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“I don’t know. He stopped a little way back up the trail and nows he’s not answering my calls.”
“Right.” She had to hand it to Nico; it hadn’t taken him long to process the situation. “It’ll take us fifteen or twenty minutes to get to you. Stay put,” he demanded and she could hear him puffing as he ran to get to her location.
“Negative. I’m going to look for him.”
“Stay where you are,” Nico commanded. “We’re on our way.”
Lacey didn’t answer. She didn’t want to disobey a direct order. And she really didn’t want to piss Nico off by defying him. This was why working in the same precinct as your lover sometimes got tricky. But something was wrong, and she needed to find Linc.
She’d been walking as she spoke into her radio, and she’d made it back to the main trail. The air in the forest was sticky with humidity now she was away from the cooling waters of the river, and a trickle of sweat ran down her spine. She cursed her heavy police vest, which made it even hotter in this closed-in forest. She also knew her fluro-yellow vest would stand out amongst the dull greens and browns of the forest. Making her an easy target. If she took it off, her dark-blue uniform would blend much more easily into the shadows. But that was strictly forbidden while out on a search. She swiveled her head from side to side, checking out the trail in both directions. Nothing stirred. Even the insects had grown quiet, apart from that swarm of flies down by the body. The dry leaf litter crackled beneath her boots as she retraced her steps toward the fork in the trail where she’d last seen Linc.
Resting her hand on her gun, she stepped warily, narrowing her eyes against the bright sunlight as it speared through the canopy overheard, casting strange shadows and randomly blinding her when she least expected it.
What was that? A dark lump on the path ahead, near the top of a small rise. Then she caught a hint of bright yellow.
“Linc?” She began to jog up the slope, eyes fixed on the shape. His black boots appeared first, his body stretched out limply on the forest floor.
“Oh, no.” The words escaped her on a whisper. She was on her knees beside him in an instant. “Linc, wake up. What happened?” She touched him lightly on the shoulder, but dare not roll him over in case of spinal injuries. Linc remained still and unresponsive, and when she laid a hand on his forehead, his dark skin was clammy and cold. He lay on his side, right where she’d left him poking at something on the ground at the base of a tree. Without moving him, she checked him over for injury, patting him all over and checking her hands for signs of blood. Nothing. But when she moved to his head, dark red stained the ground beneath his cheek, and when she gently parted the hair at the back of his head, she could see a nasty gash. While it was bleeding profusely, she knew it wasn’t enough blood loss to cause a problem—head wounds always bled more than they should. Except for the head wound, she could see no other injury, and she sat on the ground beside Linc with a grunt. A head wound could mean anything from a mild concussion to bleeding on the brain, and Lacey had no way of knowing how life-threatening his injury was. That she couldn’t rouse him didn’t bode well, however.
Slowly, as her shock cleared, she remembered the number one rule of first aid. Always make sure your surroundings were safe before you approached the patient. Damn, she’d got that one wrong. She’d raced up to Linc with no thought for herself. Lifting her head, she studied the forest, checking the trail in both directions. It was empty. But it was hard to see far into the scrubby forest encircling her and Linc. Large tree ferns competed with fallen logs and a myriad of small saplings. A hundred places for someone to hide.
The only sound was the rasp of her own breath in her chest. She counted to ten and took two deep breaths, while keeping her eyes trained on the forest, swinging her head from side to side.
Something flashed in her peripheral vision. Movement. She stared at the spot between two trees, waiting. Was someone there? The same person who’d hit Linc from behind and left him for dead? She drew her gun, keeping it pointed toward the ground but out in front where it’d be obvious to anyone watching. This wasn’t the time to second-guess herself. Someone was out there. Possibly the perp who killed these two women. And physically assaulted a police officer. She wasn’t about to be their next victim.
Suddenly, her police radio crackled to life. “We’re seven minutes away.” Relief flooded through her at the sound of Nico’s voice.
“Linc has been hurt,” she replied, never taking her eyes from the spot between the trees. “Someone hit him over the head, and he’s unconscious. We need an ambulance.”
“Shit, Lacey,” Nico swore and she could hear him running even harder. “I’m coming, stay where you are.”
She had no intention of moving. She wasn’t about to leave Linc unprotected. As she hunkered down over his body, gun still drawn and at the ready, she wondered at the gall of someone who’d attack a cop in broad daylight. Had Linc actually found something? A clue perhaps? And if so, had the murderer tried to kill him in an effort to get it back?
“Please, Linc, be okay,” she pleaded under her breath, taking the time to check his pulse, which was still strong. The firm beat of his heart beneath her fingertips gave her some relief. Linc was tough, a hard man to kill. But a lump still formed in her throat at the thought that he might’ve died. That he might still die if an ambulance didn’t come soon.
It seemed to take forever, but she finally heard the pounding of boots on the dusty earth along the trail. “Up here,” she directed. Then Nico was standing defensively above her as she knelt over Linc’s body, his fierce gaze assessing the area until he was sure they were safe.
Not caring that the other officer could see, he pulled her up into his arms and squeezed her so tight she had to fight for breath. “Fuck. You scared me,” he whispered. It was only a second or two before he had himself under control again.
“Are you okay?” he barked, the detective-in-charge once more.
“Yes. I’m not hurt. But Linc—”
“The paramedics are on their way. Where’s the dead woman?” he asked.
Lacey was taken aback. Nico seemed more concerned about a body than her flesh-and-blood partner who was lying helpless and wounded on the ground.
“Down at the water hole.” She pointed back down the trail, to where the smaller pathway forked to the right. “She’s caught in some weeds at the edge of the water behind the big log. Just follow the flies,” she added.
“Can you get down there and guard the scene?” Nico commanded the other officer. Lacey recognized Constable Lawson. She was acquainted with her female colleague, but they’d never been partnered together, or even worked on the same team, and so she didn’t know her well.
“Yes, sir.” The officer turned and followed the direction of Lacey’s outstretched hand.
Nico watched Constable Lawson jog down the path, then turned back to her. “Sorry, but it’s imperative the body not be disturbed. If someone else is in the area, they might have come to move the body or tamper with it in some way, and we can’t have that.” He was still using that brisk, commanding tone. The professional one he used when he was in charge of a team. She tried to tell herself it didn’t matter. Nico was on the job, and he wasn’t letting anything get in the way of that. Including, it seemed, her. Or her partner.
He dropped to his knees beside Linc, and his face finally softened. “Where is he hurt?” Lacey glowered at Nico for a second. She understood where he was coming from. The crime scene was his first priority. And perhaps he was correct. If they lost a vital clue because of something she had or hadn’t done, they may never catch the killer. Perhaps she shouldn’t have left the body unprotected. But that was where she and Nico differed, because a living, breathing victim was always more important in her eyes.
But at least he was now turning his attention to Linc. “It looks like someone hit him from behind. Maybe with a rock. I don’t know. But it’s bad.” Lacey couldn’t stop the slight tremble in her voice.
