Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Claire
Sheriff McGrath’s lips were pressed into a tight line when he returned.
“DCI is sending an agent. He’s a few hours out though, won’t be here until morning.
Wendy, I’m sorry, but they’re asking you to leave the remains in place for tonight.
That means you’ll have to come back tomorrow, meet them here. ”
“It’s not a problem,” she reassured him.
“We’ll have to keep the scene secure overnight,” he said, his voice oddly gruff. He was staring at the bones with a faraway look, like he couldn’t believe that this was happening in his county.
“I can do that,” I volunteered. “I was already planning on camping tonight, anyway.”
“You sure?” Sheriff McGrath asked, turning toward me with a look of concern. “It’s your day off. I know you were looking forward to it and I hate to ruin that for you.”
“It’s really not a problem,” I said. It wasn’t like I would be getting any real sleep anyway—not with the adrenaline that was running through my veins.
“That will work out well,” Trey said smoothly. “I’m on duty tomorrow. I can be here in the morning to take over watch until DCI arrives.”
And kiss the agent’s ass. I fought back an eye roll.
Everyone knew that Trey’s dream was to work for DCI as a special agent.
He’d already applied once and had gotten passed over for lack of investigative experience.
He was probably chomping at the bit to work a high-profile homicide case with whoever DCI was sending us.
I’d have given anything for them to send a woman. Watching Trey attempt to flatter and impress her would keep me laughing for years.
Sheriff McGrath hesitated, then put his hand on my shoulder. “You’re really sure you’ll be okay handling this alone?” His eyebrows furrowed as he searched my eyes.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I shrugged. “I do this all the time.”
He shook his head. “Sitting with remains isn’t the same as bedding down on the trail. You don’t have to volunteer for this. I can ask one of the guys to do it.”
Ah. So there it was. I could read between the lines.
Since I was the only female deputy, Sheriff McGrath often tried to shield me from the rougher parts of the job, never noticing that his doing so just made things harder for me in the long run.
I’d never earn any respect if I didn’t have a chance to prove myself.
Not that I should have to. I’d proven myself time and time again on the SAR team. But none of that seemed to count when it came to the badge.
I bit down my frustration and plastered on an easy grin. “No need to mess up their beauty sleep. I’ve got this.”
He relented with a nod. “Alright. Call in if you need anything.”
I gave him a reassuring nod.
“Deputy Hawkins will keep the scene secured,” he said, raising his voice so the others could hear.
“The rest of you should get some sleep. Plan on meeting back here at eight sharp. And I know I don’t have to say this, but not a word to anyone about what— who —we may have discovered. This goes nowhere. Got it?”
We all nodded our understanding. News like this would spread like wildfire if we weren’t careful.
The others packed up their supplies and headed up the hill, leaving me at the bottom, listening to their low voices slowly fade away.
Then there was just that unique silence of the wilderness—a quiet filled with the small noises we normally tuned out when other humans were around.
Twigs cracking in the distance, the chirp of crickets, the small rustling noises that meant critters nearby.
It was my favorite kind of quiet. The kind where you could finally hear yourself think.
But it felt unnerving tonight.
Movement in the trees startled me. Then Cheyenne appeared from where she’d apparently stayed close by, waiting for the team to leave. She took a wide path around the area I’d marked off, quiet as she looked at the uncovered remains.
“Want me to stay with you?” she asked, nudging me.
“Nah. No reason to make Rhett sleep alone. He’s probably worried sick up there, waiting for you to come back.”
“We can both come down here,” she said quietly.
I waved her off. “Best to keep Ash up there, away from the scene. I’ll be fine. I promise. It’s no different than any other day at work.”
She wrapped me in a hug. “Just give a shout if you change your mind. You don’t have to do this alone.”
“It’s fine,” I said, acting like it was nothing. And I was convincing enough that we both believed me.
But when Cheyenne finally trudged back up the hillside to where Rhett and Ash were waiting for her beside a warm fire, reality set in.
I was alone in the cold, underneath a dark sky, keeping vigil for the scattered bones of a girl who had disappeared without a trace.
And when I finally allowed myself to doze off, I dreamed of all the faces of the ones I’d searched for—and failed to bring back alive.
I startled awake at the sound of twigs snapping.
It was dawn, not yet time for everyone to gather, but low voices and movement on the trail told me that people were headed this way.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and blinked, trying to orient myself.
