In the living room, she set yellow evidence markers next to the sleeping bag, a camp stove, and a backpack. She crouched and donned gloves to open the backpack.
“What’s inside?” Logan asked.
Tessa shifted the contents. “Three MREs, some clothes, a multitool, waterproof matches, coiled wire, a crank-handle radio . . .” She paused. “A wallet.”
She opened it. “According to his Washington State driver’s license, the backpack belongs to Carl Hammer, age forty-eight. Carl lives in Seattle. He’s five feet eight and weighs one hundred forty pounds.”
Logan studied the small indoor camp. “Everything is covered in a layer of dust. It looks like no one has disturbed it in weeks.”
“Maybe Carl died in the basement,” Tessa said, marking an empty water bottle as evidence and photographing it.
“Or he killed someone else and ran.”
“But why would he leave his things here?” Tessa gestured toward the pack. “This is his survival pack. Why didn’t he take it with him?”
“I don’t know, but the body isn’t fully decomposed. So it hasn’t been in the basement long enough for all that debris to have collected on top of it organically. Someone covered it.”
“True. He didn’t try to hide his own body.” Tessa frowned. “With the corpse this decomposed, I doubt we’ll have many answers until the autopsy is complete.” Tessa propped a hand on her duty belt. “We could either have an accidental death or a murder. I have to make some calls.” She stepped outside. Logan followed her and waited on the front lawn. There was no reason to endure the smell unless he had to.
Dr. Henry Powers parked his vehicle behind Tessa’s patrol SUV. He climbed out of the car.
“How is Patsy?” Tessa asked him.
Henry retrieved his kit from his back seat. “No concussion. The ankle was fractured, but the bone wasn’t displaced. I put her in a boot. She had some cuts and bruises but nothing else serious. She’ll be fine.”
“That’s great,” said Logan.
They filed down into the basement.
Something small and gray shot past Logan’s feet. He pulled his gun. Next to him, Tessa did the same.
Henry jumped. “What the hell was that?”
Logan watched a thin pink tail disappear through a crack in the foundation. “A rat.”
“I’m sure rodents have been feeding on the corpse,” Tessa added.
“Shit.” The doctor grimaced. “That scared the crap out of me.”
After sharing a slightly sheepish glance, Logan and Tessa slid their guns back into their holsters. They were all on edge, and rats were just plain nasty.
They approached the remains. They’d found fresh bodies and skeletons in past cases, but this was Logan’s first really ripe corpse. The smell was intense and sickening, exacerbated by poor ventilation in the mostly enclosed space.
With the bright lights, Logan could see more of the body. The skin had turned black, and maggots and other insects wiggled everywhere. Flies swarmed in a black, buzzing cloud.
Henry studied the remains for a few minutes. “You were right about the rodent activity, Tessa. Some of the fingers are missing. Let’s remove the remaining debris from on top of the body.”
Tessa spread a tarp next to the body. “I’ve already taken pictures.”
They donned gloves and began shifting wood, leaves, and trash to the tarp. Everything would be collected as evidence. When the body was exposed, Henry crouched to study it. “Clearly, this body will have to go to the medical examiner on the mainland for an autopsy.”
“I’ve already called the funeral home,” Tessa said. “They’ll transport.”
Henry opened a tape measure. “The body measures a few inches over six feet tall.”
“The man whose ID is in the backpack upstairs was only five-eight,” Logan said.
“Then this is not him,” Henry said. “Decomposition would not change the length of his skeleton.”
Tessa said, “We need to find out what happened to him too. I’ll call the ferry operators and have them keep an eye out for him.”
Henry nodded at the corpse. “Bloat has come and gone, so I can’t estimate the victim’s weight. Body fluids would have leaked into the soil underneath.”
Tessa nodded. “We’ll need to send samples of the soil and insects with the body.”
“Why insects?” Logan’s job as park ranger did not include attending autopsies. Tessa, on the other hand, had been a detective with the Seattle PD before she’d moved back home to care for her mother.
“The ME will want to enlist an entomologist,” Tessa explained. “Studying the bugs on and around a corpse can help estimate time of death and sometimes even cause of death. Bugs found on the remains that don’t belong in the environment can indicate the remains have been moved.”
The corpse wore jeans, a hoodie, and black high-tops. The exposed skin was black, mottled with green. The dark hair was short.
“Size, shape, and clothing indicate the corpse is male.” Henry slipped a gloved finger inside each pocket. “Nothing in the pockets.”
“Any idea how long he’s been dead?” Tessa asked.
“I can only give you a wide window.” Henry shone a flashlight on the face. The corpse’s features were unrecognizable. “Maybe ten to twenty days. I’m sure the ME can give you a tighter window after the autopsy.”
Henry shifted his attention to the head. “Hold on.” He gently pushed aside some of the matted black hair. “This is a nasty wound.” Henry sat back on his haunches, his hands falling between his knees. He looked up at Tessa and Logan. “This looks like a gunshot wound.”
“Was it fatal?” Tessa asked.
Henry’s expression turned thoughtful. “I won’t officially state it as the cause of death, not before an autopsy is completed. Who knows what other injuries the medical examiner will find? But I will say this, unofficially. It’s a very serious injury and could have been fatal.”
Tessa nodded. “Thanks, Henry.”
Henry stood. “Let’s get him bagged, and I’ll call the ME.”
They opened the body bag on the dirt floor.
“Careful,” Tessa said.
Logan’s stomach did a slow sick roll as he helped transfer the body to the bag. On the bright side, the corpse remained intact.
The funeral home employees arrived and collected the body with a wheeled gurney. Logan, Tessa, and Henry followed the gurney up the stairs and out of the house.
“The ME is doing the autopsy first thing in the morning,” Henry said. “I’m going over to the mainland to observe. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Henry,” Tessa said. “I have to update the sheriff.”
She lifted her phone to her ear and turned away.
Henry drove off behind the hearse.
Logan inhaled a lungful of fresh air. Even outside, the scent of decomposition filled his nostrils and throat. He sniffed his clothes. They stank. Maybe he would burn them.
Tessa lowered her phone and nodded toward the street. “Bruce is here.”
Bruce parked behind her vehicle and climbed out.
“Is your mom all right?” Logan asked.