Page 49 of Grave Danger

Lucia preceded Zellmer through the door. Both deputies stopped in their tracks, staring at the black work boots sticking out from beneath the lumpy tarp.

“Who the fuck is that?” Lucia said, slowly approaching the body.

“Don’t know,” Demetrius said. “We figure he’s a mechanic or something based on how he’s dressed.”

“Did you find him like this?” Zellmer asked, circling to the opposite side of the body as Lucia crouched to lift the edge of the tarp.

“Um, no.” Demetrius looked at Cody, then back at them. “He attacked me when I came out here to take out the trash.”

“He attacked you?” Lucia looked up at him as she crouched beside the body. “With a weapon?”

“No. He grabbed for me and tried to, um, to bite me.”

“He had Demmy pinned on the ground and was trying to gnaw his face off. I heard Demmy scream and came out and hit the guy on the back of the head with a rock.”

Lucia stood and stared at them. “You killed him?”

“Yes. To save Demmy.”

“He’s not… I don’t think he was, um, alive when he attacked me.” Demetrius clasped his hands in front of him. “He was hunkered down by the dumpster when I came out, eating that rat.”

Lucia and Zellmer exchanged a look. Zellmer walked past without looking at them and inspected the gnawed remains of the rat.

“I’ll bag it,” Zellmer said, going into the office once again, presumably passing through it to get to the cruiser.

“Just so you know, Jugs was attacked while he was letting those groundhogs loose. By a man who he did not recognize.” Lucia approached, thumbs in her gun belt. “He said the man smelled awful, had yellow eyes, and was dressed in a suit and tie, but it was muddy, torn, and splattered with blood. It looked to him as if he’d been living outside for a few days.”

“Did Jugs get bitten?” Demetrius asked, stomach trembling at the thought.

“No. But he was scratched along his arm. He’s at the hospital being checked over.” She blew out a breath as Zellmer returned with gloves, some plastic evidence bags, and a roll of yellow crime scene tape. Zellmer pulled on gloves and crouched, picking the rat carcass up by the tail and dropping it into the bag. “Jugs said once he’d managed to get away from the man, he grabbed a groundhog out of the cage and bit into it, and I quote, ‘like it was a Hollow Leg burger with all the trimmings.’”

“Jesus Christ,” Cody said in a low voice. “We have to go see him.”

Lucia held up a hand. “I need to take your statements first. And…” She looked at the body then back at Cody. Demetrius noticed her widen her stance and put her shoulders back, and mentally braced himself. “There will need to be some very involved questioning with you, Bower.”

“Me? What for?”

Demetrius knew, though, and he saw no way to head off the oncoming explosion. “No, Lucia, come on. You know us. You know him.”

“Wait, because I hit the guy with a rock to save Demmy?”

“You killed a man.”

“He was already dead!”

“Goddammit, Bower.”

“Lucia, you know him. You know us both, where we live, how to get in touch with us. Can we come to the station and give you our statements later? We’d like to check on Jugs.”

“Jugs is fine. And I need to get your statements while everything is still fresh in your minds. Get ready to go to the station.”

Cody took a step toward Lucia, and Demetrius put a hand on his arm, feeling the tension thrumming in the muscle. Pointing a finger in Lucia’s face, Cody said with a growl, “You pull this shit on us every time. Every fucking time. And every fucking time, you’re proven wrong.”

“It’s called the law, Bower. And I’m following legal procedure.”

“Hey, come on,” Demetrius said, giving Cody’s arm a gentle tug. “We’ll call Jugs from the truck as we’re headed to the station.”

Lucia stepped away but didn’t turn her back on them as she got on the radio and requested two more units to help secure the area. She also requested a crime scene team from what Demetrius guessed was the state police branch in Harriettville.