Page 1

One

Noah Kandor and Alex Marcel stood side by side, backs to the wind, watching the technicians sift through the newest pile of refuse dumped at the Blunt Landfill in Hughes County, South Dakota. The wind was cold, biting through their jackets, and carried the sharp stench of decay from the trash heap behind them. They both nursed cups of coffee, the steam rising and dissipating in the December air.

A few yards away, a cluster of workers whispered among themselves, staring nervously at the scene where a hand had been discovered a day earlier. Technicians combed through the pile now, looking for the rest of the body. Alex took a slow sip of his coffee, his feet stomping against the cold ground.

"So," Noah broke the silence, tilting his cup toward Alex, "how's it going with you and Charlotte Everhart?"

A smile crept across Alex's face. "She's terrific.” He shook his head lightly, as if he still couldn't quite believe it. "Things are going well. The gossip about me dating an older woman is finally starting to die down."

“Small town gossip." Noah chuckled, blowing into his cup to cool it. "They're probably just jealous."

Alex shrugged. "Maybe. It’s nice not having people whisper behind your back every time you walk into the grocery store, though."

Noah nodded. "I hear that.” He leaned back on his heels. You know how these places are. Nobody's business is everybody’s business."

Alex glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "Speaking of business, how’d your recent date go? You never told me. What was her name—Christie?"

Noah paused, then let out a laugh that came from deep in his chest. "Do you really want to know?"

Alex grinned. "That bad, huh?"

"Worse." Noah shook his head, setting down his coffee on the hood of their SUV. "Let's put it this way: she was, uh... hygiene-challenged."

Alex snorted, nearly spilling his coffee. "Hygiene-challenged? Is that your polite way of saying she smelled bad?"

"I’m serious," Noah groaned. "At first, I was hoping maybe it was a medical condition—at least then I'd understand. But no, I spotted the dirt under her fingernails, and her hair smelled like cigarette smoke. Like she'd been marinating in ash."

Alex winced. "Ouch. Well, that's rough."

"And then," Noah went on, "she tells me she hates cops. Says they abuse their authority. She just kept going on and on about it."

Alex turned toward him, a look of surprise crossing his face. "Wait, you didn’t tell her you were an investigator?"

"Nah," Noah said with a mischievous grin. "I told her I was a waiter at a restaurant in Spring Hill."

Alex burst out laughing, almost doubling over. "Are you kidding me? A waiter?"

Noah nodded solemnly, pursing his lips to keep from smiling. "What can I say? I never tell women what I do."

"Man, I would’ve loved to see her face when she found out," Alex said, still laughing.

"It wasn’t worth the trouble," Noah said with a sigh. "After the third time she insulted cops, I figured I’d just finish dinner and get the hell out of there."

Alex shook his head slowly, which usually meant he was calling bullshit on what Noah was saying. "Well, better luck next time."

Before Noah could respond, one of the technicians broke away from the group and came running toward them. His face was pale, his eyes wide with the grimness of what he'd seen. “We found more,” he said, breathless. “A foot... and what looks like part of the torso.”

Alex and Noah exchanged a glance. The casual tone between them dropped, replaced by the cool professionalism they wore like armor.

"It’s a man," the technician added, wiping his forehead with the back of his glove. "When they cut him up, they left... uh, his testicles attached."

Noah cursed under his breath. “Any way to ID him?” he asked, already knowing the answer. In cases like this, the body was too damaged to give any immediate clues.

“We’re hoping for a DNA match,” the technician said, shaking his head. “But it’s bad.”

Alex’s face hardened as he gazed over at the remains now being cataloged by the team. “You think this is Hilton?”

Noah frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah. At least they only drugged the two cops babysitting him.”