Eyes at the Window by Deb Donahue

Author:Deb Donahue [Donahue, Deb]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Publisher: Red Door Press
Published: 2015-09-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Miranda screamed and pulled back, looking wildly around her. Sounds seemed intensified, movements seen from the corner of her eye looked like human predators. She swiveled from side to side, gun gripped tight. Squirrels suddenly chattered an alarm on the far bank and a flurry of leaves caught her eye.

She fired blindly, emptying her gun into the rim of the bank without aiming directly at anything. Bullets sent up dirt clods and a bevy of sparrows took to flight. Then she glimpsed red fur disappearing in the distance and she realized her “predator” had actually been of the animal variety: a fox setting the squirrels off as he stalked them looking for some supper.

That fact did not ease Miranda’s tension. She tried to quiet her ragged breathing as she listened and looked around carefully. Even after she convinced herself she was alone, her heart raced. Had she really seen human remains tangled in the roots? It had to be her imagination. Some dead animal, a cow perhaps, had washed downstream with the spring rains and been caught in the hollow.

But what about the cloth she’d seen?

“Rufus,” she called, “Come here.”

The dog had retreated out of sight, scared off by the gunfire. It took some coaxing, but finally he crept closer, crouching low and still gripping the torn fabric in his teeth. Miranda squatted and tried to calm her voice to reduce his alarm.

“Bring it, boy. That’s a good dog. Bring it here.”

After a few more hesitant steps, Rufus ran forward, wagging his tail and dropping his find at Miranda’s feet. She sucked in a sudden breath, unable to pick it up. It was part of a jacket sleeve, the cuff cinched closed with a corroded metal button.

Miranda tried to convince herself that did not mean the jacket belonged to the bones she’d glimpsed, but there was no way around it. She would have to take another look to be sure of what she saw.

An involuntary shudder shook her, but she set her shoulders and holstered her gun. Stepping up on a large root that would hold her weight, she pushed her way forward into the hole. Rufus grew agitated when he realized what she was doing, yipping and whining. The sound annoyed her, but with her heart in her throat, she didn’t dare open her mouth to reprimand him. She could smell a damp earthiness and something sour, but nothing so repulsive as the scent of decay. Whatever the bones belonged to, they had been trapped long enough to be scoured clean by the elements.

The skeleton was indeed human. It was too dark in the recess to distinguish whether the remains belonged to an adult or a child, but the skull reflected enough of the dim light for its human shape to be clearly evident.

Miranda pulled back, inhaling deeply as she reached the edge of the creek. She’d been holding her breath without even realizing it. She felt slightly dizzy, either from lack of oxygen or shock, she didn’t know which.

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