hips, sounding
furious.
Will felt his throat close up. He concentrated on the small print,
making out a J, or maybe an I, before everything began to jumble
around.
Her fury shot up exponentially. "Just bring the damn thing out."
There was a cluster of cops around her now, all looking confused.
Even twenty feet away, Will could hear them mumbling about procedure.
The purity of the crime scene was sacrosanct. Defense
lawyers chewed apart irregularities. Photographs and measurements
had to be taken, sketches made. The chain of custody could not be
broken, or the evidence would be thrown out.
"Will?"
He felt a drop of rain hit the back of his neck. It was hot, almost
like a burn. More cops were coming up, trying to see what had been
found. They would wonder why Will didn't shout out the name
from the license, why he didn't immediately send off someone to do
a computer check. Was this how it was going to end? Was Will going
to have to pick his way out of this dense covering and announce to a
group of strangers that, at his best, he could only read at a second-grade
level? If that information got out, he might as well go home
and stick his head in the oven, because there wouldn't be a cop in the
city who would work with him.
Amanda started making her way toward him, her skirt snagging
on a prickly vine, various curses coming from her lips.
Will felt another drop of rain on his neck and wiped it away with
his hand. He looked down at his glove. There was a fine smear of
blood on his fingers. He thought maybe he had cut his neck on one of
the limbs, but he felt another drop on the back of his neck. Hot, wet,
viscous. He put his hand to the place. More blood.
Will looked up, into the eyes of a woman with dark brown hair
and dark eyes. She was hanging face-down about fifteen feet above
him. Her ankle was snagged in a patchwork of branches, the only
thing keeping her from hitting the ground. She had fallen at an angle,
face first, snapping her neck. Her shoulders were twisted, her eyes
open, staring at the ground. One arm hung straight down, reaching
toward Will. There was an angry red circle around her wrist, the skin
burned through. A piece of rope was knotted tightly around the
other wrist. Her mouth was open. Her front tooth was broken, a
third of it missing.
Another drop of blood dripped from her fingertips, this time hitting
him on the cheek just below his eye. Will took off his latex glove
and touched the blood. It was still warm.
She had died within the last hour.
D AY T WO
CHAPTER FIVE
P AULINE MCGHEE STEERED HER LEXUS LX RIGHT INTO THE handicapped
parking space in front of the City Foods Supermarket. It was
five in the morning. All the handicapped people were probably still
asleep. More importantly, it was too damn early to walk more than
she had to.
"Come on, sleepy cat," she told her son, gently pressing his shoulder.
Felix stirred, not wanting to wake up. She caressed his cheek in
her hand, thinking not for the first time that it was a miracle that
something so perfect had come out of her imperfect body. "Come
on, sweet pea," she said, tickling his ribs until he curved up like a
roly-poly worm.
She got out of the car, helping Felix climb out of the SUV behind
her. His feet hadn't hit the ground before she went over the routine.
"See where we're parked?" He nodded. "What do we do if we get
lost?"
"Meet at the car." He struggled not to a yawn.
"Good boy." She pulled him close as they walked toward the
store. Growing up, Pauline had been told that she should find an
adult if she ever got lost, but these days, you never knew who that
adult might be. A security guard might be a pedophile. A little old
lady might be a batty witch who spent her spare time hiding razor
blades in apples. It was a sad state of affairs when the safest help for a
lost six-year-old boy was an inanimate object.
The artificial lights of the store were a bit much for this time of
morning,
furious.
Will felt his throat close up. He concentrated on the small print,
making out a J, or maybe an I, before everything began to jumble
around.
Her fury shot up exponentially. "Just bring the damn thing out."
There was a cluster of cops around her now, all looking confused.
Even twenty feet away, Will could hear them mumbling about procedure.
The purity of the crime scene was sacrosanct. Defense
lawyers chewed apart irregularities. Photographs and measurements
had to be taken, sketches made. The chain of custody could not be
broken, or the evidence would be thrown out.
"Will?"
He felt a drop of rain hit the back of his neck. It was hot, almost
like a burn. More cops were coming up, trying to see what had been
found. They would wonder why Will didn't shout out the name
from the license, why he didn't immediately send off someone to do
a computer check. Was this how it was going to end? Was Will going
to have to pick his way out of this dense covering and announce to a
group of strangers that, at his best, he could only read at a second-grade
level? If that information got out, he might as well go home
and stick his head in the oven, because there wouldn't be a cop in the
city who would work with him.
Amanda started making her way toward him, her skirt snagging
on a prickly vine, various curses coming from her lips.
Will felt another drop of rain on his neck and wiped it away with
his hand. He looked down at his glove. There was a fine smear of
blood on his fingers. He thought maybe he had cut his neck on one of
the limbs, but he felt another drop on the back of his neck. Hot, wet,
viscous. He put his hand to the place. More blood.
Will looked up, into the eyes of a woman with dark brown hair
and dark eyes. She was hanging face-down about fifteen feet above
him. Her ankle was snagged in a patchwork of branches, the only
thing keeping her from hitting the ground. She had fallen at an angle,
face first, snapping her neck. Her shoulders were twisted, her eyes
open, staring at the ground. One arm hung straight down, reaching
toward Will. There was an angry red circle around her wrist, the skin
burned through. A piece of rope was knotted tightly around the
other wrist. Her mouth was open. Her front tooth was broken, a
third of it missing.
Another drop of blood dripped from her fingertips, this time hitting
him on the cheek just below his eye. Will took off his latex glove
and touched the blood. It was still warm.
She had died within the last hour.
D AY T WO
CHAPTER FIVE
P AULINE MCGHEE STEERED HER LEXUS LX RIGHT INTO THE handicapped
parking space in front of the City Foods Supermarket. It was
five in the morning. All the handicapped people were probably still
asleep. More importantly, it was too damn early to walk more than
she had to.
"Come on, sleepy cat," she told her son, gently pressing his shoulder.
Felix stirred, not wanting to wake up. She caressed his cheek in
her hand, thinking not for the first time that it was a miracle that
something so perfect had come out of her imperfect body. "Come
on, sweet pea," she said, tickling his ribs until he curved up like a
roly-poly worm.
She got out of the car, helping Felix climb out of the SUV behind
her. His feet hadn't hit the ground before she went over the routine.
"See where we're parked?" He nodded. "What do we do if we get
lost?"
"Meet at the car." He struggled not to a yawn.
"Good boy." She pulled him close as they walked toward the
store. Growing up, Pauline had been told that she should find an
adult if she ever got lost, but these days, you never knew who that
adult might be. A security guard might be a pedophile. A little old
lady might be a batty witch who spent her spare time hiding razor
blades in apples. It was a sad state of affairs when the safest help for a
lost six-year-old boy was an inanimate object.
The artificial lights of the store were a bit much for this time of
morning,
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