Suzanne Cox - One Man To Protect Them

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Justin for giving me the confidence to chase my

dreams. It’s a two-edged sword, I know!

To my mom and mother-in-law

for being my biggest fans.

To the FNGs—you guys are the best.

Where would I be without you!!

To my Bogalusa buddies—we may not win the

lottery but we’ll sure have fun trying.

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

HER SNEAKERS WET WITH DEW, Jayden lengthened her stride to catch up with Kasey, as the German shepherd bounded into the underbrush, nose to the leaves. Combing the woods for a dead body had become their assignment by default. With the early-morning ringing of the phone while it was still pitch-black outside, Jayden had been inducted into Cypress Landing’s volunteer search-and-rescue team. “Volunteer” being the operative word. Coercion would have been more apt. She hadn’t bothered to ask how Sheriff Wright had heard about Kasey’s talents. Small town, no secrets—she had to keep reminding herself. She’d likely been the topic of conversation even before she’d finally returned home. Estranged hometown girl returns from life in city. She ground her teeth. No time to dwell on that now.

Kasey darted past the massive trunk of an old oak. Damn old Joe Gifford for giving her the cadaver dog and getting her involved in this kind of gruesome insanity. Now, two years later, Joe had passed away, she’d left California, and Kasey was the only thing she had left from her previous life. She thrust aside the damp huckleberry bush, still hanging on to its tiny green leaves. A second flashlight cut an arc beside hers.

“Got anything yet?”

She shook her head. Deputy Fontenot was worried. She couldn’t so much see it in the predawn darkness, as she could feel it leaking from his pores right into her own skin. Or maybe blaming her feelings on Pete was her own desperate attempt to remain calm. Just then Kasey pawed at something, then sat on the ground, whining between his low-key barks. When she reached him, she ruffled his red-and-black coat. “Looks like this might be it.”

Pete gripped her by the shoulder, and she shivered in her long-sleeve T-shirt.

“It’s not your fault.”

“If I’d reported him missing sooner we might not be standing here now.” She hadn’t seen Eric Walsh for a week. This wasn’t how she’d hoped to find him.

“I wouldn’t have thought it strange that a grown man wasn’t home for a few days. Plenty of folks wouldn’t have reported it yet.”

The yellow cone of his light flashed on the ground as Pete keyed his radio and spoke to some faraway dispatcher. Jayden took a few deep breaths and hoped it wasn’t her tenant buried at their feet.

“They’re coming,” Pete said, readjusting his radio. “But it may be nothing. These leaves are pretty tamped down, and I don’t see any fresh earth.”

“Kasey wouldn’t have made a hit if it was nothing.”

“Maybe it’s a dead animal.”

“He doesn’t identify dead animals, only people.”

“So maybe he’s wrong this time.”

She faced Pete, her flashlight still pointed to the spot marked by the dog.

“He’s not wrong.” She pushed aside some damp leaves with the toe of her boot until the disturbed earth was visible. Pete went to his knees and scraped away more debris.

“I’d never have seen this if I’d been walking by.”

“That’s the point of the dog.”

Voices echoed through the woods behind them and they moved to make room for the sheriff’s personnel, armed with shovels, forcing their way around the trees. The first strike of metal into damp earth made Jayden shudder and she leaned against a tree. Kasey whined and rubbed his head against her leg, as she knotted a fistful of his fur then closed her eyes and tried to shut out the thump of the shovel pushing deeper into the ground.

“I got something.”

Every person who had pressed into the area froze. No more low chatter speculating why the Saints lost this past Sunday and what Dallas would do with their new quarterback. No more discussion of where the fish might be biting this weekend. They held their collective breath, and Jayden tried not to watch, to not see between the bodies that crowded around the newly opened grave. But she was drawn to the macabre scene in front of her.

The officer digging with the shovel let go of the wooden handle and it bounced on the ground. He dropped to his knees, clawing at the fresh earth. Someone commented that the hole needed to be bigger, but was cut short when the man held aloft the object of their search. Jayden slid to the ground, covering her mouth against the wave of vomit that boiled into her throat. She couldn’t seem to block the smell of rotting flesh that immediately assaulted them.

“Jayden.” Her eyes closed, she recognized the sheriff’s voice. He touched her knee, but she couldn’t answer him.

“Jayden, did you ever notice if Eric Walsh wore a watch?”

She nodded, her eyes still jammed shut.

“Would you recognize it if you saw it?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

The stench had dispersed into the air, and when she squinted she noticed the first rays of dawn beginning to filter through the trees. The scratched silver watch, with its worn band, appeared in front of her.

“That’s Eric’s.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. He ate dinner with us a lot and he’d always take it off to wash his hands, then forget and leave it by the sink.” The last word caught in her throat and tears leaked onto her cheek. “He had a story for how it got each mark. The boys loved hearing his stories.” She swallowed hard. “I tried to tell him he was prying into things that would get him into trouble. He didn’t listen.” She studied a small hole at the hem of her jeans.

“He’d been in Cypress Landing for months before you came. He knew what he was doing. I warned him more than once myself. I’m calling in another team and we’ll keep searching on our own. I don’t want you to have to keep doing this.”

She forced her attention to his face. “What are you saying, Matt? You think there are more bodies?”

The sheriff, squatting beside her, wiped his forehead. “I’m saying that the only thing we’ve found is one arm.”

She tilted her head to rest on her knees and forced herself to breath deeply, but that only made her aware of the scent of decay.

Matt rested his palm on her head. “Why don’t you get out of here. My wife’s on the road with coffee and food.”

She took a gulp of air and shook her head. When she scrambled to her feet, Matt rose with her. “I need to touch base with my mom and let her know to get the kids to school for me. She came over and stayed with them when I left. Then I’ll let Jeffrey know I’ll be late getting to the office.”

“You sure you want to finish this?”

“I want every piece of Eric Walsh found, then I want somebody to pay for putting him here. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

SIX HOURS LATER, Jayden stuck a flag in the final section of the property she’d been assigned to search. She’d been joined by three other teams with cadaver dogs. After only a few hits, they figured Eric wasn’t the only person buried in these woods. The sun had climbed high and, with the heat and humidity, her clothes were wet with sweat. Shouting for Kasey, she checked her compass and made her way to the roadside where teams of law enforcement and state crime-lab officials scrambled back and forth in the wooded area.