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“I think we’d be lucky if that was the answer. Old dumping grounds from a deceased predator.”
“Fits expectations while minimizing fear. And given you didn’t find any new remains, works with the timeline of a guy who’s now dead.”
“We know serials don’t magically quit,” Kimberly considered out loud. “And to the extent all the bodies we’ve currently found are fully skeletonized, I would guess we’ve made a fresh discovery of an old crime. That fits the timeline for Ness, while making for a compelling narrative: Ness started off kidnapping girls near or around his trucking route. He brought them back to the relative quiet of the mountains, then dumped the bodies. Until he built up the confidence and resources for longer term abduction scenarios, such as what he did with Flora.”
“What does Flora think of the new discovery?”
“She’s... troubled. Could Ness have killed and buried four young women? Absolutely. But Jacob hiking up a mountain, wandering through the woods while carrying a corpse... According to her, not in a million years. He was the laziest kidnapper who ever existed.”
“Could Jacob have driven up to a different trailhead, then hiked down to where you found the bodies?”
“That’s a good question. We haven’t had time to scope out the full network of trails up here. Everyone wants answers now, of course. If only it were so simple.”
“Yep.”
They both fell silent for a moment. Kimberly leaned her head against the wall and listened to the steady rhythm of her husband’s breathing, as familiar as her own. No more sounds of their daughters, meaning Eliza and Macey had either settled in for the night or, more likely, were engaged in some kind of criminal conspiracy. She should let Mac go. Let him return to his responsibilities while she tended to hers. But she wasn’t ready yet. She needed this. A moment of calm in the storm.
“Wasn’t Jacob Ness known for his binges?” Mac asked at last. “Drinking, drugs, that sort of thing?”
“Yes.”
“Could that be what the three girls represent? Homicidal rampage? Ted Bundy certainly had his infamous night where he attacked an entire sorority.”
“Bundy was frenzied that evening. He struck and moved on. That’s easier than transporting, then dumping three bodies in a single grave.”
“Which brings you back to wondering about an accomplice. Someone with local ties, who drew Jacob to the area. In that scenario, three girls isn’t so implausible.”
“Want to come to Niche, Georgia? The locals keep eyeing us with suspicion, and the mountains are dotted with skeletal remains, but other than that, what’s not to love?”
“Oh no, you got this. Besides, all cases get worse before they get better. It’s the nature of the beast.”
“True.” She shook out her shoulders, sat up straighter. Time to get to it.
“Call if you need to talk. Even in the middle of the night. I don’t mind.”
“The joy of our jobs.”
“The key to our marriage,” Mac corrected gently.
Kimberly smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
“Mac, the girls have left you alone for a very long time...”
“Pray for me,” he agreed.
Kimberly smiled again. She touched her lips with two fingers, as if she could send her husband a kiss across cellular towers. As if she could feel the brush of his lips in return.
Then, she went back to work.
