He clenched the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip as he passed the graveyard. Dammit, dammit, dammit. He was tired and needed sleep.
But the cops were there again.
Blue lights swirled against the night sky and he spotted the ME’s vehicle. They must have found something. One of the girls’ bodies?
Sweat beaded on his skin. Panic robbed his breath. Which one had they uncovered?
The banging in the back had stopped for a minute. Carrie Ann must be exhausted. He should just put her out of her misery. But he wanted to make a point this time. Teach the young girl a lesson.
That the woods were dangerous. That girls were stupid to venture out there alone.
In an effort not to be seen, he cut his lights as he drove past the graveyard. By the time he made the turn off onto the main road, he punched them back on. The winding road wrappedaround the mountain. He took a switchback on two wheels, then the banging started again.
What was he going to do? He couldn’t go back to the farm. Or the cemetery tonight.
He had to find a place and lay low. He could grab some sleep in the truck while she stayed locked in the back. But he couldn’t park in plain sight for fear someone would see him or hear her kicking the walls of the truck.
An idea struck him and he grinned and sped toward the one place he felt safe. Where no one suspected him of anything. Where he got respect.
Once the police left in the morning, he’d bury her with the others.
ONE HUNDRED TEN
Recovering the remains in the brush was a tedious process. Evidence had to be preserved. The autopsy would be key to confirming this body was related to their current case.
“I don’t see a scarf,” she said.
“It looks like a dog or animal has been digging here,” Derrick pointed out. “The animal could have dragged it off.”
“Hopefully ERT will find it.” She shined her light across the ground. “Have you recovered a shoe in the grave?”
“Not yet.” Laney said as she angled her head toward Ellie. “But there’s something else. This body is not a female. Judging from bone structure, size and aging, it’s not even a teenager.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes as she studied the skull. “What? Are you sure?”
Laney pointed to cranial structure. “Yes. The autopsy will give us more insight into cause of death and timing, but I’d estimate he’s been dead for years, perhaps a decade.”
Ellie’s thoughts raced back to everything they’d learned so far. “This man’s death could have occurred around the time Ruth disappeared.”
“It’s possible,” Laney agreed as she examined the back of the skull. “He certainly wasn’t strangled. It looks like he died of blunt force trauma to the head.”
Ellie contemplated that information. Derrick squatted down and examined the crack in the skull. Cord’s eyes cut to the bones then across the woods then back, a vein throbbing his neck.
“Earl Bramble supposedly disappeared around that time, which made him appear guilty,” Ellie said, her mind shifting to piece together the puzzle. “What if he didn’t leave town?”
“We thought he’s been hiding out, traveling around, killing other girls,” Derrick said.
“That was our theory.” Ellie’s stomach twisted. “What if we were wrong? What if this is Earl and someone killed him?”
Cord shifted, sending loose rocks skittering down the hill.
“But who would kill him?” she asked out loud.
Derrick cleared his throat. “Someone who thought he murdered Ruth and wanted him to pay.”
“The Higgins men had motive,” Ellie said with a knot in her stomach.
Derrick nodded. “They did.”
