Chasing the Night - Iris Johansen [70]
If they hadn’t already.
Joe pulled the dead man to the edge of the road and pushed him into the marsh. Then he jumped in after him.
One gone.
Go after the other two.
He could feel his heart beating hard as he moved through the mud. He felt complete, invincible. No one could stop him.
“Quinn.”
He whirled, knife ready.
“Easy,” Kelsov whispered. He warily backed away. “I’m on your side. Particularly after watching you take down that guy on the road.”
“Have you located anyone else?”
“One man right after I entered the thicket. He was in a tree. Didn’t want to get his feet wet. I made a few noises, and he reluctantly decided he had to come down and investigate.”
“Dead?”
He nodded. “But there’s supposed to be one more.”
“Then let’s stop talking,” Joe said impatiently. His gaze was raking the trees around them. The hunt hadn’t ended. There was still prey to be had.
Kelsov’s eyes were narrowed on his face. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Joe didn’t answer. He was moving deeper into the marsh. “If you’re coming with me, shut up. I’m not going to get killed because you’re running your mouth.”
“Oh, I’m coming along.” Kelsov waded after him. “I wouldn’t miss it. You put on quite a show.”
“Where are they?”
Eve’s gaze searched the darkness. She could hear the sounds of insects, birds, and night creatures. She was accustomed to those sounds at the lake cottage, but swamps were always different. The sounds were heavier, more exotic, alien. Joe and Kelsov had vanished into that alien growth more than forty-five minutes ago. “I expected to hear something.”
“If you had, then they might really be in trouble,” Catherine said. “Silence is good. Kelsov knows what he’s doing. I’ve been with him in situations like this. And I don’t have to have been with Joe to know that it would be hard to put him down.”
Again, that sense of bonding, Eve thought. But she was in no mood to accept it as comfort. No one knew Joe’s skills better than she did, and she was still scared. “I don’t like—”
Her phone vibrated.
“Get moving,” Joe said. “Three down. There’s a mound by the pine tree. Kelsov is bringing the car closer. One of the men we took down had recently made a call, and I don’t know how much time we have. I’ll meet you at the grave.” He hung up.
“Come on, Catherine.” Eve was already moving through the marsh as she hung up. She adjusted the straps of her backpack. “Quick.”
“I’m coming.” Catherine was running after her. “Your backpack is bigger than mine. Do you need any help? What’s in it?”
“Just that small shovel Kelsov gave all of us.”
“Then why is it—”
“I had to bring something else.” Catherine wasn’t going to give up. Eve added, “My tools and forensic case.”
Catherine was silent a moment. “Of course, you might need them. I guess I didn’t want to think about them. Not connected with Luke. It seemed…cold.”
And Eve hadn’t wanted to bring it up either. Scalpels and forensic cases to deal with the dead were necessary but chilling to anyone who didn’t work with them every day as Eve did. “Truth is often cold. But it has to be faced.”
Four minutes later, they’d reached the twisted tree.
And that mound of dirt heaped before it.
Catherine stopped, took a deep breath, then strode toward it. “You keep watch. I’m stronger. I’ll do the digging.”
“Hell, no.” Eve ran after her. “Joe said we had to move fast. I’ll help.”
“Rakovac didn’t even try to disguise that mound of dirt,” Catherine said as she took the shovel from her backpack. “Why should he? He wanted us to find it.” She started to dig. “It shouldn’t take long. The earth is soft, damp…”
Eve remembered how soft and damp that earth had appeared in the photo. How hard and brittle the child’s bones had looked in contrast.
Blank it out. She would be seeing those bones soon enough. She dug into the earth. “Be careful.”
“Give me that.” Joe was beside her taking the shovel. “Catherine and I can do this. Your job begins when we reach the skeleton.”
Joe was being protective as usual, but it made Eve feel helpless as she watched them work