BooksBarbecue
Back Less than Dead Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. COPYRIGHT PAGE
  4. DEDICATION
  5. CONTENTS
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. 32
  38. 33
  39. 34
  40. 35
  41. 36
  42. 37
  43. 38
  44. 39
  45. 40
  46. 41
  47. 42
  48. 43
  49. 44
  50. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“There—see the ripples? Blowflies are picking up the same scent molecules that your dog is trying to find. The flies are coming in low, searching for the source, and the fish are picking them off.”

“Blowflies? How could a fly find the body before Trygg does?”

“Because there are thousands of them all over the lake and there’s only one of her. I’m lining up downwind from that spot—get Trygg to confirm the location for us.”

Nick approached the spot slowly; when he did, Trygg sniffed at the water and lay down.

“Bingo,” Alena said.

“I couldn’t have said it better.”

Nick dropped a weighted hand line into the water to take a sounding; when he felt the weight touch bottom he tied a red buoy to the other end and let it go. “C’mon,” he said. “Let’s get back to the others and tell them to send in those divers.” He tipped the trolling motor out of the water and started the outboard—fumes didn’t matter anymore.

32

32

“We found it,” Nick called out as he cut the engine and let the bow ride up onto the shore.

Danny pointed to the red speck bobbing in the distance. “Is that the spot?”

“That’s where the scent exits the water,” Nick replied. “The body should be nearby, but tell your divers they might have to do a little looking.”

“Why?”

“They have to do a little math: They have to consider the wind speed and the depth of the water, and then they can do a rough estimate of the location of the body—it’s in about thirty feet of water, by the way. But the current can move the scent around, and the deeper the water, the greater the margin for error. There’s no way around it, the divers will still have to search—but we’ve narrowed it down to a very specific area. It shouldn’t take them long.”

While the two men were talking, Alena stepped off the boat and headed directly for the excavation site. Kegan was seated at a small folding table covered with evidence bags and fragments of bone. She looked up at Alena as she approached and recognized her; she immediately stood up and covered the table with a plastic tarp.

“Ms. Savard, my name is Kegan Alexander. Thanks for your assistance today.”

“Are you the anthropologist? Are you the one who dug up my father’s bones?”

“I am,” Kegan said. “I’m so sorry.”

“What can you tell me? I want to know.”

“We’ll have to do a thorough examination of the remains before—”

“Don’t put me off. What can you tell me now?”

“I really don’t like to speculate.”