Free Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

less.”
    “Unless the killer has a freezer full of dead fawns,” Stricker says.
    “Point,” Gabi says. “It’s a good fit. Did he get lucky on the first go, or is there a pile of dead deer somewhere of all the ones that didn’t match? Bob, I want you to add taxidermists to your list.”
    “Give me a break! I’ve already got a million hunters. Where the fuck am I supposed to get that?”
    “There’s probably a professional association,” Stricker says. “Look on the Internet.”
    “That sounded a lot like you volunteering.”
    “Sure. I’ll take it.”
    “Fine,” Gabi says. “And look into associated stuff too.”
    Stricker: Taxidermy. Circus freak shows. Other
    She can’t help thinking that “other” is not a bad category for their relationship. The divorce rate among cops is high. Not uncoincidentally, high levels of interdepartmental affairs, too. The bosses will turn a blind eye if you keep it on the down-low. She didn’t get involved in any of that while she and William were still trying to work things out. But here she is now, screwing brutally competent Detective Stricker on those days their off-duties coincide.
    “All right, so what’s the motivation? Apart from being a sick fuck?”
    “It’s on display. He wants attention,” Washington says.
    “Not like he put it up on a pedestal on the RiverWalk.”
    “But she’s right. He did want to be found. He’s not trying to cover it up. Kid and an animal.”
    “ Black kid and an animal,” Washington points out. “What’s that say?”
    “Could be racially motivated.”
    Washington: Race crimes / local hate groups
    “What about satanists?” Croff says. “Could be an occult murder.”
    “Sure.” Gabi rolls her eyes.
    “Or voodoo hoodoo shit.”
    Satanists. Occult. Voodoo hoodoo shit
    “You good with that, Ovella?”
    She folds her arms, revealing glittering fingertips—the diamanté appliqués on her nails lead a lot of people to underestimate her. “Because I’m black? Or because I’m Catholic?”
    “Satanists are usually white,” Boyd chips in, trying to be helpful.
    “That’s racist,” Croff grins. “You’re insulting satanists of color.”
    “You wanna throw in the Michigan Dogman?” Washington complains.
    “Knock it off,” Gabi says. “We need warm bodies on the phone calling the other precincts and districts on broadly similar murders. Don’t let anyone try to dump their cold cases on you.”
    “Can I sit down now?” the rookie asks.
    “Not yet, Sparkles. Was there anything else you noticed at the scene?”
    “There was no blood or nothing. And he looked real peaceful. I think he didn’t even see it coming.”
    “Don’t speculate on that until we have more facts.”
    “Forensics?” Miranda pushes.
    “I’m going to see the ME after this,” Gabi says. “The dismemberment would have been fatal and there was a wound to the back of his head, near the base of his skull.”
    “And the glue holding the two parts together?”
    “I’ve put in a priority request for identifying the bonding agent. Industrial, probably, which should make it easier to trace. But testing is going to take a few weeks unless we can get a lead.”
    She writes in her own name.
    Versado: Autopsy / Adhesive
    “ETA on the results?” Miranda asks.
    “Six to ten days. Would have been longer, but we piqued their interest. It’s a nice change from bullet wounds and semen.”
    Sparkles is still musing. “There was a lot of graffiti at the scene, but I guess that’s normal.”
    Gabi scans the photographs. “Might be worth checking out the tags.”
    “What, the killer left his signature?” Croff snipes. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
    “Like the idiot who murdered his wife and posted the picture on Facebook?” she says, honey-sweet. “Or the knucklehead who robbed the gas station on Dearborn two weeks ago still wearing his McDonald’s name tag? Criminals do stupid things all the time.”
    Suspicious graffiti tags
    “You got