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“Colleen—”
“Already calling it in,” she said.
She’d been prepared, her phone ready, even while she’d continued digging with one bare hand.
He had to admit he had been skeptical. For weeks now, he had sought out victims in densely wooded sections of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the surrounding valleys.
That morning, he and Ragnar had been lucky. They’d found Sally Smithson alive. But out here, in the forest, when the killer had finished with his victim and left her in the earth to die...
Dierdre had just been taken last night.
So, this was different.
The killer usually played with his victims for several days before killing them.
Out here...both previous victims found buried had been dead.
“There’s no chance,” he said softly. “The structure of the box is compromised.”
“No, get her out!” Colleen insisted, heedless of the dirt and bracken on the forest floor as she dug desperately to free the woman from her shallow grave.
The top of the box had been severely damaged. Mark reached a point where he could drag the young woman out and he did so. He laid her flat and hunkered down to the ground beside her to first roll her over his knee and thump on her back to clear her mouth and nose of dirt and debris. He then stretched her out to begin artificial respiration, and prayed that for once they might be successful.
He hesitated for a second to take a long deep breath while fighting a feeling of hopelessness. He could feel no pulse. He wasn’t a doctor, but she’d been in the earth breathing dirt for too long.
“Don’t quit!” Colleen snapped. “Or else move and I’ll—”
He ignored her tone of voice and went back to his actions, not taking the time to inform her he couldn’t give anyone air if he didn’t have it himself.
Colleen fell to her knees on the other side of the woman, nodding to him. He nodded briefly in return. She counted, and working as a team, they kept up the resuscitation efforts.
He prayed help would come soon; he believed it would. First responders across the area had been put on alert.
As she counted and he breathed again, he finally heard a siren coming closer. He knew it hadn’t been long at all, given their location in the forest. It had just seemed like forever.
Paramedics arrived along with police cars and a black SUV Mark knew to be Jackson Crow’s. Jackson had parked down the trail. The roads here were tight, and Mark knew he wanted to leave plenty of room for the forensic team that would arrive.
Mark stood and watched as the paramedics rushed in and began working on the woman. His new partner next to him allowed the paramedics plenty of room.
The first paramedic on the scene had immediately taken Mark’s role. Her partner, a slim, wiry man in his early forties, took Colleen’s place, and he was the one to say, “Let’s get her in the ambulance.”
“There’s hope?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, she has a faint pulse, and yeah, she’s breathing, but...yeah,” the first paramedic said.
Other paramedics were rushing in with a stretcher.
“We need to get her on a respirator stat,” the woman continued.
Mark watched the paramedics work; they were competent and fast.
“You two did well,” the woman called over her shoulder. Dierdre Ayers was already on the stretcher with the paramedics working over her. One was on the phone, speaking with the doctor at the closest hospital, who was waiting to take over.
Colleen remained silent next to him.
Red was sitting by her feet.
Jackson had been right, he thought grudgingly. Maybe Red would have found the exact place anyway. But...
Colleen had found the place to dig. She had “heard” the voice in the forest.
But he still wasn’t sure about her. He’d learned she was just out of the academy. And her manner, in his mind, bordered on rude. Though he considered perhaps she was quiet because she was listening to something he couldn’t hear himself.
Did it matter? Dierdre Ayers might live!
Jackson Crow came along the winding trail, looking around the area.
“Forensics are on the way,” he said. “And I have the McFadden brothers tag teaming to make sure she’s guarded through the night at the hospital.”
He was silent for a minute.
“Two for two,” he said, looking at Mark. Then he turned to Colleen. “You heard her?” he asked.
“I heard her,” Colleen said softly. “But Red found the place. Mark got her out quickly. The lid on the box had crashed in and... I hope she makes it. She wasn’t breathing when we got her out.”
“She is breathing now,” Jackson said. “Good work, you two—sorry, Red. Good work, you three.”
Red barked an acknowledgment.
Mark turned to Jackson. “Were you able to get anything from Sally Smithson? Was she alone in the basement last night? Could Carver have done this—taken and buried Dierdre immediately? That’s not the way he’s been working. The women are missing, and when we find them, the medical examiners suggest they were kept for at least a day or even days before being buried.”
“The doctors only let me speak with Sally for a few minutes; they have her sedated because she’s still in a lot of pain. She remembers she was at a stop sign, and someone came to her window, crying for help. She opened the car door and a hood went over her head. She told me Carver wore a mask when he came down to the basement. She wouldn’t recognize him if she saw him. I have Angela at the hospital still. She’ll stay overnight in Sally’s room and be there when she wakes up.”
Angela Hawkins Crow was Jackson’s wife—and his second-in-command. She was among the first six investigators Adam Harrison had pulled together to form the Krewe of Hunters.
Angela was a beautiful blonde woman who could be as fierce as a tiger. If she was with Sally and the McFadden brothers were watching over the hallways, Sally was safe.
“We know Dierdre was taken last night. Her car was found in a ditch. And she was buried here,” Mark said. “We got Carver sometime right after noon, so...could Carver have done this? The timing may be possible—I’m not even sure how long someone could breathe in that kind of a coffin—but...why? Doesn’t fit the way the killer has been working,” he added, shaking his head. “Did Ragnar get anything out of Carver? Or did Carver lawyer up?”
“Not yet—on both. Ragnar said Carver is playing with the questioning. Enjoying it. But he’s letting it go on, and he hasn’t called his lawyer. Eventually, Ragnar will hit the right button. Carver will give up something,” Jackson said. “You two should head back in.” He looked at Colleen and then Mark. “And maybe shower. Mark, give Red the biggest steak bone out there.” He turned to Colleen. “Special Agent Law, you are an amazing addition to our Krewe. Get some sleep tonight.” He turned back to Mark. “Get some rest. You had one hell of a day. In this business, a damned good day.”
“If Dierdre comes to—” Mark began.
“I’ll be there,” Jackson assured Mark. “Angela is with Sally. I’ll take the night shift with Dierdre. Get some sleep. There’s nothing else anyone can do right now.”
“I want to speak with Carver,” Mark said.
