Forgotten Bones Read online

  “Which means like Leo said, there are more victims out there somewhere,” Reggie noted.

  “Yep. That means we need to call around to neighboring states like Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, even Eastern Washington, to check and see if they’re missing any girls that fit the age group.”

  “A lot of work ahead of us,” Leo said flatly. “I’ve changed my mind about the trip. I’d like to tag along. I’ll pack my own equipment and take care of getting there.”

  “Are you sure?” Josh asked from the doorway where he stood, holding a sleepy-eyed little girl. “Since we’re taking Sierra with us, we might book a private jet to get us there.”

  “Fly?” Leo’s lips curved. “Sure. That sounds better than taking the bus by myself.”

  “I’ll stay behind in the War Room,” Winston offered. “I’d like to be around this summer when Jennifer’s schedule opens up.”

  Josh winked at the younger man. “You’re welcome to bring her to the Memorial Day cookout.”

  “Harry’s bringing Deborah, Jenny’s mother,” Skye added as an extra incentive. “Which probably means Jenny will tag along.”

  When the doorbell rang, Leo got up to answer it. “That’s probably Emmadine. She texted she was nearby.”

  Josh traded looks with Skye that signaled a certain amount of trepidation at their decision to let a stranger around Sierra, especially since it was such a departure from how they’d been doing things. The risk was there, a roll of the dice situation that marked a giant step in Sierra’s immediate future. They didn’t have to like this person. They didn’t even have to hire her.

  They weren’t expecting to be blown away.

  Emmadine Duvalier was almost as tall as Leo…and that was six feet plus. Leo greeted his cousin with a warm hug before ushering her past Josh into the study.

  “Emmadine, meet the crew.” Leo did the round table introductions, stopping at Skye and Josh and Sierra.

  “We have the dogs corralled in what we call the playroom,” Skye explained. “We didn’t want to overwhelm you at this initial meeting.”

  “Nothing much overwhelms me,” Emmadine said with a self-assured attitude. “I like to think I’m unflappable, especially when it comes to dealing with kids.”

  “I like your composure right up front,” Josh stated.

  Sierra picked her head up off her dad’s shoulder. “I like you,” she shouted.

  Josh whispered into Sierra’s ear, “Not so loud.”

  “I like you,” Sierra said in a softer voice, scrambling to get down out of her dad’s arms. Sierra took hold of Emmadine’s hand. “You can meet my dogs. There’s Atka, and Bella, and Kiya. Want to meet them now?”

  “Slow down,” Skye said to her daughter. “Let’s give Miss Emmadine a chance to settle in first before she meets your best pals.”

  Emmadine looked a little bemused. “So many? That sounds like a pack. You lead the way, and I’ll follow. How does that sound?”

  “Yay!” Sierra shouted as she pulled Miss Emmadine out of the entryway and into the hall, heading straight toward the playroom.

  “She woke up this morning at five a.m.,” Skye explained. “No idea why. But it’s the reason she practically fell asleep in her waffle. She took a rare morning nap, which she never takes. But as you can see, she’s now full of energy and loaded for havoc.”

  Sierra opened the door to the playroom and was immediately surrounded by dogs. The pups were full of pep and vigor. As if to calm them down, Kiya howled, which in turn, had Sierra doing the same.

  Skye looked over at a startled Emmadine. “Not what you were expecting, huh?”

  Before Leo’s cousin could respond, Kiya left the pack and trotted over to check out and sniff the stranger. The wolf took her time, circling once, then again, and yet a third time.

  Emmadine took a step back. “Oh, my goodness, is that a wolf? A silver wolf with blue eyes? She’s beautiful, but…is she…?”

  “Dangerous?” Skye prompted, cocking a brow. “Only to people she doesn’t like. I can tell Kiya likes you. So, you can see Kiya, see the wolf?”

  “Of course, I can see her, plain as day. Why would you ask me that? What did you say her name was?”

  “Kiya.”

