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“No one should visit the scene,” I interject. “It’s important to preserve it as much as possible for the investigators.”
Vaughn doesn’t question my authoritative stance on police procedure, merely looks outside at the deluge and sighs heavily. He’s not wrong. Covering the grave with a tarp was a good idea, but given the ferocity of this storm, and that we’d already dramatically disturbed the site… law enforcement is not going to be happy with us. Of course, that’s my general experience with them.
We all fall quiet for a bit, digesting this latest implication.
“How are you doing?” Vaughn addresses Ronin first.
“I’ll be okay. I’m used to discovering skeletons, though this is more recent than most.” Ronin nods in my direction. “I’m sorry I dragged her into it, however.”
“Not my first experience, either,” I murmur softly.
“More information conspicuously absent from your background interview?” Vaughn drawls.
“What can I tell you? Nowhere isn’t always a peaceful place.”
He rolls his eyes, but rather than push the point, he sticks to the matter at hand. “What do you think of today’s discovery?”
“I think our skeleton is probably female, and hopefully in some missing persons database, but I don’t know.” I hesitate. “And just for consideration, if someone had the means and forethought to dispose of a body on a remote island, how do we know it was only one? I mean, how much of this atoll has been inspected by now?” I glance over at Ronin, who appears positively aghast.
“Not nearly enough. Certainly…” Ronin’s voice sputters out. He looks askance at Vaughn, who appears equally startled.
The project manager exhales slowly, rakes a hand through his dark hair. He gestures to what appears to be a cross between a heavy-duty cordless phone and a two-way radio sitting on the corner of his desk. “Well, on that happy note… Look, all of this is a matter for professionals. I’ll reach out to Oahu. They’ll come and do their thing. We’ll take it from there, after, of course, consulting with Mac. His atoll, his responsibility.”
Or his doing, I fill in drolly in the back of my mind. Vaughn eyes Ronin and me with clear dismissal. We take the hint and head for the door. As we step outside, I think I see a flash of light in the distance. Lightning? But there’s no thunder to accompany it.
Flash, I register, as in a camera. Charlie, snapping away from behind the bushes again? Why, and what the fuck? Gracefully swooping manta rays aside, I’m really starting to hate this place.
I’m tired beyond words.
Where to go, what to do? I let my feet make my decision for me.
And I am not surprised by where I end up next.
CHAPTER 14
TRUDY AND ANN APPEAR ALMOST exactly as I left them, bustling around the kitchen. This time, instead of making breakfast, they’re cleaning up after lunch. I enter through the back door, take a second to wipe the worst of the rain from my face, then plop down the half-filled cooler. Trudy and Ann both stop mid-motion and gawk shamelessly.
“You need a raincoat.”
“Or at least an umbrella.”
“Nice sweatshirt, though.”
“Ann, haven’t we seen that before?”
“Why, yes, Trudy, I do believe—”
I raise a hand in surrender. “Vaughn lent me the sweatshirt. Ronin and I got caught in the downpour on the way to his office. Air-conditioning plus soaked clothes, not a great mix.”
“Did Ronin also get a sweatshirt?” Trudy asks politely.
Ann giggles.
I honestly can’t decide if I want to throttle them or throw myself into their arms. Except hugging might make me cry, and this day is hard enough. And now with the storm. I don’t do well in storms anymore. Apparently, my job is a gift that keeps on giving.
Trudy, as usual, cuts to the chase. “Coffee or hot cocoa?”
I blink at her. “I haven’t had hot chocolate in years.”
