Chapter One
Brutal. There was no other way to describe the night. The discovery. The pain of seeing those tiny bones being unearthed. The pale, pink blanket. The dirty, small, stuffed rabbit that had been left with the bones…
Weariness and sorrow pulled at her, but Antonia Rossi—Tony to her friends and colleagues—kept her spine stiff and her shoulders squared. She couldn’t leave the scene, not yet. Even though every part of her just wanted to run away as fast as she could. This particular scene stirred too many of her own long-buried secrets.
The van’s back door slammed. The sound jolted her, and she stiffened. The driver turned toward her, tipping his head. A sign that he’d be pulling out soon. The remains would be taken in for review by the medical examiner.
Beside her, the police chief exhaled on a long sigh. “This property had been searched before. Right after the disappearance. All the properties that belonged to the family were searched, just as a matter of course. How the hell was this missed?”
This…the body of an eight-year-old child. A death that had occurred over twenty years ago. All but forgotten by everyone.
But not by me. Because Tony’s job was to work the cold cases. To keep hunting when others stopped. “It’s possible the body was moved here after the search.” More than possible. She suspected that was exactly what had occurred. “Forensics will be able to tell you more.” Though she had plenty of suspicions on her own.
Forensics would also confirm the identity of the victim. But based on the remnants of clothes—the little blue jeans, the tattered yellow shirt, and the very distinct shoes, blue converses with yellow laces—Tony felt certain she’d found her girl. After all, Meridian Duvane had last been seen in those exact clothes so very long ago.
Banshee, Tony’s German Shephard, brushed against her leg and stared up at her with worried eyes. The dog had caught the tension in her voice. Banshee always knew when Tony was upset. Dammit, I hate finding the kids. When you didn’t have a body, then you could still have hope. You could still think…Maybe she’s out there. Maybe one day, I’ll wake up and she’ll be back home. But that hope was gone now. Because little Meridian had been found.
The van pulled away, and Tony’s head tilted as she watched the taillights fade into the distance.
“Yeah, forensics will have a field day,” the chief agreed. “Especially with that blanket and the damn bunny. Killer had to touch them, right? Maybe his DNA is on them.”
She hoped like hell it was.
“You okay?” the chief asked her when she remained quiet. Chief Hardy Powell. Fairly new to the job, only in the position about six months. Sounding shaken. Nervous. Probably his first time to find one of the kids. They were always the hardest.
So she decided to be honest with him. Maybe he needed some honestly. “I’m not.” Her lips curled down. “You’re not, either, and that’s okay. That’s what makes us normal.” If they were both completely okay with digging up a little girl, then there would be a problem. Slowly, deliberately, she gave a long exhale. “I’ll be around if you need me.” Since only bones remained—and bones were her specialty—the chief medical examiner very well might need Tony’s services. She didn’t have plans to leave Biloxi, Mississippi, anytime soon. When she’d come down for the case, she’d rented a house near the beach. She’d planned to work the case and then take some long overdue personal time. Her fingers sank into Banshee’s coat. “Come on, sweetheart, let’s go.”
She and Banshee turned for her rental car, and Tony’s long, black braid slid over her shoulder. It wasn’t a particularly cold night. Did they even get cold nights this close to the Gulf? There was definitely no chill in the air. Quite the opposite. The air felt humid. Heavy. A hot breeze blew over her cheeks. A breeze that swept away the tear that had leaked from her left eye. Dammit. She hated crying at a scene. So unprofessional. But Meridian had been so small, and when Tony had seen those bones unearthed, she’d been shoved right back into her own past.
“Dr. Rossi?”
At the questioning male voice, Tony stiffened. Escape had been so close at hand. Denied. Thinking it was a cop or one of the members of the crime scene team trying to get her attention, Tony turned around and she even had her game face in place when she looked toward the speaker. Points for her.
But she didn’t find herself staring at a cop or one of the crime scene analysts. Instead, a tall, broad-shouldered male in an elegantly cut suit stared back at her. He gave her a quick smile.
She didn’t particularly like smiles at murder scenes. Half of his face was in shadow, half spotlighted by all the illumination the cops had brought in for the investigation. He looked sinister when she suspected he’d meant to appear charming.
“My name is Smith Sanders, and I’m here on behalf of my employer.” He extended a business card toward her.
She took it automatically, but since she was a few feet away from the spotlights the cops were using, it was too dark for her to clearly read anything on the card. Tony just shoved it into her back pocket.
“My boss is Aiden Warner,” he added. Then waited, as if the name was supposed to mean something to her.
It didn’t, so she just kept staring back at him. Tony didn’t exactly spend her time following the business world. So if his boss was a bigwig, the name didn’t ring any bells for her.
“He wants to hire you,” Smith continued determinedly. “I have a car ready, so if you will just come this way…” He motioned to the right. To the right, where a black limo waited about fifty yards away.
Tony blinked. “Uh, no.” She would not be going that way. Tony had seen the limo arrive earlier and had figured it belonged to a local politician who’d wanted to get his name tied to the discovery of Meridian’s body. Knowing the way politicians worked, she’d thought he’d rolled in to do a press conference about finally getting closure for the family. About never giving up on the missing. The usual spiels that she’d heard people in power say dozens of times.
Though since they didn’t have the killer yet, she hardly thought there was any closure to discuss on Meridian’s case.
“Excuse me?” Smith seemed to be struggling to get his words out. “Did you just say ‘no’ to me?”
She had. What Tony didn’t get was why he seemed so surprised. With a shake of her head, she informed him, “Tacky to bring a limo to a crime scene. You should tell your boss that. Try arriving in something less flashy.”
“I…will?” A question. “I’ll, um…” He coughed. “I’ll tell Aiden you think he’s tacky.”
She nodded. “You definitely should tell him. Less is more. And as to the offer of a ride, no, I’m not getting into a car with a stranger.” Seriously? “That’s not how my world works. Cute, though. Really.” No, it wasn’t. She huffed out a breath and fought to hold onto her composure. Meridian had gotten to her. “I’m not looking for a job at the moment. I’m just finishing up a scene.” Which he should be able to tell—clearly—on his own. “So thanks, but no thanks.”
Smith’s mouth opened, then closed.