"His girlfriend has already confirmed that it's him. Here's the important part: according to her, Thor-te attended the opening exhibition at a local gallery at eight last night. They even spoke on the phone then."
The portly patrolman's answer made the two detectives exchange looks. Hancock shook his head repeatedly. "There's no way this guy was still alive last night, and there's no way a body could end up like this in just one night."
"That's what you two need to figure out." The portly officer shrugged, then seemed to remember something and pointed at the abstract paintings hanging around the room.
"No valuables were missing from the house. His girlfriend said these paintings were collector's pieces, but a Rolex the victim had been wearing a lot lately is gone."
"Sounds more like a trophy someone took." Nick crouched beside the desiccated body. Only after examining it carefully did he realize that it really was fresh.
The muscles in the limbs were still fairly full, but almost all the fat beneath the skin had disappeared. Though blackened, the loose, sagging skin still had some elasticity, and the hair had not dried out either. It was an eerie sight, as though something had forcibly drained him dry.
"I found something." A female officer from the forensic team, who had been taking photographs, pointed toward the body's head.
Nick had actually seen it too, but had found it too disgusting to touch. Hancock glanced at his partner, sighed, and reluctantly felt around on the carpet beneath the body's head. He came up with a slender, delicate finger.
"Looks like it was bitten off. Probably a woman's left index finger." Nick carefully examined the finger, which had been severed at the base. Both the first and second joints were intact, and the nail