Page 79 of Lost Cause
“Abby! Abby!” Kelsey’s voice broke through Abby’s concentration as she frantically waved them over.
Abby and the others bolted toward Kelsey, but carefully picked their way over rocky soil.
“What do you have?” Abby asked and resisted dancing in place as she waited for the answer.
“Looks like a clandestine grave.” Kelsey’s voice lacked Abby’s excitement.
To be fair, Abby shouldn’t be excited about finding a body, but she was glad this might bring Victor some closure on Estelle’s disappearance. “Is there lichen in the area you located the grave?”
Kelsey nodded. “I’ll start marking off the coordinates with flags. Shawn is getting the GPR from the helo. A quick scan, and I can confirm the presence of remains.”
“Do you need any help?” Burke asked.
“Shawn’s getting equipment from the helicopter, but he might need help to move it over this rough terrain.”
“I’ll do it.” Gabe shoved the evidence bag for the journal in Abby’s hands and took off before either of them could argue with him.
Kelsey picked up small red flags and strode to a section near the cliff. By the time she had the suspicious area marked out, Shawn and Gabe returned carrying what looked like a lawnmower. The machine had wheels with a yellow boxmounted close to the ground, and the top of the handle held a video device.
They set it down in front of Kelsey.
“Perfect,” she said. “Thank you for working so fast.”
“Mind if I tag along to watch?” Gabe asked.
“I don’t mind at all, as long as you stay behind me.”
Abby looked at Burke. “The question I was about to ask, but he beat me to it.”
“Me too,” Burke said. “I could always order him to step down, but you’re right about him. He’s done a lot of grunt work and deserves something more exciting.”
Okay, that did it. Her heart flip-flopped. Burke showed he cared about others. Her family didn’t do that either, and wasn’t that, along with faith, really the basis of a person’s motivations?
“That’s kind of you,” she said.
“Only fair. But I’m not hanging back here and waiting.” He headed toward the cordoned off area.
She didn’t linger behind, but took long steps to keep up with him.
By the time they reached Kelsey, she’d completed walking one length. Questions raced through Abby’s brain, but as much as she wanted to know what was going on, she didn’t want to interrupt Kelsey’s concentration. Instead, she tapped her foot.
Burke’s phone dinged, and he glanced at the screen. “Estelle’s missing person files are on my desk.”
“Then we need to make a point of picking them up as soon as possible so we?—”
“Hey, wait,” Gabe called. “Is that something on your screen?”
“It is,” Kelsey said. “I can’t be certain it’s human remains, but one more pass will help with that.”
Abby listened to the machine hum, counting down the moments in her head until they would know if a body had beenburied on this cliffside. She wanted to clutch Burke’s arm, but restrained herself.
At the end of the last pass, Kelsey looked up. “Something the size of human remains is buried here.”
Abby’s heart sank for Victor. He would be devastated when he learned Estelle was on his property this whole time.
Kelsey turned off the machine and closed the short distance to Abby and Burke. “Although the size suggests human remains, I won’t be able to confirm my suspicions until I unearth them.”
“When can you get started?” Burke looked like he’d lost all patience and wanted to push her into action.
