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  A Skye Cree Novel

  Published by Beachdevils Press

  Copyright © 2020 Vickie McKeehan

  All rights reserved.

  Forgotten Bones

  A Skye Cree Novel

  Copyright © 2020 Vickie McKeehan

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic format without written permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, locales, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, businesses or companies, is entirely coincidental.

  ISBN-10: 1656765505

  ISBN-13: 9781656765505

  Published by

  Beachdevils Press

  Printed in the USA

  Titles Available at Amazon

  Cover art by Vanessa Mendozzi

  You can visit the author at:

  www.vickiemckeehan.com

  www.facebook.com/VickieMcKeehan

  http://vickiemckeehan.wordpress.com/

  www.twitter.com/VickieMcKeehan

  One missing child is one too many.

  ~ John Walsh

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Twenty

  Twenty-One

  Twenty-Two

  Twenty-Three

  Twenty-Four

  Epilogue

  Forgotten Bones

  by

  VICKIE McKEEHAN

  Prologue

  Three days earlier

  Idaho Panhandle

  Everybody needed a getaway, a vacation away from the grind and pressures of their jobs. For Reggie Bechtol and Judy Howe, it had been a trip they’d meticulously planned out over the winter months. As soon as May had come around, the two pooled their resources to make it happen. They set their sights on Yellowstone in all its springtime glory. The national park that brought images of bison loping along grassy meadows had pulled at them since they’d browsed through a brochure at the mall.

  If they roughed it in the wild, they might be able to experience the same natural beauty that rugged mountain men had witnessed two hundred years earlier huddled around a smoky campfire to keep warm.

  It was a dream and the perfect venue to use the RV they’d borrowed to make the trip. It also would be the couple’s first time taking a real vacation together, certainly one that had them spending the night camping out in the woods. They’d spent a bundle at REI to make sure they had all the right equipment to sleep out under the stars, weather permitting, of course. In their naïve way, they figured they were ready for anything Mother Nature threw at them.

  Despite the difference in their ages—Judy was at least a decade older than Reggie—the two had managed to stumble into a solid-state of comfortable domestic bliss. To make it official, Judy had even moved into Reggie’s house located about a mile from the University of Washington campus.

  Both had settled into a niche of sorts. Since they worked in the same building, they commuted to work together. They ate lunch together. They took breaks together. Without any help from dating apps or the Internet, without friends setting them up on embarrassingly awkward blind dates, the nerdy Cal Poly grad approaching thirty and Skye’s go-getter colleague had bonded and carved out an unlikely chunk of coupledom.

  The trip getting to Yellowstone had taken them some eight hundred miles into heavily wooded forests and into scenery that had to be captured on film to be believed. They’d taken two dozen videos, almost four hundred photographs, and filled their Instagram and Facebook feeds with posts about their journey.

  During their three-week stay near the national park, they’d seen their fair share of bison and deer and other wild animals. They’d encountered like-minded campers from as far away as Germany and the Netherlands. They’d made new friends, exchanging personal information with a promise to keep in touch. It saddened them to see the trip nearing its end.

  Maybe that reluctance to go back to the grind was why they’d gotten such a late start heading back to Seattle.

  As dusk began to fall fast over the Columbia Basin, they knew they’d never make it home by midnight even if they hauled ass through Coeur d’Alene and headed toward Spokane. Not driving the RV anyway. The lumbering dinosaur wasn’t exactly built for speed. And besides, Reggie didn’t like driving the monster rig once it got dark.

  Sitting in the cockpit, behind the wheel of the forty-foot long motor coach, he struggled to climb one more hill. Knowing they needed to find a spot to pull over for the night, he reached for his cell phone to check for service.

  Judy tapped his arm. “No texting. Remember?”

  “Wasn’t gonna. But we should start looking for a good place to pull in for the night and get off the road. The good news is that when we start out tomorrow, we’ll be that much closer to getting home.”

  “I have mixed feelings about that. It’s been such a wonderful trip seeing parts of the country I’d only read about in books. I’m not sure I’m ready to settle back at my desk, behind my computer again stuck there all day long. Although, I am kinda tired of traveling in this thing. Who knew it’d be so claustrophobic?”

  Briefly taking his eyes off the road, he stretched his arm out to run a hand down her sandy brown hair. “I know. I’m an idiot. I should’ve thought of that.”

  “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know sleeping in such closed quarters would cause me to feel like I was back in the clutches of Berkenshaw. Why would you?”

