Page 35 of Deeper Than the Dead

Vera shuddered at the memories.

Two more sets of remains.

How could that be?

The memory of Luna wailing made her twitch. The whole time she’d been tugging at Sheree’s deadweight, the baby had been strapped on Vera’s back in a backpack-style carrier. It wasn’t like they could have left her screaming in her play yard or crib. Eve argued the point, but Vera refused to leave Luna alone in the house for the time required to do what they had to do. Taking her with them was the only option, even if it had been horribly gruesome.

As if the memory had summoned her, Luna’s little electric car—probably the only one in the whole county—zoomed into the parking area. Vera shook herself. Had to pull it together. She squared her shoulders and cleared her head. Did she tell her sisters about this new find? It wasn’t like she could keep it from them, but ...

This shouldn’t be happening.

Vera squeezed her eyes shut a moment in hopes of resetting. Surely there was some mistake.

Pull it together, Vee. There is no mistake.

The solid thump of a car door closing forced Vera’s eyes open. She moistened her lips and formed them into a smile. “Hey, you home for lunch? I should have prepared something.”

But Vera was just getting back from rescuing Eve ... from learning that there was something way bigger than their secret in that damned cave. Someone had left two bodies in there—before Sheree. In a part of the cave Vera and Eve hadn’t known existed.

They had never gone beyond the main cavern. They hadn’t realized there was a hidden access to something bigger. Conover said the access was concealed by rocks. No reason they would have seen it.

It was ... unbelievable.

How the hell had this happened?

There was only one answer: someone else had used that cave as a hiding place.

The possibility that the someone in question may have come back at some point and seen the makeshift burial site that she and Eve had made for Sheree unnerved Vera.

Sent a thread of fear weaving along every nerve ending.

That day ... twenty-two years ago, Eve had slipped out of the cave while Vera was placing all the rocks she could scrounge up over the body. Her sister returned minutes later with an armload of flowers or blooming weeds (Vera could never tell the difference) she’d picked in the woods and the pasture beyond—anywhere along the path between the house and the barn.

Vera shook off the memories. Anyone going into that cave days or a few weeks later would easily have recognized the emotional connection to the deceased those dead flowers represented.

What a stupid, stupid move. But at the time, barely seventeen-year-old Vera had thought it was a nice gesture.

What idiots they had been.

Just hold up. Vera steadied herself. At this point she had no idea the condition or circumstances of these other remains. Until a forensic pathologist examined them, there was no way to be certain. The estimate Conover had given could be way off. They could actually belong to long-ago residents of the area. Some folks buried family right on their property. The cave could have been used as a tomb. It could be soldiers from the Civil War. Could be injured criminals who had hidden there decades ago and died of natural causes or starvation. There were any number of reasonable explanations that didn’t include murder ... or a member of her family.

Vera wrenched her mind from the worrisome thoughts of the past. Staying grounded and focused, solidly in the present, was far too important right now to be sucked into what-ifs.

Luna climbed the steps to the porch. “It’s all right. I’ll just have tuna and crackers.” She patted her concave belly. “I have to watch my caloric intake if I’m going to get into that wedding dress.”

Vera drummed up an effort at a casual laugh. “Women always have to work the hardest for these big events.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “I swear, there are just a million things to do.” She sighed. “And on top of that, now there’s Mama’s memorial service.” She put a hand on Vera’s arm. “I’ve set it up for Saturday at two. I want everyone to be able to come.”

To the best of Vera’s memory, Sheree had zero friends and no family in the area. All the other women in town had hated her, because she was always either flirting or sleeping with their men. “That’s a good idea,” Vera offered, the words tasting sour in her mouth.

“I’ll need to go to Huntsville shopping before then,” Luna bemoaned. “I’m certain I don’t have anything proper to wear. Would you like to go with me, Vee?” Now she wrapped both her arms around Vera’s one and held on tight. “That would mean so much to me.”

“I’d love to go with you,” Vera lied. “Whenever you’d like.” Except for now. Vera had to find and talk to Eve. There was no way to put off telling her about the discovery in that damned cave. Word traveled at lighting speed in small towns. A frown furrowed Vera’s brow. She should tell Luna about Eve’s accident ...

Not now. There just wasn’t time. Maybe later.

“Thank you.” Luna gave her arm one last squeeze. “That would be wonderful. I’m planning to bury Mama on the other side of Daddy’s plot, if you and Eve have no objections. The plot is available, and that way Daddy has both the women he loved next to him, one on either side. It’s perfect, don’t you think?”

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