Page 3 of Hidden Hero

“I’ll get her to smile,” he said, more to himself than Pete. “Sooner or later, she’ll crack.”

Pete shook his head, laughing. “Good luck with that, buddy. You might need it.”

Jeremy leaned back, still smiling. For reasons he couldn’t entirely explain, he looked forward to their next encounter—and the challenge it promised.

2

PRESENT DAY

“Fucking hell. What a mess.” Jeremy sighed heavily as Pete flipped on his blinker to veer into the emergency lane to pass a line of slow-moving vehicles. Their lights flashed to indicate their intentions and identity. Jeremy rolled down his window and held up his badge for the deputies dealing with the traffic. The north lanes already had to merge into one, and it wouldn’t take much for rubbernecking drivers to cause another accident.

Coming to a stop behind one of the fire trucks, a line of sheriff vehicles, and two ambulances, both men looked upward. The sky was overcast, with gray clouds moving closer from the west.

“I hope the rain holds off.”

Jeremy turned his gaze from the windshield to Pete and nodded. “With our luck, it’ll start to pour.”

They alighted from the SUV and walked toward the closest hub of activity. As they passed one of the vehicles, Jeremy could see his earlier statement about themesswas correct. A small sedan was flipped on its head, and the front was crumpled like an accordion. A small, older-model pickup truck was wrapped around a large tree, almost split in two.

Recognizing Mark Robbins and Brad Stowe, two of the detectives for the county, he and Pete walked closer. With a chin lift and a handshake, he greeted, “Brad. Mark. I’d say good morning, but this isn’t how anyone wants to start their morning.”

As detectives with the ES Drug Task Force, he and Pete didn’t usually get called to a vehicle accident unless there was evidence or suspicion of drug involvement. “What have you got?” Pete asked.

Brad shook hands with both and jerked his head toward the tree. “An older man was driving the truck. He crossed over the line and ran into the sedan before hurtling into the tree. Both drivers were local and pronounced dead on the scene when the medical examiner arrived.”

Jeremy’s gaze moved to the mass of people working the scene, zeroing in on the woman in the white PPE jumpsuit, booties over her shoes, and a hoodie pulled up and tied snuggly around her dark hair. Her glasses were in place, and even though he couldn’t see her eyes, he knew they were a warm brown with flecks of gold. But this time, her eyeglass frames were red. She kneeled at the side of the truck as her gloved hands sifted through the contents on the bench seat and floorboard of the passenger side. Two similarly dressed people were moving in tandem, one with a camera and the other with plastic bags for collecting and labeling evidence.

From how she called out instructions, it was obvious who was in charge. Dr. Cora Wadsworth, the medical examiner. Jeremy shook his head slightly, a small grin tugging at his lips despite the grim scene.

The rain’s gentle patter against his face broke his thoughts, and he reached into his back pocket for his DTF ball cap, tugging it low over his brow to keep the drizzle off. He turned back to the conversation between the detectives. “And we’re here because?”

Mark sighed. “Large bag of pills on the truck driver’s front seat. And from a witness’s account, he was driving erratically.”

“Could just be an elderly man having a medical issue,” Pete surmised.

Brad shook his head. “Maybe, but right now, it’s too suspicious. Too many pills. Cora can let us know what’s there and what was in his system.”

Jeremy thought of the recent cases they’d come across with prescription drugs hitting the black market. “Who was the man?”

“Fred Rudolph. Longtime farmer in the area. He was a widower. His kids are long gone from the Shore. Lives alone.”

“Okay, man, thanks. We’ll work this with you,” Jeremy said. They shook hands again, then he walked toward the truck where the ME team worked. His feet slowed as he neared. Sucking in a deep breath, he straightened his back and approached. He knew Cora wouldn’t give him any attention, but he enjoyed trying to make her smile, even if he never succeeded.

She stood and turned her face toward him. Her glasses were wet, and his fingers twitched as he almost pulled his cap from his head and handed it to her. Curling his hands into fists, he kept them at his side. She wouldn’t accept the cap since it wasn’t proper protective equipment and probably wouldn’t take it since it was from him.

“Dr. Wadsworth,” he greeted with a nod. “It’s nice to see you here, even on this miserable day. You’re diligent, as always, but I can’t imagine why PPE doesn’t come with headgear to keep you dry.”

“Detectives,” she greeted, offering a slight nod toward him and Pete as she blinked away the water drops. “You know I don’t have anything for you now.”

“Understood,” Pete said with a smile. “We’ll wait on your report, and I know you’ll have your assistant send the photographs to us as soon as he’s back in the office.”

She nodded, but with a mask in place, her expression was hidden.

“Why didn’t you put up a tent?” Jeremy asked, his gaze sweeping over the wreckage. “You’d have been a lot drier.”

“The bodies were removed before the rain started. Since the evidence was collected, there was no reason to take the time and energy to raise a tent over the scene.”

“Efficient as always, I see,” he said, his lips twitching upward.

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