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I glance around the overgrown property, the weeds coming up to my waist in places. I’m not even sure if there’s supposed to be grass or anything salvageable under there, or whether it’s even worth trying. It would be easier just to dig the entire yard up and start fresh.

It’s a damn pretty view from this porch. I can catch a glimpse of Silence through the foliage and behind it the peak of Black Mountain rising up on the other side of the valley. When I look to my right, I can see Lizard Peak with just a narrow edge of bare mountainside visible of the old quarry, which is a mile or so up the road from here.

“Are those vultures?”

I point to a flock of large birds I noticed circling above the woods in the direction of the quarry.

Savvy gets up and leans over the railing, squinting her eyes against the sun as she looks in the direction I’m pointing.

“Yeah.”

“Probably a dead animal,” I conclude, already sitting back.

But Savvy stays by the railing, her gaze still fixed on the circling birds.

“Maybe,” she mumbles, as she starts down the porch steps.

Chapter 8

Dana

* * *

When Savvy toasted to new adventures earlier, I didn’t think she’d mean it so literally.

“I wasn’t exactly dressed for a wilderness hike,” I grumble as I plod along behind her through the dense underbrush.

Savvy claims this is a trail, but if it is, it hasn’t been used or maintained in quite some time.

“I told you to stay at the house,” she fires over her shoulder.

“And let you go by yourself? What kind of friend would I be?”

“So you’re following me for my protection?” She laughs and I feel a little insulted. “Need I remind you I am the sheriff?”

I’d been ready with a retort, but swallow it when her last comment sinks in. She’s right, it’s not like we’re teenagers again, and I have to tag along to make sure my best friend doesn’t get herself in some kind of trouble. Those days are far behind us.

Hell, these days Savvy runs the sheriff’s department, is married, and has a stepdaughter and a baby boy who just turned one. She’s all grown up. It’s me whose life has been almost stagnant since graduating high school.

Sure, I have a nice apartment, a job I love and am very good at, and I jump in at The Kerrigan when needed, but fundamentally, nothing much has changed in my life. It’s like I’ve been stuck in a safe, predictable gear. I have led a low risk, low impact—and frankly, boring—life. It’s high time I take some chances, venture into some uncharted territory, although I’d prefer that territory to come with less brambles.

Ouch.

Or funky smells.

“Ewww.”

I pull up the collar of my shirt to cover my nose and mouth against the foul scent of decay.

“Something’s definitely dead,” Savvy remarks as she gestures for me to stop. “I’d like you to wait here while I quickly go check.”

Something about the expression on her face when she glances at me stops me from voicing any kind of objection. I could say I’ve smelled and seen my share of death, and it doesn’t scare me, but I get the sense we may not be dealing with the carcass of some poor animal, so instead I nod my confirmation, and watch Savvy disappear into a patch of dense brush.

I jump at the sudden sharp squawks and flapping of wings a minute later, as a group of startled birds fly up maybe twenty yards in front of me. Looks like Savvy found the source of the stench.

“Dana!”

“Yep!”