Page 79 of Shadow of Death
Hell, yeah. He was thankful for modern phones; they were all connected, so he pinged Aidan’s phone to head to his location. It took him a while to reach Aidan and Ryan; he had to crawl through the massive root system of a banyan on one of the little “islands” that rose perhaps a foot above sea level. He had to move across a shallow stream of about a foot of water, making him glad he’d opted for tall boots today.
Then he saw Ryan and Aidan just by the side of the water by the torn remains of a man.
Joining them, he hunkered down, looking at the remains. It was the man he had seen before, he knew—the partner of the snake-bitten kidnapper, the one who had fled.
The sandals the man had been wearing had been lost and bare feet now stuck out from the man’s legs, still covered in the sweatpants. It did look as if he’d been clearly snapped in two—something as unusual as a man being bitten by two snakes at the same time.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Aidan murmured as Hunter joined them. “Alligator...when they take human prey or large prey, they twist in the water and drag their victim down. They drown them to get them to quit fighting. This...”
“Yeah, well, how many times have you heard about a man being bitten twice at the same time by coral snakes?” Hunter asked him.
Aidan frowned. “Okay, never. You sure it was coral snakes?”
“No. I’m just sure that whatever got him, he’s in bad shape. I knew an ambulance was coming for the boy who had been shot, and I figured his best chance was getting to a hospital as quickly as possible.”
“Seems nature did what we couldn’t,” Ryan murmured. “Stop them.”
“No. This is still unusual,” Aidan said. He looked at Hunter. “I’m not so sure it was nature.”
“You think he was cut in half?” Hunter asked.
“No...look where the uh...guts are falling out, look at the jagged way the body is torn apart. I don’t think we have an alligator—or even an American croc out here big enough just to open his mouth and snap a man into two pieces so cleanly. They, uh, like Aidan said, they drown victims, and then they tear them apart.” He sighed. “Whole arms and legs have been found in the bellies of the creatures, but I still say this is not impossible, but certainly unusual. I wish we had the other half of the body. There’s something not right here. I don’t know. Something just doesn’t seem right.”
“When an ME investigates, he or she might discover more than we’d see or recognize,” Ryan reminded him. “I mean, sorry, Aidan, I know you’re about the best forensic guy in the biz, but an ME can be really good, too, right?”
Aidan almost smiled at that. “No medical degree here, Ryan. You’re right. Hunter, you look as if you know this guy.”
“I saw him before,” Hunter said.
“Um, he doesn’t have a face,” Ryan commented with confusion.”
“Look at the pants. How many people would wear pants like that into the Everglades?”
“Good point,” Ryan commented.
“I’ve called it in,” Aidan said. “We’ll have an ME, his or her assistant, and a forensic team out here soon enough. We’ll drive back with one of them, though I know I want to hang out here for awhile,” Aidan told him.
“All right. Jimmy took Amy back for the car. I’m expecting her to park nearer to the road. So, Ryan, are you staying with Aidan or coming with me?” Hunter asked.
“I’m not leaving Aidan alone out here with half a body,” Ryan told him.
“Ryan, I turned thirty-four last year—and I’m sad to say I’ve been around a ton of bodies. Go on back in with Hunter.”
Ryan shook his head. He looked at Hunter. “You need me now?”
“I want to get to the hospital and question our victim and, hopefully, the man who was trying to take her. I’m hoping they got her calmed down. Not that I don’t understand. Two men snatching you who want to cut your heart out must be traumatizing when you thought you were only out to take a walk and watch a few birds,” Hunter said. “Everyone, keep in touch,” he added.
“Of course,” Aidan promised, and Ryan nodded grimly.
Hunter left them and headed toward the road, anxious to be ready when Amy got there. She must have just arrived; she was in the driver’s seat with phone in hand, as if she was getting ready to call him. But she saw him and waited for him to reach the car.
He slid into the passenger’s seat. She glanced at him quickly. He’d leaned back to let knots of tension he hadn’t realized he’d accumulated ease away.
“I’m feeling as useless as a scared tour guide,” she told him. “You’ve had an eventful day.”
He turned to her. “Still a good thing you kept your cover. We will have to change up the location a bit, but not too far. We still need to know where they’re setting up, though we have an idea. Mickey has spoken to Garza, and they’re sending more teams out—FDLE and FBI—to search everywhere. As for today, the one man is dead, the other stands a chance and their intendedsacrificialvictim is alive and well. Her boyfriend isn’t so well, but he was alive last time I saw him. I’m...not sure how much blood he lost or what organs were injured. With any luck, he’ll make it.”
“And if he lives, he might just give us what we need?”
