Page 49 of The Girl in the River

Both her boys scuttled backwards like scared river rats. “We just took care of things like you said,” Lloyd replied.

“What you getting your panties in a wad for anyway?” Chester said with a smirk, which told her the liquor had gone to his head and made him even more stupid. Her boys knew better than to talk back to her.

The dock swayed as she crossed to him, grabbed his hand and twisted his fingers.

He howled like a banshee, but she pushed his hand to the floor of the dock then slammed the hammer down across his fingers. Bellowing in pain, his face turned beet red and tobacco trickled from the corner of Lloyd’s mouth as he jerked his hands into his lap.

“We got the job done, Mama,” Lloyd said in a tiny voice.

Lloyd was the ass sucker. “You done brought the law around town, that’s what you stupid shits done.” She shoved Chester backward and he rolled on the dock, writhing in pain as he sucked his fingers.

“You two better lay low and keep your traps shut,” she growled. “Or else you’ll end up at the bottom of the river just like the others.”

SIXTY-TWO

MOSQUITO COVE

The ME and ERT showed up just as Ellie and Derrick did. Ellie also received a text from Laney confirming that the dental records for Mia and Jesse matched.

Although the sun was fading slightly, the temperature had climbed into the mid-eighties, the humidity zapping Ellie’s energy as they hiked down to the river edge.

Bugs swarmed around them, the sound of waves crashing melding with the sound of wildlife in the cove. Brush crackled beneath her boots, weeds clawing at her legs.

She skidded down the hill on the wet grass, then spotted Cord and his coworker Milo on the bank. The team followed her and Derrick, gathering by a pine tree that had fallen across the narrow part of the water.

Ellie snapped some pictures of the area and the whiskey barrel before stepping closer. She climbed on a bed of rocks, then shined her flashlight inside the barrel. Her stomach revolted at the grisly sight and putrid smell. She covered her nose with her hand and breathed out to stem her nausea.

Cord was right. There were charred remains inside, bones and ashes, maybe burned skin.

“Let’s move the barrel onto the shore so Dr. Whitefeather can examine the remains,” Ellie said.

“My team will start combing the woods for forensics,” Abraham Williams said.

Ellie nodded. While Cord, Milo and a member of the ERT worked to free the barrel from the weeds and haul it onto the bank, she and Derrick checked the shore for footprints. The cove was secluded, overgrown and known to be a hotbed of insects, making it an undesirable site for campers and hikers. Given that, the victim could have been killed elsewhere then put in the barrel and dumped here, although that would have been no easy feat. You might need an ATV or truck but there was no sign of tire prints that she could see, unless the rain had washed them away.

Most likely whoever was inside the barrel had been murdered, then stuffed inside and pushed into the water somewhere upstream. The killer probably thought it would sink and no one would ever find it, but it had floated to this spot. The recent storms had ripped up trees and brush, trapping it from floating further away.

“I don’t see signs anyone else has been here,” Derrick said. “Except for a couple of boot prints in the mud.”

“Probably Cord’s and Milo’s,” Ellie said. “We’ll take prints for elimination purposes.”

Cord and the team finally managed to haul the barrel onto the dock and Ellie, Derrick and Laney stepped closer. The stench of charred bones was so strong Ellie had to step away for a second to draw breath. Derrick muttered a curse, and Laney exhaled and pulled on a mask before peering deeper into the barrel.

“Charred body will make identification harder,” Laney said. “But we should be able to pull DNA from the bones and compare to Mia’s and Jesse’s.”

Ellie twisted her hands together, fear pressing against her chest.

Laney agreed and stepped away from the barrel for a deep breath.

The ERT fanned out to search the surrounding property and Ellie took a moment to calm her raging emotions then dialed Sheriff Kincaid’s number. “It’s Detective Reeves.”

“Yes, Detective?” the sheriff growled.

“Sheriff, a murder victim has been found in the river near your town.”

A heavy pause then he cleared his throat. “Where?”

“Mosquito Cove,” Ellie said. “Dr. Laney Whitefeather, the ME from Crooked Creek, and an ERT are here now.”

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