Page 71 of Shadow of Death
“On our way!” Amy called.
“There’s what’s left of a really old path by the tree. It will get you out of some of the high grasses and bush!” Aidan called.
Hunter and Amy looked at each other and shrugged. They’d known where they were going, and they hadn’t dressed in suits. Amy was far too experienced to wear a skirt.
They’d opted for jeans and boots and light hooded jackets.
The path wasn’t much. It might have been there since the Seminole Wars of the early 1800s or been roughed out by sugar merchants of later years. But it was something of a path; as Aidan had said, it made maneuvering through the brush easier.
They saw the yellow markers Aidan had left. Hunter found he was nodding to himself. Aidan was damned good at his job.
He didn’t think he would have ever seen the tiny droplets Aidan had discovered or realized they formed a trail.
They caught up with Aidan. He was a striking man, about thirty, his Native American heritage evident in his straight, ink-dark hair, eyes and strong cheekbones. Amy gave him a hug. He and Hunter shook hands.
“Well, here we are again,” Aidan murmured. “We had whole crews out here after the accident, but I don’t know. I kept feeling we missed something. We did. Something that may not give us anything, but...tiny, tiny blood drops. And I can’t help but believe they might lead somewhere. Especially because—well, here we are again.”
“Someone seems to have something on this place,” Hunter agreed.
“Yeah, and I keep thinking it has to be someone deeply familiar with this area.” Aidan shrugged. “Trust me, I don’t discount anything, but the things being done... There is one sick puppy at the head of all this. A hand by the garbage on the pike—and a foot in that tree back there. In truth, it’s as if someone wants you here.”
“So, it seems, and maybe we’re playing into it,” Hunter acknowledged.
“But then again, whether we like games or not, seems like we have to play it,” Amy said. “Where are Ryan and Sean?”
“Just a little farther in,” Aidan said. “We’re going over this area bit by bit... Hey,” he added, grinning. “Strange, huh? I’m thirty-four and feeling like the old man here with those two. Thankfully, Hunter, you’ve arrived!”
Hunter grimaced. “Yeah, I may have you by a few months. And Amy’s still a baby, not quite there!”
“It just goes to prove, those two are what? Twenty-five? But I’d happily work with them at any point. Open minds and a willing work ethic. Anyway, let me point out the grids we’re working.”
Aidan pointed out his markers and some of the tape he’d stretched out. He then directed their focus over to where Ryan and Sean were going over every inch of ground and shrugged. “Okay, so the agents are doing forensic work. But the plan was just to meet you here and let you get a grip of the latest discovery, but then I found I had to go over it all again, and I found a blood drop.”
“Gotcha,” Hunter said.
“I’ll take the northeast,” Amy said, “if that’s okay. And you may go west, young man.”
Hunter rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Fine.”
They headed into their “grids.”
Hunter marveled again at Aidan’s ability to see the most minute clue. In the deep brush, discovery meant looking at every leaf, every inch of earth.
He’d barely begun before they all heard Amy let out a fierce shout.
“Oh, God!”
He and Aidan turned quickly. She was standing at the center of her grid, shaking her head.
“Amy, what is it?” Hunter swiftly turned in her direction. “More blood?” he asked.
She shook her head. “More body,” she said, her tone deep and pained.
13
“We’ve had a task force on this since we learned Hayden Harper’s phone was used to send a text from the area,” Mickey Hampton said. “And then, of course, our lab identified the fingerprints on the hand found off the highway as Special Agent Gleason. And now...”
Mickey let his sentence trail.Now, more had been found of Special Agent Gleason.
