Dead Center

by Susan Sleeman

  “Really.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve worked for Veritas for months, and I still don’t know all the amazing things we can do.”

  “You’re about to find out.” He tapped the dashboard screen to connect a call to Nick.

  “Yo, man.” Nick’s enthusiastic tone burst through the truck’s speakers. “What’s up?”

  “Can you call Oren to ask if we can use his plane? Ainslie, Kelsey, Sierra, and I need to fly to Texas ASAP. We have a body to recover and could potentially clear Ethan’s name.”

  Ainslie had been down in the Osteology Unit in the basement before—been to the room with at least one stainless steel table holding a human skeleton laid out in correct form. One that often was missing bones. Despite huge exhaust fans, there was always a strong odor emanating from the room where Kelsey boiled bones to clean them. But never had the visit been personally important like this one. So important that Ainslie’s heart was beating harder than normal.

  Grady held the door for her, and she stepped into the lab.

  Kelsey looked up, a small drone in her hand. “Oh, good. I was just checking the battery, and then we can go.”

  Ainslie had never seen or heard about Kelsey using such equipment and couldn’t imagine how she might employ it in her job. “You use a drone?”

  Kelsey nodded. “I’m part of a new study using near infrared imaging to detect bodies above and below the ground.”

  Ainslie was constantly surprised at the new technology these partners employed. “That sounds fascinating.”

  “It’s amazing actually, and I’ll tell you more about it once we get going.” She zipped the case and patted the hard plastic. “I’ll carry this baby. If you two will roll out the carts with the other equipment, we can go meet Sierra at the SUV.”

  Kelsey propped open the door, and Ainslie wheeled one of the three-tiered stainless steel carts into the hallway, Grady the other. A squeaky wheel on his cart grated on her already fried nerves all the way to the elevator. As Kelsey and Grady chatted about Oren coming through and offering his plane that very afternoon, Ainslie focused on deep breathing and watching the numbers above the door climb.

  Her head was spinning from the race to get ready to leave town. The minute they’d gotten the okay on the plane, Malone offered Kelsey’s services to the Texas detective investigating Neil’s death. Detective Paulson readily accepted the help, and the team made plans to depart. The trip was good news for sure. They could finally have something on Wade, and he could be arrested. Maybe, anyway. Unfortunately, Drake discovered that Wade didn’t have DNA on file from his earlier prison stay, so proving his guilt would be harder and take longer.

  The elevator dinged on the third floor of the parking garage, and they piled out to find Sierra waiting by one of the center’s vans. Her assistant, Chad, sat in the driver seat, hooking up his phone to the infotainment system for the drive to the airport.

  “Let me help.” Sierra grabbed one end of Ainslie’s cart and started packing items in the van alongside her equipment.

  The four of them quickly got things loaded, and Sierra jumped in next to Chad. Kelsey sat in the back and Ainslie was sandwiched between her and Grady who was making the trip in case the gunshot Ethan heard was related to Neil’s death and they recovered a bullet from the grave. As Chad headed out of the parking garage, Ainslie was ultimately aware of every touch point of his body on her leg. So much so that she shifted toward Kelsey. That earned her a raise of Kelsey’s and Grady’s eyebrows.

  “Thank you for letting me come along,” Ainslie said to shift the focus away from her awkward movements. “I might not be able to have anything to do with the recovery due to my connection to Ethan, but thanks for letting me be there anyway.”

  Sierra looked over her shoulder. “Hey, if we were in your shoes, we’d want to do the same thing. We totally understand.”

  “Trust us on that one,” Kelsey said emphatically.

  Ainslie had heard rumors of Kelsey having gone through a difficult time where her stepson and she were in imminent danger, but Ainslie didn’t know the details.

  “Plus you’re familiar with the town and the people,” Sierra said. “That might come in real handy.”

  Sierra shifted even more. “Did Detective Paulson question if Ethan was potentially involved in the murder?”

  “He did.” Ainslie’s stomach tightened on the thought.

  “You think they’ll pursue charges?” Kelsey asked.

