Page 84 of Forever Gone

She crossed the lot at a fast walk. She had taken only a mouthful, but the taste still lingered. That was enough to make driving herself to the scene a bad decision. Selena called Dana and asked for the nearest deputy to collect her.

That did not mean Connor would approve.

A cruiser pulled into the motel five minutes later. Selena took the passenger seat beside Deputy Kelvin, whom she had never met. As he followed Dana’s directions west beyond the town lights, Selena lowered both front windows and let the cold air clear the warmth from her skin. One message warned them about the concealed turnoff. Another confirmed that Connor had preserved the approach and ordered the first deputies to park behind his SUV. When the navigation showed less than half a mile remaining, Selena asked Kelvin to slow.

A deputy had positioned his cruiser at the roadside with emergency lights running. He waved her toward a narrow track through the woods.

Branches dragged along the cruiser as it followed the ruts uphill. Red light pulsed between the trees ahead. The track opened into a clearing occupied by Connor’s SUV, two cruisers, and Matt Price’s van.

The barn stood beyond them.

Portable lamps had been set outside, throwing hard white light across its weathered boards. Darkness crowded the clearing; broken whenever red or blue flashes moved across the trunks.

Connor waited near the entrance.

He wore the same uniform from earlier, though his shirt had come loose at one side and dirt marked one knee. His hat was gone. Tension held his shoulders as Selena approached.

Matt Price stood inside the barn near Linda’s Corolla, photographing the ground around the vehicle.

Selena pulled on gloves and shoe covers from a kit beside the entrance.

“Where’s Blethan?” she asked.

“Lexington,” Connor said. “Family matter. He’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“He knows about this?”

“I called him. He told Matt not to move the body until he gets here unless the temperature becomes a problem.”

Cold air entered through gaps in the barn walls. The body would remain stable for several hours, but not indefinitely.

Selena stepped inside.

The Corolla stood near the rear wall with its driver’s side facing the entrance. Mud dried along the wheel arches. Linda Mercer remained behind the wheel; her head turned slightly toward the passenger seat. Blood marked her sweater, coat, and the lower part of her jaw.

The tongue rested beside her purse.

Selena stopped several feet from the car.

Three women. The same violation. The same effort to silence them after death.

No private dispute could explain all of them now.

“We have a bona fide serial killer on our hands,” she said.

Connor stood behind her. “I agree.”

Matt lowered his camera. “I’d appreciate it if neither of you said that outside this barn until we have something ready for the public.”

“We won’t,” Selena said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky with a footprint or something here.”

“Doubtful. The floor’s concrete.” Matt directed his flashlight toward pale dirt gathered near the wall. “I’ll check outside. The track’s dusty, but there’s been wind through the trees, and deputies had to come in the same way.”

“Were they told to stop short of the barn?”

“Connor handled that. Their vehicles are behind his.”

Selena moved around the approved edge of the scene. The car windows were closed. Linda’s phone was not visible from where she stood. Her tan coat lay open, and the seat belt had not been fastened.