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Zach’s mouth opened to respond, but Brody answered first. “Just stand there with the others and I’ll send Duke out on the search.” He stopped in the middle of the open space, snapped his fingers and Duke’s attention came straight to his eyes. He unclipped the leash and waved out. “Revier.”
I leaned over to Eddie, not wanting to disturb the dog, and whispered, “What did he tell the dog to do?”
“Blind search,” Eddie replied, equally as quiet.
The answer didn’t completely make sense, but within minutes, Duke showed me it meant to find something unknown. Duke started at one side of the clearing and kept his nose to the ground as he ran in a grid formation.
By this time, Duke had run the outside of the clearing and now worked in vertical lines from the top of the clearing right to where we stood. “How long does something like this normally take?”
“Not long,” Eddie answered.
“If the body was recently buried here, the dog would probably have caught it the second we entered the grounds. Considering Hannah was buried five years ago, it’ll take him a little longer.” Kipp clearly took pity on me and explained in further detail, which I appreciated.
Ten minutes later, I felt bad for the poor dog. Duke kept at it, went as strong as he had when he first put his nose to the ground, but nothing happened. He hadn’t barked, stopped or did whatever he did when he found a body. “I’m beginning to think the lead you all got was wrong.”
Before Zach answered, Brody called out, “Don’t be so sure. Duke has alerted.”
I glanced back at Duke and found him lying on the ground with his head resting between his paws. He appeared as relaxed as any lazy dog on a Sunday afternoon. “That’s how he alerts there’s a body there?”
Zach snorted. “What were you expecting? Barking, tail wagging, jumping up and down?”
I nodded. “Ah yeah, that’s exactly what I expected.”
“There’s a possible body beneath the ground.” Brody stared at me, looking annoyed at my stupidity. “No one is happy when we make a discovery.”
“Er…right.” After a few seconds of feeling like crap for thinking such a thing, I let myself off the hook. I hadn’t meant to imply the time was a happy one. “So what’s the plan now?”
“It’s time to dig.” Eddie handed me a shovel.
I took it, realized what he suggested and tried to hand it back to him. “You don’t seriously expect me to help dig her up?”
Zach took the shovel from my hand. “You and…” He glanced at Brody and back to me. “You don’t need to see this.” He gestured back toward the way we had come. “Go for a walk or something and come back in a little while.”
I smiled the biggest thank-you possible. Zach returned the grin and headed off to fall into step with Eddie. When they reached Duke, I spun around to face Kipp. “It’s time to go.”
He nodded. “Let’s take a stroll.”
I followed behind him, but kept glancing over my shoulder. Again, I was at the back and didn’t like it one bit. I quickened my steps and ran right through Kipp. My teeth chattered as coldness rushed over my body, but I ignored it and didn’t stop until I stood in front of him.
Kipp’s chuckle came loud behind me. “What can I do to protect you if something sneaks up on you?”
“Doesn’t matter,” I retorted, not ashamed I was acting like a silly girl. “It just feels better.”
As we walked toward the creek, the full moon created a pretty glow and the air was warm without any humidity. “Besides what is going on here, it’s a lovely night tonight.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” he responded sharply.
I turned back at him. “You can’t feel the air?”
“I have no senses, remember? The air around me just feels cold.”
My heart sank at the melancholy in his tone. Instead of reacting to it, I returned my gaze forward and walked on. “Well, it’s one of those nights where the air is warm, but fresh.”
Kipp said nothing and I never looked back. I kept my focus on the forest floor lit by my flashlight and suspected if I saw what lay in his eyes now, I’d crumble into pieces.
Chapter Nine
At the creek, I bent down and ran my hands through the cold water. The walk through the forest had been tough enough for sweat to gather on my forehead and a couple of beads dripped down my spine.