  “I should’ve…”

  “Stop that! You’re not responsible for me feeling edgy, okay? Get that in your head right now. If I’m unable to explain why I feel this way, then you certainly can’t explain it either. Just be glad my anxiety did
n’t kick in until yesterday.”

  “But…”

  “I’m chalking it up to not wanting to head home. That’s it. No big deal. Okay? Now we should leave it at that and change the subject. Besides, I’m really looking forward to sleeping under the stars tonight and getting out of this tub.”

  “You want to pitch the tent? Really? Cool. I’m fine with that.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Our last night on the road before we reach Seattle should be special. Let’s just forget about my jumpiness and look for the best available campground we can find before it gets too dark. According to the map, there should be a state park near the Indian Reservation. There was a road sign a few miles back. We should be less than ten miles from it now.”

  Judy put down the map and let out a sigh. She looked over at the man she loved and took his hand in hers. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. Not sure what’s gotten into me. I’m not trying to ruin our trip.”

  “No one said you were. Is there a reason you don’t want to go back home? Are you upset about something? Did Skye do something to piss you off?”

  “Nope. She’s amazing to work for. Which makes it weird that I really don’t like the idea of going back.”

  “Maybe you’re just burned out, dealing with families of victims. Three weeks is hardly enough of a break to make a difference. Skye’s cases aren’t exactly a walk in the park. We all get involved and worked up. They’re intense and sad. Maybe it’s as simple as the dread of going back and facing another broken-hearted mom or dad that has you bummed out.”

  Judy wasn’t convinced. “I love my job. If not for Skye and Josh, I’d probably still be housebound. I’d still be afraid to go out at night. I don’t think my anxiety is job-related. I feel…uneasy…like something bad is about to happen.”

  Reggie’s brows knitted in the middle of his forehead. Concerned, he cleared his throat. “You mean like a premonition? When did you first start feeling like that?”

  Judy chewed the inside of her jaw. “Honestly? I’d have to say last Friday.”

  “When we were hiking with the Canadian couple from Quebec? But that was almost a week ago.”

  “Uh-huh. But it had nothing to do with them. They didn’t give off any kind of bad vibe. They were sweet. No, the feeling came afterward when we got back to the RV. I just couldn’t shake this weird feeling of doom. Or maybe overwhelming sadness.”

  “That’s not good. You should’ve said something.”

  “And ruin our good time? No way. I kept my mouth shut because I…”

  “Didn’t want to talk about it. I get it.”

  They focused on finding the campsite instead of imminent doom.

  Another twenty minutes went by. They got further away from Montana and put the Bitterroot Mountain Range behind them. When the headlights illuminated the sign for a state park that claimed two picnic areas and a waterfall, Reggie slowed to a crawl. He put his blinker on and took the exit that vowed to show them what the state of Idaho had to offer.

  By the time they reached Shoshone County, they were on their way to the state park. The sun had already been swallowed up by a few storm clouds brewing in the distance, far north into Canada. But there was still enough daylight to take in the breathtaking views of towering white fir and red alder. It was impossible not to appreciate the tapestry of the lush landscape coupled with the backdrop of the mountains.

  Judy sat up straighter in the passenger seat, trying to get her bearings. As navigator, she squinted over the dash and pointed further westward. “The campground we want is just north of the Reservation. So take another right up here at the bridge.”

  The bridge was modern enough to hold the weight of the motorhome, although it seemed to strain at the heft. They’d already left the highway when Judy noticed the area seemed remote, and a little spooky as the wisps of daylight grew into bold strips of darkness. The big RV lumbered along the narrow road at a slow crawl.

  “We should be running parallel to the Coeur d’Alene National Forest,” Judy noted.

  “With an emphasis on should be,” Reggie uttered under his breath. “I’m not sure where we are exactly.”

  His eyes never left the roadway as he stayed focused so he wouldn’t miss the turnoff to the state park.

  They bypassed forests of white pine and alpine fir. Then, between a smattering of ponderosa pine, Reggie spotted the weathered campground sign.

  “This isn’t the state park, but it’ll do. What do you think?”

  “I don’t know.” Judy did a quick inventory in her head. “Why is this place practically deserted? I see three campsites taken. The rest are vacant.”

  “Not high season yet. Wait until after the Memorial Day weekend, and this place’ll probably be packed. I don’t even see an office around anywhere. Do you?”

  “No.”

