by RJ Blain
“You’re taking the easier side,” I observed, glaring at him. “I’m in heels.”
“Last time I saw you near a river, I really thought you were going to drown before I got to you. No thanks. I never want to experience that again.”
“This is my hell, just so you know.”
“No, Karma. Your hell includes slugs. Let’s just get this over with, okay? Yell at me later.”
“Trust me, I will.”
In theory, we could have called for people to help comb the gorge beneath the scenic overlook for a dumped body. It would have cost time, but it would have saved me trudging through the muddy forest in heeled boots.
After more than two hours, I was seriously contemplating sitting in the mud until my body ached less. I was ready to ditch my boots and deal with walking barefoot in the woods.
“For somewhere that hasn’t seen rain in a few days, this is seriously wet,” I complained, watching the ground for any sign of disturbance. “If the cops decide to check this out, they’re going to see our tracks and think a pair of lunatics came down here.”
“Or they’ll believe the FBI decided to check the gorge as part of the investigation, which is a very logical assumption.” Jake trudged over to join me and bumped me with his elbow. “You have mud on your nose.”
“Eyes on the ground, Agent Thomas. I don’t want to be here after dark.”
“It won’t take us longer than a couple more hours to scope out the rest of the place. Plenty of time.”
“We’re on a twelve-hour time limit. We don’t have a couple of hours. March.”
“That’s more like the Karma I know and love.”
“What, ready to kick your ass or wanting to do my job?”
“Both.”
“You are such an asshole. I’ve had it.” I stopped, bent over, and went to work peeling out of my boots. “These fucking things are driving me fucking insane.”
Jake whistled. “Nice.”
“March, asshole!”
“Yes, ma’am.”
When he didn’t move, instead watching me fight with my shoes, I snarled a curse, yanked the first boot off, and flung it at him. My aim was good, but he stepped out of the way before it could hit him. The second boot fell short.
“Am I supposed to be impressed?”
I sighed, retrieved my boots, and tucked them under an arm, returning to my search. By the time we were finished, we’d both have to take a dip in the river so we wouldn’t track mud into the Corvette. Then again, giving the car back to Daniels covered in mud might be suitable revenge for pulling us off the case.
I forced myself to focus on inspecting the forest, brush, and rocky bottom of the gorge for any sign of a body. The vegetation was thick with a canopy overhead; I had to check my feet and the trees above for evidence of a falling body, which slowed my progress.
Instead of watching where I was walking, I scanned the ground in an arc, paused to look up, and took several more steps forward. The method worked right up until I tripped and fell into a thorn bush.
I wasn’t the first to fall prey to the thorns, but unlike the bush’s other victim, I was alive to tell the tale. Corpses weren’t new in my line of work, but as a general rule, I had warning before I saw them.
Then again, I normally didn’t end up sprawled over a corpse. My first coherent thought identified the size of the body—what was left of it—as far too large to be a child’s. My relief was short lived, however. The realization I was lying across someone’s rotting remains slammed into me right along with the smell of decay. My shriek was cut off by my gag reflex. Lurching back, I ended up flat in the mud, a shudder running through me.
I choked and pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to keep from throwing up. I panted until the nausea abated enough for me to speak.
“Jake.” In my effort to keep from retching, I wasn’t able to speak his name very loud, but my call summoned my partner.
“What is it? Something wrong?”
If I closed my eyes, I’d probably faint. That had been a hard-learned lesson. I was covered in something far, far worse than mud, and it was taking every bit of my self-control to stop myself from sprinting for the river and jumping in, washing away any evidence I might have accidentally picked up. “There’s a body, and I found it with my face.”
Jake stared at me, blinked, and searched the ground nearby, his gaze fixing on the bush I had fallen into. Stepping forward, he leaned in the direction of the vegetation and winced.
Coming to me, he took hold of my elbow and dragged me to the river. My entire chest and stomach were wet, as were my chin and cheek. Jake helped me out of my coat, peeled me out of my shoulder holster, and checked my pockets before pointing at the water. “It’s shallow enough there even for you from the looks of it. Don’t drown.”
All thoughts of evidence fled my mind, and I was never so happy to enter a body of water in my life. Shuddering from more than the cold and wet, I went to work scrubbing my hands clean before dunking my face in the water and scouring my cheeks, chin, and mouth as though my life depended on it.
Thanks to my lessons, I could hold my breath underwater a long time, and I didn’t emerge until Jake grabbed me by one of my ponytails and pulled me up. “I said don’t drown.”
“I got corpse on my face,” I whispered.
“I know.” Jake pointed at his cheek. “You missed a spot.”
Shuddering, I submerged my head and rubbed until I was convinced I had taken off several layers of skin. Jake once again pulled my head up. “You got it. Neck next,” he advised. “If you lie on your back, you can probably scrub it all off and let the current help without trying to drown yourself.”
If it meant I could get everything off, I’d do anything, even lie in the water and let it slough all the skin from my body. “I don’t think he was in one piece, Jake.”
Jake crouched beside me, resting his wrists on his legs. “I saw.”
“I fell on him.”
