Lynette Eason - Dont Look Back

WOMEN OF JUSTICEBOOK TWO

Dont Look
Back

A NOVEL

LYNETTE EASON

2010 by Lynette Eason

Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com

E-book edition created 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1363-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Published in association with Tamela Hancock Murray of the Hartline Literary Agency.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

This story is dedicated to Christ, my Lord and Savior,
who allows me to do what I love to do.

The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

Table of Contents

Tuesday Afternoon

FBI Special Agent Dakota Richards stared down at the pile of bones unearthed by the backhoe. Jamie would have her hands full with this one.

He looked up to see her coming toward him. She was dressed in a Tyvek jumpsuit shed donned to avoid contaminating the scene. Underneath, hed bet she had on her standard khaki capris and a white long-sleeved T-shirt. In her right hand, she carried a pair of blue booties shed place over her red tennis shoes before entering the area.

As always, Dakotas heart gave that extra little beat in response to her presence. And as always, she held herself at a distance even as she came closer.

Hey, Jamie.

She offered him a small smile as her brown eyes locked on his. So you pulled this one?

I did. He took in her presence. Petite yet wiry, she had her long blonde curls pulled up into her customary ponytail. He cleared his throat. This is the third body found near this area. Only this ones a skeleton. Connor called me about an hour ago and said his boss wanted the FBI in on it, and that they might need some of our resources. After looking at the situation, my boss agreed. I knew Serena would request your services. Serena Hopkins, the pathologist and a woman Jamie enjoyed working with. He smiled. She said you were the perfect person for the job. I agreed.

Her chin rose at his compliment; appreciation shone in her gaze along with a tinge of amusement. Ha. Im not sure that means much. Im the only person right now. The other anthropologist she worked with on occasion was on his honeymoon. You have a partner on this one?

Just Connor right now. Im authorized to call for more help if we need it. Connor Wolfe, former state law enforcement detective, now a detective with the city of Spartanburg, South Carolina, was also Jamies brother-in-law. Her sister, Samantha, and Connor had married a year and a half ago on Christmas Day, shortly after Jamies graduation.

What happened?

Two workers were digging a grave and came across a body already buried. Fortunately, that guy over there, he gestured to the Hispanic-looking man sitting on the ground near the backhoe, saw the bones theyd unearthed and immediately stopped his partner who was driving, so it looks like there wont be any damage to the rest of whatever you might find.

Bones in a cemetery. She grinned. Not really unusual, is it?

Cute, Jamie.

She turned serious. Human?

Youll have to make that final determination, of course, but yeah, I can see the skull and the outline of what once was a body.

So, it looks like weve got a homicide?

Looks like it. Connor should be back soon. Hes talking to the director of the place, but he and Ill be working on this if you concur that its a homicide. For some reason, they think theyll link the first two they found here to this one. Guess well find out. The first two bodies had been found approximately three years ago very close to this spot. Anyway, weve got a skeleton in a shallow grave. Usually not a good case for death by natural causes.

Usually not. Are we thinking serial killer?

Maybe. I wasnt working here when the other two bodies were found, and the detective that did work them is now in another state.

So you rushed right over. Didnt have anything better to do, huh? She teased him and he smiled back.

Naw. They both knew he had an overflowing desk full of cases he was working on.

As Jamie slipped on a pair of gloves, then tugged the sleeves back down to the edge of her palms, Dakota couldnt help notice the brief flash of scars around her wrists. She always wore long sleeves no matter the weather.

But shed never told him why.

And hed never told her hed fallen in love with her practically from the moment theyd met a little less than two years ago when hed been helping her sister and Connor with the case of missing and murdered teenagers.

Since then hed been trying to win this ladys heart. Thus far, hed failed miserably and didnt have a clue what he was doing wrong.

All right, she turned toward the grave, lets see what weve got.

Jamie ignored the thumping of her heart that Dakotas presence always seemed to incite and turned her attention to her job. His dark curly hair, keen blue eyes, Stetson, cowboy boots, and Texas drawl combined to make him one attractive man. The problem was, she didnt know what to do with her reaction to him, so she pretended it wasnt there.

They were working in an open field, property that belonged to the mortuary but hadnt been used as graves yet.

Part of the excavation team Jamie worked with on a regular basis had already dug down around the skeleton so that they could stand upright in the grave next to the bones that now lay on a dirt platform.

Normally, they would place the bones on a gurney and transport it to the morgue; however, in this case, the body hadnt been lying down when it had been buried, it had been dropped into a hole sitting up. The bones rested on top of each other, looking like one big lump. And Jamie could see what others couldnt.

Her crew knew the bones were not to be disturbed until she had a chance to see them exactly as they were found. And looking down into the grave, she could see the spine lying facedown. The skull lay just in front of the spine like it had dropped off the end. All of this lay on top of what had probably once been thighs. The ribs were perfectly proportioned, still attached to the spine by some desiccated tissue. The right arm, which included the humerus, radius, and ulna, lay across the back of the spine.

The left arm was missing the bones that the Bobcat had clipped and pulled out of the grave, to the horror of the workers. It was amazing the machine hadnt disturbed the rest of the skeleton or completely destroyed it.

Jamie felt someone approaching and stepped to the opposite side of the grave. She liked her space. She shot a smile at the curly-headed crime scene photographer who stood at the edge. Hey, Chase, have you gotten all the pictures?