If I Should Die_ A Novel of Suspense - Allison Brennan [58]
“I’m on vacation in the Adirondacks, in a small community called Spruce Lake on the edge of the state park. On Wednesday, I was in the Kelley Mine outside of town and saw a dead body that matches Victoria Sheffield’s description. I reported it, but when authorities arrived the next morning, the body had gone missing.”
“Which agency did you report to?”
“Sheriff’s Department. I don’t think the responding officer took my report seriously. But I assure you, it’s not a prank. I’m an agent-in-training scheduled to report to Quantico later this summer.”
Candela asked, “Is there someone I can call to verify your identity?”
“Special Agent Noah Armstrong.” She gave Candela her training supervisor’s office line and cell phone number.
“Please hold.”
Lucy stared at Sheffield’s picture on the computer. She had been only a couple years older than Lucy. She couldn’t have been an agent for long.
What happened to you, Victoria?
Several minutes later, Candela came back on the phone. His tone changed just a fraction, a bit more cordial, but still brusque. “Agent Kincaid?”
Lucy’s heart skipped a beat. Technically she was an agent-in-training, not a special agent, but a small thrill went through her. “Yes, sir?”
“I just spoke with Noah Armstrong and he vouched for you, confirmed you are on vacation in Spruce Lake. Please tell me exactly what happened from when you found Agent Sheffield’s body until now.”
After Lucy related her discovery of a body down in the Kelley Mine, there was dead silence. Lucy went on, getting a bit nervous, but reciting the facts of the case kept her calm and focused. She explained in detail, finishing with the disappearance of Sheffield’s body.
“You mean to say the body was moved?”
“That’s the only explanation.”
“Did you photograph the scene?”
“Today I did, but when I found the body I honestly didn’t think of it. I was in the mine to rescue Sean, since he’d been injured.”
“Why did you go back down?”
“To look for evidence. As I mentioned, I didn’t feel the police had taken me seriously because the body was gone when they arrived.”
“What evidence?”
The conversation now sounded like an interrogation. Lucy told him what she and Sean found in the mine that morning and the reaction of the sheriff’s deputy. She concluded, “I used to work for the D.C. Medical Examiner, and I’ve been trained in evidence collection. I followed all protocols.” Except for the fact that she wasn’t supposed to be down there in the first place. “I understand that I had no authority to do so, but the deputy sheriff who responded essentially believed that I was making it up. I didn’t know when, or if, they would go back to the mine to search for her body. The mine is unstable and dangerous, according to Fire and Rescue. But I know what I saw, and I know someone went down after I reported her and removed the body.”
“Are you suggesting that someone in the local police department had a part in this?”
“I wouldn’t rule it out. This is a small town—by dinnertime, I suspect everyone knew there was a body in the mine.”
“And why didn’t you contact me immediately?” He sounded both angry, and upset.
“I didn’t know who she was. After her body went missing, my brother Patrick—Sean’s partner—pulled all the missing persons files for the Northeast that matched the description I gave him. She’s the only one who is close.”
“Close? You mean you may be wrong?” He sounded hopeful.
“I’m nearly certain it’s Agent Sheffield. But I was only with the body for a few minutes.” She didn’t want to give him false hope, but she couldn’t swear it was her.
“You said she could have been there for months or days—explain.”
“I’m not an entomologist, so I’m really just making a guess, and I don’t like to do that.”
“You need to understand that no one has seen Agent Sheffield since December twenty-third.”
“The missing person’s report says January second.”
“She filed a report, via email, on January second, but no one has spoken to her in person since December.”
“She was undercover?”
“It’s a classified investigation, and as an agent-in-training