“I know. Get the rest off you. I’ll call this in.”
I jerked my head in a nod. “I fell on a corpse, Jake.”
Sighing, Jake pointed at a spot on his throat. “You have… a chunk sticking to you there.”
The thought of having something more than blood or some other bodily fluid on me had me scrambling deeper into the river, my hands clawing at my neck to make sure I took off several layers of skin along with whatever was contaminating them. “Gross, gross, gross. Oh God, gross.”
“Yeah. I’d be doing the same thing if I were you.” Jake pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and said, “Daniels, we found a body. I’m guessing male, cause of death uncertain. He’s… been mauled. Karma found him by falling on him.” There was a long pause. “No, sir. I meant it literally. She fell on him. Face first. We’re in the gorge below the scenic overlook I met her at yesterday. I thought I’d check the bottom to see if there was a body.”
I checked over my arms, legs, and stomach, and when satisfied I was as clean as a river could make me, I stood and lifted my sopping shirt. There were dark splotches all over it. I ripped it off and flung it at the shore. My bra, fortunately, had survived unscathed.
“And she just took off her shirt. I believe it had… evidence on it. Our waivers will cover us for destruction of potential evidence, right? She got bits of our vic on her face. I’m sorry, I panicked and took her to the river. I accept responsibility.”
“Just shut up, Jake,” I pleaded.
“Hold on, sir. Let me make sure Karma gets out of the river without drowning herself.”
I flipped him my middle finger and got out of the water. I recognized the cold clammy feeling as shock or hypothermia setting in, and I bent over and put my head between my legs, forcing myself to take long, deep breaths. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a bottle of gin, enough rubbing alcohol to decontaminate myself, and a few minutes.”
“He wants me to describe the body and take pictures,” Jake replied. “Let’s not ruin the rest of the evidence.”
/> Once I got my heart rate down to a tolerable level, I waved him off. “Go.”
Jake nodded and headed back to the body. Following after him, I freed my hair from its ponytails so it could dry. The last thing I wanted to do was go anywhere near the body until I had better control of my nerves and stomach.
With a body found, I could divert my attention to searching for more evidence and figuring out how the victim had fallen into the gorge without tearing through the canopy, which I had been checking for. Had the man rolled off the side and into the bush?
Determined to make myself useful while Jake dealt with the initial examination of the corpse, I headed for the rocky incline making up the gorge’s side. The height of the jagged stone hill—more of a wall or a cliff than a slope—explained the tattered state of the corpse.
It was a long, long way to fall.
When I tripped again, I caught myself in time to land on my back instead of my chest. I clenched my teeth, choking back my scream of disgust and frustration. I blamed my lack of shoes for my clumsiness, growled curses under my breath, and got to my feet. Clenching my hands into fists, I turned and stared down at the ground to see what I had fallen over.
My mouth dropped open.
Could someone really have bad enough luck to land on two bodies?
Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose, inhaled through my mouth, and held my breath until my lungs burned. I exhaled long and slow. The second body had to be a lie, a conjuration of my overactive imagination or a symptom of shock. I could buy into such a theory with little effort.
When I opened my eyes, there wouldn’t be a second body. A log was more probable—a log I had, in my twisted, shocked psyche, transformed into a corpse.
I peeked through my lashes, determined to prove my theory right.
The man was wearing dark, baggy clothing similar to the formless outfits my kidnappers in Baltimore had worn. Unlike the first victim I had found, he was intact—at least, I thought he was until I got a good look at his throat.
Someone, or something, had ripped it out.
With far more calm than I felt, I marched towards Jake. The third time was always the charm. I noticed the body half obscured by a rotten log and managed to step over the extended arm rather than tripping on it. When I reached my partner, I inhaled, remembered to keep my eyes open so I wouldn’t faint, and announced, “I fell on another corpse.”
“And Karma found another body.”
“Two,” I corrected. “I didn’t fall on the third one. Barely.”
“Okay. Apparently, we have a few bodies down here, sir.”
“I’m going to go drown myself in the river now.”
Jake dropped his hand on top of my head. “You don’t have anything on you that I can see.”
“I’m not buying what you’re selling. My back is covered in the rotting remains of a dead white male dressed in dark, baggy clothing remarkably similar to the attire worn by the men in Baltimore. Something tore his throat out.”
“It seems the second corpse is dressed in the same fashion. Please dispatch a paramedic with the investigators, sir.” Jake hung up, put his phone in his pocket, and released my head to grab hold of my arm. “Come on. I’ll make sure there’s nothing on your back, okay?”
When I tripped over the fourth body obscured by the underbrush, Jake caught me before I could fall. He tossed me over his shoulder and carried me the rest of the way to the river’s shore.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The instant Jake slipped and took his attention off me, I waded deeper into the river and submerged to my chin. Two months of spending so many hours in the pool after work made the water far more comforting than the illusion of safety the shore offered.
Until the area was swept and all of the corpses were found, I had zero intention of leaving the water.
Jake discovered I had left his side and spat a curse. “Karma?”
“The water is warmer here than in Colorado.” While it was the truth, the water was still cold, and I was going to give myself hypothermia at the rate I was going.
