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WE SPLIT UP to pick paths through the crap, just doing a quick check to make sure the room was vacant. I was moving aside a chair when I saw a boot sticking out from between two crates.
"Got something," I whispered. I leaned over the crate to see a leg protruding from the boot. "Or someone."
I could tell by the boot that it wasn't Jesse--not his style. Nor were the ugly work pants.
A tarp lay across the body. I peeled it back as Adam came over. Underneath was a guy in his fifties with greasy gray hair. Adam checked for a pulse and shook his head.
I leaned over and saw the pool of blood under the body. He'd been shot in the back.
When I glanced up, Adam had his phone out. He glowered at it.
"Still no service?" I said.
He nodded.
I had no desire to be caught with another corpse. Yet I knew better than to suggest one of us run back to the Jeep and call for help. We couldn't separate when my powers weren't up to par.
"We'll call as soon as we can," I said. "We need to find--"
"Shit."
Adam was staring at something on the other side of the boxes. I walked over and followed his gaze to another body, this one sitting against the wall, gun in his hand, wall behind him splattered with blood and brain. His face was covered in more blood, but I recognized it.
"Cody."
"Guess we know who killed the guard," Adam said. "And Claire. I just really hope Jesse didn't do anything dumb like call him here, confront him, and send him over the deep end."
"He didn't commit suicide," I said. "I had a hard time believing Tiffany would, but I absolutely cannot believe Cody did. The guy has the survival instincts of a barracuda. He'd never flip out, kill Jesse, kill the guard, then kill himself. Someone just wants to make it look as if he did."
I headed for the door. "We need to find him."
THE BIG SET of doors did indeed lead onto the sawmill floor--a huge open space filled with crap. Not crap, I guess. Machinery mostly. Here and there were blank spaces, as if those pieces had been sold. The remainder looked as if it dated from the sawmill's opening.
Rooms were easy to search systematically while keeping an eye on the exit. This would be like searching an open forest, treacherous terrain filled with ambush spots.
"I'm going to cast my sensing spell," I whispered.
Adam hesitated, then nodded.
The problem was knowing whether the spell was coming back negative because nothing was there or because it was shorting out. I could pick up faint pulses, though--rats, cats, or other critters. When I faced east, I caught the distant signs of a human-sized presence.
I pointed and nodded. Adam let out a sigh of relief. However much he'd been grumbling, he had been concerned about Jesse. Just more concerned about me.
I only hoped it was Jesse, and not the person who'd killed Cody and the guard.
I let Adam take the lead. He carefully picked his way past the machinery, avoiding stepping on any debris and announcing his presence.
As we passed a saw, blades covered, I heard the scuffle of a shoe on the concrete and spun, hands flying up in a spell. It failed. Someone knocked me to the ground. I caught a whiff of overwhelming BO.
Before I could fight back, Adam hauled the figure off me. Another stink filled the air--burning fabric. Adam threw my attacker aside. I leaped to my feet. There lay a middle-aged guy in a jacket so filthy I couldn't guess at the color. Same went for the guy's hair, and even the guy himself.
He scuttled back, gaze fixed on Adam looming over him.
"This is my spot," the man whined. "Randy promised he wouldn't give it to anyone else."
I directed Adam's attention to a nest of rags and boxes in the corner. Adam swore under his breath and reached into his back pocket.
"Is Randy the security guard?" I asked the homeless guy.
