Scene Of The Crime: The Deputy's Proof

She breathed a sigh of relief as she closed and locked the door behind him. She sank into a nearby chair, the scent of him still filling her head.

There had been a time when she’d been certain he was going to ask her out, and there had been a time when she’d desperately hoped he would. He’d been the one man in town who had managed to quicken her heartbeat at the mere sight of him.

They had flirted outrageously with each other whenever they were together in a group. Shelly had teased her unmercifully about her crush on Josh.

But that had been before life had kicked her so hard she didn’t want to play anymore. She’d picked up her marbles and crawled into a cave where she felt safe and secure, a place where no more hurt could touch her again.

She got up from the chair and went back into the kitchen to clear the dishes from the table and clean up the rest of her cooking mess, dismissing any more thoughts of Josh.

She slept late the next morning, as was her custom with her night job, and spent most of the afternoon and evening restlessly pacing the floor, cleaning things that were already clean, both anticipating and dreading the night to come.

By eleven o’clock she was in the bathroom, using powder to whiten her face and already clad in her “ghost” costume for the last time.

Tonight she would hear Shelly’s name shouted, and after tonight she didn’t know if she would ever hear anyone speak of her sister again. It was as if Shelly was dying a second time, and this time it would be final.

By eleven thirty, she was at the bush, waiting for Josh to arrive. She couldn’t ignore the aching sadness in her heart and yet also knew that these Shelly walks were a part of her that wasn’t quite rational.

She waited impatiently, expecting Josh to show up any moment. But minutes passed, and when she’d waited fifteen minutes, she had to move. She’d warned him that if he wasn’t here on time, she’d go it alone, as she had so many times in the past year.

With a final glance around the backyard and no sign of Josh in sight, she slipped down the rabbit hole and turned on her penlight.

Everyone knew that Shelly’s “ghost” usually showed up on Friday nights around midnight. She couldn’t let down her “fans” by being late. She’d even heard from Chad one time that young teenagers planned slumber parties and included coming to watch for Shelly’s ghost as part of the night’s activities.

She moved through the tunnel more quickly than usual, all the while listening for the sound of Josh coming down to join her.

Tomorrow this place would probably be crawling with people. Experts of one sort or another would explore all the passageways, try to date the network, and eventually there might even be tours set up by the town, eager to make money off the unexpected find.

She reached the planks that would take her up, surprised that she’d heard nothing to indicate that Josh was somewhere behind her. He’d obviously been held up by something.

She went up the steps and crouched by the trunk of the tree. For a moment the only things she heard were the croak of frogs and the splash of water from the nearby lagoon.

Wouldn’t it be ironic if there was nobody hiding behind the bushes tonight, nobody to witness this final tribute to her dead sister? Then she heard them...the giggling and whispering of her audience. Thank goodness she wouldn’t make this last walk without anyone to watch.

When she thought it was just around midnight, she turned on the flashlight that gave her the otherworldly glow. She made her walk as cries of her sister’s name filled the air.

Shelly. Savannah missed her so badly. Without these walks, Shelly would eventually become completely irrelevant and forgotten. The fact ached in Savannah’s heart.

When she reached the other side, she turned off the light and hurried to the opening of the cave. She disappeared inside and leaned weakly against the earthen wall of the tunnel.

It was done. It was over. Now the memory of Shelly would remain only in her mind. Perhaps for several weeks, maybe even a month or so, teenagers would gather behind the bushes to see her “ghost,” but when no more appearances occurred, eventually they’d find something else to do on their Friday nights.

Turning on her penlight, she then began the trek back to where she’d begun. Weary sadness moved her feet slowly. Her parents rarely spoke to her. She had no relationship with Mac. Now her last link to Shelly had been broken.

She’d been alone for the past two years, but now she felt an emptiness, a depth of loneliness she’d never felt before. You’ll be fine, a little voice whispered in her head. And she would be okay. She still had her work at the inn and her nights of cooking, and that was all she really needed.

She had three more dark offshoot passageways to go by, and then she’d be home. As she started past the first one, a hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm.

She shrieked in shock and yanked backward. She crashed to the ground, the penlight falling just out of her reach. Panic and terror shot through her as somebody or something grabbed her by the foot and began to drag her into the dark tunnel.