It had been a mostly sleepless night and my body was crying out in exhaustion.
I relaxed when I caught a glimpse of Cheyenne’s red flannel shirt moving through the trees. She and Rhett must have gotten up early and decided to check on me. If I was lucky, maybe they had brought hot coffee—and food. Bacon, sausage… My stomach rumbled just thinking about it.
But when Cheyenne emerged from the trees, she was accompanied by a stranger.
Unlike my gigantic brother, this man was toned and athletic in a way that looked built for speed. He moved with a precision that reminded me of the sleek movements of a mountain lion. He had a chiseled face and piercing blue eyes that stared me down as he approached.
Everything about him looked expensive, from the leather jacket he wore over a black T-shirt and dark jeans to the high-end hiking boots on his feet. His rich brown hair was neatly groomed on the sides, with a classic wave on top.
He looked like Hollywood.
Not Wildwood.
Cheyenne hung back, shooting me an unreadable look as he walked up to me and crossed his arms.
He scanned me up and down. “Who are you?”
“Deputy Claire Hawkins,” I said, scrambling to my feet as I noted the DCI badge on the black leather belt that hung low on his hips.
“Where’s your uniform?”
I snorted, unable to help myself. “Where’s yours?”
A flash of humor seemed to flicker in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, making me wonder if I had imagined the whole thing. He stared at me with an unimpressed look that urged me to explain myself.
“I was off duty last night. My friends and I were camping when we found the remains. Since I was already here with outdoor gear, I volunteered to stay and keep watch.”
His eyebrows rose. “You were asleep.” The accusation was clear.
My cheeks flushed with anger as much as embarrassment. “Yes, I was.” I squared my shoulders, hoping to leave it at that.
But he kept pushing. “Do you often fall asleep on duty, Deputy Hawkins?”
“As a matter of fact, yes, I do,” I said, crossing my arms and mirroring his stance.
The answer threw him off. “What?”
I kept my face straight. “I’m the Sheriff’s Office liaison for the Sage County Search and Rescue team. During tourist season, half my job is sleeping in the woods. I do it all the time.”
His face relaxed, and that humor flickered in his eyes again. “Fair enough. But if you volunteered to keep watch, you should have followed through.”
The reprimand irritated me even more than his accusation. He didn’t even know me, and he was acting like I’d failed at my job.
I was getting damn sick of it.
“My ears are the sharpest in Sage County,” I said between gritted teeth.
“I know how to sleep light, how to listen for the telltale sounds of an intruder approaching. Years of sleeping in bear country will do that to you. Based on the condition of those brand-new hiking boots you’re wearing, I’m guessing you wouldn’t know much about that. ”
I didn’t bother keeping the disdain off my face as I sized up the six-hundred-dollar shoes that looked like they’d never seen terrain more than a thousand yards from a parking lot.
“Hmm.” His lips twitched before he turned his head and looked at the area I’d marked off with flagging tape.
I shot Cheyenne a look behind his back that forced her to fake a cough to cover up the laugh that slipped out.
He glanced at her, then turned back to me with an expression that said we hadn’t pulled a thing over on him. Cheyenne mouthed good luck before making her escape.
He watched her climb the hill and waited until she was out of earshot before his attention came back to me. His arms remain crossed, his tone clipped. “Tell me what happened.”
I explained about how we had been camping, how Cheyenne’s dog had found the bones, and about the bracelet Wendy had found. He listened carefully, his eyes scanning the scene. They landed on the skull, still visible even from here.
I shuddered seeing it again, though I was grateful it was less distinctive in this light. It had been impossible to miss late in the night, when moonlight had glinted off the white bone, drawing my gaze to it no matter how hard I tried to look away.
I wasn’t sure what had been worse. Sitting awake, unable to stop my eyes from focusing like a laser on that skull … or the nightmares that ensured I slept so lightly I wouldn’t miss a sound.
The DCI agent tilted his head toward me, his brow furrowing as another shudder ran through me.
I bit the inside of my cheek, annoyed I had let him see me flinch.
He waited a moment before speaking again. His tone was slightly softer when he did. “You saw the remains up close. Was there any soft tissue remaining?”
“Not that I saw,” I said, blinking quickly, as if it could erase the images that flashed through my mind at his words.
“Show me the charm bracelet.”