Jack was here to recuperate. A guest. Not a friend, not a colleague, not a mentor. I wasn"t going to bring him into this any more than I had to, and when I did, it would be as a calm, detached professional investigating a case. If I found Sammi"s body, I would not be calm, detached, or professional, no matter how hard I tried. So he was staying out until I had something to report.
I found Emma in the kitchen, taking a ca.s.serole from the oven.
"How"s John?" I asked.
"They should be back any minute. He went out fishing with Owen."
I tried to picture that, and failed. "I didn"t know John fished."
"He doesn"t, apparently, but Owen offered to show him how and he agreed to give it a shot." She pulled the foil from the dish, steam billowing up. "Actually, it was more like: "You fish?" "Nah." "Wanna try?" "Sure." At least they won"t scare the fish away with their chattering."
"Any last-minute check-ins?"
She shook her head. "Empty again tonight unless someone comes by late. But we have two more bookings for the weekend, so it looks like we"ll have a full house."
I imagined a weekend stuffed with kayaking and bird-watching, no time for Sammi. My stomach fluttered. I reminded myself this this was my priority. My gut didn"t agree. was my priority. My gut didn"t agree.
"I"ll be heading out again after dinner, if that"s okay. Just a few things I need to wrap up, make sure I"m clear for the weekend."
Emma studied me. "Is everything okay, Nadia?"
I forced a smile. "Sure. Why?"
Another long look that I struggled not to squirm under. Then she said, "You do whatever you have to do."
Jack and Owen appeared before dinner reached the table. I ate like a race car stuck in a fifty-kilometer zone wolfing a few bites, forcing myself to slow down, gulping some more, slamming on the brakes...
I told myself Jack wasn"t really a guest, so I didn"t need to play hostess. But it was the looks he kept shooting that slowed me down his intense gaze swinging my way every time I gulped a mouthful or responded with one-word answers to Emma"s efforts to strike up conversation.
I even had a slice of strudel... or at least cut it up and pushed pieces around on my plate. Then I cleared the table for Emma, loaded the dishwasher, and fled by way of the kitchen door.
I found Jack leaning against my truck"s fender, one elbow braced on the hood, the crutch in front of him, resting against his chest. He didn"t say a word, just watched my approach with that unwavering gaze.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, going for casual. Even managed a smile. "Hey. Everything going okay? All settled in?"
"Same as last time you asked."
"Right, well, if you need anything, Emma"s around. She"s officially on duty until ten." I pulled out my keys and had to flip through the ring twice to find the right one. "I hate to eat and run, but with no guests around, I have to take advantage of it. Got some work to do on the other side of the property."
"That where you think she"s buried?"
The keys slipped and I fumbled to grab the ring before it fell. "B-buried?"
"Sammi. You"re looking for her body."
I tried to laugh. "In these woods? If Sammi"s out there, I don"t have a hope in h.e.l.l of finding "
"Cut the s.h.i.t, Nadia. We both know that cougar scream was a girl. You found out where. Now you"re searching."
"No, I "
"You"re gonna tell me you"re not? What"s the big deal?"
He had a point. So why did my stomach clench at the thought of admitting it? I supposed I just didn"t want him saying that hunting for a live girl was fine, but digging up a dead one could get me in trouble, and I couldn"t afford anyone taking too close a look at my life. And if he did did say that, he"d have another point. But I didn"t want to hear it. say that, he"d have another point. But I didn"t want to hear it.
He swung the crutch under his arm and pulled open the driver"s door. "You can drive."
"You aren"t coming, Jack. I appreciate the offer, but you"re injured and I really need to be thorough "
"And careful. So I"m going. Make sure you are."
"Are you suggesting ?"
"Not suggesting. Saying. Saying. You aren"t yourself. Haven"t been since you picked me up. Quiet. Tense. Your mind"s someplace else. I thought it was just me. Us. Then you run off. Come back. Inhale dinner. All you can think about is getting back. Back to You aren"t yourself. Haven"t been since you picked me up. Quiet. Tense. Your mind"s someplace else. I thought it was just me. Us. Then you run off. Come back. Inhale dinner. All you can think about is getting back. Back to her"" her""
The keys bit into my palm. I loosened my grip. "I"m not running off half-c.o.c.ked. I"m being careful and I have my priorities straight. I need to search for Sammi now, so I don"t have to run off when guests arrive tomorrow."
"So if you had guests, you"d slow down? f.u.c.k, no. Be climbing the walls." He paused and met my gaze. "I"ve seen you like this before. With Wilkes."
"Don"t "
"You get single-minded. Obsess " He cut the word off by rubbing his mouth. "Not trying to stop you. Just want to watch your back. Cover your tracks."
He headed around to the pa.s.senger side. I got in and waited for him.
Chapter Eleven.
Having searched the east side of the campsite, I started a fresh grid on the west. It seemed unlikely that anyone would have taken Sammi more than a half kilometer into the dense woods.
After almost two hours, I found a patch of disturbed earth less than a hundred feet from the main road. The sun was setting, as it would have been when Sammi walked by, good enough to see, but not to see well. I fought the urge to start digging and simply marked the location by sticking the string roll over a tree branch.
I headed back for the truck.
"Need something?" Jack asked.
I headed at the sound of his voice. In the last two hours, he"d said maybe a dozen words, as he silently poked around, letting me work.
"Need something?" he repeated.
"Stuff."
I retrieved my larger flashlight, and came back to find Jack hunkered down by the disturbed earth.
"Something dug here," he said. "Be careful. Re mem ber "
I slapped the flashlight into his hand, cutting him short. "Shine it on me, so I don"t miss anything."
