Page 78 of Hell In A Handbasket
“Jesus,” Soph exclaims. “This is lame. You’re better than this, Emeri.”
“Let’s clear the area.” I turn on my heels and raise my arms, just like Aubree has done, because Spence tries to walk through. Jess. Jen. Corey. Cato. I nudge them back and count—one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three—and wait for Fletch to jog back to camp. Remembering my phone and the camera I already have within reach, I tug the device out of my back pocket and jump screens, searching for the video, then I point it where Aubree looks and kinda hope she’s punking Soph. “This is Chief Medical Examiner Minka Mayet?—”
“Wait.” Archer yanks me back and takes my phone, shaking his head and pocketing the device. Then he looks at Soph. “We need one that isn’t personal. No private bullshit, because the phone will be collected for evidence.”
“You’re really serious?” Finally, she tosses her stick and takes out her phone, swiping screens and offering the device. “I’ll wipe it remotely and preserve just this entry.” But then she looks at Aubree and scowls. “Elaborate ruse, Doctor Emeri. The weekend is over, so there’s no point now?—”
“Shush.” I take the phone and start again. “This is Chief Medical Examiner Minka Mayet, from the office of the medical examiner, Copeland City. It is Sunday, June eighth, and it’s…” I glance over my shoulder. “What time is it?”
Fletch jogs closer, checking his watch while he runs. “Eleven-eighteen a.m.”
“It’s eleven eighteen a.m.” I accept the shovel and turn back to face Aubree. “Doctor Aubree Emeri is here. Detectives Archer Malone and Charlie Fletcher, too. We have reason to believe there may be human remains nearby. Photo documentation for proof.”
“I’ve gotta dig?” Sighing, Aubree tucks blonde hair behind her ear and wanders over the uneven ground, staring down at the earth and studying what I swear hasn’t been stepped on in eons. Perfect mossy areas, rich with dark soil and moist patches. She stops and frowns, nibbling on her bottom lip, then she turns again and decides.
Setting the steel tip against the ground, she exhales a heavy breath, presses her foot to the top of the shovel, and then she slices into the earth with ease.
“What makes you think something’s here?” Jen breathes over my shoulder. “There’ve gotta be signs.”
“I just…” Aubree scoops the first load of soil aside and stabs the shovel in for another. “I feel it.”
“Ba-lo-ney!” Soph grumbles. “What an absolute crock of shit.”
“Shush.” Aubree tips the dirt aside and repeats. Twice. Three times. Four. She moves deeper, so each load of soil grows darker and darker. Then she sets the shovel aside and moves to her hands and knees.
Soph scoffs. “Yeah, right.”
“There’s something…” Aubree digs with her fingers, dragging dirt aside and brushing sections clear. Then she stops, whipping her hands back and placing them on her thighs.
“This is the worst magic trick I’ve ever seen,” Soph drones. “Jesus. All this because I gave you a hard time for a weekend?”
“Chief?” Aubree draws me in with a single curling finger, so I turn and hand the phone to Archer, his intense glare warming the side of my face. He’s not weekend-Archer anymore. He’s a homicide detective, and he knows the record must remain untainted.
He doesn’t reach out for me, though I know he wishes he could. He doesn’t grab my hand and keep me by his side, though I know he wants that, too. He merely stares, tipping his chin just a fraction of an inch to let me know he’s watching.
Then he swallows, the shift of his Adam’s apple the last I see as I turn to Aubree and carefully walk the area she’s flagged as suspicious.
“I’ve uncovered what appears to be human remains, Chief.” Gulping, she inches to the side and makes room for me to crouch and study her findings. “Approximately two feet beneath surface level. At a guess, I’d say she’s been here for a couple of years.”
“What?” Soph takes a step forward, only to skid to a stop and snarl at Fletch’s steely grip on her arm. “I’m calling bullshit.”
“You shouldn’t.” I carefully brush soil aside and expose just a little more. “You’re gonna have a hell of a time explaining this to the local police, Doctor Emeri.I found her on vibesis sure to raise eyebrows.” I straighten my spine and peer back at Archer. “Could you bring that a little closer? And maybe get us a light, too.” Then I look at Fletch. “Call local P.D. This is their case.” I bring my clean hand up and tap the end of my nose. “Not it. I’m going home.”
Frustrated, Soph tosses Fletch’s hand away and stomps closer. She doesn’t screw with our scene. But she makes damn sure to get a peek into the hole. “It could be tree roots.”
“It’s a bone,” Aubree counters. “Female.”
“It could be an animal!”
“It’s human.” With a tired grunt, she sets a hand on the ground and pushes to her feet, then she brings me up with her. “It’s a female, human, pelvis. I could get a little wild and take a guess as to how old she was at death or how she ended up here. But—” She shrugs and brushes the dirt off her legs. “Not our case. This one was bad.”
“Traumatic?” I speak quietly, if only to give my best friend the privacy she deserves. “You can tell if it was traumatic or violent?”
“I can tell he chased her through these trees, exactly how Soph was chasing me. But she wasn’t laughing.”
“You’re serious?” Finally,finally, Soph’s mocking jeer disappears. “Holy shit, you’re serious. The ground wasn’t even touched, and you knew she was in there?”
My stomach flips, and my heart stutters, my need to protect Aubree like lava in my veins. Soph’s team watches her differently. They study her, the way we study bones on an autopsy table. They eye her like they desire to understand her better. They gawk, like they want to wrap her up and take her home with them, but only so they can poke and prod and ferret out her secrets.
