Page 6

FIVE

As Erin pulled on her jeans and grabbed a shirt, she couldn’t believe she was actually getting ready to follow a small-town police chief into the woods to look at a corpse. It was true that before she left the police department, her goal was to become a detective. Her research with Kaely had taught her a lot about reading crime scenes, although she’d also learned a great deal from being on the force. St. Louis was rife with crime and dead bodies. Still, this was something she didn’t feel prepared for. She wished Kaely was here. She was the one who should be assisting the chief.

After she was dressed, she ran a brush through her hair and then shaped it with mousse. She carefully applied the cover up makeup she used to hide the scar she’d been given by a gang member’s knife while trying to secure him. When she was certain it was concealed as well as possible, she added a little blush and mascara. She stared at herself in the mirror. Scott had told her she was beautiful, and she’d almost believed him. But not anymore. Regardless, she was as ready as she would ever be. She made sure to put her phone in her pocket. She intended to take plenty of pictures. She and Kaely could go through them after she arrived. She’d probably see something Erin missed.

She hurried downstairs and grabbed her coat. November was chilly in Tennessee. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Chief Nightengale was standing next to a ruby-red Jeep Wrangler. Pretty bold for a small-town police chief. Again, she was struck by how much he looked like Jake. Weird. She closed the door and walked up to him. His eyes searched hers, and once again she felt a slight shock as she reacted to him without meaning to.

“Thank you for this,” he said. “I realize you don’t feel qualified to look over my crime scene, but I truly believe that your time with the St. Louis police department, as well as the research you did for your book, makes you extremely competent for this situation. We’ve never faced anything like this before in Sanctuary.”

“I’m willing to do what I can,” Erin said, “but if you don’t mind, I’d like to take some pictures. My friend, Kaely Hunter, will be here later today. She worked as a...”

“Behavioral analyst for the FBI,” the chief finished for her. “I know. As I said, I read your book and saw the acknowledgment you wrote for her. I’d be happy to have her input.” He frowned. “Maybe this is just a murder.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, that sounds rather flippant. Any murder is a tragedy. Even though Sanctuary is small, we’ve had our share of death. But this is... different. I’m sure you’ll understand why I wanted your feedback when you see the body.”

He opened the door of his Jeep and motioned for Erin to get inside.

“We can drive most of the way, but we’ll have to walk the last stretch.” He looked down at her boots. “Good thing you’re wearing those. You’ll need them.”

Erin didn’t say anything, just climbed into the Jeep, wondering how in the world she’d gotten herself into this situation. She could feel the beads of perspiration on her forehead and tried to remind herself that she was safe. She was with a police chief, in his vehicle, and he would watch out for her. Still, the farther they drove from the cabin, the more uncomfortable she became. She made fists, digging her nails into her palms, trying to stay calm. She had no desire to come apart in front of this man.

When he took a turn down a dirt road that led deeper into the woods, even though she wasn’t at ease with the situation, she couldn’t help but admire the scenery. The tall trees, with the morning sun sneaking through the branches, were breathtaking. Suddenly, the chief braked. Erin turned her head and watched as a mother bear and her cubs lumbered across the road in front of them. She gasped at the sight.

“There are bears all around here,” the chief said. “Always be aware of your surroundings if you’re outside, and never confront one.”

“Trust me, I have no intention of confronting a bear. I’d turn and run away as fast as I could.”

The chief turned his head to look at her. “That’s the last thing you want to do.”

“Seriously? What do you want me to do? Try to talk it out of eating me?”

The chief smiled. “Back up slowly, talk in a calm voice, and don’t look directly at it.”

Erin laughed. “And what should I say calmly? ‘Please don’t eat me, Mr. Bear. I wouldn’t taste very good.’”

“It doesn’t really matter what you say. Just stay calm.”

Erin shook her head. “I’m not sure that’s possible.”

“To be honest, the bears around her are pretty used to people,” he said. “If you ignore them, they’ll generally ignore you.” He cocked his head toward the mother and cubs in front of them. “A mother bear is the one you have to worry about the most.” He sighed. “You wouldn’t believe how many tourists get out of their cars and try to approach a cute bear cub. You might not see the mother, but trust me, she’s somewhere close by.”

“I like cats and dogs, but I’m not really interested in making friends with bears. You won’t have to worry about me.”

They drove for a while before the chief said, “So, did you always want to be a writer?”

“Not really. I wrote a couple of novels in college just for fun. My family and friends bought some copies, but that was about it. I only wrote Dark Matters because I had nothing else to do. I always thought that someday I’d work for the BAU, but that’s not going to happen now. Writing a book was my way of saying good-bye to that dream.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she wondered why she’d told him that. She wasn’t used to sharing private things with people she didn’t know. It was too late to take them back now.

“I don’t understand. Why can’t you work for the FBI? With your police background...”

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Erin said more sharply than she meant to. “I... I’m sorry. Sore subject and very personal.”

“I understand,” he replied. “Sorry.” He slowed down and pulled the Jeep to the side of the road. “We’ll have to walk from here.”

Erin got out. “Any bears in this area?” She tried to make it sound as if she were kidding, but the truth was, she was nervous. She glanced over at the chief and noticed he was armed. Good. Just in case soft words didn’t actually work.

“Do you know the victim?” she asked as she followed him into the woods.

“No. We get a lot of tourists, so that’s not a big surprise. My officers are checking with local hotels and B&Bs in the area, trying to find out who she is. So far, we haven’t uncovered anything.”

“This location seems pretty remote. Who discovered the body?”

“Usually, you’d be right, but hunting season started on the first. Lots of people in the woods. A hunter found her.”

Erin shook her head, and the chief obviously noticed.

“Not a fan of hunting?”

“No, I’m not.” She held up one hand. “I’ve heard all the arguments about hunting for food or whatever. But getting joy out of killing an innocent animal is something I’ll never understand.”

She waited for the inevitable justification for hunting, but instead, the chief said, “I actually agree with you. I have no stomach for it either, but I still have to allow people to do it. I’m always glad when the season is over, though.”

Erin was surprised, but glad to see that the chief felt he had the right to have what was probably an unpopular opinion among the people who came here to hunt and the business owners who made money from them.

Although Erin had seen her share of dead bodies, it had been a while. The last one had been the little girl she’d accidentally shot. She felt sick to her stomach at the prospect of viewing another one. The truth was, she’d believed this kind of thing was behind her. Now, here it was again. Death. Writing about it and actually looking at it were two very different things. She felt herself sway, and the chief reached out and took her arm.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She pulled her arm out of his grasp. “I think I stepped on a branch or something.”

He stood still and stared at her, concern written clearly on his face. “I’ve been selfish. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this.”

She turned toward him. “I’m an adult, Chief. Not a child. If I didn’t want to come, I would have told you. Please don’t patronize me.”

He held up in hands in surrender. “Sorry, again. We’re almost there.”

He began walking away, and she hurried to keep up. She was chiding herself for being so abrupt when he suddenly stopped.

Erin stepped around him. In front of them was a woman, lying on the ground. She wore a long white dress, the bodice stained with blood. She held something in her hands. Erin wanted to turn away. Wanted to run back to the cabin. And then back to her apartment. Why had she come here? What was she thinking?

She looked up into the face of Chief Nightengale. There was something in his eyes that unsettled her. It ignited a fire inside her. She stepped around him and went closer to the body, being careful not to contaminate the area. Two officers stood nearby, watching her and staring at their chief as if waiting for instructions.

Erin ignored them and looked over the scene. What she saw made her feel cold inside. She turned around to face the chief.

“Chief Nightengale, I think you may have a serial killer on your hands,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.