Chapter Seven
POS
Willow
She held both dogs on tight leads. The deputy didn’t lower his head to look at them or make any attempt to become friends. She guessed dogs were beneath his notice.
He rested his thumbs in his belt and tapped his fingers against his pants as he spoke. “So, you think you have human remains?” he said.
“Human bones are all that remain,” Dale replied a little snidely.
“I get it that you were a deputy,” Wallard said. “We all get old and retire. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
Dale laughed. “The only shame I feel is that the department replaced me with a piece of shit.”
Wallard’s body stiffened before he took a step towards Dale. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” he said.
Max gave a low rumble and finally gained the attention of the deputy.
“If I forgot half of what I know about doing your job, I’d be wiser than you,” Dale replied, drawing Wallard’s eyes back to him.
Willow didn’t think Dale was handling the deputy very well.
He also wasn’t doing a very good job of holding onto his temper.
She thought it might have something to do with the way the deputy focused on her.
Willow would admit he gave her the creeps.
In prison, you learned quickly which guards were like this guy.
Unlike the deputy, their behavior changed when their subordinates were around.
Wallard didn’t care that Dale knew he was watching her.
“Sure, pops,” Wallard replied in a bored tone.
“You ready to take that hike?” Dale said after looking at Willow.
With the deputy no longer turned in her direction, she stuck her tongue out quickly at Dale. She didn’t miss the slight grin that tilted his lips.
“Do you have water in your vehicle?” Dale asked.
The chest puffed again. “Don’t need it, lead the way.”
“I’ll grab water for us and put the dogs inside,” Willow said before she went into the house and filled two bottles. Max whined when she told him and Daisy to protect the house. “I know, boy, I don’t like him either.”
When she went back outside, the deputy was asking about the property.
“How many acres you got?”
“Enough for the two of us to handle,” Dale replied.
“She your granddaughter?”
“Yes, and I don’t care that your eyes are covered with those damned things, keep them off her.”
“Got the bottles,” Willow said a bit too loudly.
“After you, ma’am,” Wallard said and swiped his hand forward like it was some kind of grand gesture.
Dale moved between the two of them, and Willow knew it was so the deputy couldn’t stare at her ass.
She also knew Dale could keep up with her, so she set a fast pace.
Fifteen minutes later, the deputy was panting.
She and Dale drank their water while they walked and didn’t bother stopping or slowing down.
“How much farther?” Wallard asked between heavy breaths.
“Thirty minutes,” Dale said.
“Why didn’t you say it was this far out?” the deputy whined after he tripped over a shaggy bark stump.
“I told you when we spoke yesterday that it was near the property line.” Clear glee shone in Dale’s voice. “This ‘pops’ asked if you had water. We can turn back if you don’t think you can make it.”
Wallard didn’t stop, and his face reddened more and more the closer they drew to the site.
His boots were the only thing that saved him from the needles of a prickly pear cactus he almost tripped over.
They made it to the bones, and the deputy found a bit of shade while he leaned against the rock wall to recover.
Willow was surprised he didn’t sit down.
She leisurely sipped her water as they waited for him to breathe normally again.
Dale put out his hand, offering his water bottle. “Drink this, or you won’t make it back. Stop with the tough man act and do your job. I’d be more than happy not to mention this. It’s an embarrassment to the department.”
Deputy Wallard took the water and chugged half of it. He then let out a burp. Willow handed her water to Dale, and he took a sip, then winked at her. It was hard not to laugh. The deputy had been easily outsmarted by Dale. The day was looking up.
When Wallard gained his composure, still red-faced, he squatted by the remains.
“They look old,” he said and took a pen from his front shirt pocket to move what appeared to be an arm bone aside.
“Look at this,” Dale said, then pointed to another bone. “I’d say it looks cut or sawed. We didn’t get human bones in this condition while I worked for the department, and a specialist will need to be called in.”
Wallard stepped back carefully. “I’ll call my supervisor and see about getting a team out here.”
“It’ll be a twenty-minute walk before you have a chance at cell reception,” Dale told him.
Of course, he was ignored as Wallard tried to make the call. After a few grumbles, he said, “We should head back. Thank you for the water.”
Dale gave a nod and they started the walk back.
Dale let Daisy and Max out when they arrived at the house. He pulled out folding chairs and they sat beneath the trailer awning. The dogs ignored the deputy after a cursory sniff. Wallard then proceeded to question Dale about why they lived so far out.
“You got a good pension; I’d think you’d want city life,” he finally said.
“Gotta like people if you live in the city. This land is in my blood and we like it. Few neighbors and lots of area for the dogs to roam.”
“Tell me, deputy, why are you out here in the middle of nowhere instead of a big city cop?” Dale asked next.
Wallard’s face had almost lost the red, but now it returned. “Had a disagreement with my supervisor. The man was an ass and couldn’t do anything for himself. When things went to shit, he blamed it on me. I decided to find another department.”
“Happens to the best of us,” Dale said.
They began talking about sports, which was not something Willow cared for.
“I’ll check on the dogs,” she said.
Max and Daisy were nowhere to be seen. This was common, but it gave her an excuse to escape.
It took the new deputies two hours before they arrived. They came with the local coroner.
“Dr. Hampson,” Dale said and shook his hand with a smile before turning to the deputies. He didn’t shake their hands. They nodded. Willow sensed animosity, but they stayed polite.
“It’s a forty-five-minute hike,” Dale said. “You up to going back out?” he asked Wallard.
By now, the deputy had used the bathroom in the travel trailer, wiped his face down, and drank more offered water. He had none in his car. Even Willow knew it wasn’t a smart move when you lived or worked in the Arizona high desert.
“I’m game.” He smiled at Dale. “I’ll take you up on that water,” he said.
Again, Willow led the way. The dogs were back in the house and hadn’t been happy about it.
Dale and the doctor spoke in low voices at the rear of the pack, catching up with life as they hiked.
She knew it had to be hard on Dale not to have men to talk to.
She, on the other hand, was glad that Louisa was the only woman around.
She and her husband Roger were neighbors and good people.
Louisa was teaching Willow about caring for horses.
As much as Willow would love to own one, they were a lot of trouble, work, and money.
She got her fill when Louisa and Roger went out of town.
The new deputies said a few words to her, so she upped her pace. If they could speak, she wasn’t going fast enough. When they hit the ravine, Dale took point and had Dr. Hampson join him.
Willow stood back while the deputies and doctor looked at the remains.
“It looks like a saw blade was used,” the doctor said. “If so, chances are good it’s a homicide. I’m no forensic specialist, but I’d say ten years or more. I’ll collect the bones and send them to the state lab.”
“They work like snails,” Dale muttered.
“True, but there’s no budget for something like this where the killer is likely long gone. Hell, that Hogg family could have been the culprits. This area attracts the crazies,” he smiled at Dale. “Yep, I’m including you in that statement too.”
“Harsh,” said Dale with a return smile. “But you’re right. People like the Hoggs are a dime a dozen out here.”
The doctor stood and looked at the deputies. “Glove up and walk a grid search. If we can find clothing, jewelry, or even a wallet, it would hasten identification.”
Willow found a boulder to sit on at the entrance to the ravine and waited. It took about an hour. The doctor came out first, carrying a thick plastic bag over his shoulder. She couldn’t help thinking that someone who had once been living and breathing was now in a trash bag.
The only thing she was thankful for was the bones would no longer be on the property.