  Ainslie shrugged. “Malone was only able to talk to Paulson, not the sheriff. He’s been on a fishing trip, and Paulson is trying to track him down.”

  Grady looked at her. “I’m guessing he’ll want to cut his trip short for something this important.”

  “You would think so, but Paulson said he hadn’t even told the sheriff that he was looking into the murder. He’s new to the job and thought if he poked around in his free time he might solve the cold case and impress the sheriff.”

  Grady arched an eyebrow. “Not sure the sheriff’s gonna be too happy about that.”

  “Why’s that?” Ainslie asked.

  “Most sheriffs I know are control freaks and don’t like their minions going off in their own direction.”

  Could Grady be right? “I know him. The sheriff, that is. His name is Matt Murphy. We went to school together. He was the quarterback and all-star player. Mr. Squeaky Clean. I can totally see him going into law enforcement and easily getting elected sheriff.”

  That brought a frown from Grady. “Did you and Ethan get along with him in school?”

  “Get along?” She tipped her head as memories played in her brain. “He would probably have to know I existed to get along with him. We didn’t exactly run in the same circles. He knew Ethan from football, but they weren’t friends or anything like that.”

  “What’s your gut say about the sheriff pressing charges against Ethan?” Sierra asked.

  Ainslie looked at her boss. “I honestly don’t know. I mean, he could be the same guy I knew or could’ve totally changed, right?”

  “People do change,” Grady said. “But in my experience, not a whole lot.”

  Ainslie thought his statement held a deeper meaning, but she wasn’t about to ask questions and draw them into a personal discussion. Better to stick with the investigation. “Malone did say Detective Paulson wanted a cooperative witness more than anything. Unless evidence we uncover shows Ethan is complicit in the murder, Paulson won’t push that line of questioning.”

  Grady met and held her gaze. “Still, that’s got to be worrying you.”

  He didn’t know the half of it. “I’m really trying to trust God, you know? Wish I was doing a better job of it. I keep thinking I’ve laid all of this down, and then I pick the worry back up.”

  “That’s understandable.” Kelsey squeezed her hand. “We’re all still praying. Please know that.”

  “That’s the best help you can give me.” Ainslie smiled at the sweet woman. “I have to say that I thought God had tested me in life so many times before, but this is besting anything else, even losing my mom and my dad disappearing on us. I think it’s hitting harder because Ethan’s the only family I have left.”

  “God will get you through this.” Grady took her hand.

  The warmth of his touch, the feel of his skin, the personal connection, sent a powerful shock of awareness through her. She wanted to jerk her hand free, but didn’t. She didn’t want to make him think she’d changed her mind about a relationship. Leading him on wouldn’t be fair to him. But he wasn’t being romantic. He was offering his support as a compassionate Christian, and she would never turn down that kind of consideration.

  She relaxed, took a breath, and smiled at him. “Thank you.”

  He held her gaze, mining for something deeper. “I’m only speaking the truth.”

  “I know, but it still means a lot to me.” She squeezed his hand and released it before she did or said something else. She instantly felt alone again and clo
sed her eyes to pray before she said something to make him think the moment had been more than accepting his support.

  God, is this You putting Grady in my life when I can’t do this alone? Are You showing me I might need him even after this difficult time ends? Or is he just here for the moment? Your love in human form when it’s most needed? Or am I going to lose Ethan to prison, and You’ve put Grady here to help me pick up the pieces?

  She couldn’t think that way. She needed to be confident that this amazing team would help clear Ethan’s name. And maybe now that his secret was out, he would be able to kick his drug habit once and for all and have the wonderful life that she’d always wished for him.

  Please, God. Oh, please.

  13

  Grady had come along to the small town about an hour north of Houston to look for a boy who had been murdered. A tough assignment. One he would support for Ainslie. For Ethan. But surprisingly, as Grady walked through the tiny park toward the lake with his partners and Ainslie, he was able to relax for the first time since he’d entered Ainslie’s house the night of the swatting incident.