I pulled on a pair of gloves, crouched, and examined the spot under the glare of the Maglite. It wasn"t a large area less than six square inches of bare earth where something had cleared away the layer of rotting leaves. Claw marks scored the ground, each the size of fork tines. The animal had dug down an inch or two, then given up.
There was a dark, wet-looking patch in the center of the spot. I picked up a clump of dirt, crushed it between my gloved fingers, and looked closer. It was dry, just darker than the surrounding earth. I ground another clump between my thumb and forefinger. Jack shone the Maglite on it.
"Blood," Jack said. "Here, let me "
"Got it."
I gently swept aside the disturbed earth. Beneath the thin layer the animal had sc.r.a.ped through, the ground was hard. You can pack a hole as tightly as you want, but you can never cover the signs of disturbance. Blood had seeped into the ground here, but nothing was buried beneath it.
I took a moment to wipe off my hands, gaze down, not letting Jack see how relieved I was.
Then I shifted onto my haunches and looked around. Something had come through here, damaging bushes and low-hanging branches to the north, the direction of the road, and to the southwest. I knew the disturbance couldn"t have taken place more than a week or so ago because the exposed wood of each break was fresh, and new leaves hung from the broken end of the twigs, still surviving on stored food.
Despite the obvious signs of pa.s.sage, the site showed no ground-level indication that anyone had pa.s.sed this way. Fallen leaves carpeted the ground beneath the broken twigs. Not a single inch of bare earth was exposed. Perfectly undisturbed. Too Too perfect. All around this patch, dead and fallen leaves lay in heaps and clumps, the earth peeking through. Someone had covered his tracks here. perfect. All around this patch, dead and fallen leaves lay in heaps and clumps, the earth peeking through. Someone had covered his tracks here.
I proceeded southwest. I didn"t need to search for broken branches and twigs. The too-perfect layer of leaves stretched out before me like a red carpet. Less than fifty feet later, it ended at a clearing.
I flexed my hands, inhaling to calm my galloping heart, then crept on my hands and knees to the middle and began clearing leaves. Without a word, Jack set up the flashlight to shine on the patch, then started working at the other side.
Within minutes we"d found a tightly packed patch of upturned earth.
Staying on my knees, I cleared the area and marked the perimeter of the hole. Two feet wide. Just over five feet long. Once it was clear, I eased back and sat there, staring at it.
I stood, hands shaking as I brushed dirt from my pants.
"I need " The words snagged in my throat. I"d been working so long in silence it was hard to speak. I cleared my throat. "I have to go back to the truck and get "
Jack stepped up beside me, holding a shovel. I hadn"t even noticed he"d left.
"Here," he said. "You sit. Rest. I"ll "
"No."
I took the shovel and sc.r.a.ped off layers of dirt, rather than digging. If Sammi was here, I"d need to replace everything as it had been and find a way to lead the police search in the right direction.
About nine inches down, the tip of my shovel revealed a pale nub, glowing in the reflected flashlight beam. I bent and, working with my gloves on, finger-scooped around the object until I could see it. A toe. A small toe with chipping purple nail polish.
I moved back, drawing in a ragged breath.
"Want me to ?" Jack began.
"No."
I crawled to the other end of the hole and began sc.r.a.ping away at the earth. Soon, yet another pale nub showed through the inky earth. A nose. Using my fingers, I cleared away the final layer of dirt. Then I leaned back and sat there, looking down at Sammi. A b.l.o.o.d.y gag covered her mouth. Her eyes were open, those beautiful violet orbs streaked with dirt and filled, not with shock or fear, but rage. A last snarl at the world that had ignored her.
Jack"s fingers brushed my arm. I instinctively pulled back, then stopped, letting his fingertips rest there, warm against my cold skin, my jacket long since discarded.
"I didn"t even like her," I whispered, staring down, trapped by the force of Sammi"s final rage.
"You gave her a job."
"Because I felt sorry for her. She knew that and she hated it. Hated me for it. Can I blame her? That"s all she ever got in her life. Pity and antipathy."
"First is better than the second."
"Is it?" I glanced up at him. "I could have helped her. Really helped her. Not just given her handouts and patted myself on the back for it. Girls like Sammi..." I shook my head and looked back at that paint-chipped toenail, unable to look at her eyes again. "People see a pretty girl with a short skirt and a big att.i.tude, and they think they know her. They think they know the type. type. Girls like Sammi... like Amy... People think they"ve got them all figured out." Girls like Sammi... like Amy... People think they"ve got them all figured out."
His fingers wrapped around my forearm. "She"s not Amy, Nadia."
"I know that," I snapped, yanking away. "I just meant that I knew better. I knew, from Amy, what it must have been like for Sammi. I could have done more."
"Didn"t have to do anything."
I looked at him.
He shrugged. "Just saying..."
I knelt and started digging again.
"Nadia..."
"I need to find her."
He lowered himself beside me, awkwardly, struggling with the cast. "You know it"s her. You don"t need to "
"Not Sammi. Her baby. I need to find her baby."
He nodded, straightened, and started sc.r.a.ping at the earth as I dug with my hands.
To Sammi"s killer, the baby would have been inconsequential, a minor obstacle to be removed. Before he had his fun with Sammi, he"d have killed Destiny to silence her cries. To minimize effort, it would make sense to bury the baby"s body in the same grave.
I dug down within an inch of Sammi"s body, still wary of disturbing her, in case someone later found her. When I uncovered nothing on top of her, I dug on either side, going down until the earth went hard, less than a foot lower.
"Baby"s not here," Jack said.
I stood and looked around.
"Nadia "
I shook off his restraining hand. "There"s only one thing in the world Sammi cared about, Jack, and I"m not leaving until I give that back to her. Yes, I know, that doesn"t make a lot of sense. But I need to, okay?" I tossed him the truck keys. "You go on, and I"ll walk back."
He handed them back. "Let me help search."