Love Inspired Suspense July 2015 #1 (58 page)

She got right to the point. “Come quick. And bring your laptop. I've found something you need to see.”

She couldn't be sure. The display was too small. And the lighting in the pictures wasn't good. They seemed to have been taken late in the day, because there was a lot of shadow.

But something about the last photo didn't look right. Something had been buried, and someone had dug it up. And even though she couldn't tell with certainty, if she had to make a guess, she would say she was looking at a body.

* * *

Hunter resisted the urge to use the siren and lights and instead cruised down Fifth Street at, or close to, the speed limit. Meagan hadn't given him any details, but the anticipation in her voice was unmistakable. She had found something important. And it had apparently shown up in the hour since he'd left.

He eased to a stop in her driveway and jumped from the car, laptop in hand. The door swung inward before he even stepped onto the porch, and she appeared in the opening holding a camera.

As soon as he was inside, she removed the card and handed it to him. “Check this out.”

He slid it into the slot in the front of his laptop, and once he had positioned himself on the couch, she sat next to him.

“Where did you get this?”

“I have a book of poems that I got from Charlie. It's an old library book. The memory card was in the pocket in the back.”

A window popped up on the screen. He chose the top folder and clicked on the first picture. Some kind of tree seemed to be the focal point. Other greenery filled the distant background. Except for a band of blue sky at the top, a multicolored blanket of wildflowers filled the rest of the space. After studying the screen for several moments, he looked at Meagan. “This is it?”

“Keep going.”

The next picture was almost identical to the first, except the tree was missing. He advanced to the next and the next, which were more of the same. But the angle of the greenery in the distance was different, as if the photographer had pivoted slightly prior to each shot.

Hunter frowned. Surely she didn't call him over to look at landscaping ideas. “Very pretty, but I don't see the significance.”

“I think they're hints. Landmarks.”

“For what?”

“Keep scrolling and you'll see.”

As he clicked through the photos, the background changed gradually, varying in the types of plants, but the foreground remained constant. The photographer had never left his post in the center of the field.

“I'm assuming at some point this gets more interesting.”

“Oh, it gets a lot more interesting.”

After two more photos, he stopped. This one was different. The camera was angled downward. Except for the edge of a hole at the bottom of the screen and the trunk of a tree at the top, the shot consisted entirely of wildflowers.

He pointed. “I wonder if that's the same tree that's in the first picture.”

“It is. A black walnut.”

He glanced at her again. “You can tell that from just looking at the trunk?”

“No. I know this field. It's on Edmund's estate. And that's the only tree in it.”

“Could you direct someone to this location? Without going there yourself, I mean.”

“I could.”

He clicked to the next picture, and Meagan flinched. He understood why. She had probably already viewed it on her camera. But two by three inches didn't do it justice.

Eight by fourteen did.

The shot was taken directly into the hole. In the bottom was a body. Dirt-covered clothing draped little more than a skeleton. A shaft protruded from the chest, the remains of an arrow. Its point was still buried in the rib cage, its other end broken off. Whoever had dumped the body into the hole hadn't bothered to throw a cloth over the face. But fortunately, Charlie hadn't fully uncovered it. The teeth and jaw were visible, but the rest of the skull was hidden from view.

“Edmund's ex-fiancée?”

Meagan swallowed hard. “I would say so.”

“Do you think Charlie knew about it all along, or do you think he stumbled on it unknowingly?”

“I think he stumbled on it. He knew I loved the gardens. I would get my inspiration out there and do my sketching. There and the atrium. Then I would go into my studio and paint. Charlie was always adding things to make me happy. He had a gambling problem, but I have to say, he had a good heart.”

She drew in a shaky breath. “About a month before he was killed, he said he was going to do something special for my birthday. He told me to stay out of the field, that he wanted it to be a surprise. I don't know what he had in mind, but apparently, when he started digging, he found her.”

“Did you ever go out there after he died?”

“Not for about a month.”

“Was anything different when you went?”

Meagan shook her head. “It didn't look like he had really done anything. But there was one spot where the grass and wildflowers were thinner and shorter. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I just figured that Charlie had left it dug up, and someone else had come along and tried to fill the wildflowers back in.”

“The million-dollar question is whether Edmund was smart enough to move the body.”

“He may have not seen the need. I mean, the only two people in the world who knew his secret were Charlie and I'm guessing Lou, since Edmund might have used his help to dispose of the body. As long as he got rid of Charlie, he was safe. Lou wasn't likely to talk, or he would be implicating himself along with Edmund.”

Hunter clicked forward to see if there were any more pictures. There were—two more, the second probably taken in case the first didn't turn out, and a third also taken for backup before he'd once again covered the hole.

Meagan drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “So where do we go from here?”

“I'll talk to Chief Sandlin, and we'll get in touch with California. We'll get them the pictures.” Now they made sense—all the shots, the seemingly meaningless repetition. Charlie was trying to show them the exact location of what he had found.

“Charlie wasn't educated, but I knew he was smart. Besides liking good poetry, he was great at figuring things out. All those shots he took make up a panoramic photo. Someone who really knew what they were doing could analyze each of the photos and pinpoint the exact location of that hole.”

Hunter made several clicks, then closed the computer. “I saved the photos to my hard drive, just in case.”

“Good idea. I'd hate to lose that card.”

“I'll hang on to it and give it to Chief Sandlin. He'll turn it over to the authorities in California, along with Charlie's blackmail letter.”

“And,” she added, “the information about his brother. He's got a pretty watertight alibi as it stands. But if we can prove Eduardo flew over here and flew back a few days later, that will cast doubt on it.”

Meagan stood and rounded the coffee table. Excitement radiated from her as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, coming up on her toes, then back down again. She was nearly dancing. “It's almost over.”