  She was safe here in Texas. Mostly. He wouldn’t let his guard down completely, but whoever was trying to kill her couldn’t possibly have followed them. He supposed Wade could alert someone to hurt her in Texas, but Wade wouldn’t likely know they’d traveled to Greenburg unless someone in the sheriff’s department let it slip and the small-town grapevine took hold. It would eventually be the talk of the town, but not that quickly.

  A strong southerly wind carrying heat and dust pummeled them as they reached the two khaki uniformed deputies standing at the mouth of a path near soaring red oak trees. A similarly uniformed sheriff who Grady put in his mid-thirties unfolded his tall muscular body from an SUV parked at the path. He clapped a broadbrimmed hat over thick dark hair and stared at them. Despite the sweltering temperatures, all three officers wore long sleeves, and Grady didn’t know how they handled it.

  The sheriff stepped across the dusty ground with purpose in his stride. He hooked a thumb behind a large gold Texas-shaped belt buckle and took a wide stance as if defending his territory. “So you must be the dream team.”

  Sarcasm rumbled through his deep tone, and a smirk found its way to his face.

  Okay, so it was going to be like that. Murphy’s attitude didn’t bode well for their visit, but Grady and his partners were professionals and exchanged introductions.

  Murphy pinned his intense focus on Ainslie. “Surprised to see you here, Ainslie. I didn’t know you’d become a forensic photographer.”

  She cocked her head, carefully watching Murphy. For a moment, Grady thought she might not answer. “Why would you when I’ve been gone for so many years? I’m sure there’re a lot of things we don’t know about each other.”

  He pressed his lips together in a sour look. “Still, I often hear back on what our former classmates are up to.”

  “I wasn’t very plugged in with our class.” She paused as if thinking about what to say next. “You wouldn’t likely even know my name if Ethan hadn’t decided to come forward.”

  Murphy scratched his chin, his sleeve lifting and revealing the edge of a tattoo as he eyed her.

  “Oh, come on,” she said. “I was invisible in high school.”

  The conversation was starting to get too personal, and Grady wanted to protect Ainslie from any pain this guy might inflict.

  “So,” Grady said, “we should get to work.”

  Murphy’s hands tightened on the buckle, and he widened his stance. “Since I was on vacation when y’all arranged this operation, it got rushed before I could evaluate our options. Before you set foot in these woods, we discuss how this’s all going to go down.”

  “I’m sorry you were out of the loop.” Kelsey adjusted her olive green sunhat, which she’d paired with khaki shorts and a white T-shirt. “We’re only here to offer our support and work within your structure.”

  Murphy locked gazes with her. “That’s good then, because I’m in charge here.”

  Sierra cleared her throat, taking Murphy’s attention. “We work with law enforcement all the time, and we expected nothing less.”

  Murphy raised his eyebrows and stood quietly. Seemed he’d expected an argument and didn’t know what to do with their cooperation. “Good. Good. Glad you understand me. Next I want to clarify the role of my deputies. My men aren’t some sort of glorified excavation crew who’re gonna waste their time digging holes for you all to look for this boy’s body.”

  “Oh, don’t worry.” Kelsey raised up on her tiptoes and rocked on her feet. “Your men won’t have to lift a finger. I’ll be doing the digging. And I should be able to narrow down the location without much difficulty.”

  Murphy pursed his lips. “And just how are you gonna do that?”

  “I’ll first deploy a drone that uses infrared imaging to detect bodies. It works both above and below the ground.” A gleam of excitement brightened her gaze. “And if for some reason the body has been moved, the technology can also find where a corpse had been buried and removed up to two years after the removal.”

  “You’re serious?” Murphy tilted his hat back and focused a penetrating stare on Kelsey. “You’re not just yanking my chain?”

  “I am very serious.” Kelsey squinted up at him and didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. “Without the drone I can walk right by a clandestine body and not realize it’s there. The drone doubles my chance of finding it, and once the technology is deployed, it’s really going to revolutionize searches.”

  “Still sounds pretty unbelievable to me.” Murphy frowned. “Can’t imagine how it can work.”

