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“I’ll get him,” Parker said and dashed out of the room, coming back a minute later with the sheriff in tow.
“I leave you alone in the office for a few short minutes, and you stir up trouble. Thankfully, I had just finished my workout.” The sheriff shook his head, a mock frown pulling his eyebrows together. “What’s this about a body?”
Cassie tipped her head toward the crumbled wall and the hidden room beyond. “Appears to be a female, and based on the level of decomposition, she’s been there a long time.”
The sheriff stepped through the gap and studied the remains. “Talk about skeletons in the proverbial closet,” he murmured. “We’ll have to get the medical examiner and state crime lab to put their heads together. We’ll need to know an approximate date and time of death.” He stepped out of the hidden room and stopped in front of Molly. “The demo and reconstruction of this room will have to go on hold until the state crime lab has collected the evidence and the body is moved.”
Molly nodded. “What about the rest of the building? Can we continue work in the other rooms?”
“I don’t see why not.” The sheriff’s lips twisted. “You could uncover more bodies. Might as well get them all out into the open.”
Molly shivered. “I wonder if she was dead or alive when she was sealed into that room.”
The sheriff shook his head. “Hopefully, the ME will be able to tell us more about her. As soon as we get an approximate timeframe for how long she’s been dead, we can look through the missing persons database. Until then, we’ll have to wait.”
Molly stepped closer to Parker.
He slipped his arm around her. “We’ll work on another area until then. We hope to have the renovations complete by this fall. To do that, we have to keep moving.”
The sheriff nodded. “I don’t see any reason you can’t demo other areas. Once the crime lab does its thing, you can continue with this room as well.”
Molly and Parker led the sheriff out of the room, discussing the plans for the lodge. The other men followed, except one.
Drake Morgan.
Cassie shined the flashlight once more into the hidden room where a woman lay forgotten for who knew how long. Her chest tightened. How lonely and sad.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
“You were the one who found her,” she said.
Drake came to stand beside her. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Please, don’t call me ma’am,” she said automatically. “My name is Cassie.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “I mean, Cassie.” He tipped his chin toward the body. “Any idea who she might be?”
Cassie shook her head. “I’ve lived in Eagle Rock most of my life. I have no idea. I’m sure there have been cases of missing women over the years. We just need a timeframe to work with to narrow it down.”
“And if there’s any history on work done on the lodge, that might help you narrow it down even more.” His gaze and his headlamp remained trained on the hidden room. “Whoever left her there had the skills to put up walls to cover the entrance to that room.”
Cassie nodded. “I’ll dig into the history of the lodge. Maybe Molly will have the records of construction efforts. The previous owners had a fundraiser event to raise money for renovations.”
“Doesn’t look like they made any progress,” Drake commented.
“They didn’t. I don’t believe they ever intended to renovate the lodge. They only wanted the money.” Cassie’s lips pressed together. “That event was the night of the explosion in the mine.”
“I’m glad the McKinnons are restoring the lodge. It has good bones—” He grimaced. “Sorry, a good foundation.”
“The state historical society thinks it’s worth saving. And when Molly and Parker get it up and running, it will bring in tourists, which will help other businesses in this area.” She turned. “So, this was the job you were trying to get to when I pulled you over.”
He nodded.
“I’d apologize for slowing you down, but—”
Drake held up his hand. “You did your job. I was speeding and deserved a ticket. Thank you for sparing my driving record. I promise to keep within the speed limit unless it’s an emergency.”
She gave him a tentative smile and turned to leave the room.
