Page 59 of Hold a Candle

He nodded. “I know that. Which is exactly why ye don’t need to add to what’s already there.”

Pauley knew they weren’t talking just about this particular situation any more, it was a glimpse into their future. If there was going to be one. “I’ll do my best to be careful, that’s all I can promise,” she murmured. “I can’t guarantee a positive outcome every time. If that’s going to be a problem for ye...”

Her voice trailed off as she studied his expression. The man was hard to read, but she could tell he wasn’t angry or upset. She wondered what it would take to really get him angry? Where his limits were? Deciding she might not want to know, she reached up and nibbled his bottom lip, seeking affirmation with a kiss.

His lips were firm and warm as he responded to her invitation, and for a few minutes, the world consisted only of her and Jamie. She leaned into his strength and let him lead.

Until Mica came thundering past them and stopped his squad car with a squeal of abused brakes.

He leaped out and looked around, his expression thunderous as he approached Darro and Angus. “Don’t tell me she went into the woods,” he roared at them. “Did Jamie go with her? I was hoping he’d spank her little arse out of that notion if nothing else worked. I’m going in.”

“Whoa,” Darro replied with an amused grin. He held up his hand towards Mica’s broad chest. “She hasn’t gone into the woods, she’s right behind ye, waiting for ye.”

Mica whirled around, his trench coat tail flying out in typical Mica ganger style. The expression of concern and consternation on his face would have been amusing if not for his public spanking comment. Pauley didn’t appreciate that one at all. Especially since the other men, including Jamie, were smirking.

“I’m right here, Mica,” she replied coolly, walking up to him. “And now that ye are here, I’m making a decision as yer superior officer. Ye and I are going into Kelly Woods and will attempt to apprehend Detective Anier. This is what we do. We took an oath to apprehend the bad guys whenever and wherever we find them. Do ye honestly want to be caught on the left foot waiting for other constables to do our job? What will that make us look like if they have to do it for us?” she asked.

Mica flushed, but then he nodded. “Aye, boss, ye are right. I just wanted ye to wait for me and not go in alone without a trained partner.”

“Ye still aren’t going in without me,” Jamie insisted.

Pauley nodded briskly. “I won’t leave any of ye behind who want to come. It would be dangerous for ye if Juice were to come around us to get a vehicle and try to escape. What do ye suggest we do with Florence? We can’t leave her here alone either.”

“I’ll be fine, Pauley, I’m feeling better. Nothing’s broken and I’m not bleeding except for minor scratches and digs,” Florence interjected.

“Ye need to go to the hospital,” Pauley replied, her brows drawing down. “If ye were supposed to be part of the cleanup crew we don’t want anyone to know ye and Juice didn’t succeed.”

“Mica can take me in discreetly after ye check on Juice. But he really is dead,” she insisted. “Ye will need a crime scene team up here to get him out of that tree.”

“I’ll fly overhead with the helicopter spotlight if ye like, and I can take Florence with me and Angus. He can keep an eye on her, and if she gets worse, we can take her directly to the hospital from here,” Darro offered. “It might light yer way through the woods. With my loudspeaker on, I can warn ye if I see anyone moving. There are two large trees by the southern side of the woods. I’m guessing those would hold people in their branches.”

Jamie frowned. “Florence did say that Juice forced her to do this because of her son. She’ll be safer with ye, Darro.”

“Is that true, Florence?” Mica asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “That sheds some new light on things.”

Florence nodded, her face still deathly pale.

Once all the logistics were figured out, Mica, Pauley, and Jamie set off through the woods while the helicopter flew above them.

“I’ll take the lead,” Mica said. “I know these woods. We used to play in them when we were kids. Come on, I know the trees Darro is talking about.”

They went quietly in a single file with Pauley in the middle glancing furtively into the spooky undergrowth. The light from the helicopter didn’t penetrate to the ground as if the woods were deliberately blocking it. It did result in fleeting shadows through the treetops that looked more like ghostly figures swooping through the branches above them. Pauley shivered.

It did feel nice to have two men with her, but anything could happen at any time. Those were the risks with law enforcement. Still, she was more nervous about something strange happening than getting shot, which kept her nerves on an acute edge.

They’d been hiking for about 25 minutes when Mica suddenly stopped, his intake of breath almost a gasp as he muttered. “Cripes! What in the name of all the unholy is that?”

He was pointing towards a tree where a skeletal figure dressed in charred clothing sat on a tree limb with a look of eternal horror on its burned face. Patches of bone shone through the flesh of its blackened, crisped skin, and the shock of hair on its crown was snow white. The tree itself was charred and split up the side beneath the macabre figure as if a lightning bolt truly had struck the tree and the passenger on its limb.

Wisps of smoke here and there drifted off the charred wood and flesh, permeating the air around the tree. No one wanted to step any closer.

“Is that Juice?” Pauley asked in a horrified whisper, her stomach curling in protest. The smell was beginning to nauseate her.

“I don’t know for sure,” Mica muttered.

“Florence said it was the Ghillie Dhu,” Pauley whispered. “Something about turning Juice to dust?”

“Looks like a lightning strike to me. I saw a squirrel in a tree struck by lightning once. The tree was split open and the squirrel was flattened into the wood inside the tree.”

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