Killing Hour - Lisa Gardner [141]
“What happens now?” Nora Ray asked softly.
“Short-term now, or long-term now?”
“Short-term now.”
“Ray and the team from the USGS figure out the clues left with this victim. Then we try to find the fourth girl. And then we try to find the Eco-Killer and light up his ass.”
Nora Ray nodded with satisfaction. “And long-term now?”
“Long-term now, you and I finally realize that none of it has made a difference. Your sister is still dead, my family is still gone, and we still have to get on with the rest of our lives. So we start seriously wading through the grief and seriously wading through the guilt and see if we can’t make something out of this mess. Or we do nothing at all, and let a couple of killers take what little we have left.”
“I don’t like long-term now very much,” Nora Ray said.
“I know,” Kimberly said. “I’m a little worried about it myself.”
CHAPTER 41
Lee County, Virginia
8:53 P.M.
Temperature: 96 degrees
THE BATS CAME OUT. In the inky hues of fading daylight, they glided gracefully among the trees, dive-bombing clusters of fireflies and scattering the flickering lights. The humidity was still unbearable, but with the sun low in the sky and the bats feasting silently overhead, dusk took on a peaceful, almost soothing feel.
When Kimberly was younger, she and her sister had loved to catch fireflies. They would run around their back lawn with Mason jars, trying desperately to capture the shooting darts of lights. Mandy had been horrible at it, but Kimberly had gotten pretty good. They’d sit around the patio table, trying to feed the fireflies stalks of fresh-cut grass or tender stems of dandelions. Then they’d let the flies go again; their mother didn’t allow bugs in the house.
Now Kimberly sat in the circle they had formed around a Coleman lantern, her knee brushing Mac’s, while Rainie and Quincy talked of contacting the local coroner. Ennunzio and Nora Ray sat across from Kimberly. Ray and his team remained off to one side, still working the body.
“We’ve done the best we can,” Quincy was saying. “Now we need to notify the official case team.”
“It’ll only piss them off,” Mac said.
“Why? Because we’ve moved the body, destroyed chain of custody for the evidence, and made the crime scene perfectly useless for basic investigative procedures?” Quincy regarded the younger man drolly. “Yes, I’m sure they will have a few thoughts on the subject.”
“Saving a life always takes priority over preserving a scene,” Mac insisted stubbornly.
“I’m not questioning what we did,” Quincy said. “I’m simply trying to bring us back to reality. We found the body, we brought in professionals to analyze the clues, and now we need to start thinking about what should happen next. I certainly hope none of you is suggesting that we return the body to the cavern. Or worse, leave it unattended.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Quincy was right; none of them had thought that far ahead.
“You contact the official case team, and we’ll spend the rest of the night in jail,” Kimberly pointed out. “Which pretty much defeats the purpose of coming here in the first place.”
“Agreed. I was thinking you and Mac should continue. Rainie and I will wait here for the proper authorities. Sooner or later, someone must face the music.” His gaze rested on Rainie’s face.
“If it’s all the same,” Ennunzio said, “I’d like to continue on with the others. I want to be around if Special Agent McCormack gets another call.”
Mac glanced at the cell phone clipped to his waist and grimaced. “Fat chance, with the signal strength around here.”
“As we get closer to civilization, however . . .”
“I’m going, too.” Nora Ray was regarding Ennunzio steadily, as if daring the FBI agent to deny her.
“This is outside your responsibility,” Quincy said. “In all honesty, Ms. Watts, the biggest help you could give this team right now is to go home. Your parents must be worried.”
“My parents are worried even when I am home. No.