Page 44 of Fighting for Tawny

Terrin must have read her mind. “What do you think happened to Colfer?”

“Maybe he slipped and fell.” She shot Terrin a look meant to keep her from pressing any further.

Yolanda glanced first at Terrin, then at Tawny. “What am I missin’?”

“Nothin’,” Terrin answered.

“You’re lyin’.”

“I’ll explain everything when we’re back at fire camp,” Tawny promised.

God help me. I’m in deep, deep trouble. None of the guys would have made such a colossal mistake. Neither did Jiena, and she was undercover a lot longer than me.

They traveled into the hills of the state park until the terrain prevented them from continuing any farther. The two teams met outside their vehicles to coordinate their search. Captain Ward spread out the map on the hood of his truck.

One of his men shone a flashlight on it. “Here’s our location. We need to fan out and head northwest. Do not split up. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!” everyone chorused.

“All right. Move out.”

They shouted Colfer’s name every few minutes, but he didn’t respond. Tawny’s gut wrenched with the uncanny knowledge that he wouldn’t, couldn’t answer them. Above them, the helicopter’s blades whirred, drowning the sound of their voices. At least the spotlight illuminated the thick darkness. When Captain Ward informed Moira that Sheriff O’Grady hadn’t been able to trace a signal off Colfer’s cell phone, it confirmed Tawny’s worst fear.

Nearing the top of their third hour of searching, the helicopter hovered over a spot several hundred yards to their east. The walkie-talkie crackled with an incoming communication.

“Captain Finnigan, we see something that resembles a body northeast of your location. Over.”

“Copy. We’re headed in that direction now. Over.”

They increased their pace and reached the designated area within several minutes. Looking down a steep hill, they spotted Colfer’s misshapen body. Slipping and sliding toward it, their flashlights revealed his crushed skull. Yolanda and Terrin gasped in horror.

“Oh, my God! He’s dead!” Yolanda cried.

“Stand back,” Moira ordered. “We don’t know his cause of death.”

“Like hell!” Terrin exclaimed. “Somebody bashed his head in with a rock!”

Moira called it in. “Captain Ward, we found Gary Colfer. He’s dead. It appears as if he died from blunt force trauma. Over.”

“Copy that. Alerting Sheriff O’Grady now.”

Tawny crouched next to the body. She examined Colfer’s bloody skull. Brain matter oozed from the gaping gashes. Mixed with blood, strands of hair, and bits of brain, she saw fragments of stone.

“He was murdered,” she declared in almost a whisper. “Not only that but he was struck multiple times. Enough to do this amount of damage. It was an act of rage, and it was personal. Colfer might have known his murderer.”

“Sweet Jesus!” Yolanda dropped to the ground next to Tawny. “You’re a?—”

Terrin reacted swiftly and covered Yolanda’s mouth with her hand. “Shh!” she hissed in her ear. “For the love of God, don’t say it out loud!”

Yolanda nodded her understanding, and Terrin let her loose. She wore a wild, wide-eyed doe expression, and Tawny thought she’d bolt. Instead, she threw her arms around her in a fierce hug.

“I won’t say a word to nobody. I promise. We’re blood sisters, and no matter who you are, I got your back. Always.”

“You bet your sweet ass you’re keeping your mouth shut,” Moira ordered. “For all our sakes.”

Yolanda and Terrin turned to stare at her.

“You knew?” Yolanda asked.

---