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A camera clicked in the glade.
She made it. She did it. She was safe.
Something drove into her, slamming the back of her head into a rock. Every ounce of air was expelled out of her as they shoved her, their hands grasping her jacket, lifting her off the ground an inch.
“What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to get killed? Or fucking caught?” Teddi breathed when she realized it was Vera. She shook her like a rag doll, knocking Teddi’s head into the jagged edge of the rock again.
“My head,” she mumbled, trying to reach up to check for blood.
“I don’t give a shit about your head. Why the hell would you do that?” Another shake. “Huh?!” She was whisper-screaming, her face just visible as she leaned over Teddi’s prone body.
“You look good on top,” she joked but there was a pulse now coming from the spot where she’d hit the rock.
“Oh, get fucked.” Vera released her with a jerk, dropping onto the ground at her side. Her shoulders lifted too quickly, her breaths pushing into each other fast and hard.
“I’m down if you are.” Another joke and she was sure that was blood on her glove. Vera huffed quietly, both of them too aware they weren’t alone. “Come on, I had to get a look. We’re on the bench here, we’ve got to start getting in there if we want to figure out what happened to Alex and now these three other men.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
She knew to her toes she was right, but the way Vera’s eyes were squeezed shut proved how deeply she miscalculated her idea. Or lack thereof. She should’ve told her, warned her before her kamikaze mission. But she hadn’t planned it, not even in the five seconds before she lept into the clearing. She just did it, desperate for something within reach.
Their argument would have to wait because both deputies re-entered the illuminated crime scene, dropping something heavy on the ground.
Scrambling for a better look, Teddi watched as the men began to unroll a black bag. Vera squatted next to her, the tension radiating off her in waves.
“Get the head, I’ll get the legs.” With a chorus of colorful curse words, they each grabbed an end and dragged the body off the rock. It remained in the same position, stiff from the onset of rigor mortis.
Scott Reade dropped unceremoniously into the waiting bag.
“That’s so far from regulation it’s not even funny,” she mumbled as the men stood over him. No gloves, no protective gear, they were handling a victim like a dead animal. “Don’t let me die here, Vera. They’ll just kick me into a hole.” She glanced over at her. The nostrils of her nose were flared, her lips tight together as she breathed. Furious didn’t begin to cover it.
“We’ll put him with the others,” Deputy Gunson barked as they started dragging it out of the lit area.
“What about the one that got identified? That Fort Collins kid?” Deputy Stocker’s voice was strained as he pulled.
“Nah, gotta send him back because they ID’d him. Shit luck too since no one else knew until he posted it. Butler fucked up but I think the boss has a soft spot for him.” He grunted. “If either of us had done that we’d be skinned alive.”
“We’ll wait for them to leave and then check out the crime scene.” Teddi was surprised when Vera ripped her sleeve out of her grip, already grabbing her pack to leave.
“No. We’re following these assholes.”
Chapter 17
Vera
They hurried back to Vera’s SUV, throwing themselves in as both Sheriff vehicles sailed past, spitting rocks. Without headlights Vera followed at a distance, trying not to drive off the shoulder.
Her hands shook as the taillights ahead took a sharp left. They were headed south of town, a place they'd never been before.
Teddi.
Teddi running into that glade played in her mind like a hell loop. Watching her sprint into the circle like she was under stadium lights had stopped every drop of blood in her body. She was frozen, incapable of going after her, knowing it would only cause a scene and ensure they both got caught.
She hadn’t meant to tackle her, hadn’t even thought it out but as she’d watched her, eyes so wide they watered, she had to make sure she was alive. The thunk of her body against the hard ground probably negated that but she didn’t care. She wiped the sweat off her brow angrily.
Vera was loath to admit it but Teddi was right. They were going to have to push it to get their investigation anywhere worthwhile. Their hands were tied and it only served to make the pressure tangible. There was a fourth body and they were no closer to having answers.
Sheriff Malis would have killed them both himself if he knew they were witnesses to it all. The thought almost brought a smile to her face. Until she recalled the fear she felt seeing Teddi sprint into the grass.
