Rose Ch. 01-05

"What does that mean?"

"I've seen this in combat wounds, specifically sniper attacks in Iraq. These are full-metal-jacket rounds. No hunter would use these for anything but practice. This thing could have traveled another half mile after it went through him."

In an open area like this attack, it would be futile to look for the bullet. I called Gunny, they were just finishing up the work at the sites and I told him what I had found out. He wasn't shocked. "Rose, if this was a professional, I bet it was a .308 Winchester, 168 grain Federal boat tail match round. That's the most common ammunition used by military snipers and many civilian ones as well. To make shots at that distance, you need repeatability above all. It's either that or he loads his own rounds."

"Can we find it?"

He thought about it for a moment. "It's got his blood on it, so we have a chance. I'll organize the Pack, we'll go out first thing in the morning and see if we can find it."

I hung up from him and called Agent Smith. He said they would stop at the coroner's office and pick up the report after dinner, and released the body into my custody. "Thanks for the assist, Rose, but the boss wants me to remind you that you aren't an active Agent right now. I need copies of your notes, and if anything comes up, you need to let me handle it."

"I understand," I said as I walked back into the room. "Thank you." I hung up, Julia had already transferred Lance into a bodybag. We rolled it out to the van on the gurney and got back on the road. I gave Gunny a heads up we were coming.

The Elders took the body to prepare it while I cleaned up and went downstairs for dinner. I was surprised to see a very pregnant Renee Hastings had just arrived. She was sitting next to Ella, her mate Robert on the other side. Normally, a visit like this would be a joyous one, but the mood was somber. I filled the visiting Alphas in on what we had found out so far in the investigation, which wasn't much.

It was when I told them we had found a Scrabble piece, with a T on it, that she dropped the glass she was drinking water out of. It bounced off the table and broke on the floor, but she didn't look down. She was staring at me, her jaw open in shock. "A scrabble piece?" I nodded.

She pulled out her phone and flicked through the photos until she found one and showed it to me. My blood turned to ice as I realized what it was.