  Emmadine reached out a tentative hand and held it over the wolf’s head. “So, Kiya is…you know…okay with me getting this close? Not many people keep a wolf for a pet. Is she sort of like a guard dog?”

  “Something like that.” Watching Kiya sniff around Emmadine, Skye knew the moment Leo’s cousin got the green light. “I don’t believe you have anything to worry about. It looks like you have an immediate seal of approval from the whole pack, including Sierra.”

  “That’s good, cause Leo says you guys are great to work for.”

  “Glad to hear it. How do you feel about taking a trip this summer to Idaho?”

  “Idaho? Spend the entire summer in Idaho? Sure. I guess. I suppose it’s pretty up there, scenic and all. But what’s so important in Idaho?”

  “Corporate retreat. You’ll have your own cottage while you’re there.”

  “Really? That sounds wonderful. I could use a change of scenery. If you don’t mind me asking though, what’s the catch?”

  “I don’t mind you asking. And the catch is, we’re hoping to find ourselves a serial killer.”

  Three

  The land held his treasures. He thought of it that way as he put another one in the ground, adding her to the growing mounds of dirt.

  He surveyed the freshly dug patch of earth before lifting his eyes beyond to all that he owned. He took a break from the digging, wiped his brow, and then straightened and stretched his back. Using the shovel for a post to shift his weight, he peered all the way to the edge of his property. Wilderness. The homestead was tucked away, hidden in the backwoods along the trail of tall, native grasses that concealed lush creek bottoms. It had been his home for as long as he could remember.

  He breathed in the evening air. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it had given him an extra hour of sunlight, an extra hour to hunt, an extra hour to get rid of the collateral damage.

  He stood back, admiring the perfect time of the year when winter had completely lost its grip. For a few months, the surrounding woods would burst with the fresh smells of spring. The gently rolling hills held spruce, birch, aspen, ponderosa pine, and even oak. The beauty of it never failed to inspire him. It spread out before him like a rich forest. His own piece of heaven. This green meadow valley was home to wild turkeys, mule deer, large elk, pronghorn antelope, and even the occasional mountain lion.

  This was the place his mother had loved so much, had found her solace. Located a good distance outside of town, she’d always said it was too far out for nosy folk to so easily stick their beaks into her business. She liked her seclusion, his mother. She liked raising her kids without interference from school or the state butting in with a bunch of silly rules and regulations.

  Growing up so far from town, he’d learned to adapt, to incorporate a standoffish attitude, and keep to himself. But after he’d reached manhood and his mother passed, he’d inherited the land. Changes became necessary. He’d been able to morph into a regular guy who had to go out each day and earn a living. That meant interacting with the townspeople. It meant challenging himself to mingle and socialize the way his mother would’ve described putting on airs.

  After all, he was no monster. Nor did he look like one. He’d married himself a gal who liked it out here in the boonies as much as he did. Go figure. The odd duck who hadn’t dated at all during his teen years went off to the big city and came back with a seventeen-year-old bride. She liked that he made all the decisions, liked that he took charge. Unlike his mama, who always had to have the last say.

  Today, he leaned on his spade and stood tall, lanky, and slim. He did his best to carry himself with a degree of self-assurance, give people the impression that he had enough swagger to gain influence over them. That healthy dose of male pride and self-confiden
ce came in handy when you blew smoke up people’s asses, plastered a warm smile on your face while doing it, and made nice with the people who counted. A man who could do that could charm his way into any situation. If he gained your trust upfront, that was half the battle.

  Which meant his neighbors, who once thought his family so weird, had come full circle. They seemed to adore him now. Respectable member of the community. Husband. Father. Why shouldn’t they love and trust him? He was now a regular guy, a leader, who contributed to society.

  It didn’t matter much that he had a dark side. Most people did. The thing that mattered was that he’d bested the federal agencies and locals alike for more than a decade. When they’d bothered looking for him. He’d discovered early on that most people didn’t give a shit about girls who ran away. And many of his victims had been bunched into the same category.

