Page 44 of Deeper Than the Dead

“Not very fucking likely,” he muttered. There would be a connection of some sort.

Bent walked back to the access point that separated this space from the primary one the cave’s exterior opening entered into. Since the opening was only about two feet tall and three feet wide, he had to low crawl through to the other side. The way the access was hidden behind a boulder, it wasn’t readily noticeable when first entering the cave. You had to be looking for it. The big question in Bent’s mind was Why not drag Sheree through that small access and hide her with the other two? Her remains were the only ones in this front area of the cave.

Maybe the killer had a specific reason for keeping Sheree separate from the others. Or he just hadn’t taken or had the time.

The bigger worry here was the more recent murder. There was a greater likelihood that the killer could still be in the area and active. Someone Bent knew. A neighbor. Even one of his deputies.

Not to mention the equally troubling bad feeling growing in his gut. Vee was not being completely up front with him. He couldn’t say for sure that she was lying, but she wasn’t telling him everything she believed or knew. Though it had been a long time since the two of them had been involved, and they’d been damned young for sure, he knew her eyes ... knew her voice.

Not to mention he’d searched for her on the internet many times over the years. He’d watched countless interviews. Kind of dumb, but he hadn’t been able to ignore the need. No matter that it had been more than twenty years since they were close, he had watched her and listened to her enough to know something was not quite right.

She was hiding something.

Maybe nothing earth shattering ... but something relevant.

He made his way through the cave’s exterior entrance, which actually wasn’t that much larger than the one going into the secondary cavern. Conover and his team were outside in the tent-style temporary processing area they’d set up for preparing the remains for movement.

One thing was damned clear, they were going to need a bigger tent.

16

Boyett Farm

Good Hollow Road, Fayetteville, 4:15 p.m.

Vera paced the length of the room once more. Bent had called with an update on the latest find. In her opinion, the news changed everything.

What the hell was taking Eve so long? She was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago. They only had so much time before Luna would be home. Luna wanted Vera to go shopping in Huntsville with her. She’d promised she would, so there was no backing out.

But first, Eve and Vera needed to talk.

Her cell vibrated, and she tugged it from her back pocket. If her sister was sending some lame excuse about not being able to come ...

I know what you did.

A chill washed straight to her bones.

Vera stared at the screen. Opened the text message fully. The sender was not in her contacts.

She felt sick. Blinked. What the hell?

This couldn’t be right. Vera shook her head. Tried to slow the racing in her chest.

A glimpse of movement beyond the window jerked her attention there. She eased in that direction. A small black car—a Mini Cooper—had pulled in next to Vera’s SUV. She held her breath as the driver’s side door opened. Eve emerged.

“Thank God,” she muttered, relief roaring through her veins.

Vera rushed to the front door, unlocked and opened it, then waited for Eve to reach the porch.

“I had to borrow Suri’s car.”

As soon as Eve was across the threshold far enough, Vera closed the door. She couldn’t hold this in any longer. “They found another set of remains.”

Eve made a face. “What?”

“As if that’s not bad enough, then there’s this.” Vera held her cell phone in front of her sister’s face. The message she had received mere moments ago on the screen.

I know what you did.

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