Page 24 of Veil of Silence

But Austin couldn’t wait.

If his father had parked near this end of the lot, there might have been a reason.

Nora followed him while Harlan radioed the other deputies and jogged after them.

Leaves crunched beneath Austin’s feet as he entered the woods. The old trail was narrow and uneven, with roots pushing through the dirt and branches hanging low enough to scrape his jacket.

He scanned the ground as he walked but saw nothing.

The path sloped downhill and gradually disappeared beneath fallen leaves. Austin pushed through a tangle of branches.

Then he saw the jacket.

Brown leather. Aviation style. Worn at the sleeves.

His dad’s. He’d recognize it anywhere.

Austin stopped.

For one strange second, his mind refused to make sense of what he was seeing.

His father sat slumped against the base of a tree twenty feet away, one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent awkwardly.

“Dad?” Austin ran toward him.

There was no response.

“Dad!”

He sprinted now.

Some part of him already knew the truth.

Another part refused to accept it.

Austin dropped beside his father and pressed two fingers to his neck.

His skin was cold.

There was no pulse.

The world around Austin went completely still.

Behind him, Nora drew in a breath.

Austin stared at his father’s face. His eyes were closed, his head resting against the tree as if he’d sat down because his knee hurt and decided to take a nap.

Except he wasn’t breathing.

Austin had seen dead bodies before.

Too many.

But none of them had ever been his father.

Pain tore through his chest so sharply that he couldn’t draw a full breath.

Nora didn’t move.