  There was a certain arrogance about knowing he’d never been on anyone’s radar. Not once. Why would they come for him? No one suspected him of anything, a hardworking, upstanding member of society, a homeowner, a landowner, who paid his taxes on time and never even got a parking ticket.

  He’d always hid his dark side well, was always in control around the people who might pick up on such things. It helped that he was good at keeping secrets. His mother had taught him that. And now that she’d been in the ground for more than nine years, he could admit that he was a lot like his mother.

  He got back to studying his dumping ground. The edge of the property was at least six hundred yards from the house where his wife and the kids were even now sitting in front of the TV watching some Disney movie.

  He’d made up some story why he’d had to go out. She always bought his stories, always so sweet but maybe a little too gullible sometimes for her own good. But as long as she took care of his kids and didn’t ask questions, or interfere with his other side, the woman was perfect for him in every way.

  To keep from having to make up an even wilder tale than he had already, he needed to get moving, finish the job at hand. After judging how much deeper he needed to dig, he stuck the end of the spade into the dirt.

  Half an hour later, he took his foot and shoved the rolled-up tarp into the earth before jumping into the hole to adjust the bulk into a better position. This one had been small for her age, smaller than any of the others. He paused over the tiny corpse to say a sweet prayer of goodbye before climbing out. He never dug down six feet, more like four. Or sometimes, if he was pinched for time, three feet would do the trick. He preferred the shallowness, the better to reach, the better to remember. He began the process of filling up the hole, shoveling dirt, and listening to the clumps hit the vinyl tarp.

  He made a mental note, a shopping list if you will. He needed to pick up more tarps at the hardware store before his next kill.

  He cast his eyes to the side and breathed in the smell. These girls belonged to him. They always would belong to him. These forgotten bones, forgotten by all but him. In his dreams, he could still see each one as they had been in life. And he relished those memories, thrilled that he could replay the time he’d spent with each one like a movie, making a memory.

  Until next time, he reminded himself. Next time, he’d put them in the ground at his second favorite spot. Next time, he’d take even longer.

  Four

  Life had a way of twisting and turning, of leading a person straight to another door without ever asking permission.

  Skye’s solitary existence, once a closed-off world that let few people enter, had somehow evaporated to become this—a woman with a tight-knit social circle that rivaled anyone’s large, boisterous family. She looked across the lawn at her ever-expanding tribe. No sorority buddies here. They were more like sisters, brothers, aunts, and uncles. Family. They often squabbled over turf. They sometimes argued and debated the issues at the top of their lungs. Some were loud and could be obnoxious at times. Others had a quiet nature and had to be dragged out of their shells. But at the end of the day, they belonged to that special group that held her heart. They knew pretty much every detail about her, her quirks and secrets, and still managed to enjoy her company anyway. And when that company also included the tribal mascot in the form of a silver wolf, she knew she’d surrounded herself with people who either could actually see the spirit guide or indulged her by saying they did.

  It didn’t matter much if they really saw Kiya or not.

  They were kindhearted, hardworking, and above all, dedicated. They enjoyed playing hard but would drop it all in a heartbeat if the situation called for action.

  She loved that about every one of them. She knew she wasn’t the same person she’d been at eighteen or twenty-four. Who was? She’d grown as a person, as a wife, as a mom. She’d grown in her work and learned to share the load. These people had taken up her causes, her banner, her fights.

  And there were days like today when her heart swelled with pride. She realized how much her life had truly circled around in a way she hadn’t planned on. Not just with Josh. She stared across the backyard at all the people who’d shown up for what had easily become their yearly cookout to kick off summer. If they weren’t involved in a case.

  Josh recognized his wife’s pensive mood and wrapped her up in a hug from behind. “Where were you just now?”

  She tilted her head to one side and let him nibble on her neck. “Shouldn’t you be manning the grill?”

