Page 36 of Tears on Her Grave

“Don’t worry, we don’t shoot bears. Wolfe will make sure you have bear spray. You’ll have Blackhawk with you, and I’m sending Johnny Raven as well. I know you haven’t met him yet, but he’s a big man like Dave and he’ll have his dog, Ben, with him. Raven is our new K-9 unit. He lives in the forest and will be able to protect you from man and beast.”

Relieved, Norrell pushed her hair from her face and smiled. “That’s good to know.”

FORTY-FOUR

Agitation rolls over me as the news comes to an end without one mention of Lily’s murder. I find it hard to believe the sheriff could be so incompetent not to have found the body yet. Surely someone would have tripped over her or seen the blood running down the alley into the gutter. I was sure someone from the beauty parlor would have gone out the back door by now. I click off the TV, unable to watch the screen for a moment longer. Watching the smug forensic anthropologist giving her opinion on the murder scene was a joke. Although, I’m concerned there’s evidence left at the Whispering Caves. Did the bodies of Cole and Abby really wash out during a storm or is someone setting me up? There are only a few of us who know exactly where we buried them. I’ve had my suspicions about Marissa and Lily, but now I’ve taken care of them they won’t be running their mouths off to anyone.

Dr. Larson was way overconfident when she delivered her proclamation about the DNA evidence found under Abby’s nails. No one had noticed the scratch on my neck because I’d been wearing a turtleneck, so I’m the only one who knows she scratched me. My only concern is what other evidence has been left behind. I figured we’d buried everything incriminating withthem. The problem is, if Dr. Larson looks hard enough, she’ll find the bloody scarf I wiped my hands on after murdering them. I recall tossing it into the grave along with my blood-spattered jacket and my gloves. It hadn’t been my idea to bury everything deep and my friends’ support had surprised me. I can’t help smiling at the way they all fell into line. They actually believed me, but I figure poking myself in the eyes to make them water was the clincher. Everything had been fine until the bodies came floating down the river. My secret had been safe for twelve years.

We made a pact all those years ago to never give our DNA. All of us had touched the bodies and pressed our hands on Cole’s and Abby’s cooling flesh. It was a way to bind us all together, to make us keep the secret. Now my group is falling apart piece by piece and I can’t allow it to go on any longer. I admit killing them all would solve my problem, but as the last man standing, I’d be the prime suspect and I’d never be able to prove my innocence. I need to look in other directions and make assurances that no other evidence is found against us. I’ll devise another plan to save my skin. Time is my enemy.

FORTY-FIVE

MONDAY, WEEK TWO

Emily Wolfe dashed into her father’s office. “Am I too late? Has she left yet?”

“Nope.” Wolfe looked up from his computer screen and smiled at her. “She’s out back making sure the van is packed with everything she needs. Is this really how you want to spend your day off? I figured you’d be sleeping most of the time.”

Emily rolled her eyes. “I worked the weekend so I could take a day to go with her to look at the crime scene. You know I’m very interested in forensic anthropology and will be definitely adding it to my qualifications as I go along.” Seeing the amusement in his eyes, she gave him a long look. “I’m tougher than you think, Dad. I put it down to the hours you kept me here working in the morgue. Sure, the shifts are long but I’m learning all the time. I actually like working with live patients. It’s been a good experience for me, but I’ll be grateful when it’s over and I can join you here. Then I’ll look into continuing my studies part-time. Having Norrell here, with her wealth of experience, I’d be crazy not to.”

“I’m sure people will look on our family as being extremely unusual, all of us working with the dead.” Wolfe chuckled. “But then I’d imagine there are families of undertakers out there.”

Footsteps on the tile in the passageway announced the arrival of Norrell. To Emily she was like a shaft of sunlight. Her long blonde hair and bright smile lit up the room. She’d never imagined accepting another woman to take her mom’s place, but right from the start, Norrell had made it very clear she had no intention of doing that, although she did mother Anna. Often she’d found her sitting on the edge of Anna’s bed reading her stories and she’d heard her talking to the little girl about their mom. It was obvious she was trying to keep her mother’s memory alive to Anna, although she’d only been two when her mother passed, and her recollection would be sketchy.

“You made it, Em.” Norrell gave her a hug. “That’s really good. I didn’t want to squash in with the guys in the van. Now we can go in the truck.”