She kicked and clawed the ground in an effort to get away, but whoever had her was strong, and she felt herself being slowly pulled into the blackness of the unknown corridor.

Chapter Four (#ulink_0efc64df-58c5-57a6-89a0-026bdaed89b3)

“You both need to stop this cycle,” Josh said impatiently. He glared at the couple seated on a sagging sofa in one of the shanties that stood near the swamp on the west side of town.

Daisy Wilcox sported a split lip, and her husband, Judd, had scratch marks down his cheek. This wasn’t the first time Josh had been called here for a domestic situation.

“I should just take you both in, let you spend some time in jail,” Josh said, aware that time was ticking by and it was just a few minutes before he was supposed to meet Savannah in her backyard.

“It was just a little lover’s spat,” Daisy protested and grabbed Judd’s hand. “I overreacted and shouldn’t have called the sheriff’s office. We’re fine now. There’s no reason to arrest us.”

“Yeah, we’re cool,” Judd said and patted his wife’s ample thigh.

The small room reeked of alcohol and pot. Daisy’s words were slurred and Judd’s pupils were huge. Josh had cause to take them in, but they weren’t bad people. They were part of the poor of Lost Lagoon, swamp people who had little hope and tried to escape that hopelessness by masking their pain with whatever was available.

Besides, if he ran them in, there would be paperwork to fill out, processes that needed to be followed. It all took time, and he was aware of every minute that ticked by. In any case, each of them would refuse to press charges against the other, and it would all be a waste of time.

“If I’m called out here again tonight, then you’re both going to be arrested,” he warned them as he had a dozen times before. “Put the booze and whatever else you’re using away and stop this nonsense.”

“We will,” Daisy replied and leaned into her husband. She smiled up at Judd. “You know I love you, baby.”

Judd returned her smile. “Back at you, babe.”

Minutes later, as Josh drove to Savannah’s house, he thought about the couple he’d just left. About once a month one officer or another was called to the address to respond to a fight.

Usually by the time the officer got there, the fight was over and the two were lovebirds once again. Their injuries were usually superficial and always sported by both. Josh swore to himself that the next time he was called out there, he would make arrests and let the both of them cool their heels in jail and hopefully make them think about abuse and love. Some people just didn’t get it. Love wasn’t supposed to hurt.

His thoughts quickly shifted to Savannah as he looked at the clock on his dashboard and cursed inwardly. It was midnight. She was probably already making her ghostly walk.

By the time he parked in her driveway and ran to the backyard, he figured he might as well just wait. She should be coming back up at any moment.

Dammit, he’d wanted to take this final walk with her. Even though he thought what she was doing was more than a little bit crazy, he knew tonight’s walk would be emotionally difficult for her.

He’d wanted to be by her side. The darkness of her eyes and the obvious emptiness in her life haunted him. He felt partially responsible for how isolated she’d become, for the obvious grief that still ate at her.

He had so many memories of the laughing, flirting Savannah who had stirred his senses, a woman he’d wanted desperately. He wanted to find that woman again, to help her heal not just for herself, but for him. Time hadn’t erased his desire for her.

Would things have been different for her if he’d pushed Sheriff Trey Walker in the investigation of Shelly’s murder? If the case had been closed and the killer was behind bars, would that have given Savannah the closure she needed to move forward in a meaningful way?

The problem was, she had nobody to offer her support and encouragement. Her parents had left town, and she apparently wasn’t close to her brother. Whatever friends she’d possessed had either drifted away or been shoved away by her, leaving her alone to cope...and she hadn’t coped.

Every muscle in his body stiffened as he thought he heard a faint cry coming from the hole in the ground. He turned on his flashlight and shone it down, seeing nothing but earth.

Had he heard her crying? Weeping because she knew this was the end of her walks? Should he go down and console her? Or let her cry in private? He had a feeling that if she was crying, she wouldn’t welcome his presence.

He heard her again, only this time instead of weeping, it sounded like a scream of terror. With his gun in one hand, his flashlight in the other and adrenaline pumping through his body, he dropped down into the hole.

The first thing he saw was the penlight beam, shining at him from the floor in the distance. What he didn’t see was any sign of Savannah.