Page 6 of Unraveled

Carter reached over and fist-bumped him. “You’re the best.”

CHAPTER

THREE

Audrey flopped to her back and threw one arm over her eyes to block out the light as she slowly came awake. She felt exhausted, emotionally drained, as if the last six months had leached all of the energy from her body.

She was definitely in a funk, one she wasn’t quite sure how to get out of. She knew moving on was for the best—a new house, a new job. Outwardly, it was all coming together. Inside, she felt like she was falling apart. It didn’t make sense; she had finally decided on a course of action for her life, so why did she feel so… broken?

Part of it was Scott and their marriage, or lack thereof. What had been a constant in her life for so long was… gone. No matter how badly he had hurt her, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him. She really did wish him the best. She just wished that she was happy, too.

For several long minutes, she just lay there, eyes closed, trying not to think at all. Finally, she rolled her head to the left and glared at the chair next to the bed. A stack of clothes and a pair of running shoes taunted her with their presence. She'd put them there so she'd see them the moment she got out of bed; otherwise, she'd put it off.

She had promised herself she was going to start being healthy again, and she wasn’t going to give up now. Forcing herself to move, she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the mattress, then reluctantly dressed and laced up the shoes before she could change her mind.

The routine had been the same for the last four days. It was time for her to move on, to take back control of her life, and working out was just one element of that. After she used the bathroom, she bounded downstairs and whipped up a quick protein shake to drink before heading out. Peanut danced around her feet, and she let him out into the backyard to relieve himself as she sipped at her strawberry shake.

The morning was clear and bright, still a little cool but carrying the promise of heat later in the afternoon. It was the perfect time for a run, and she found herself looking forward to it. Peanut darted back inside, and she locked up, then poured some food and water into his bowls before snatching up her phone and earbuds. Pulling up her favorite playlist, she popped the wireless headphones into her ears, then made her way out the front door.

She took a minute to stretch in her driveway as she looked around, enjoying the calm morning. The condo complex was located just out of town before the landscape transitioned into farmland. She had seen a few kids out and about in the afternoons, but the residents seemed to be mostly middle-aged nine-to-fivers.

The last few days, she had run through the neighboring allotment back toward town. Today she wanted to try something new. Turning left out of her driveway, she walked for a couple of blocks before easing into a slow jog. Her muscles ached with the familiar burn, but it felt good. As she warmed up, her muscles became looser, her steps longer and more graceful.

It was amazing how quickly she had gotten her stride back, even after being stagnant for so many years. She couldn’t remember exactly when or why she stopped running. She had loved it once, so much so that she had run cross country in both high school and college.

She settled in, listening to the soft music playing in her ears, the familiar rhythm of her feet slapping the pavement with every step. Though she kept a watchful eye on her surroundings, checking constantly for cars or other people, she allowed her mind to drift. She had a preliminary phone interview with a small local branch of the VA coming up tomorrow, and she was incredibly nervous.

Mentally preparing responses for her interview, she crested a small knoll, then turned right and broke away from the main road. An older-style farmhouse sat back from the road a little bit, and she waved to the woman puttering around a small garden in the front yard.

She continued another mile or so down the road, where corn rose up along both sides. Knee-high by the Fourth of July. She smiled as the old adage came back to her from her youth. According to farmers, if corn was knee-high by July, it would be a prosperous year. Judging from the size of the stalks, it looked like this year was going to be a good one.

Suddenly, something came crashing through the leafy green stalks, and a small yelp left her throat as she reared back in surprise. She quickly looked around, thankful that no cars were coming, before turning her attention back to the mangy-looking dog in front of her. His brown fur was matted and muddy in places, and he clutched a large bone in his mouth.

She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up. The dog wasn’t small, maybe seventy pounds or so, but the bone protruding from either side of his mouth looked abnormally huge. He eyed her warily and let out a little growl as if warning her away from his treasure.

Smiling at the dog, she slipped the headphones from her ears and tucked them into the waistband of her shorts. “Whatcha got there?” she crooned to him. “Looks yummy.”

The dog eyed her but didn’t move, and the smile slipped from her face as she inspected the bone more closely. Unease spread through her gut as she took in the ball joint on one end, then down to the familiar nubs at the opposite end. She had taken too many anatomy classes to not know exactly what she was looking at. It was a femur—a human one by the looks of it.

“Where did you get that?” she asked softly. The dog tipped his head slightly to one side, almost as if he could understand what she was saying.

“Show me,” she encouraged him. “Where is it?”

The dog turned and started back through the cornfield, and she hesitated for a long moment before hopping over the ditch and following him. She briefly acknowledged this was one of the stupidest things she had ever done. Not only was she venturing away from the road where she could get lost, but she might also potentially find a crime scene at the end of this trek.

She mentally crossed her fingers that she wouldn’t meet any ill-meaning humans wherever the dog was taking her. Thank God she at least had her cell phone in case anything happened.

Leaves slapped at her legs, slowing her progress, but she brushed them away as she hurried to catch up with the dog. What felt like an interminably long time later, the cornfield came to an abrupt end, opening up to a large grassy field. The dog cast a look over his shoulder without breaking stride as he trotted through the weeds brushing at his shoulders.

She grimaced and carefully picked her way through the field, keeping one eye peeled as her sneakers squished into the wet ground. She prayed to God that the dog made enough noise to scare off any critters hanging around before she stumbled upon them. The last thing she needed was to be out there all alone and step on a snake hidden in the weeds.

About thirty yards in front of her, two birds took flight, startled by the dog as it loped a little too close. The dog stopped right where the birds had been, his tail beating the air enthusiastically. A faint buzzing noise filled the air, unmistakably flies that had already settled in to feast. She smelled it before she saw it, and dread curdled in her stomach as the body came into view. Though most of the body was intact, the flesh and bone of one leg had been stripped away, presumably by the dog.

This close, the scent was overpowering, and she turned away, covering her nose, willing the nausea to subside before pulling her phone out and dialing 911.

“This is Dr. Audrey Stanton,” she introduced herself when the dispatcher answered the call. “I’ve found a deceased person in a field somewhere off Hartwell Road.”

The dispatcher assured her that police had been dispatched but asked her to remain on the line until they arrived. Meanwhile, she watched the dog out of the corner of her eye, still reluctant to relinquish his treasure.