AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Watch your step," Samuel grunted, nodding towards a particularly treacherous section of the path. "Wouldn't want you city folk breaking an ankle out here."
"Thanks for the heads-up," Ethan replied, his tone neutral. He moved gracefully over the uneven terrain, his large family upbringing in the countryside serving him well in situations like this. Rachel couldn't help but admire his ease in navigating the rough landscape.
As they neared the crime scene, Rachel felt a knot of tension in her stomach tighten. This wasn't her first case, but the thought of seeing another life cut short still weighed heavy on her heart.
They emerged from the woods near a horse paddock, the animals grazing peacefully just beyond the paddock. Rachel paused to take in the scene, her instincts honing in on every detail.
"Over here," Samuel muttered, pointing towards a nearby copse of trees. As they approached, Rachel steeled herself.
The body of a woman lay sprawled amongst the underbrush, her lifeless eyes staring blankly up at the sky, one arm draped in a Y of the tree. "Her name was Sarah," Samuel said quietly, his voice betraying a hint of emotion. "She was married to a hand from one of our competitor's ranches – Jack."
Rachel glanced over. "Sarah have a last name?"
"Givens," he replied with a shrug.
Rachel nodded once, took a note of it on her phone, and Ethan began examining the area around the body. She joined him, eyes moving with practiced precision over the vegetation. They moved slowly, methodically, knowing that even the smallest clue could be the key to cracking the case wide open. And as they worked, the knot in Rachel's stomach loosened ever so slightly,
She was back on the hunt.
She peered at the body, the way one of the arms was wedged in the Y of a tree branch, as if it had been intentionally placed there.
The woman's face was streaked with scrapes and mud.
Her feet were bare.
Rachel frowned at those feet, hesitant. She moved around the body and spotted deep cuts in the heels of the woman.
"She was running through the woods," Rachel said softly.
"Hmm?" Ethan glanced over, and frowned. "Think she was being chased?"
Rachel sighed, nodding once. She looked up at the canopy of leaves above, the shadows of the vegetation like the small forms of a shoal of fish. The woman's body didn't have a strong scent yet, suggesting it was fresh.
"Where's the coroner?" Ethan asked, glancing around.
Rachel had been wondering the same thing.
She frowned towards Samuel, who pretended as if he wasn't listening as he leaned sullenly against a white fence post.
She returned her attention to the victim. The woman's clothing was torn like her skin. Rachel wondered how long she'd been sprinting through the woods. Who had been chasing her?
The scent of damp earth and the distant sound of horses neighing filled the air as Rachel and Ethan
circumnavigated the crime scene. The sun was beginning to set, casting long shadows that seemed to reach out like skeletal fingers across the forest floor.
"Hey!" a gruff voice barked, pulling Rachel's focus away from the eerie atmosphere.
She looked over and spotted a small gathering by one of the paddocks. An unfamiliar man stood with his arms crossed. The man had muscled forearms but a flabby belly.
His greasy hair
was slicked back, revealing a receding hairline and a pair of beady eyes that seemed to dart around nervously.
Now, he had one meaty palm out, and was taking retreating footsteps, while holding out his hand.
"No, no--Silas said. You ain't goin' nowhere! Hang on. Don't make me sit you!"
And ahead of him, emerging from the tree line, a second figure was matching forward, shaking his head firmly, and wagging a finger.
