Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 363(@300wpm)
A hard hand on the back of her head then shoved her down. Glacial water slammed against her face, and she opened her mouth to scream, gulping down ice and freezing cold water. She struggled and tried to spit it out, her body convulsing. That brutal hand pushed her farther down, and she jerked her head up, fighting to breathe, only to have her head hit the underside of the ice.
Pain ripped through her skull.
She swallowed more water, coughing and convulsing, until her limbs became too heavy to move. Her lungs froze. Darkness, when it came this time, felt warm.
Chapter 9
Laurel yawned in the passenger seat of Huck’s truck, her muscles aching with fatigue. The call had come in around dawn, a mere two hours after Huck had made it to his cabin after an all-night search and rescue operation following a witness’s report that they’d noticed an elderly man wandering out by Orphan’s Peak. Huck hadn’t found the guy after searching for hours.
As the sun slowly pierced the cold fog, he drove to the site of another body. Her eyes felt scratchy and her feet chilled as she perched in her heated seat while Huck drove the truck. “I’m sorry you didn’t find your lost person last night.”
Huck shrugged. “The witness could’ve seen shadows in the trees. We don’t have any missing persons reports, so I’m not too concerned. Am tired, though.”
She didn’t blame him. “Hopefully you can sleep tonight.”
“I can only dream.” He turned toward the Genesis Valley Community Church, outside the incorporated town. The wooden structure had gorgeous stained-glass windows, several wings, and a freshly painted looming steeple. The structure appeared as if taken from a magazine featuring typical country churches, except with more mass.
“Are you all right?” Huck asked.
“I am.” The truth was she would rather turn around and drive in the other direction than face Zeke Caine again. “Considering the condition of this body sounds similar to the Iceberg River victim, we should let Monty take the lead.”
“I didn’t call Monty in.” Huck pulled to a stop near the side of the church. “It’s early and cold, and I think he’s fighting a bug.”
She pulled on her gloves. “He needs to be more careful after those radiation treatments. I wish he would take some time off.”
“As do I.” Huck opened his door, looking tough and strong in the morning light. “But he’s stubborn.”
That seemed to be the way of the Fish and Wildlife crew.
Opening her door, she stepped down, noting sounds of activity coming from behind the church. Fields stretched out on either side of them to the tree lines, and she headed to the side of the church that often held tented festivals. She walked toward the frigid-looking river behind the building, noting that the crime scene techs had already erected a tent. She nodded at Officer Tso when he emerged from a stand of trees to her right.
“Hi, Captain Rivers and Agent Snow.” Tso made his way through calf-high snow to reach them, his face set in somber lines. “I’ve been taking pictures of the scene. They’re trying to get any evidence they can from the body and the surrounding area before they flip her over.”
“Hi, Officer.” She took a deep breath, chilling her lungs as she walked toward the tented area. Silent River flowed behind the church, and beyond, Orphan’s Peak loomed over the entire area. Huck had once mentioned that it was difficult to climb, but he’d done so to rescue stranded campers.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Is that where you were looking for that elderly person last night?”
Huck jerked his chin toward the other side of the crusted-over river. “We searched on that side near the base of the cliff and farther to the east. We didn’t see anything. I certainly didn’t hear anything.” He frowned. “More importantly, Aeneas didn’t alert.”
She scrutinized the wide river winding between her and Orphan’s Peak. “Would he have alerted if something was happening on this side of the river and while focusing on the search perimeters across the water?”
“I don’t know, especially since the wind howled loudly and drowned out most sounds,” Huck said as they reached the tent.
The wind increased in force, beating against her face and chilling her skin. Even though she wore gloves, she stuck her hands in her pockets to view the newest body.
The victim lay face down, her body mainly covered by a long, black wool coat that reached brown snow boots. Ice had frozen to her, and she was similarly adhered to the ground as the first victim. Laurel squinted to see better. This person also appeared to be a blond female.
Huck strode toward the river, and Laurel followed, stepping gingerly in the thick snow.
“The ice is cracked open.” He dropped to his haunches near the edge. “Just like at the other scene.”