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Authors: Mia Marshall
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distracted by a naked Simon standing before me. Despite the increasing cold, he showed no sign of wanting to clothe himself. “There’s a slight depression running from the water to the tree.” Vivian stepped carefully toward the water and plunged her hands into the mud.
“As if something had been dragged?” asked Brian.
Simon shook his head. “Not a body, though. It’s too regular. If someone was dragging a body, particularly a heavy man like Christopher was, it stands to reason that they would struggle with it. The movement would be erratic. This depression is perfectly smooth.”
“Could the body have been placed on a sled or some other object, and then moved?” said Sera.
Simon considered the question carefully, then nodded. “That is possible.”
Vivian waved mud-covered hands at us. “Over here. This ground has been disturbed recently. It is more pliable, from the water’s influence, and it has been moved in a way only an earth could manage.” She looked angry at the thought, the first negative expression I’d seen cross her face.
“Because some of it ended up in Chris’s lungs.” Sera was grim, the slight levity from earlier completely gone. She might be wearing the brave face people expected to see, but there was no doubt that grief moved just beneath her skin. “So, he was killed by the water, loaded on some device and moved to the tree. Why go to such effort?”
Mac watched the water lap against the shore. “It was storming last week, and the water level rose quite a bit. If he’d been where Vivian is now standing, he might have been pulled into the lake.”
“And they wouldn’t have found the body. Not quickly, at least,” Brian concluded.
“Whoever did this, they wanted the murder to be discovered,” I said. “So, we’re dealing with a narcissist, someone who wants to flaunt his elemental powers, no matter the cost.” From her spot by the water, I saw Vivian nod in agreement.
“Or,” said Sera, “someone who knows we were involved last time and wanted to get our attention.”
“Well, fuck,” I eloquently replied. I hadn’t thought of that. It made a horrible sense, particularly considering the victim’s identity. I looked at the five glum faces that surrounded me. “So, who wants pancakes?”
Though it was a feeble attempt at a joke, pancakes actually sounded good. I was certain that some comfort carbohydrates would pull the worst of the chill from my bones. Unfortunately, our trip to the diner was canceled when Sera’s phone rang. She took the call while the rest of us piled back into the Bronco.
Whatever she learned from the phone call triggered the tense coil of energy always buried just below her surface. Her left fingers tapped steadily against her thigh, and she swung her cartoon devil keychain around in circles. “Good news,” she announced, hanging up. “That was the medical examiner’s office. My father has arranged for me to see the body. Also, it’s probably time to do some damage control and learn what the cops are thinking.”
Vivian looked a bit green, obviously questioning what about that was good news. “Do you need any help?” she asked, clearly hoping the answer was no. I understood her hesitation. I also wasn’t particularly eager to enter a sterile white room lit by fluorescent bulbs and populated by the reluctant dead.
“I’ve got this. I’ve done it before, you know. But Aidan, this might be a good time to tell everyone about the role we played last time.” She climbed into the front seat, and Mac began driving us back to the cabin and her car.
“I’ll wait until you return,” I said. I wasn’t procrastinating. I was just waiting for the right time. The fact that I was kind of hoping the right time was the fifth of never was beside the point.
“Nah, don’t wait. I was there, remember. I don’t need to hear it.” She stared directly at me, her fidgeting momentarily stilled. “And I know that you’ll tell the story
“As if something had been dragged?” asked Brian.
Simon shook his head. “Not a body, though. It’s too regular. If someone was dragging a body, particularly a heavy man like Christopher was, it stands to reason that they would struggle with it. The movement would be erratic. This depression is perfectly smooth.”
“Could the body have been placed on a sled or some other object, and then moved?” said Sera.
Simon considered the question carefully, then nodded. “That is possible.”
Vivian waved mud-covered hands at us. “Over here. This ground has been disturbed recently. It is more pliable, from the water’s influence, and it has been moved in a way only an earth could manage.” She looked angry at the thought, the first negative expression I’d seen cross her face.
“Because some of it ended up in Chris’s lungs.” Sera was grim, the slight levity from earlier completely gone. She might be wearing the brave face people expected to see, but there was no doubt that grief moved just beneath her skin. “So, he was killed by the water, loaded on some device and moved to the tree. Why go to such effort?”
Mac watched the water lap against the shore. “It was storming last week, and the water level rose quite a bit. If he’d been where Vivian is now standing, he might have been pulled into the lake.”
“And they wouldn’t have found the body. Not quickly, at least,” Brian concluded.
“Whoever did this, they wanted the murder to be discovered,” I said. “So, we’re dealing with a narcissist, someone who wants to flaunt his elemental powers, no matter the cost.” From her spot by the water, I saw Vivian nod in agreement.
“Or,” said Sera, “someone who knows we were involved last time and wanted to get our attention.”
“Well, fuck,” I eloquently replied. I hadn’t thought of that. It made a horrible sense, particularly considering the victim’s identity. I looked at the five glum faces that surrounded me. “So, who wants pancakes?”
Though it was a feeble attempt at a joke, pancakes actually sounded good. I was certain that some comfort carbohydrates would pull the worst of the chill from my bones. Unfortunately, our trip to the diner was canceled when Sera’s phone rang. She took the call while the rest of us piled back into the Bronco.
Whatever she learned from the phone call triggered the tense coil of energy always buried just below her surface. Her left fingers tapped steadily against her thigh, and she swung her cartoon devil keychain around in circles. “Good news,” she announced, hanging up. “That was the medical examiner’s office. My father has arranged for me to see the body. Also, it’s probably time to do some damage control and learn what the cops are thinking.”
Vivian looked a bit green, obviously questioning what about that was good news. “Do you need any help?” she asked, clearly hoping the answer was no. I understood her hesitation. I also wasn’t particularly eager to enter a sterile white room lit by fluorescent bulbs and populated by the reluctant dead.
“I’ve got this. I’ve done it before, you know. But Aidan, this might be a good time to tell everyone about the role we played last time.” She climbed into the front seat, and Mac began driving us back to the cabin and her car.
“I’ll wait until you return,” I said. I wasn’t procrastinating. I was just waiting for the right time. The fact that I was kind of hoping the right time was the fifth of never was beside the point.
“Nah, don’t wait. I was there, remember. I don’t need to hear it.” She stared directly at me, her fidgeting momentarily stilled. “And I know that you’ll tell the story
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