Page 34 of Shadow of Hope
That was it. His entire life in this small space. An extremely simple life for sure, but it had sounded like he enjoyed living this way. Compared to this place, her cabin seemed like a palace, with running water and electricity should she decide to risk connecting to the grid. And it wasn’t falling down. Her cousin always maintained the property in top-notch condition.
“You’re clear to enter.” Micha stepped back. “Still watch your step. I found a few bad floorboards you could go through.”
She nodded and went inside. She didn’t know where to look when there wasn’t much to check out. The old boards creaked and groaned under her weight as she went ahead of Micha, swatting away the cobwebs for him.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said from behind her. “The cobwebs, I mean. Actually makes me feel even dumber about having such a lame phobia.”
She looked back at him. “I don’t think any less of you for it, and I don’t think others would either.”
“Tell that to the guys I served with. Got razzed all the time. Same thing now.”
“But the teasing’s in the form of affection, right?”
“For most guys, yeah, but I don’t like it. Not one bit.” His sharp tone told her he was done discussing spiders, so she went directly to the kitchen.
The sink was surprisingly clean, and the small counter free from any dirty dishes. The place might not be livable by her standards, but at least Buck kept it clean, with no visible signs of rodents.
“Can I touch the cabinet doors?” she asked.
“Go ahead,” he said from over by the bed. “Let me know if you want to pick up anything inside.”
She opened the first door with a silver handle in the shape of a small spoon, the latex on her fingers feeling odd against the rusty metal. She found only home-canned foods in dusty jars. The next cabinet, this one with a fork handle, held a few dishes along with big pots and a bulk load of canning supplies. She couldn’t even imagine having to can without a stove. Perhaps he used the top of the wood stove.
The last cabinet, with a knife handle, held canned foods, predominately baked beans.
“Anything?” Micha asked.
She faced him. “Guy loves his baked beans, but other than more food and dishes, nothing else.”
He lifted the mattress. “Nothing here either. He said he didn’t like nutso preppers, and I think he was right. No sign of him being slightly off other than living in a place in such bad condition. He’s just an average Joe living off the land by himself.”
“Seems like you’re right.” She started across the room toward a basket sitting on the floor by the rocking chair, but her flashlight caught dark spots on the front wall.
She hurried toward them and focused her light on the area. “I think I have blood here.”
Micha rushed over to her. He leaned closer and his light mingled with hers. “That’s blood all right.”
“He could’ve cut himself.”
“The blood hit this wall with a strong force, so if he injured himself, it had to be a bad cut.”
“How can you tell?”
“See how the drops aren’t circular but point to the right? That’s due to impact force.” He got out his phone. “I don’t pretend to be a forensic expert, but we had one testify at a trial about this very thing. I’ll take pictures for the Veritas forensic expert and bring her a sample.”
She flashed her gaze back at him. “Can you do that? Isn’t it disturbing a crime scene?”
“We have no reason to believe it’s a crime scene. Besides, I’ll take such a small amount it won’t be missed.” He snapped photos with his phone and then got out a swab and plastic bag.
She watched him. “Do you routinely carry these things in your pockets?”
He shook his head. “Figured we might want to collect some evidence, so when I got the weapons together, I tucked a few supplies we had left over from an earlier investigation into my pocket.”
Was there anything this guy didn’t think of? She doubted it. “Once again, I’m thankful for your expertise.”
“Let’s hope it pays off in the long run.” He glanced at his watch. “I’ll grab this sample, then we should do a perimeter check in case he has a bunker.”
“That seems likely if he’s an unhinged prepper, right?”