  Kelsey lifted her shoulders. She was starting to get irritated at being questioned, and Grady didn’t blame her one bit.

  She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. “As bodies decay, they release carbon and nitrogen into the soil. That decreases the amount of light the soil reflects. Initially, the flood of chemicals kills plants. That changes as it disperses into the soil around the body and becomes a fertilizer that reflects a ton of light. The drone’s near infrared imaging can detect those light reflections.”

  “What happens after you launch the drone?” the sheriff asked, honestly seeming interested now.

  “Once I have a hit, I use ground penetrating radar to confirm. It’s only then that I start digging. So you see, it’s a precise process, and we won’t need to be digging holes all over the place.”

  Murphy cocked an eyebrow. “What are your expectations of my department?”

  “Once the grave is located, I need you to cordon off the scene and keep the public away.” She smiled at him. “Something I know you and your department are expert at handling.”

  Grady loved how she made a rather small task seem important to stroke the sheriff’s obvious ego.

  He gave a sharp nod. “Okay, we’ll proceed right up to the digging part, when I’ll want to evaluate the logistics of the area. These woods are open from all directions, and it wouldn’t do to have looky-loos.”

  “If things are still the same as when I lived here,” Ainslie said, “the locals don’t want to step foot in these woods.”

  “Yeah, most people are still spooked by the old rumors.”

  “What rumors?” Sierra asked before Grady could pose the same question.

  “Supposedly a family was murdered and buried back here, and they haunt the place.” Murphy rolled his eyes. “But that’s never been proved.”

  “Proof or not,” Ainslie said, “most folks avoid the woods at all costs.”

  “Except when you’re dared as a kid.” Murphy’s lip curled. “And depending on how brave you are, you make a quick dash to the other side. Which is why Wade was able to kill and bury someone there and get away with it.”

  Grady understood how the locals might react this way, but law enforcement was held to a higher standard. “Surely, the sheriff at the time searched the area.”

  “Yeah, sure. But if I had
to guess, they didn't spend a lot of time on it,” Murphy said. “Neil was a real chicken. Afraid of his own shadow. I doubt anyone thought he would go into the woods.”

  Grady didn’t like the disparaging tone the sheriff used when describing the deceased boy, but there was nothing Grady could do about it other than to move them along. “So are we cleared to get that drone in the air, then?”

  Murphy looked at him long and hard and rubbed a hand over his wide jaw. “Let me update my men, and I’ll let you know when you can go for it.” He ran his gaze from person to person, likely trying to reinforce his large-and-in-charge presence, then strode to his men, his worn cowboy boots leaving puffs of dry Texas dust in his wake.

  “Control freak much?” Sierra rolled her eyes, adjusted her tan sunhat, and started back for the SUV. She was dressed much like Kelsey and a similar height, allowing her to keep up with Kelsey’s long strides.

  They all made quick work of carrying their supplies to the path entrance, but Murphy stood near his vehicle holding a phone conversation and keeping them waiting.

  As a bead of sweat trickled down Grady’s back, he tipped his head at the sheriff. “A power play no doubt.”

  “He always did like to be in charge,” Ainslie said, a frown in her voice. “And adored.”

  He shifted his stance and locked his piercing focus on them as if he knew they were talking about him. He ended his call and marched over, his large footfalls sounding hollow on the packed earth.

  He nodded toward the park where a group of onlookers had gathered. “We’re starting to draw attention. You’re not to utter a word to these folks or the press. I’m the only one who will talk to them.”

  “Understood,” Kelsey said, but Grady knew she had never intended to speak to the press. None of them would even consider it.

  Murphy stepped back, giving them access to the path. “Then let’s proceed.”

  Kelsey slung on her backpack and launched the drone. The whirring motor spiraled the device into the sky. Grady watched for a moment but then checked Ainslie out. She was winding up her long silky ponytail. Her arms raised overhead drew up her T-shirt, and he caught a look at an inch of bare skin above her shorts. His thoughts took a less than professional turn, and he shook his head to erase them.