Free Hidden ( CSI Reilly Steel #3) by CASEY HILL

both had remarkably similar tattoos on their backs.
    She then compared the photographs of the tattoo from the cold case to the ones they’d taken of the hit-and-run victim.
    ‘I’m no expert,’ Rory said, looking at both sets of photos, ‘but the tattoos look very similar to me.’
    Reilly exhaled. ‘Well, they’re similar but not identical, though we’re not comparing like with like either,’ she pointed out.
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘According to the autopsy report, the girl in this older case died of exposure; she’d been out in the open for at least four days before she was discovered. That’s clear from the photos, and while the tattoo looks the same from the outset, I can see some differences in the detail.’
    She arranged the photos side by side. ‘This tattoo is missing some of the finer detail of our more recent one.’ Using a pen, she circled an area near the shoulder blade of the hit-and-run victim’s photo. There did indeed seem more detail in the individual feather renderings of the latter tattoo.
    ‘There are plenty of things that could cause that,’ Rory offered. ‘The age of the tattoos for one, not to mention the age of the girls themselves when they were inked.’
    She shook her head. ‘Neither tattoo looks that fresh though. They both look faded on the skin, so could have been done a while ago, leading to a loss of definition.’
    She placed the photos back on the desk. ‘Let’s not over-analyze the obvious here. Anything else stand out about this cold case?’
    Rory picked another file out of the box. ‘No dental work for this girl either. I don’t know about you, but pretty much everyone in Ireland these days has at least a filling.’
    ‘Well, not to brag, but where I come from fillings aren’t so common.’ Reilly grimaced, revealing her perfectly maintained orthodontics.
    ‘Fair enough, but these two Celtic redheads were a million miles from Californian girls,’ he replied archly.
    Notwithstanding the tattoos and both girls’ appearance, the similarities were starting to become uncomfortable and she knew she needed to advise the detectives about this new slant to the investigation.
    But this second unidentified girl had been found nine years before. What possible connection could she have to their ‘Angel’?
     
     
     
    ‘Can’t deny the similarites, that’s for sure,’ said Kennedy when they called in to the GFU on their return from the auto-repair shop.
    ‘I don’t think we should rule out the fact that these two girls may have originated if not from the same place then certainly from a similar background,’ Reilly said.
    Chris frowned. ‘I don’t follow …’
    She tried to explain her train of thought. ‘I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, call it instinct if you like, but it certainly feels like each of these girls were somewhat  at odds with the real world. My guess is that wherever they came from they were cut off from reality, and never had to face any dangers, anything that might hurt them.’
    ‘Overprotective parents?’ Chris suggested with obvious scepticism. ‘Then why have both remained unidentifed for so long, the cold case especially?’
    ‘No. I don’t think it’s overprotective parents. Problem is I’m not sure what I think. It’s just a feeling.’
    ‘Ah, here we go …’ Kennedy said, and while usually Reilly never minded him teasing her about her famed ‘instincts’, for some reason she felt embarrassed in the face of Chris’s blatant cynicism. The last thing she needed was for him to stop trusting her judgement. It made her question herself. The tattoo aside, was she reaching for related similarities in these two cases, grasping at straws?
    ‘Look, it might well be nothing, but in any case, I thought I’d go and take a closer look around the discovery site. I know it’s been nine years since she was found but—’
    ‘Well, if there is anything there, no doubt that magic nose of yours will sniff it out,’ Kennedy