Page 23 of Freshmeet
“I’m vindictive.”
“I’m telling Mom.”
I laughed, not touching the knob.
It was a short drive from my apartment to the new hotel being built just off campus. For decades, a few chain motels served the community, leaving parents to battle for reservations come graduation. After becoming mayor, Uncle Rick moved into property development, and this hotel would be his firststep toward making Kirksville more palatable for the rich kids’ parents.
I pulled up to the worksite and muttered, “What the hell?”
What had to be the entire Kirksville police department was present and accounted for, their red and blue flashing lights blinding in the dark morning.
Jamie sobered up pretty damn fast and was out of the car in a flash.
“Hey, wait?—”
But he was gone, already halfway to Uncle Rick. Yellow police tape circled the future basement of the hotel.
That’s not good.
I took my time walking over to the crew standing around the pit.
“I wonder who she is,” Bill said, scratching the back of his neck.
Turner shrugged and took a drink from his thermos. “Kinda looked like that gal that works at the Kum and Go.”
The guys bickered back and forth as I hazarded a look down.
Shouldn’t have done that . . .
At the bottom of the pit lay a black tarp. The tips of pink, painted toes poked out the edge. “That’s a dead body,” I said to no one in particular.
“Good eye, son,” Bill said, chuckling.
As much as I wanted to deck the old fucker, I couldn’t pull my attention from that tarp and those little toes that reminded me so much of Sarah’s.
Did something happen to her last night after I left?
A guy with the word “coroner” written across the shoulders of his jacket lifted the edge of the tarp and shook his head. “Bring the bag.”
Two big guys climbed down into the pit with a body bag. Everything in my gut told me to look away, but I couldn’t. Themen got the bag situated, then lifted the tarp. There was a flash of bright blond hair, and I sucked in a breath, holding it until my lungs burned. As my gaze traveled down the bloody, broken body, relief flooded me, and the air whooshed out of my mouth.
It’s not Sarah.
“Well, shit. It is Deidra,” Dustin said, taking off his worn ball cap. “Her mama’s gonna be crushed.”
A chorus of “mm-hmms” traveled through the men as we watched the young woman get zipped up.
Uncle Rick joined us with a heavy sigh. “Boys, looks like you get the day off, seeing as the building site is now a crime scene. If you want to make up today’s hours, meet me at Thousand Hills. I could use a few more guys on the visitor center reno.” Just another reason folks loved my uncle—he took care of his people.
The men all nodded, shuffling back to their pickups, talking quietly.
“You boys coming?” Uncle Rick asked, running a hand down his face.
Jamie shook his head. “I think I’m going to go home. My summer math class starts tomorrow, might as well rest up before that nightmare begins.”
Uncle Rick nodded. “What about you, Connor?”
“Sure. I could always use the extra money.”
