CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Chief Marshall called me early the following day. I was lying awake, but still in bed. I swung my legs over the side of the mattress, pressing the cold phone to my ear.
“Morning, Smith. Got the report late last night. Dental records confirmed the first body you dug up was Christine Conroy. Still waiting on DNA results to confirm as well as trying to identify the other bodies.”
A pang of sadness touched me, but also a sense of vindication. Marshall continued at my silence.
“Autopsy confirms death was caused by manual strangulation as evidenced by broken and fractured bones in the neck. But get this – it’s pretty gruesome. Looks as though she was lying on the ground and her neck stomped on.”
I reeled at the brutality of the death. “Holy s**t!” I could think of nothi
