AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Anthony was the same age as Lia and had been a sheriff ’s deputy for several years. He’d never been overly ambitious in school. He was the kid who sat in the back so he could sleep. At least, when he bothered to show up for school. Most days he skipped to go hunting or fishing. But she assumed that he was decent at his job.
She halted directly in front of the man. “Hey, Anthony. Is the mayor here?”
“Unfortunately.” He nodded toward the steep bank behind him that led down to the railroad tracks. “He’s down there.”
“I need to talk to him.”
“Can’t. He’s busy right now.”
“This is important.”
“Sorry, but it’s going to have to wait.”
“Anthony—”
The deputy held up a pudgy hand, interrupting her protest. “Trust me, Lia, this isn’t the time.” He glanced over his shoulder, making sure the mayor wasn’t lurking behind him. “Erickson’s been pissy since he became a fill-in for the sheriff, but today he’s off the charts. He’s been storming and stomping around ever since he caught sight of the skeleton. I assume he finally realized that being sheriff is more than getting free coffee at the diner.”
Lia ground her teeth, not bothering to argue. Anthony might not have displayed ambition when he was young, but he’d always been stubborn as a mule. There was no point in beating her head against a brick wall.
“Thanks.”
Turning away from the barrier, Lia stepped off the pathway and headed toward the snow-packed ridgeline. There was more than one way to get down to the tracks.
“Lia!”
Lia halted at the sound of her name being called out, glancing to the side to see a woman hurrying toward her.
Bailey Evans was Lia’s best friend, and the sheriff ’s cousin. She was thin with brown hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. She was currently wearing a thick coat, but as usual she’d forgotten a hat and her gloves. Bailey was a fantastic caregiver at the local nursing home, but she could be remarkably absentminded. As if she was so occupied with tending to others that she didn’t have time to worry about herself.
“Did you hear the news?” Bailey asked, halting next to Lia.
“Just that they found a skeleton.”
“It’s thrilling, isn’t it? Horrible, of course.” The flecks of gold in Bailey’s dark eyes sparkled with eager curiosity, her cheeks flushed. “But absolutely thrilling.”
Lia hid her grimace. She couldn’t blame Bailey for being excited. Although Pike had endured more than its fair share of murders over the past five years, there was something morbidly intriguing about a mysterious death.
“Do they know who it is?”
“I don’t think so.” Bailey wrinkled her nose. “Tate is being more of an ass than usual. I miss Zac.”
Lia sighed. “Who doesn’t? He’s the only decent sheriff we’ve had since Rupert retired.” Lia was still in school when Rupert Jansen was forced to leave his position after being shot on the job, but everyone knew he’d been legendary. “Did Tate say anything?”
“He told me to keep my nose out of his business.” Bailey made a sound of disgust. “Idiot. I’m the town gossip. My nose belongs in everyone’s business.” She glanced toward the nearby field, which was crammed with emergency vehicles. “I did hear one of the EMTs call it a ‘her’ when they loaded the body bag into the ambulance. Other than that, it’s a complete mystery.”
“A woman,” Lia breathed.
“I’ve been trying to imagine who it could be.” Bailey reached up to push back her thick hair, which was being tossed by the breeze. “I don’t know any missing women. Not unless you count my Aunt Misty, who traveled to Paris thirty years ago and never came home. Really, who could blame her? Sipping café au lait in a cute little bistro certainly beats sucking down a cup of joe in a local dive, am I right?”
Usually Lia would smile at Bailey’s chatter. The fact that they were complete opposites was what made their relationship so much fun. This morning, however, she was too tense to appreciate her friend’s humor.
“It could be one of Jude’s victims,” she pointed out.
Bailey’s amusement died at the mention of the monster who’d lived in Pike nearly thirty years before.
“That was my first thought as well. There’s always a chance that one slipped through the cracks,” she agreed, her tone doubtful. “But Zac was pretty certain they’d located all of them. Otherwise, he would never have left town.”
It did seem doubtful. Zac had spent endless months searching through the stacks of evidence left behind by the serial killer. If there’d been any hint of a missing victim, he would never have closed the case.
