Laney slid from the vehicle, tugging on her rain slicker, her reddish-brown hair secured at the nape of her neck with a leather tie. In one hand she held her crime kit while pulling latex gloves from the pocket of her jacket with the other.
They traded hellos, then Laney quickly glanced up at the memorial in front of the little church on the hill with a frown. The sight of those stones and their proximity to the toxic land wasn’t lost on either of them. “What do we have here?”
Ellie indicated the photographer. “The man with the camera, Emanuel Black, found bones. I haven’t seen them yet, but ERT is photographing the area and Cord and crime techs are searching the woods.”
Behind Laney, a young man in his twenties appeared wearing jeans and an ERT cap, his name tag reading Tad Phelps. “This is my new forensic anthropology assistant,” Laney said then introduced Ellie. “He’s here to assist in recovering the remains.”
Ellie gave a nod of understanding. The bones had to be carefully extracted to ensure evidence wasn’t destroyed or compromised in the process. “Let’s go see what we have.”
Laney and Phelps followed Ellie across the barren ground to the crime scene tape where the sheriff’s deputy stood guard.
The sheriff might seem ornery, but at least he’d followed protocol to preserve the scene.
Dusk had set in, although she’d heard this land was bathed in a perpetual gray and she believed it. Leaves and dead brush dotted the ground, but it was obvious grass hadn’t grown here in a long time. The dirt seemed dry, the Georgia red clay hard and packed.
They paused by the deputy and surveyed the scene, the sight of a finger poking through the soil confirming Black’s story. Three more fingers were also evident.
A shudder rippled through Ellie. Looking at skeletal remains was never easy.
“I’ll retrieve our equipment, lights and a tarp to spread the bones on as we recover them,” Laney’s assistant said.
Thunder rumbled and Laney glanced up at the darkening sky. “Set up a tent to cover the grave from the rain.”
Her assistant nodded, then Laney adjusted her head lamp, knelt and surveyed the bones. “Definitely human although at this point we can’t be sure there’s an entire body here until we dig it up.”
Ellie’s mind was racing. An image of Ruth, a teenager with bright blue eyes and silky blond hair, taunted Ellie. They needed to find out how old the bones were. If they were from a teenager. Although it was possible Ruth’s abductor had held her captive for years, which would make her older.
If so, why kill her now?
SIX
Cord carefully skirted the cordoned-off area, knowing preserving evidence was key in identifying the body in that grave and learning how the person ended up dead.
Unease knotted his neck. He also knew other people were buried here in these woods.
But that was his secret to keep. And something he never wanted Ellie to know about.
Fifteen years had fallen away the second he heard Ellie mention Brambletown. He’d been on his own during his teenage years, grateful to have escaped his abusive, evil foster father. He’d learned how to blend into the wilderness, to move around to avoid being detected, to go unnoticed. To live in the shadows of civilization.
To see and not to be seen.
He knew things about the Bramble family, too. Had witnessed Earl Bramble’s abusive ways toward his daughter, Ida, and his niece Hetty.
Then that one night…
Thunder rumbled above, lightning streaking the dark sky. It had been cold and storming then, too. The screams had barelybeen discernible over the thunder, but he’d heard them. Then he’d gotten closer…
His heart raced as he dove deeper into the wooded area and although he told himself to stay away, his feet refused to obey. Several minutes later, he recognized the spot. A cluster of rocks that looked like a devil’s claw sat next to an overhang. Sweat beaded on his neck as he moved toward it. Memories tore into him like a raging storm ripping him apart inside.
Had he done the right thing back then?
Something shiny glittered near the rock formation and he strode toward it. Seconds later, he stopped and raked his gloved hand across the dirt.
His breath stalled in his chest as he realized what it was. A silver pocket watch.
For a moment, he considered burying it so deep no one could find it.
Ellie’s voice in his head and the training he’d had working with her was a reminder that even the smallest piece of evidence could lead to the truth. To a killer.
