Eve looked up to see Nan glaring at her with her arms crossed under her chest.

“You can stop trying to impress me, Detective. I don’t care how you got into Homicide or if you’re qualified to be there. My job is only to give you the facts as I see them. Do you want to hear them or would you prefer to continue with your own analysis? Because I have lots of work I can be doing.”

Eve felt her face flush with embarrassment. She wasn’t trying to impress Nan, at least not intentionally—she was just thinking out loud.

“I’m sorry. Go ahead. Please.”

Nan uncrossed her arms, acknowledging the apology with a nod, and went on. “Your analysis is essentially correct. The blood trail indicates the killer dragged Tanya out of here, down the hall, and into the master bedroom.”

The CSU chief led Eve into the master bedroom and stopped at the foot of the bed. “He lifted her onto the bed and stabbed her repeatedly in a wild rage.”

“What makes you think he was angry?”

“The amount of spatter on the walls, headboard, and nightstand suggest a rapid, powerful succession of blows, more like hacking than stabs. Some wounds were so deep that the knife went through her into the mattress.” Nan pointed to the deep rips and tears in the blood-soaked mattress.

“She was butchered,” Eve said.

“Yes, she was, but not here. She was yanked off the bed and dragged out of the bedroom”—Nan abruptly marched out and Eve followed her to the bathroom door—“and into the bathtub, where she was dismembered.”

“With what?”

“Probably the same knife that was used to kill her.”

“How do you know it was that knife and not something else?”

“Something like a hacksaw or an ax would have left bone and tissue fragments distinctively different from what we’ve found.”

“He knew what he was doing,” Eve said.

Nan shook her head. “I wouldn’t say that. Anyone who has carved a turkey knows how to cut at the joints. But it’s hard, messy work dismembering a body. It would have taken him a couple of hours, not counting the time spent on the dog.”

“Where was the dog killed?”

“In the tub, based on the spatter and fur on the tile. But I can’t say whether the dog was killed before or after Tanya.”

“Do you know if the knife came from the house?”

“My guess is that he brought it with him. The cutlery set in the kitchen is complete and it seems to me that the weapon the killer most likely used is something closer to a tactical hunting knife. That said, I suppose it’s possible that someone in the house might have owned a knife like that and could tell you if it’s missing.”

“The killer was in here a long time,” Eve said. “Any chance he left fingerprints, hair, or DNA behind?”

“We’re dusting every surface but we’re not optimistic. Preliminary indications are that he didn’t leave any fingerprints, which tells me he wore gloves. My guess is dish gloves.”