  “Travis elbowed me out of the way, said Lena wanted her burger cooked a special way. Since when? Lena always takes her burger…”

  Skye put a finger up to his lips to stop him from talking. “It’s an excuse. Dad hates to sit around at these things and do nothing. Instead of sitting back and enjoying himself, he’s getting to that age when he needs to stay busy.”

  “By taking over my grill?”

  “Would you rather he insert himself into the garden you designed? Or try to rearrange your workbench in the garage? Because he would, you know. I’m surprised he’s stayed out of your hair on either project.”

  “My dad already emailed me his suggestions,” Josh admitted, letting out a sigh. “He wants to help out after he and mom get back from vacation. Sometimes family is a big, fat pain in the butt.”

  “But look at them, Josh. We can always count on them when we need to.”

  “More like count on them to show up for a free meal.”

  She twisted in his arms to poke him in the ribs with a sharp fingernail. “You love it. Them.”

  “What choice do I have? What do you think about Emmadine?”

  “After spending the better part of Saturday afternoon explaining to her about just how sacred spirit guides are to our family, she seems to understand about Kiya. She could be pretending, I suppose, to understand. I don’t know. Sierra calls her Emmie. I bet that name sticks with all of us. Emmie seems like a good fit so far.”

  “But? There’s a but in there someplace.”

  “Time will tell. It’s just for the summer anyway.” Skye glanced over when her daughter let out a playful shriek with Emmie in pursuit as the two ran around the backyard in a game of chase. “Sierra seems to have taken to her. Which is a good thing.”

  “Yeah. But Emmadine didn’t even flinch when you suggested she come with us to Idaho.”

  “You wanted her to flinch?”

  “I wanted some reaction other than the Mary Poppins attitude.”

  Skye’s brows knitted together. “I don’t expect her to be Mary Poppins. In fact, I don’t think she is at all.”

  She rubbed a hand down his arm. “Give her a chance. It’s okay to be overprotective, but our baby can’t always live in a bubble.”

  “Believe me, I’m trying to tamp it down. When I thought about bringing in a nanny, I thought it’d be someone older, more experienced. I keep telling myself Emmadine comes highly recommended. I’d trust Leo with my life. And often have.”

  “Same here. We’ll monitor the situation. If this works out, it could be a win-win for all of us. Maybe Emmad
ine will be able to connect us to other moms and dads, arrange for other playdates Sierra needs to be around some kids her own age.”

  “I’ve never seen such Nervous Nellies,” Judy announced as she walked up behind the couple. “You two look like Sierra’s about to ship off to South America or maybe a four-year mission to Mars or something.”

  Skye cut her eyes to study Judy’s face. “It’s not easy letting a new person into Sierra’s world.”

  “I see that. But you’re lucky. Emmadine seems to have embraced the spirit guide concept. How’d you pull that off?”

  “Not as easy as you might think. It took a long explanation into Kiya’s connection to our roots, about how she protects us, looks out for us, and guides us to the right path, Native American style. I tried to pull her in with a few benign stories, let her absorb the idea…gradually.”

  “So, you’re saying she kept an open mind?”

  “Somewhat. For now. We’ll see how it goes.”

  “Where’s Reggie?” Josh asked.

  “Hovering near the grill. He and Travis are talking about the motorhome and what needs to be done to get it ready for another trip.”

  Josh saw his opening. “I’ll use that as my excuse to nudge Travis out of the way and take over my duties as grill chief.”

  “Good luck with that,” Skye muttered as she took a seat at the picnic table.

  Judy followed, rattling off facts about Idaho in a nervous, chatty tone.

  Skye listened until finally blurting out, “Okay, spill it. This is what you do whenever you need to tell me something you don’t want to tell me. What is it?”

  Judy sucked in her courage and dropped onto the bench next to Skye. “Don’t be mad, but Reggie just happened to mention the Foundation’s involvement to Sergeant Tanoose.”

  Skye’s face contorted into a scowl. “I wish he hadn’t done that.”