Emily had driven the mountain tracks many times and could handle the conditions. “I’ll drive. I’ve been up the mountains many times and the conditions are pretty bad at the moment.”

“That’s fine by me.” Norrell smiled. “I’ll tell the team they can get going. We’re all meeting Blackhawk at the end of the fire road. Raven will be meeting us about halfway. Somewhere along there is a cutaway that goes straight to his cabin. He cleared it himself.” She looked at Emily. “Have you met him?”

Recalling the devastatingly handsome man who’d saved her life, Emily nodded. “Yeah, I’ve met him. He’s a very nice guy. It will be good to have him along for protection.”

“Yeah, Shane told me how he rescued Julie from the plane crash.” Norrell nodded. “It will be nice to have another person around we can trust.”

“Go and grab survival kits before you leave and take a rifle.” Wolfe looked at Emily. “You carrying? I don’t want you going into the forest unarmed. There’s a killer in town and y’all need to stay alert.”

Sighing, Emily kissed her dad on the cheek. “Yeah, I’m good. Don’t forget to eat.”

Leaving them to say their goodbyes, Emily headed for the closet in the passageway and grabbed supplies and liquid Kevlar vests. The light vests were worth their weight in gold. She heard Norrell walk by and head outside to speak to her team. She headed after her, grabbing the keys to one of the medical examiner’s white trucks from the board as she followed her outside. She handed her the vest. “Put this on before we leave. We don’t know what we’re going to encounter in the forest and this offers protection. It’s not bulky and you won’t even know you’re wearing it.” She dumped the survival packs in the back of the truck, then removed her jacket and put on her own vest. “Ready to go?”

“We take the third entrance into the fire road along Stanton and then follow it to the end, where Blackhawk will be waiting for us.” Norrell climbed into the truck and secured her seatbelt. “Look out for Raven. He’s driving a new sheriff’s department truck.”

Nodding, Emily set off. She’d driven the medical examiner’s trucks many times and was very familiar with them. As they turned into Main, a garbage truck backing into an alleyway to collect the dumpsters blocked the road. She glanced at Norrell. “Will your team wait for you?”

“I doubt it.” Norrell gave a shake of her head. “They know we’re all meeting up at the end of the fire road and I told them I would be coming along behind with you.”

It seemed to take forever for the garbage truck to move along. The delay had caused a line of traffic and it was slow going until they reached Stanton. When Emily turned onto the fire road, although the gullies along each side held deep muddy water, the gravel-packed road appeared to be relatively stable, apart from deep tire tracks marring its normally smooth surface. Theybounced along for a few hundred yards and the road evened out, allowing her to increase her speed, but Norrell’s white van was nowhere in sight. In her rearview mirror she noticed another vehicle following along behind. “I think Raven’s behind us.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Norrell smiled. “He sounds like a very interesting man. I can’t wait to meet him.”

Emily stared in the rearview mirror and frowned. The vehicle behind was coming at high speed, which seemed reckless on a dirt road. The next second, the truck shunted them in the back, throwing them both forward in their seats. Terrified, Emily gripped the wheel. “That’s not Raven. Hang on, he’s coming again.”

“Do you think he just wants to pass?” Norrell’s face drained of color. “Maybe you should just pull over?”

Panic gripped Emily as another impact jarred her, twisting the truck sideways. A metallic taste poured into her mouth. She’d bitten her tongue. Increasing her speed, she drove the truck along the side of the road close to the gully, where the ground was smoother. A group of men would be waiting for them at the end of the fire road and all she had to do was outrun this lunatic. The next second, the truck was beside her and a man wearing a ski mask was peering at them through the holes. When he spun the wheel, panic gripped her. He slammed into her and the jolt went right through to her bones. The terrible sound of metal panels grinding against each other screamed in her ears. Beside her, Norrell cried out as her door buckled under the impact. The front wheels bounced and the truck came again, smashing hard and pushing them toward the rushing water.

Frantic, Emily spun the wheel and pressed down hard on the gas. The attacker was relentless and rammed them again. With a loud moan, the truck tipped over and rolled into the gully. The airbags burst out in a cloud of white, and objects from the cab flew into the air. Her Aunt Betty’s Café travel mug bounced offher shoulder and a bag of candy spilled its contents over her. Pinned tight between the curtain and main airbags, Emily could see only the brown water rushing past the window. They must get out before they drowned.

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