  They pulled off anyway onto the rutted dirt road, the main artery through the middle of the campground, looking for the perfect spot to park for the night. The uneven surface caused them to bump along the route, past two other RVs, and one pickup with a trailer. The headlights zeroed in on what was ahead. The lane dead-ended into a small, open meadow with an old wooden picnic table and a fire pit next to it.

  Any other time, this slot would’ve been taken first. It was a prime space surrounded by a copse of evergreen trees and tangled vines that come late summer would be full of wild, ripe blueberries. “How’s this look?”

  Still skeptical, Judy said nothing. She would’ve preferred to keep going. Something about the area didn’t feel right to her. Maybe her unease came from its perceived isolation. In the dark, the woods looked more than intimidating. She imagined a figure moving along the thick underbrush. Which was impossible given its density and no obvious pathway.

  After a long period of awkward silence, she glanced across the console at Reggie. He looked exhausted. Three weeks spent away from home, sitting behind the wheel of a clumsy RV, and traveling into the unfamiliar wilderness, was obviously catching up to him. A pair of strained, tired eyes stared back at her. He hadn’t shaved during their excursion into the wild. Wearing his red plaid flannel shirt, he looked a bit like a rugged mountain man who’d spent too many days in the wild.

  Despite a growing sense of apprehension, she thought he looked adorable and forced a smile. “This is fine. It’s just for one night.”

  Reggie pulled into the half-circle of the campsite, so the nose of the RV pointed back toward the roadway, a trick he’d learned that would allow them to easily head out in the morning.

  For the next hour, they set up camp, gathering enough kindling and wood within a short distance of the fire pit to build a cozy fire.

  Once the fire got going, Judy went old school and brought out the Coleman propane stove instead of using the RV’s kitchen to cook supper—burgers and grilled corn on the cob. “Let’s hope the rain holds off until we’re done eating.”

  Reggie sniffed the air. “It will. The storm moved northeast, heading due east. Parts of British Columbia will be getting snow flurries tonight.”

  Judy beamed over at him, enthralled with his confidence. “I like watching you become a regular wilderness buff.”

  “I wish. But I can read a weather forecast. No doubt, Lumberton will see some of the white stuff on the ground by morning.”

  Judy shivered a little in her jacket. “Let’s hope the snow stays north of us.”

  As he dragged out the folding chairs and set them up near the fire, Reggie looked over at the meat patties sizzling in the skillet. “How about some grilled pear halves and ice cream for dessert? We should probably eat up the remaining food we bought before we have to return the RV at the end of the week.”

  “Good idea. There’s not that much left anyway. But warm canned pears would be a nice touch served with the ice cream.”

  “I think you like cooking over a campfire.”

  “I like the idea of eating outside. We should do this again come summer, take a weekend and go camping. It wouldn’t have to
be far or out of state.”

  “Mount Rainier National Park comes to mind. I’ve suddenly got this yen to see all these places with you.”

  “That would be perfect. Maybe we could set out to visit every national park in the country. Make it a goal of ours. As a couple. Wouldn’t that be something?”

  While they ate their supper and sipped their beers, they talked about the possibility of more trips, making more plans, chatting about those things couples do over a meal.

  The temperature dropped, proving Idaho weather in May still had a bite to it.

  They watched the flames from the fire lick and slap at the air. Their bonfire crackled and popped and made the shadows at the edge of the forest dance with movement.

  The light flickered and fluttered at the darkness, teasing those surrounding shadows. Playful sparks twirled their way skyward to where a half-moon dared peek out from behind the clouds.

  The tall pine made it impossible to see anything beyond the tree line, at least nothing that might pierce through the perimeter.

  They were about to start cleanup when Judy heard what she thought sounded like a twig snap. Then another. The leaves rustled like someone taking care to step through a carpet of pine needles.

  “Do you hear that?” she whispered to Reggie.

  “Hear what?”

  “Someone’s out there. In the woods.” In a louder voice, Judy called out toward the copse of trees, “Who’s out there? Is anyone out there? Show yourself. Now!”

  The girl came out of the thick timber and into the swirling light of the campfire, walking out of a dense pathway that had been wedged with underbrush. She was in her teens, about thirteen, dressed in a summer outfit, blue shorts, and a peasant blouse.

  “She’s bound to be freezing in that getup,” Judy muttered, doing her best to assess the situation.

  Reggie finally glanced up from the tin dinner plate that still held the leftover corncob from his meal. His eyes tracked toward the woods and only got bigger when he spotted the girl. “Where’d she come from? Is she alone out here by herself?”