Hypothermia was still a better option than coming into contact with another corpse. I ran my fingers through my hair, spreading the strands to make sure the water could clean them.
“What are you doing? Get out of there.”
“Miso something or other.”
“Pardon?”
“Misogi. That’s it. Misogi. It’s a Japanese purification ritual. Ask Pops. He’ll tell you all about it. He thought if he told me a bunch of things about Japan I might consider taking up his branch of martial arts. I think it’s supposed to involve a waterfall.”
“Okay.” Jake pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a couple of times, and held it to his ear. “Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson. It’s Jake. Could you please tell me what Misogi is by any chance?”
I scowled, lowered myself until my mouth was submerged, and blew bubbles in the river water. I lifted my head enough to say, “You’re an asshole. Have I told you that today? Asshole. Complete and total cheating asshole. I wasn’t suggesting you actually call Pops.”
Jake dismissed me with a wave of his hand, although he kept an eye on me, probably to make sure I didn’t drown. “I see. Let me run a scenario by you, if you have a minute?”
“Don’t you dare.”
Judging from the fact Jake directed his middle finger in my direction, he wasn’t going to listen to my threat. “Let’s assume you were involved in a situation where you found a body and you tripped over it, resulting in close contact with the corpse. Would you use this Misogi to purify yourself?”
“You are such an asshole, Jake Thomas.”
In the distance, I heard sirens approaching. Jake glanced in the direction of the scenic overlook before returning to his watch-Karma vigil. “I see. Bleach has rather toxic consequences on the human body, sir. I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the info.”
“Such an asshole,” I muttered.
“I’d like that. Let me call you back with details. Thanks again.” Jake hung up and pocketed his phone. “You realize your father heard you calling me an asshole, right?”
“Well, shit.”
“Just get out of the water, Karma. You’re going to catch your death in there.”
“I’m not clean enough.”
“The paramedics will take care of everything. We can sterilize you from head to toe if you want, I promise.”
“I don’t want to go to another hospital.”
“I’ll be with you the entire time. I won’t let them unnecessarily take you to the hospital.”
“Fine.” I didn’t move, but I did turn my attention to the scenic overlook. “There are people staring at us.”
“They’re probably staring at you, Karma. You’re in the river, and you don’t have a shirt on.”
“I’m wearing a bra.”
“That’s a lot of perfect porcelain skin to admire.”
Scowling, I got up and marched to shore. Before I could reach for my jacket, Jake shrugged out of his and held it out for me. “I promise it’s not contaminated.”
“Fine.” I slipped my arms into the sleeves and let him wrap it around me.
“What have we learned from this experience?”
“The water here is warmer than in Colorado, but it’s still fucking cold,” I replied through chattering teeth.
“And there’s the first signs of hypothermia. Surprise, surprise.”
“I might be in shock,” I offered.
Jake sighed. “I guessed as much. That may have influenced my decision to request a paramedic.”
After so many years with the FBI, I should have been used to seeing corpses, although I had never fallen face first into one before. “I’m never going to live this down.”
Jake snorted. “When I saw him, I was a split second from throwing up. You have balls of steel. You touched him. You don’t have to live anything down. I promise you at least one of the investigators is going to end up puking his guts ou
t. No one is going to remember you destroyed evidence when the other investigators puke and ruin everything. Anyway, Daniels said he’d cover us. You have nothing to worry about—or be ashamed about, either.”
While I didn’t believe him, I nodded. “There’s a problem.”
“What?”
“How are we getting out of this gorge? I’m done. There is no fucking way I’m climbing anything. It’s not happening. I’m done, Jake.”
“Right.” For once, he didn’t argue with me, for which I was grateful. If he had, I would have gone from unnaturally calm—probably thanks to shock—to hysterical.
I handled hysterics about as well as I did crying. If I broke, things would get ugly. I did know one thing for certain.
For better or worse, I would never forget the day I married Jake Thomas.
Jake’s prediction proved correct; at least three men ended up polluting the river with their vomit when they saw the bodies for the first time. I was pretty sure one didn’t make it to the river before losing his lunch. We were so deep in the gorge it was difficult to get people down, resulting in rescue and investigation personnel hiking almost a mile to reach us.
The paramedics brought blankets, a dry change of clothes, and a first-aid kit. The sweats were far too big for me, but they beat my soaked clothing. Jake had tried to convince me to change under the cover of the bushes, but until we found all the bodies, I wasn’t leaving the shore. Instead, I changed under Jake’s jacket. I was tightening the draw string on the sweats when my phone rang.
Jake retrieved it from my coat and offered it to me.
“Hello?” I answered without looking at the screen to see who was calling.
“This you, darlin’?” Winston Henry asked.
“Sure is. What can I do for you?”
“Jacob’s at my place, he wandered in five minutes ago.”
My entire world froze as I comprehended what I heard. “Really?”
“Really. He’s… he’s covered in blood, ma’am, but he don’t seem hurt any.”
“Hold on a sec.” I turned to Jake. “Phone. Phone! Stay on the line, sir,” I ordered to Winston.
