Monday, December 10, 2007

Excerpt - Unearthed

PROLOGUE

During her last moments, she did not watch as the memories of her life slid past her mind’s eye, nor did she take the time to say goodbye to those she loved. During her last moments, nothing passed through her mind or body but the terror of dying, and that dying terror took hold of her as forcefully as she had unknowingly taken hold of the crucifix around her neck.

It would have comforted her to know that her death would eventually be the key, but it was a comfort she was not granted.

She was not his first victim, but in killing her, he had made his first mistake, and because of his error, the hole he dug became a dual grave.

CHAPTER ONE

Audrey Jones wondered for the millionth time why people couldn’t do her the favor of killing one another during the day. The misguided notion shared by criminals that the cover of darkness provided some respite from capture was just silly, and if she had her way, she’d hold a press conference to let the bad guys in on that little secret.

She took a final look in the bathroom mirror, and in an effort to mask the appearance of having just rolled out of bed, she tied her dark hair into a ponytail, grabbed her baseball cap from the doorknob, pushed the cap onto her head, and let the tail of her hair hang out of the hole in the back. She had long ago altered the saying look good—feel good to hide the hair—hide the harried. The ball cap also helped her cope with a team of male coworkers, most of whom shaved their heads because it was in and they could. Those bastards could roll out of anything, throw on a fresh pair of pants, grab a shirt from the closet, and appear to have been expecting a 2 a.m. call to a crime scene.

Audrey Jones was many things, but she was not a middle-of-the-night person. The first thirty minutes after getting a call to respond to an A.M. crime scene, she was as bitter as the coffee in the thermos she took along with her. As she headed for the north end of town, she took a cautious sip of her freshly made brew, turned up the volume on her car stereo, and hoped the caffeine and music could work their necessary magic in the fifteen minutes she had between where she was and where she needed to be.

* * *

Nearing the crime scene, Audrey noted that the sidewalks on either side of the street were lined with pajama-clad people, some of whom were wandering to and fro in the street with little regard for the police and emergency vehicles that were heading to the location of the crime or back to the station. Audrey snapped off her stereo, secured her cup of coffee in the cup holder of her vehicle’s center console, and transitioned smoothly from recently awakened off-duty cop to totally focused investigator. She drove cautiously through the crowd, taking mental note of the gawkers while keeping her eyes peeled for the personnel who should be taking photographs and video of the lookie loos for later examination.

The crime scene tape came into view, and Audrey slowed her car, pulled to the side of the road as best she could, and exited her vehicle carrying a small black bag that held the things she typically needed at a crime scene. The crowd of people had been moved back a good fifty feet, but she still heard the murmur that passed through them as neighbors speculated about who she was and what had happened. She also heard a dog barking incessantly.

Flashing her badge at the officer protecting the area, Audrey passed under the yellow tape and walked up the driveway to the front door of the home. Walking inside, she was directed by another officer out into the home's backyard.

The first thing she noticed was the number of people who were peering over the fence lines right into the crime scene. She looked at the personnel gathered in the yard, spotted a set of sergeant’s stripes, and headed in their direction.

As she began to introduce herself, the sergeant turned, and she realized it was Hal Baker.

“Goddamn, Hal, how much weight have you lost?”

“Nearly 50 pounds since you saw me last.”

“You look fantastic. How do you feel?”

“Great—better than I did when I was twenty.”

“You were never twenty, my friend, but you do look good.”

“Thanks. You look like shit. That cap isn’t hiding the circles under your eyes, you know.”

“I love you too, Hal. Always have. So, why am I here?”

“Unofficially, I’d say it’s because I miss seeing you hard at work in the middle of the night with the real cops. Officially, it’s because that dog over there decided to do some night-shift work on that hole over there, and when the dog’s owner came outside to kick its madly barking ass, he realized there was a decomposing body in the hole.”

“Man’s best friend strikes again.”

“So it seems.”

“Who took the initial call?”

“Actually, I was close, so I got here just before Officer Hall.”

“Officer Hall, as in Jess Hall?”

“You betcha.”

“Shit, Hal, are you trying to rebuild the old team?”

“I am—at least the good parts. Want in?”

“I’d say yes, but no team is big enough for two sergeants. Besides, the last time we worked together, you got shot, remember?”

“I have a vague recollection of that, yes. I also seem to remember you coming to my rescue and saving my life.”

“You took a bullet in the ass, Hal. The only danger you were in had to do with the shit you took from the rest of us.”

“So kissing your ass isn’t going to get you to give up the suits and the day shift and drag you back to a uniform and a patrol car, eh?”

“Sorry, Hal. Not a chance.”

“Okay, then. I guess all I have for you is the routine stuff. The dog’s been caged by animal control, and we’ve got a vet standing by to collect any evidence the dog might have acquired. She says she’ll need to knock him out and pump his stomach, too—Fido had a taste or two before his owner dragged him away from the hole. The vet needs you to try to get the owners’ consent. If you can’t, one of your guys will need to get a warrant—and, yes, the vet assured me no harm would come to the dog. I’ve got a tent en route to cover up the yard, and six officers standing by to question the people who’ve been watching all of this over the fences. I’ve also got three teams of two uniforms working door-to-door, but they aren’t having a lot of luck: most of the folks are outside milling around.”

“You see, Hal, we are working together—besides, who else would know to do everything I’d ask for before I got to ask to have it done?”

“Not a soul, AJ, not a single soul.”

“How long ago did you order the tent?”

“Nearly an hour ago, I’d guess. It should be here anytime.”

“Okay, until it gets here, let’s work on getting the people out front and along the street back into their homes so the canvassing officers actually have something productive to do. And send your guys in to get these folks along the fence lines downtown for interviews. Keep them separate as best you can.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

“Shut up, Hal.”

The two shared a smile before heading off in their respective directions, and Audrey realized just how much she missed having Hal as a partner.

Shaking her head to clear the memories, she took another look around the backyard and decided to head back into the house to talk to the owner about collecting evidence from his dog.

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