ONCE LOST by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-02T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

As Harold and Dorothy Struthers approached, Jenn rushed away from Riley’s side and ran toward them, trying to persuade them not to come any closer. Harold stopped in his tracks and seemed to be trying to restrain his wife. But Dorothy pushed past both him and Jenn.

Riley stepped in front of Dorothy and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“You can’t be here,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“The mayor called,” Dorothy said, sobbing. “Is it true? What he told me? It can’t be true! It can’t be her!”

Riley felt a flash of anger.

What did Mayor Daggett think he was doing, calling the girl’s parents at this point? Why couldn’t he wait at least until the body was in the morgue?

Of course, the answer was quite simple.

He’s a damned fool, Riley realized.

Dorothy was struggling free of Riley’s grip and it was clear that the only way to restrain the woman would be to tackle her to the ground.

That wasn’t an option.

Dorothy pushed past her and scrambled across the landfill. Chief Sinard and Teague and his team all stood back and let her pass.

When she got to the edge of the hole and looked down, Dorothy’s face took on an expression of sheer disbelief.

In a croaking voice she gasped, “That’s not … it can’t be …”

Riley understood what was happening. In its current state of decomposition, the corpse’s face was unrecognizable, even to a mother.

But in a moment, Dorothy let out a deafening shriek.

“Oh, God! That dress! Her dress!”

Then she rushed back to Riley, beating against her with her fists.

“You said she was all right! You said she’d come home! You lied!”

Riley grabbed her wrists to restrain her, baffled by her outpouring of accusation.

What does she mean? Riley wondered.

But then she remembered Dorothy’s deep state of denial when she and Jenn had been at her house. Neither Riley nor Jenn had said anything to reassure her of Holly’s safety. Even so, the mother had taken their every word as confirmation that her daughter would soon be home safe and sound.

Now at last that floodgate of denial had broken, unleashing a torrent of grief.

Dorothy fell to her knees, keening and sobbing uncontrollably.

Riley, Jenn, and Chief Sinard managed to lift her back to her feet and move her to the chief’s car, followed by a dazed-looking Harold.

Still crying, Dorothy crouched on the ground while Harold leaned against the vehicle.

Harold’s face was pale and his eyes were glazed.

Riley sensed that he was in far too deep a state of shock to cry just yet.

In a dull, stunned voice, he said, “We should have gone out and searched for her ourselves. We should have hired a private detective. Maybe if we’d done more, she wouldn’t have …”

His voice trailed off.

“It wouldn’t have helped,” Riley said.

Harold stared at her and said, “How do you know?”

Riley lowered her eyes. How could she explain it to him? She was all but sure that Holly had been dead and buried here by the time her parents had started to worry in earnest.

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