rocking chair. âMaybe some sort of mommy and baby thing. Think about itâa rocking chair, a blue baby blanket, a dead childâ¦â
âMakes sense,â Tam said. âBut what you just said is pretty much a given, donât you think?â
âYeah, sure, but why put a dead child in her arms?â Pete asked. âWhat does that mean?â
J.D. shrugged. âBeats me. Unless, in his mind, heâs mimicking something.â
âWhat I want to know is where he got the two little skeletons,â Tam said. âThere are no reports in Tennessee or any of the surrounding states about the graves of any children being dug up, no bodies reported being stolen.â
âWhich leaves us with what?â J.D. asked.
Tam and Pete stared questioningly at J.D.
âThe bodies probably belong to missing children.â
âAre you saying you think our killer murdered these little boys years ago and kept their bodies hidden away?â Tam asked.
âPossibly,â J.D. said. âEither that or he knew where whoever killed them had buried the bodies.â
Chapter 5
After Audreyâs arrival at his home that morning, Mayor Don Hardy had left his wife in Audreyâs capable handsâhis assessment, not hersâand gone to the Forensics Center on Amnicola Highway to ID Debraâs body. Although understandably distraught over her cousinâs murder, Janice Hardy had managed to hold it together and not fall apart completely. What she had needed was to talk about Debra, about their close sisterlike relationship and how very much she would miss her cousin. Naturally, Janice had questioned how something so horrible could have happened. Why would anyone want to kill Debra? Or Jill Scott? Two lovely young women apparently killed without rhyme or reason, simply because they fit a certain profile. Young, slender, attractive, brown-eyed brunettes.
An hour ago, shortly before leaving the mayorâs home, Audrey had received a call from Tam. She had told Audrey that their lunch plans were unfortunately canceled, and then she had asked her to stop by headquarters that afternoon.
âDadâs here with us,â Tam had said. âWeâre putting our heads together and trying to make sense of things. Dad wants to talk to you, so would you mind dropping by as soon as you can?â
Audrey was supposed to have Sunday dinner with Tam and Marcus and Tamâs parents, but the discovery of Debra Gregoryâs body that morning had changed everyoneâs plans. Assuming that no one else had eaten lunch either, Audrey had stopped by the River Street Deli downtown and bought lunch for four. She figured the âweâ Tam had referred to were Tam and Garth and Willie.
Audrey parked her cocoa brown Buick Enclave in the civilian parking lot adjacent to the Police Service Center, across the highway on Wisdom Street. She hoisted her em-bossed black leather Coach bag over her shoulder and picked up the large sack from the passenger seat. Using the crosswalk between Amnicola Highway and Wisdom Street, she approached the 911 Center and the CPD headquarters housed in the two-story gray buildings.
Everyone at the police department knew Audrey. The old pros had known her all her life and there actually were a few of those still around, men like her uncle Garth and Willie Mullins. Some of the young guns were her friends and a few of them were childhood buddies, as Tam was. Others were acquaintances. She had worked, in an advisory capacity, with the CPD in the past, so no one raised an eyebrow when she showed up at headquarters on a Sunday afternoon. Normally, visitors had to be accompanied by police personnel beyond the front information center desk lobby area.
Audrey went up to the second floor of the PSC, where the patrol squad rooms were located. The door to the office that Garth now shared with Tam stood wide open. Just as Audrey approached, Garth must have sensed her presence. He
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