The Hiding Place by Paula Munier

Author:Paula Munier [Munier, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

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WHILE THEY WAITED for the medical examiner Dr. Darling and the Crime Scene Search Team to arrive, Mercy figured they would tape off the area around the barrels, marking the crime scene. She always carried duct tape in her pack because you never knew when you’d need it and it served so many purposes. She’d used it more than once as barricade tape, and when she pulled it out to use now, Troy shook his head.

He held up his own official yellow crime scene tape. “I don’t know that we’ll run across anyone trying to breach the barrier up here, and it sure won’t keep out the beasts, but just in case, we’ll use the real thing.”

Together they strung the tape from the trees and the bushes to the rough siding of the bungalow.

Elvis and Susie Bear stayed by the winterberry bushes, quiet but alert.

They worked in silence, out of respect for the dead. Mercy was not in the mood to talk anyway; she was overwhelmed by the many disparate aspects of this case. If it were only one case.

She hoped that steel drum held the lone corpse up here, but that may not be the reality. Several barrels were rusting away nearby; all appeared to be about the same in terms of age and wear and tear. All could be harboring bodies.

There were so many unanswered questions and so many avenues of inquiry and so many possibilities. She felt bewildered and frustrated at the same time. She needed more data, and more time to analyze the data. That was why she insisted on staying with Troy, so she could see the crime scene techs at work firsthand. Maybe that would trigger some kind of breakthrough in her addled brain.

“Thanks for your help,” Troy said as they finished up.

“No problem.” She smiled at him, and he smiled back. This is what we are good at, she thought. We’re good at working together. Not being together. There was a difference. Given enough time and attention, maybe they could master being together as well. That’s what good relationships required, time and attention—and part of her was craving more and more of both, as the sublimation of her grief over Martinez subsided and the shock of her encounter with Troy’s wife faded and the natural pull of attraction between her and Troy took on a life of its own.

The wind picked up, whipping the crime scene tape. It was mid-afternoon, and more snow was in the forecast for later on in the evening. But for now the skies were gray and the temperature was dropping. Mercy shivered.

“It’s getting colder. Let’s go inside.” Troy whistled for the dogs and they all tramped around to the front of the bungalow.

Their trips back and forth had pounded down the snow, leaving a muddle of boot prints and paw prints and reminding Mercy how completely snow, rain, wind, and sleet could destroy any evidence that may have been left behind. Not to mention the bugs, birds, squirrels, and other scavengers.

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