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I leaned forward and used my hands to brush away the last remnants of soil. Frayed fabric and yellowed bone sat cradled in the earth. Gods. Who had done this to her?
I pulled out my phone. One bar of service. It was at least enough to phone the police. Numbness spread over me as I relayed our location and what we had found.
They were busy but would come.
My wrist was going numb in Virginia’s grasp.
“Please, let me go,” I whispered. “I can’t stay out here forever.”
Virginia’s spirit sat next to her grave. I snatched back my hand and scooted away from it, rubbing feeling back into my arm. Seth and Caden curled around me in their massive bodies, their warmth and closeness a balm I sorely needed.
I wasn’t sure how long we waited before Caden lifted his nose into the air. They’re close.
Caden melted into his small form and Seth followed suit a few moments before a pair of officers came into view.
“Ms. Murphy?”
I nodded and pulled myself to standing on wobbly legs.
“I’m Sheriff Barnes. This is Officer Williams.” The sheriff glanced over at the ground. “Christ. Whoever this is has been dead a long time. How did you find them?”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Seth booped my leg with his head.
“My cats.” I cobbled together the story in my mind before spitting it out. “They got out and I ran after them. Found them digging. I kept going to see what they’d gotten into.”
“We’ll have to do an investigation and excavate the body,” said the sheriff.
I gave him my contact information and asked to be kept in the loop. Everything truthful I could tell them would get me hauled in for questioning so I stayed quiet, saying only that I was here on vacation and that I didn’t live in the area. Thankfully it was plain to everyone that the body had probably been there for decades, so I wasn’t suspicious. From the look of the spirit, that body had been there longer than I’d been alive.
“Are you able to get back out of the woods?” Officer Williams asks.
“I think so.” It was basically a straight line and I knew Seth and Caden would be able to guide me if I got turned around.
Thank you.
My legs shook as I walked back in the direction we’d come from. It got harder and harder to breathe until I sank to my knees, letting the sobs tear free. Caden returned to human form and gathered me into his arms. He stayed quiet. There wasn’t really any comfort he could give after we’d found a murder victim in the woods.
I wasn’t sure how long I cried there, surrounded by the yawning Appalachians. The forest pulsed around me and made my head swim. I had no idea what was happening, but it faded as quickly as it started and I attributed it to the sobfest.
Seth pressed against my back. You want a ride back, Lo?
I nodded without saying a word. Seth shifted into his larger form and I climbed onto his back, Caden sliding into his panther form as well. We picked our way through the forest, and before we got back to the cabin, they were back in their small forms to follow me inside.
Logan was covered in dirt, and bits of the forest clung to her. With the door closed behind us, I ushered her into the bathroom and filled up the tub, brushing the leaves, pine needles, and the worst of the soil free. I ignored the experience we’d just been through in order to get her settled. I got her in the water and sat on the floor to comb her hair.
She didn’t say a word.
I stayed with her until the water cooled and eventually managed to convince her to climb out.
Logan slid into my arms, pressing the length of her damp body to mine. “I can’t believe someone killed her and left her there.”
I squeezed her tighter. “There’s a lot of evil running around in the world.”
“I hate it.” She sounded so tired.
“I know. You’re helping her get home. They’ll figure out who she is and her family will have closure.”
“Why couldn’t you and Seth see her? I thought cats can see ghosts.”
