Page 8 of Let Her Live

Still, he slid the mosquito hat on, along with Fiona. Jamie put one on, too, before he hopped in the boat. "The chief's waiting over here," he said. "Come on, hop in." He gestured to two pairs of large rain boots sitting in the boat. "And put these on too. Trust me, you're gonna want them."

Jake could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins as they boarded the small boat and began to make their way across the river. The water was calm, but his nerves were anything but. He wondered what they were going to find when they got to the other side.

As they approached the opposite shore, Jake could see a small group of people waiting for them. He recognized police officers in their uniforms, as well as some men in casual suits who he assumed were a few members of the FBI's Miami office.

But what caught his attention was the large, imposing figure standing at the front of the group. He was a tall, muscular man with a shaved head and a stern expression on his face. Jake recognized him immediately—this was the chief. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and Jake had heard stories about him from other agents who had worked with him before. The chief was known for being tough but fair—he wouldn't put up with any nonsense, but if you did your job well, he would have your back.

Together, Jake and Fiona stepped out of the boat and walked over to the chief, who was eyeing them both critically.

"Agents Tucker and Red," he said, nodding at them. "Welcome to the Everglades."

"Thank you, sir," Jake said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"I'm just here to make sure you get everything you need," he said, then held out his hand, shaking Jake's. "I'm Chief Ramirez. Thanks for making your way out here on such short notice. The situation here is dire. We've got some real evil stuff going on here."

Jake nodded. "We'll do our best."

The chief turned to Fiona. Jake expected her to be her usual shy and awkward self, but she held out her hand firmly, offering it to the chief.

"Fiona Red, sir," she said.

The chief smiled, taking her hand eagerly with both of his. "Ms. Red, it's great to meet you. Chief Whittaker speaks highly of your skills."

"I'm happy to be here, sir," she said, coming across as much more self-assured than usual. Once again, Jake couldn't help but feel proud. Fiona's confidence was growing. And she deserved the ego boost.

"Good, well," the chief said, "follow me."

The chief gestured for them to follow him, and they walked together through the dense forest along with the rest of the team. The mosquitoes were already biting at Jake's skin, and he was grateful for the mosquito net hat. He could feel sweat starting to bead on his forehead, and he wiped it away with a handkerchief.

"Listen up, team," the chief said, stopping in front of a clearing."Agent Tucker and Ms. Fiona Red are here from Portland to take over. Let's let them do their thing at the crime scene. Offer them every resource you have. Is that understood?"

People muttered around the crowd, nodding.

"Good," the chief said. "Now let's go get the body."

CHAPTER FIVE

Fiona had never smelled something so pungent. The thick stench of rotting flesh wafted through the air, carrying with it the smell of sour earth and putrid decay. It made her nostrils twitch in pain and her eyes water as it burned her nose.

As she stood ankle-deep in the swampy, wet terrain of the Everglades, she looked up in horror at the man who was tied to the tree.

The picture from the file had not done it justice. His flesh was in a severe state of waterlogged decay, surely accelerated by not only the humid and wet climate but the multitude of insects and wildlife as well. The sky was darkening as the sun sank behind the trees, casting a gauzy, lilac hue over the forest, and Fiona hoped the daylight would stick it out for just a bit longer so she could get as much from this crime scene as she could.

What she could see was that the man's face was beyond recognition: his cheeks were empty, likely eaten by insects, and his eyes were completely sunken-in. But Fiona could make out what appeared to be a gash mark across the man's throat, as Jake had said when they discussed the file.

This level of interaction from the elements was severe, and extracting potential DNA was going to be difficult. Fiona needed to identify which species of insect were on the man and do some serious testing in the lab. Insects were buzzing all around them now, creating a cacophony of chaos above them.

Fiona stepped closer to the body to get a better look. It seemed the man's leg had been chomped on—an alligator or crocodile, most likely, had tried to drag the body down but was unable. Fiona could tell, even based on that, that the restraints the killer had used to tie up the body were strong. Rope dug into the man's decaying flesh, mooring him to the trunk of the tree.

Fiona could tell that Jake had her back. He was looking around, trying to assess the evidence as well.

"Got any questions?" the chief asked, walking over to Fiona.

She nodded, swallowing hard. "What time frame do you estimate that the victim was left here?"

"It's hard to say, but from the look of the skin, we think it was a little under a month ago."

Fiona jotted this down in her notebook and walked a few steps away from the tree to get a better look at the scene.She recalled what she'd read in the file on the flight over, that the other victims had been found in various states of decay. The state of this scene suggested that this was not the most recent victim. Rather, he was just the most recent one to be found.

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