Free Past Will Haunt by Morgan Kelley Page A

room. She couldn’t be doing what he thought she was doing, could she?
    “It appears she’s helping,” Livy said, grinning at the look on their boss’s face. It was sexy and confused.
    She liked that in a man.
    “I’ll help,” Elizabeth said, snapping on the gloves. “Just tell me what you need me to do. This body is a mess. It has to be daunting.”
    It was.
    Chris stared at her like she was a Goddess, and if he wasn’t pretty sure she’d kick his ass, he would have kissed her. “Thank you, Elizabeth.”
    “What do you need me to do?” she asked. “Direct me, Doctor Leonard.”
    “I’m removing her stomach for content. It’s super full, so try and step back.”
    Elizabeth did what he asked. Yes, it made her want to toss, but she wasn’t going to let Gabe win this one. If he had his way, he’d be sending Chris Leonard to some backwoods town like Salem.
    When people judged, it made her want to dig in even more. Stubborn was her middle name.
    Gabe moved closer. “What do you have?”
    Chris tried not to see the dead woman. She was simply a specimen. That was the only way he was going to get through this report to Gabriel Rothschild.
    “She was assaulted. I found DNA under her nails.”
    “What about defensive wounds?” he asked.
    Elizabeth stared at him. “Really, Gabe? She’s been stripped of almost all her flesh. Most of her doesn’t even have skin.”
    Gabe knew that the best way to learn was under pressure. While Elizabeth wanted to shelter the man, Gabe knew it was better to make his teams work hard to impress him.
    It gave them a goal.
    “How did she die?” Gabe asked.
    “She was strangled. I have petechial hemorrhaging in her eyes, and her hyoid is definitely broken.”
    “What did he use?”
    Chris stared up at him as he dug out the stomach.
    “Quick, Doctor.”
    Chris looked rattled.
    Elizabeth placed her clean hand on his lower back for support. “You got this, Doc. It’s finals. Break it down for him like he’s your professor.”
    He closed his eyes and then did the job.
    “His hands were the likely the instrument of choice. I’ve yet to open her skull, but I’ve found fracturing. It’s the front of her head, across the frontal bone and into the parietal bone.”
    Gabe made notes. “Okay, so he knocked her out, and then?”
    Chris could see Elizabeth from his peripheral. He didn't want to look like an idiot in front of her, so he dug deep. “Then he began slicing her open. I’d assume that she was bound to the island where we found her. I found fibers in her mouth, so she was gagged.”
    “With?”
    “That’s not my job. I’ve sent the trace to Carol. She’s working on it. As soon as she knows, you’ll know.”
    Gabe grinned. The man was getting some backbone. That was a start. In this job, in this office, it was easy to get chewed up and spit out. If you came across as weak, you were going to be fed to the wolves.
    “What else?”
    “He took her apart, and it had to be painful. From the redness around the remaining flesh, I can tell that there was blood flow.”
    Gabe was curious how thorough the man was. He was waiting to see if he found that medallion.
    “Anything out of the ordinary?” he asked as Elizabeth held the container for Chris while he poured the stomach contents.
    It was smelly.
    Gross.
    And something she didn't think she ever wanted to be that close to again. Oh, she could have been a doctor. God knew she was smart enough, but she couldn’t handle this part.
    Stomachs should remain in the body.
    “If you puke, Elizabeth, I will too,” Chris warned, hearing her breathing escalate.
    Gabe laughed. “This should be a game. Which one of you will puke first? Anyone want to bet?”
    She gave him a dirty look. “Yeah, I’ll make a bet. I bet I can get you angry with my next sentence.”
    Gabe laughed. “Continue, Doctor. Did you find anything out of place?” he asked.
    “Not yet.”
    Gabe didn't have all day. It was apparent that this man was going to