Epilogue
MINKA
H ours after Baby Malone— no name yet —came into the world, the rest of us amble back to camp to clean up the mess we left behind.
To store away the chairs we’ve used in lieu of a couch these last couple of nights.
To pick up the trash that blew onto the dirt in the wake of Jay’s terrible driving.
Some of the guys work on folding the warped and destroyed grill that used to be attached to the side of the bus, and Tim walks around picking up bottles.
Beer bottles. Water bottles. A gas bottle, too.
But I sit on the edge of a camp chair and carefully clean the scrapes on my knees, soaking them with disinfectant and picking gravel from the wounds.
“Jen’s got stitches,” Jess giggles. “Soph’s arm is a little wonky after I kinda landed on it last night. I’ve got sore knees.” She drops her eyes and studies her bruises. “Christabelle’s vagina is all torn up. And now you need Band-Aids, too.”
“Girls gone wild,” Jay jokes, striding past and pushing a spare tire. Why? I don’t know. “It’s all a little more than we signed up for.”
“It’s a sign we should never, ever do this again.
” Staring down at my work, I pick something foreign from my knee and flick it away.
And for every moment I work, I feel Archer’s gaze.
His heated stare and the beat of his heart in the air.
“I refuse to ride with any of you ever again. This shit was a warning.”
“It was fun,” Soph counters, arrogance burning in her eyes. “Come on, Mayet. Admit it, it was fun.”
“It was a horrifying experience I never intend to repeat.”
“Every single female has been wounded,” Jen adds proudly, like being injured is a friggin’ badge of honor. “Well, except Aubree and Ellie. But Ellie’s a goner as soon as Felix’s brain clears up and he realizes she robbed him.”
“So that just leaves us with Aubree?” Soph looks Aubree up and down, glittering eyes and a hungry swipe of her tongue over her lips. “It would be rude to leave you out, don’t you think, Doctor Emeri?”
“Nope.” She takes a single step back. “I’m good.”
“I’m all about inclusivity.” She stalks forward. Slowly. Prowling. “I’m all about gooses and ganders and fairness.”
“Fairness would be to wound the men, not me.”
Kane swings his head up and scowls. “Hey! We’ve got our own problems!”
“This is a sisterhood,” Sophia continues. “It’s a sorority of smart, capable, educated women.”
Jen pokes her thumbs back at herself. “Doctor, here. It’s a heavy load to carry, I’m sure you understand. But my father is a political tyrant, and my sister is a vet. No way I could cheap out and not be better.”
“A sisterhood of supremely smart, talented, badass women who coexist within a single friendship circle,” Sophia continues.
“It’s freaky, actually, how we were born in completely different places at different times, but here we are, kicking ass and on the same road trip.
” She takes another step forward, and with a wicked grin, she balls her fist. “I gotta bruise you up, Emeri. It would be terrible luck to leave you out.”
“Don’t you hit me, Sophia.” She inches backwards, dry dust pluming up to surround her shoes. “Don’t do it. You won’t like what happens.”
“What are you gonna do? Put a hex on me? Not read my mind?”
“You’re playing with fire,” I drone, pulling my lip between my teeth. It helps me concentrate . “Leave her alone, Solomon.”
“Three.” Soph winds up, spinning her arm. “Two….”
“Sophia!”
“Hit my wife, and we’ll have trouble,” Tim growls. “Don’t undo our progress, Solomon. We were just starting to get along.”
“One…”
“Sophia!”
“Go!” She takes off like a shot, cackling and swinging, so Aubree spins and sprints, squealing and pumping her arms in her escape.
Dust wafts into the air, messing up what I’ve already cleaned, but Aubree dashes toward the tree line and out of sight with Soph close on her heels.
Then they reemerge again and use the trees as obstacles to weave in and out of.
“Stop running away, Aubree! Let me show you my love with my fist.”
“Children.” Archer lowers into a crouch in front of me. Even low, he still towers over me, blocking the harshness of the sun and rewarding me with a handsome smile. “It boggles my mind that she’s as smart and successful as she is, but she’s also one of the dumbest broads I’ve ever met.”
“She’s not dumb,” Jay rumbles. “She’s restless. She’s got all that unmedicated ADHD energy to work through, which is probably why she married me.” He flashes a pleased grin. “I’m her fidget spinner.”
“Aubree!” Soph grabs a stick, chasing her with it wielded high. “Love me!”
“She’s exhausting.” I drape my hands over Archer’s shoulders and use him to prop myself up, and because he’s so close, I pull him closer and press my forehead to his. “I don’t hate her or anything. But she’s a lot.”
“Which is an improvement from yesterday’s I’m gonna kill her .” He puckers his lips and presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. “You ready to go home?”
“Chief?!”
I startle backwards and sling my eyes toward the trees Aubree disappeared into. At her hard voice. Her serious command, which is nothing like her, ‘ being chased by Soph ’ shout.
“Chief!”
“Shit.” I bound to my feet and take off, just a single step before Jay, Tim, and Archer follow. “Aubree!? Where are you?”
“Here.”
I change course and angle to the right, ducking under low branches and skipping to the side to avoid a lash across my face. I search for movement. For shadows. I roll my ankle and step into a tiny ditch, and then I come around a tree and run chest-first into Aubree’s hand.
Panting, I look around her to… nothing. To other trees that look exactly like those I’ve already passed. “What?”
“There’s something… there’s…” She releases me, but extends her arms and creates a boundary. A wall. “There’s something here, Chief.”
“Oh, please.” Soph sets her hands on her knees, folding over to catch her breath. But she laughs, loud and taunting. “Really? We’re doing this?”
“I’m not kidding.” Aubree looks past me to Archer. Then, to Fletch as he steps into our clearing. “There’s a body here, Detectives.”
“Where?” Soph stabs her hand outward. “This is nothing more than a cheap sideshow. There are so many trees here, no one is digging through the roots to bury a body. The ground is undisturbed. There’s no smell. There aren’t even signs an animal has been through here.”
“Can we get a shovel or something?” I turn back and meet Archer’s intense stare. Then I look at Fletch. “And probably set up a camera.”
“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.