asked. “How did the man die, Venable?”
    “Let’s see…” He took a step closer to the body. “It can only be a preliminary guess.” He grimaced as he looked closer. “Maybe not so much of a guess. He has a bullet hole in his temple.”
    Margaret’s prediction, again.
    “You need to talk to her,” Kendra said. “It’s too … you need to talk to her, Venable.” She took a step back away from the car. “And I need to stop thinking about Margaret Douglas and start doing what Quinn brought me here to do.” She watched as Venable motioned for the forensic team to come forward. The car was instantly surrounded by a swarm of techs.
    Venable turned toward her. “And you were right, too … How in the hell did you know the corpse would look this way?”
    “The odor. It wasn’t just normal decomposition. It’s called tissue gas. An anaerobic organism enters the body and runs amok because the immune system is no longer functioning. It results in a specific smell, accelerates decomposition, and causes the body to swell and discolor.” She pointed back to the corpse. “The marbling on his face and neck is pretty common.”
    Venable nodded. “So now you’re a forensics expert, too?”
    “No, I’ve seen—and smelled—this on a case once before, and I asked the medical examiner to explain it to me. Force of habit. I grew up asking people to explain what I was smelling, feeling, and hearing. I guess I never stopped.” Kendra backed away from the car. “I’ll stay out of everyone’s way, but I want to monitor what they’re finding and doing. Then after they finish, I want time to do my own investigation before you take the car, okay?”
    “Okay. Do you know what you’re looking for?”
    “No, how could I? I’ll just use observation, logic, hope for