Dying Scream Read Online Free PDF Page B

He wasn’t sure if he was more relieved or disappointed.
    The memory of those three days Jessie had been missing had branded him. Forever and always the case would always come first. He’d remain vigilant until every grave was excavated and every missing woman found. And any personal feelings he had for Adrianna Barrington would stay buried.

Chapter Three
    Tuesday, September 26, 8:30 a.m.
    The Thornton family graveyard was located in a small field near a stand of woods. A chipped black wrought-iron fence, partly shaded by a hundred-year-old oak, encased a hundred-foot-patch of land and eleven gravestones. Most were weathered, worn by wind and rain, but the three graves that stood apart from the others belonged to Adrianna’s late husband and his parents. Their marble headstones had crisp clear lines and the brass plaques remained clean and bright.
    Adrianna had not realized last December when she’d buried Craig she’d ever have to move his grave. Mountains of debt had a way of realigning priorities.
    She pulled off the dirt road, noting the collection of vehicles parked on the grassy field: construction trucks, the backhoe, the white Mercedes, the old Toyota, and the dark sedan. The trucks belonged to Miller Construction, the Mercedes to the land’s buyer, William Mazur, and the old car to Dr. Cyril Heckman. He held a handmade poster that read: SAVE OUR DEAD. Thankfully, Dr. Heckman hadn’t stirred media attention.
    The one car she didn’t expect was a dark sedan. Parked away from the other vehicles, it lingered on the sidelines like a spider viewing prey.
    As she approached the site, two men in dark suits moved around the front of the sedan. One wore scuffed cowboy boots. Their backs faced her, but she didn’t need to see faces to know the taller man. Gage Hudson. She recognized his braced stance and broad shoulders that reflected confidence almost to the point of arrogance.
    Tension prickled her spine. What was Gage Hudson doing here?
    “Damn it,” she muttered. The regrets she had in life were few, but Gage Hudson topped the list. Her thoughts turned to their last meeting and the questions he’d asked her about Craig. This visit was not social or coincidence.
    Squaring her shoulders, she made a direct line toward Gage, opting not to run from trouble. Better to rip the proverbial Band-Aid off in one quick jerk than peel it off slowly. Less pain. She hoped.
    “Detective Hudson.” Thankfully, her voice sounded clear and direct. “What brings you out here?”
    Gage’s mirrored sunglasses tossed back her reflection. The subtle stiffening in his shoulders hinted at his dislike of her formal address. She sensed gray, accessing eyes narrowed. So be it. It was better this way.
    “ Ms. Thornton. I hope you don’t mind, but my partner here—Detective Vega—and I wanted to observe the grave relocation.”
    A hacksaw wouldn’t cut through that southwest Virginia drawl now. “The name is Barrington. Why?”
    He moved toward her with intentional slowness. “I think you know why, Ms . Barrington.”
    The two missing women he’d mentioned during their last visit. He believed those women were buried out here. And the fact that he’d not called ahead to announce his visit told her he didn’t trust her. The sting of that realization had her firing back before she thought. “Do you have a warrant?”
    Gage shook his head slowly. “No, ma’am, I don’t. I’m just here for a casual visit. Do I need a warrant?”
    Menace reverberated off the words like a flashing yellow light. If she had a bit more equilibrium where he was concerned, she’d have recognized that he was just doing his job. This was business. It wasn’t personal.
    But it felt deeply personal, just like the questions he’d asked her in the hospital a couple of years ago. As she had then, she felt under attack.
    Aware the gazes of Mazur, Dr. Heckman, and the construction crew rested upon her, Adrianna managed a smile that generally disarmed most.