Read Online In the Belly of Jonah by Sandra Brannan - Free Book Online

she fight back when she was abducted?” Lisa finally asked.
    She was once again confiding in me. It felt good. She was beginning to trust me. I rattled off some brainstormed thoughts that came to mind. “She didn’t feel the need to fight because she was with a friend. Or she didn’t have the opportunity to fight because she was blindsided. Or she was so drugged up she couldn’t do anything but drool all over herself. Or she refused to fight because he threatened her with something worse.”
    “Worse than death?”
    I could think of a few things, not the least of which was someone going after my Achilles heel—my family.
    “What’s worse than what she went through?” Lisa asked.
    “I don’t know. What did she go through?” I’d pushed too far again. Lisa clammed up and drank her beer in silence. Brainstorming again, I added, “Maybe she took a bullet intended for someone else? Metaphorically speaking. Do you have anyone in your life you love so much you would give your life for them?”
    Lisa blinked and stared at me.
    “How about that Pierce fellow?” I pressed.
    She grimaced. “Are you crazy? I just said he was handsome. We’re not dating or anything. He’s not like that.”
    “Gay?”
    She shook her head.
    “Now me, if someone threatened my mom or dad or even one of my brothers or sisters, I would be willing to lay down my life.”I’d never been in that situation, but I wasn’t exaggerating. But who’s to say? Especially when your life is on the line. I added, “I think.”
    She smiled. It got her thinking about it anyway. It was my turn to go silent. It turned out to be an excellent strategy.
    Lisa spoke quietly. “She doesn’t have one single bruise on her body, Liv. Nowhere. And you were right. She had nothing under her fingernails, no broken fingernails. She never scratched her attacker or struggled in any way. She had no defensive wounds on her hands. Just one large chunk cut from her center.”
    I gasped, nearly choking on my beer. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around that one. “Shit. I just can’t get used to that thought. I threw up this morning just reading the guy’s account of how he found Jill’s body.”
    “Yeah, kind of crude, wasn’t he? He didn’t mean to be. Shock can do that to some people. He just couldn’t stop babbling, ruminating over the image.”
    “What’s the cause of death? Do they know?”
    “They got started late because they were waiting on the ID,” Lisa said.
    “Oh,” I said, embarrassment rushing to my cheeks. I hadn’t realized I was holding up the show. I was so reluctant to look at Jill’s face. It still haunted me. The gray, waxy skin. The dark lips. The bulging eyes. It just wasn’t Jill at all. And yet it was.
    “Agent Pierce and the coroner were waiting until you finished identifying the body. I was there with them, but I didn’t realize it was you on the other side of the wall; otherwise, I would have stayed with you through that terrible moment. As soon as you were done, the coroner started her initial assessment, which is why I know there were no visible defensive wounds. Pierce will let me know what the coroner finds after it’s all done. Other than toxicology. That takes days, sometimes weeks.”
    “What are you hoping to find?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, you’re here for a reason. This is an unusual murder. There must be something about it that’s pulling you toward similar cases. What’s the common link?” I asked.
    She snapped on the television with the remote control that was on the coffee table and channel surfed. Settling on a country music video channel, she set the remote down. Staring at the set, she asked, “Have you ever thought about joining? Seriously?”
    “A band?” I asked. Such a smart-ass.
    “The FBI,” Lisa said.
    “Yes and no,”I said, grabbing the remote and turning off the television. “Yes, I’ve thought about it. No, not seriously.”
    “You should.”Lisa stared at the blank set,