Page 19 of Bring Them Home

“I get that. All right, keep me posted on any further developments.” Malone turned to leave but stopped when his phone rang. He answered and told his caller, “I’ll get detectives out there immediately.” Malone returned to Amanda’s cubicle. His expression was pinched when he pocketed his phone.

Amanda inched forward on her chair. “What is it?”

“A man’s body was just found in a farmer’s field out in Haymarket. Didn’t you tell me last night that the father’s phone tracked back to Interstate 66?”

She had in the voicemail she’d left for him. “I did.”

Malone raised his eyebrows, and she knew what he was going to say before he said it. “Well, one way of getting to Haymarket is by taking that highway.”

“Time to move.” She stood and signaled for Trent to join her.

ELEVEN

Amanda and Trent discussed contacting more relatives of the Archer family and decided against it until they knew what they were dealing with out in Haymarket.

“Do you think this is going to turn out to be Paul Archer?” Trent looked over at her from the driver’s seat.

“It’s possible.” She faced out the window.

“Hey, are you all right over there? You’re awfully quiet.”

She hadn’t told him about the connection between Paul Archer and her daughter. It just hadn’t seemed necessary. But now, feeling Trent’s eyes on the back of her head, she had the urge to open up to him. She turned and met his gaze. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet. Paul Archer was supposed to be Zoe’s teacher this year. When I asked her how school was going—this was before we knew the Archers were missing—she told me that Mr. Archer hadn’t shown up. She was worried about him.”

“Shit. Given all that kid’s been through, it makes sense her mind would leap to something horrible happening. She’s seen far too much for her age.”

Alongside Amanda, Trent was involved with investigating the murders of Zoe’s parents, so he had a front-row seat to knowing what she’d witnessed. He’d seen how traumatized she had been in the immediate aftermath. “That she has. More than anyone should ever have to deal with.”

“Well, whatever we find out here, you’ve got this. So does she. She’s quite resilient.”

“She hasn’t had much choice, though, has she?” Rage heated Amanda’s insides. The unfairness that such a young child would be subjected to so much devastating loss was maddening.

“Suppose she hasn’t. You know I’m here for you, right? And for Zoe? Whatever you need, at any time, got it?” He looked over at her again, making sure to meet her eyes.

“I know you are. Thank you.” So few words, but it was all she could bring herself to say. They got the point across even if they only scraped the surface. Just hearing his sincere offering had cooled her temper. Somehow Trent had a way of making even some of the worst moments feel lighter, like she had less of a burden to carry.

About forty-five minutes after leaving Central, Trent pulled up to the side of the road, next to a cornfield. He parked behind a police cruiser, and the Crime Scene van. Officer Jensen greeted them when they got out of the car.

“The scene’s an absolute mess.” Jensen shuddered.

The cornstalks were high, and there wasn’t much to see from here, but vultures circled overhead.

“Do we have an ID on the vic?” Trent asked.

“Not yet, and we won’t until the medical examiner gets here. Crime Scene arrived about ten minutes ago.”

“What’s it looking like?” Trent asked. “Was it a gunshot or…?”

Jensen set his lips into a firm line. “It’s hard to say. The birds have made a real mess of him.”

Amanda glanced up again, but then looked down, noticing that a rough patch led from the road into the field. As she followed it with her gaze, the tops of CSIs Blair’s and Donnelly’s heads periodically popped up over some stalks about twenty feet in. “Who found the body?” She didn’t want to dwell on what damage the birds did to the remains.

“Rhett Manning, the farmer who owns this land. He walked out here to see what had the vultures swirling. He expected to find a dead animal, but…”

“Got the shock of his life instead,” Trent finished off.

Jensen nodded. “The guy’s a right mess. I feel bad for him. He’s in his seventies and doesn’t need to be dealing with this shit.”

“And where is he now?” Amanda asked.