Hunter laid down his laptop and went to stand in front of her. He wanted to caution her that it wasn't over until it was over, to not let down her guard. But her enthusiasm was infectious. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd wrapped her in a hug, then lifted her and spun her around. When he put her back down, instead of releasing her, he kept her locked in his embrace.

She looped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “Edmund will be going to jail for a long time. After a year and a half of bondage, I'll finally be free.” Her eyes twinkled, and her face glowed with happiness. All the underlying tension that had infused her features since the moment he had met her seemed to have vanished. This was the real Meagan, the pre-Edmund Meagan. And he liked what he saw.

Without warning, she rose to her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. It wasn't like the kiss on his boat. It was spontaneous and lighthearted and joyous.

And much too brief.

An unexpected longing surged through him. What would she do if he kissed her—
really
kissed her—and poured everything he felt into it? Not because she had asked him to, but because it was what he had wanted to do for the past three days?

Before he could contemplate further, she slid from his arms and stepped back to take his hands in hers. She was still smiling, but it was tempered with caution.

“Don't worry. I know I'm not actually safe until Edmund is captured, so I'll be careful.”

He squeezed her hands, trying to shake off the effects of her nearness. “Good. And we'll all keep our eyes open, too. If anything, we'll step up security, because if he gets wind of what you found, it could put you in even more danger.”

Worry tightened his gut. There was a lot that could go wrong. For this to work, the police needed to get in and out without Edmund being tipped off. And they needed to find a body. Lastly, they needed something to blow his alibi.

Hopefully, every piece of the puzzle would fall into place.

Edmund needed to be brought to justice.

Because Meagan gaining her freedom depended on Edmund losing his.

* * *

A crisp breeze blew out of the north, the first sign of fall. After a long, hot summer, the cool morning air was refreshing.

Meagan pedaled slowly down D Street on Darci's bike. It was a loaner, but Darci had insisted she keep it indefinitely. It felt good to be on a bicycle again, somewhat independent, even though someone would always have to accompany her. This time it was Sydney, jogging next to her, holding Chandler's leash. The little dachshund seemed to have an endless supply of energy and had no problem keeping up.

After a conversation with Sydney last night, Meagan had timed a trip to The Market to coincide with Chandler's morning walk. Except today it was a run, which Chandler seemed to enjoy more, anyway. And somewhere nearby was likely a detective. Or two. Hunter still insisted that she not go anywhere alone. And for the time being, she was happy to comply.

She eased to a stop, and after waiting for traffic to clear, turned onto Fifth. Several big green trash cans dotted each side of the street. Monday was garbage collection day. Three yards down, the top of one of the containers was sticking up, an orange object keeping it from closing all the way.

Meagan drew closer, then squeezed the brakes. The orange object looked like a life jacket. She lifted the lid and pulled it out. It was adult-sized and, except for being a little faded, was in perfect condition.

“I'm taking this to my boat. You probably heard what happened to mine.”

“Wade told me.” Sydney shook her head. “Thank the Lord she's not a threat anymore.”

Wade told her
. Meagan sighed. It seemed everyone in Cedar Key knew her business. The joys of living in a small town... Except it didn't bother her anymore.

Sydney held out a hand. “Let me carry it for you. If you get one of these straps caught in your spokes, you'll wipe out.”

Meagan passed it to her. “It's a little faded, but you can't beat the price.”

When she got to the Tuckers' house, Darci's parents were loading suitcases into their car, preparing for a vacation in the mountains. Darci's mom called a friendly greeting as she headed back inside, but Darci's dad approached. He loved to talk. She was going to be there awhile.

She took the life jacket from Sydney and nodded down at Chandler. “You can finish his walk. I'll be fine the rest of the way.”

After chatting with Mr. Tucker for several minutes, Meagan left Darci's bike in the driveway and crossed the front yard. Just before she rounded the corner to head toward her boat, a Cedar Key police cruiser moved past, Hunter at the wheel.

Great.
He would see she was alone, and scold her.

When she reached her boat, she took the pack off her back and laid it on the seat. With three cans of soup, a pound of butter and a half gallon of milk inside, it was rather heavy. But Darci's bicycle didn't have a basket. And her own had gotten crushed when Sally ran over her bike.

Relieved of her burden, Meagan inspected the life jacket more carefully, checking the seams and making sure the straps weren't damaged. When she finished, she glanced up to see Hunter stalking toward her. He was miffed. It was as obvious in his stormy expression as it was in his walk.

He planted his hands on his hips. “Where do you think you're going?”

“Nowhere.”

He narrowed his gaze. “Don't give me that. You're leaving.”

“No, I'm not.”

He took a step closer, his eyes filled with suspicion. “You're standing at your boat holding on to a life jacket.”

She stood her ground. “I'm holding a life jacket because someone was throwing it away, and I nabbed it.”

“You promised you wouldn't leave. You're breaking that promise.”

“I made a promise, and other than the one time I tried to leave to protect
your
sorry self, I've kept it. I'm not going anywhere except home.”

“I don't believe you.”

Anger surged through her. “You know what? I don't have to justify my actions to you.” She threw the life jacket into the boat on top of the other one and snatched up the pack. No matter what happened between her and Hunter, it would always be the same. She had lied to him when she'd first come to Cedar Key. She had lied to everyone. And though he had forgiven her, learning the truth had shattered his trust. And trust once lost was hard to win back. Especially for someone who saw everything black and white, like Hunter.

“If you weren't planning to leave, why are you packed?”

“What are you talking about?”

She started to swing the pack onto her back, then stopped. Her breath came out in a bitter laugh. Hunter's expression grew darker.