The Border: The Complete Series by Amy Cross Page B

to say something, and then she paused for a moment before heading through to the bathroom.
    “Huh,” he muttered, turning back to look at his food, and then glancing out the window at the town square, where people were already out and about in the crisp morning air. “Well this place doesn't change much, does it? No matter how much of a chance you give it.”

VII
    “That's not what I meant,” Jack replied, following Jane into the driveway as she headed back to the car. “I just thought you might want to talk about it a little more.”
    “I don't have time,” she said, opening the door before turning and quickly kissing him on the cheek. “Sorry honey, this might be an all-nighter, I can't let Alex deal with it all by himself, not when it hits so close to home. You know what he's like when anything to do with Caitlin Somers comes up, he takes it very personally. Thanks for making dinner, though. Those were some damn good pancakes.”
    “You need to slow down or you're gonna crash,” he told her as she climbed into the driver's seat. “You're pushing yourself way too hard.”
    “I'm pushing myself just the right amount, thanks,” she replied, pulling the door shut and, a moment later, starting the engine. She waved at him as she reversed onto the street, and then she drove away, heading back to the police station.
    “Great,” Jack muttered, turning and making his way back inside. “Once again, I'm gonna have to pick up the pieces when everything goes to hell.”
    ***
    “There were fourteen separate knife wounds,” Doctor Tomlin explained as he made his way around the table, where Mel's naked body lay following the autopsy. “Five in the head and neck, four in the upper torso, and five in the belly and groin areas.”
    Staring down at the corpse, Alex couldn't help but look at the thick Y-shaped cut on the dead woman's chest, left behind after the autopsy. He'd seen plenty of bodies in the course of his career, but somehow the younger ones were always the worst, and at just twenty-six years of age, Mel Armitage was the second youngest he'd ever witnessed. Only Caitlin Somers had been younger, all those years ago, and he still saw her dead body every time he closed his eyes. Sometimes, even when his eyes were open.
    “Have you had any...” He paused, before turning to Tomlin. For a moment, he couldn't remember what he was about to ask. “Uh...”
    “Any what?”
    “Any...” Still struggling, he tried to think of something, anything he could ask. These blank moments had been happening more frequently over the past few months, and he was still learning to cover them up. “Have you had any luck identifying the weapon?”
    “It was a knife with a serrated edge,” the doctor replied, as Jane hurried through from the next room. “Based on the size of the entry wounds, I'd say around five inches long, maybe the kind of thing you'd use for hunting. The attack was quite frantic, some of the wounds have tear marks from where the killer hurried to pull the knife out again and it got snagged on her skin. I imagine he broke a sweat, at least.” Reaching down with a latex-gloved hand, he slipped a fingertip into one of the knife wounds on Mel's belly. “See? More of a tear. Our guy obviously isn't a surgeon.”
    Alex nodded.
    “Sorry I'm late,” Jane whispered to him.
    “How long would it have all taken?” Alex asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the corpse for a moment. His eyes lingered on the thick, black staples holding her chest closed, before finally he turned to Tomlin. “Would this have -”
    Tomlin waited for him to continue. “Would it have what?”
    Alex paused, again struggling to remember the question he was about to ask. After a moment, he realized Jane was waiting too.
    “Would it... Would it have taken a long time?” he asked finally. That was it. He thought. Maybe. Hopefully.
    “It would have been quick,” Tomlin replied. “The initial assault, at least. After that, with the blood loss,