Boone was filling my thermos by the time I was dressed and ready to head into the dark. I wasn’t a huge coffee fan, but the caffeine got the job done, and right now, I needed that chemical boost.
“Any idea what you’re walking into?” Boone asked as he handed me the thermos.
“No. The captain wasn’t very specific. She just said it may relate to the six murdered women we found.”
Boone slumped against the kitchen counter. “You think they’ve found more?”
I took a sip of coffee before nodding. “I think that’s a fair bet.”
“Gaia, what’s going on?”
“I wish I knew.”
Boone sucked on his bottom lip, arms crossed and fingers dancing along his forearms. “You’ll call if you need me?”
“You know I will.”
Boone blew out a breath. “If we weren’t expecting guests, I’d demand to go with you.”
“I know.” Leaning over, I savored the taste of Boone’s lips before dragging myself away and heading outside. The cool temperatures helped wake me up, at least a little. This time of year was like that. Cool during the night but warming nicely during the day. I hit the key fob for my car, unlocked it, climbed in, and headed for our latest victim.
“Isee they pulled you from bed too, Johns.” I was beginning to think his luck was as shitty as mine.
Johns chuckled. “No rest for the wicked I suppose.”
I tried to grin, but most likely the action was more grimace than anything else. “Captain Cicely didn’t tell me much. What do you know?” Bright, overhead lights were already shining down on a large swath of depressed weeds near the edge of a woods. The gravel road my vehicle had dipped and swayed down was barely wide enough to fit two vehicles side by side. The road dead-ended at the wooded edge. The car at the lead of police vehicles was an old beat-up pickup truck that looked at leastthree decades old. The teenage boy and girl sitting on the tailgate barely looked old enough to hold a driver’s license.
Pointing in the pickup’s direction, Johns filled me in. “Call came in a little after midnight. The young man is Cody Babcock. The young lady beside him is his girlfriend, Shirly Gunther. According to the two of them, they came out here for a little privacy.” Johns suggestively waggled his eyebrows. “Sounds like the girl’s parents don’t exactly approve of her dating Cody, and they have to do a little sneaking around to see each other.”
I cringed. “I can’t imagine tonight’s activities are going to endear Mr. Babcock to Miss Gunther’s parents further.”
“Can’t say that I disagree. Anyway, seems the two of them have come out this way before and never seen anything unusual.”
“But this time was different.”
“You could say that. According to Mr. Babcock, everything seemed okay when they first arrived. His headlights caught something that looked a bit off, and Mr. Babcock decided to get out and explore—against his girlfriend’s protests.”
I grunted. “Sounds about right for persons their age.”
Johns nodded. “Tracked with me too. Ignoring the girlfriend, Mr. Babcock went to investigate, and that’s when he found the skull.”
Christ.“Human?”
“Very.”
“Just one?” I hopefully asked.
“Wishful thinking on your part. After what happened with the case of the six murdered women, the responding officer decided to do a little poking around and found at least two more graves. She called it in, and that’s when the rest of us began showing up for the party.”
Tilting my head, I stared at the night sky. Despite the spotlights shining on this otherwise indiscriminate patch ofground, their brilliance was still something to behold. I would have liked to remain there, staring up at their sparkling glory. Unfortunately, stargazing wasn’t in the cards tonight.
“Has Dr. Stowe been contacted?” I should have asked if she’d been woken up.
“She should be here any minute.”
No sooner had those words left Johns’s mouth than a new pair of headlights headed toward us, parking behind my vehicle and adding to the growing parade. Dr. Stowe’s door slammed closed before a second door was heard opening and closing. Bag in hand, Dr. Stowe made her way toward us, the uneven ground causing her to curse on more than one occasion.
“I even wore my hiking boots,” Dr. Stowe said as she neared. “This ground is not meant for human feet, especially when they’re hauling a half-asleep body along with them.” Dr. Stowe huffed before plastering a smile on her face. “Mornin’, boys. What’s the latest clusterfuck?”
