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Twenty-Eight

Monday

Rowley sipped at his to-go cup of coffee as he drove along Stanton toward the office.

As he’d completed his chores early this morning, the air had been crisp and the ground still held the moisture from the storm, but the sun had risen into a clear blue sky.

He didn’t mind the rain or the fresh green grass growing all over his ranch and supplying his horses and the new cattle with fresh feed for the summer.

It never ceased to amaze him how the seasons changed dramatically each year.

Last year had been dry and everyone was fearing the brushfires in the forest. This year had been the complete opposite, with major rain since the melt, floods, mudslides, and rockfalls.

When Rio’s voice came over the radio asking for his position, he figured something was wrong. Rio never contacted him before they got to the office. “Copy, I’m on Stanton heading toward town, a mile or so from the Triple Z.”

“I received a 911 call about a body on the bench outside the old library not far from your position. Two women are on scene, Ginger Phipps and Mo Helm. I’m five minutes away. I’ll take a look before I call Jenna.”

Rowley grimaced and his ham and eggs breakfast formed into a solid ball in his gut. “A body, huh? I’m coming up to them now. I’ll go and take a look.”

He pulled his truck up behind the women’s vehicle and twirled his fingers to indicate them to wind down their window. “You called in about a body? What’s your name?” He pointed to the driver.

“I’m Ginger Phipps and this is my friend Mo Helm.

” The woman’s voice rose a little and her hands shook on the steering wheel.

“I called 911. The body is over there on the bench. It was there when we drove past a couple of hours ago and it’s still there now.

At first, we figured it was just someone taking a rest, but when we took a closer look, we can see that she’s dead.

It looks like she has something tied around her neck. ”

“Do you figure she’s been murdered?” Mo Helm’s eyes grew wide. “We need to get out of here. It’s not safe.”

At that moment, Rio pulled up and climbed from his truck. Rowley looked at the women. “You’ll be safe with me and my partner here. Give him your details and I’ll go and take a look at the body.” He walked up to Rio. “Do you want me to go and secure the scene?”

“Yeah, thanks.” Rio took out his notebook and pen. “I’ll get the details and then give Jenna a call.”

Rowley stared across the road to the woman sitting on the bench.

He swallowed hard. Even from a distance, he could make out the blueish hue to her skin and the cord wrapped around her neck.

Already vehicles were slowing down to gawk and he waved them on as he moved across the blacktop.

He’d walked about ten yards toward the body before the smell hit him.

He stopped, took out his phone, and captured the scene, moving his phone in a one-hundred-eighty-degree sweep.

He checked the ground searching for footprints, but even after the rain, the rock-packed ground was as hard as concrete.

He circled around a wide distance away and took a few shots of the body from every angle, zooming in.

It was the procedure that Jenna had taught him many years ago to avoid contamination of the scene.

As he approached the ruins of the old library, he tripped over a wire a few inches from the ground.

As he bent to untangle it from his boots, a flash of light blinded him.

The next second a massive explosion erupted from the old building sending a cloud of red dust into the air.

He staggered back as a rush of heat overwhelmed him.

He needed to get out of there, but before he could take a breath, the shock wave blasted him backward and then lifted him into the air.

Heart pounding, he didn’t have time to think.

Everything was moving so fast. Dust and debris swirled around him as if he’d become part of a tornado.

Disoriented, he tumbled, helpless to do anything.

The force of the explosion pushed the breath out of his lungs.

He couldn’t breathe and his ears buzzed so loud the spinning world had gone silent.

As he twirled, grit filled his eyes and crawled up his nose.

He flew through the air on his back, colliding with small rocks and glass fragments that glittered around him in the sun, making rainbows.

The next moment, the wind vanished and he dropped.

His mind went to Sandy and the twins—would he ever see them again?

Bracing himself for the crash to earth, he fell back-first and spread his arms for the impact.

The ground came up fast and he slammed into the debris-covered dirt.

Pain shot through his body as bricks and glass showered down around him, covering his face and chest. Stunned, he tried to move and then a gush of blood ran into his eyes.

He looked up as a massive chunk of concrete came hurtling toward him. Shit!