Page 7 of Unraveled

“By the way,” she told the woman almost as an afterthought, “there’s a dog here who appears to have one of the person’s bones. You might want to have them bring something, see if we can get the dog to give it up.”

The dispatcher occasionally commented, both letting her know that she was still there and checking to make sure that she hadn’t hung up. She moved away from the overwhelming smell, but not far enough to let the dog out of her sight. At least half an hour had passed before the sound of voices reached her ears.

“The police are here,” she said to the woman on the other end of the phone before hanging up. She shoved the phone into her pocket, then lifted both arms high in the air and waved to get their attention. It took them several minutes to reach her, at least a dozen men and women spread out, carefully picking their way across the field.

A man in khakis and a white button-down shirt stuck his hand out in greeting as he approached. “Detective Mayfield. You’re the one who found the victim?”

“Dr. Audrey Stanton,” she said by way of greeting, then shook his hand before gesturing over her shoulder. “He’s just a few yards over this way. And the dog is over there.” She pointed toward the edge of the tree line.

His face remained impassive as his dark eyes swept over the scene. “Have you touched anything?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I was going to try to get the bone away from the dog, but he didn’t like that idea.”

Mayfield’s lips quirked into a tiny smile. “I imagine not. We’ll see what we can do about that.”

She explained how she had recognized the structure of the bone and followed the dog to the scene. A small commotion drew their attention back to the edge of the field closest to the road, and they watched the medical examiner and her team approach.

The detective turned back to her. “We’ll let Dr. Pratt take a look at the body first, then we’ll look around, see if we can find anything.”

Her stride brisk and sure, Dr. Pratt crossed the bumpy field, a serious expression clouding her pretty features. “Mayfield.” She tipped her head at him, then turned to Audrey. “Are you on the investigation as well?”

“No, I called it in.”

Her eyes cleared. “You’re the doctor.”

“Family medicine,” Audrey clarified. “You can call me Audrey. I actually found the dog first, then he led me back here to the man.”

She lifted a brow. “You’re sure he’s male?”

Mayfield and Audrey fell into step beside her as she strode toward the body. “Judging from his facial features, which seem to be mostly intact.”

Dr. Pratt nodded but stayed silent, and Audrey stayed several feet behind, watching as she kneeled carefully next to the man’s remains. Audrey wasn’t terribly familiar with necrotic tissue, because she had always preferred living patients over dead ones, but if she had to guess, this guy hadn’t been out there all that long. Even in the early morning heat, his flesh was only in the beginning stages of decomposition.

Mayfield turned to her. “Aside from the dog, did you see anything out of the ordinary?”

She shook her head. “No. I almost brushed him off until I noticed the femur.”

She quickly walked Dr. Pratt through what had happened, and she nodded along, asking questions intermittently as she inspected the man’s body. She pointed at one hand lying on the ground. “Fingers have been amputated at the second knuckle.”

Truth be told, Audrey hadn’t paid that much attention initially, but her assessment piqued her curiosity. “Interesting.”

She lifted one shoulder. “Probably to eliminate fingerprints if he was found immediately,” she replied.

The thought turned Audrey’s stomach, but it made sense. She opened the bag at her feet, then put on a pair of nitrile gloves and gently probed at the man’s mouth. Inside, his gums gaped wide, completely devoid of teeth.

“Won’t be pulling any dental records either,” Mayfield remarked dryly.

Despite the heat of the day, Audrey wrapped her arms around her waist to ward off the chill that had settled over her. “Who would do something like that?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not all that uncommon.” Flies buzzed around, and Dr. Pratt batted them away as she peeled back the ragged layer of flesh covering his torso. “What the…?”

Not really wanting to get any closer, but unable to curb her curiosity, Audrey peered over her shoulder. “Everything okay?”

“Look.”

Audrey covered her mouth to block the smell and leaned forward to get a better look. “Whoa.”

“What?” Mayfield looked between them, and Dr. Pratt and Audrey exchanged a look.