Livvy understood the need for them to check for a vehicle or any evidence that should be preserved, but she suspected Ethan was also eager to get her out of this room. To put a little distance between her and this visual nightmare.
She felt as if she had gone on autopilot as she followed Ethan outside into the cold, damp air. The air was equally cold and damp inside as well, but at least with the brisk November-morning breeze, there wasn’t the smell of blood.
They made their way through what had once been a side yard, careful of each step. Mindful, too, of their surroundings. This part of Texas was renowned for its beautiful views andlimestone bluffs, but there wasn’t much beautiful about the land that surrounded the one-story wood-frame house.
Nature had reclaimed most of the yard so that it was now just weeds and what was left of a decaying picket fence. What Livvy didn’t see were any of those weeds trampled. And they likely would have been had someone recently walked through here.
She glanced across the gravel-and-dirt road and saw the field of dead cornstalks. Acres of them. There were no other houses in sight, but she made a mental note to find the owner of the property to check if he or she had seen anything out of the ordinary.
“How close does this come to matching your nightmare?” Ethan asked, and she could hear the hesitancy in his question. Maybe he thought talking about it would just keep it fresh in her mind.
But it wasalwayson her mind.
“Very close,” she admitted. “The woman’s face is different, but the hair color is the same. Ditto for the way she’s positioned in the tub.” She glanced around, frowned. “Actually, this feels familiar, too.”
He stopped and turned to her, and the concern was all over his face. “Are you…remembering?”
She was quick to shake her head. “I’m not sure the recurring nightmare has anything to do with my past.”
But the odds were that it did. It was likely that she had experienced something. Some kind of hell that no six-year-old kid should ever have to experience.
Ethan made a sound that could have meant anything and got them moving again. “I think you should sit out this investigation.” He glanced at her stomach, and while he didn’t come out and sayThink of the baby, she thought that was what he meant.
Livvy wanted to sit it out. Mercy, did she. She wanted to distance herself from what she’d seen in that bloody bathtub. She wanted to shove it all aside and never see those images again.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
The images were there now, and while it wasn’t something she could explain, the dead woman felt like her responsibility. And maybe that hadn’t been by accident.
“You and I are the only deputies in the station at this time of morning,” Livvy said.
Not super early. It was already eight. But it’d be another hour before a third deputy came in. Grace would have no doubt called to have that deputy come in to cover her or else left the dispatcher in charge so she could make the trip here.
“And you think—what?” he asked. “That the anonymous call was specifically meant to get you here to this place, to see that body?”
He made it sound a little far-fetched, but it didn’t feel that way to Livvy. This felt like some kind of setup. A taunt or a trigger. Something designed to rattle her to the core.
But why?
And better yet, who would do that?
Those questions repeated in her mind as they made their way to the back of the house. Still no sign of a vehicle, but Livvy spotted something: The weeds here had indeed been trampled on. The makeshift trail went from the porch to the woods behind the house.
Livvy slid her hand over her weapon again. Ethan did the same, and they both peered out into the thick trees and shrubs. She didn’t see anyone, but a sound caught her attention.
A sort of rustling.
At first, she thought it was the breeze teasing the dead leaves that remained on some of the trees. But the sound had come from her right, and Livvy pivoted there.
And she saw the piece of paper on the back door.
The wind was having a go at it, and the bottom was flapping around, threatening to rip off the single nail that was holding it in place. The paper wasn’t weathered but rather crisp and white. Definitely something that had been recently placed here.
Keeping an eye on their surroundings, they went closer and cautiously made their way up the rickety steps. There was no blood here but more of those smears as if someone had wanted to make sure they’d left no footprints behind.
“Hell,” Ethan muttered when they were finally close enough to the paper.
She didn’t say anything. Couldn’t. Because her throat had suddenly clamped shut.Oh, God.
