The Echo of Violence by Jordan Dane

Author:Jordan Dane [Dane, Jordan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Suspense
ISBN: 0061474142
Google: NyTudGXQewIC
Amazon: B003V1WUX0
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: 2010-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Southeast Cuba

Sierra Maestra Mountain Range

Afternoon

Excessive rains from the storm had caused the river in the gorge to overflow its banks. Kinkaid kept his eyes alert for any signs of danger as he headed for the far side of the canyon. Water looked knee deep on the fringes. He kept to the outer edge of the river and navigated the uneven marshy terrain.

He found it hard not to stare at the body lying under the trees ahead, covered with the feeding vultures that had claimed it. Normally, the birds fly high to spot their prey and circle above it. Nature’s own cleanup crew. But the dreary dirty-looking predators were done flying and were now on the ravenous and greedy phase of their existence. Kinkaid gripped his assault rifle and made steady progress as he stuck to the shadows under the trees.

When he got close, the mounting drone of flies buzzed in a mind-numbing blur, white noise to a grotesque nightmare. Vultures covered the body with flapping wings in a feeding frenzy, brazenly feasting on decaying flesh with their bloodied razor-sharp beaks. The stench made it hard for him to breathe, especially with the muggy heat.

Kinkaid saw a black garment under the claws of the large birds, and his mind launched into images of Sister Kate wearing her nun’s habit. Memories of the day they’d first met at the hospital raced through his mind. And even though those days were still a blur, he would never forget Kate. He clenched his jaw and fought the rage that welled inside him. None of this should have happened to her. It had been tempting to shoot his rifle at the scavengers, a release for his anger.

He couldn’t do that. Not here. Not in hostile territory, with other lives at risk.

He crept closer and waved his arms, but the vultures had staked their claim and ignored his approach. He had to swing at them with the butt end of his rifle and kick a couple off before he saw the dead body. The vultures bounded away in lumbering and awkward hops. The birds stayed on the ground, only yards from the body, ready to pounce on the decaying corpse after he’d lost interest.

Kinkaid covered his mouth and nose with his arm and stared down at the beheaded body of a man dressed in a bloodied tuxedo. A swarm of large flies hovered over the corpse, and maggots writhed through shredded skin, adding the finishing touches to a nightmarish ordeal he wouldn’t forget. He forced his gaze off the body and searched the ground nearby. The severed head was nowhere to be found, perhaps carried off by other predators.

He’d been relieved that it wasn’t Kate and didn’t want to think about how that reflected on him. The reality of the horrifying death this man had endured brought a rush of guilt and the powerless feeling that he’d laid this at Kate’s door and been unable to rescue her.

He’d found one body. Would hers be rotting

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