Page 99 of It Runs in the Family

The briars were thick enough that it was hard to see through them. There were gaps here and there, but they were blackberry plants covered in thorns.

We stopped slightly to the east of the scene, and I dropped to my knees, peering through a two-inch gap, trying hard to not get scratched or stabbed by thorns. Boone was about two feet to my left. Even with my unobstructed view through the fence, it was hard to see anything. An area on the other side of the road had yellow crime scene tape around it. Something that looked like a body lay on the shoulder of the road, covered with a white sheet.

I sucked in a breath. What if that was Selena?

Boone placed a hand on my arm. I glanced at him in surprise, and he gave me a sympathetic look. “We don’t know if it’s her,” he whispered, “so don’t think the worst yet.”

I nodded, trying to swallow past the burning lump in my throat.

We spent the next ten minutes watching a whole lot of nothing. Two deputies were standing in the middle of the road, one each on either side, staring into the distance, presumably to make sure no cars slipped through.

“What are they doing over there?” I whispered.

He kept his voice quiet. “They’re lookin’ for evidence.” He pointed to the hole he was looking through. “See that tall deputy? He’s searching the ground.”

“What’s he lookin’ for?”

“Anything that doesn’t belong. It may or may not pertain to the crime, but they can sort that out later. See the yellow tent cards? You can’t see them very well from here, but they have numbers on them. They’ll set those out, then someone will take photos, and they’ll bag them up and label them with the number.”

“What about the body?” I asked, proud I didn’t stutter on the word.

“Hard to tell. Based on the funeral van, it looks like the JP’s here”—he glanced over at me— “the justice of the peace, the coroner. But I don’t see them doin’ anything. If they’d already done their job, they should be loadin’ it up by now. So, I don’t know what’s goin’ on.”

I studied him. He did seem to know about the procedure, a favorable sign that he might actually be a Texas Ranger. Then again, he could have learned all of that from watching cop shows.

We waited a few more minutes, then a man in a white jumpsuit walked over to the body. He squatted beside it and flipped over the sheet, exposing a woman lying on her side, her dead, vacant eyes staring at us. She was wearing jeans shorts and short-sleeved black T-shirt. A white mark over her left breast looked like part of a logo. Her short, light brown hair stirred in the soft breeze. A round dark spot sat in the middle of her forehead, a thin trickle of blood running down her skin into the pool beneath her head.

I sucked in a breath and covered my mouth, falling back onto my butt.

Boone turned to me, his face full of concern. “Is it Selena?” he whispered.

Tears stung my eyes, but I shook my head, unable to form words.

There was a woman across the street—a woman who’d had a life and friends, a woman who’d been talking and breathing, and now she wasn’t. She was an empty shell. And someone had done that to her.

Boone leaned his face close to mine, cupping the back of my head, keeping his voice low. “Breathe, Iris. In through your nose and out through your mouth.”

He held my gaze as I followed his instructions, tears streaming down my face. “I’m sorry.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Why? I shouldn’t have brought you here. I wasn’t thinkin’.”

I shook my head, tears still falling. “I would have come anyway, even if you’d made me stay away.” I grimaced. He had to regret bringing me. “Sorry,” I repeated. “It’s just … that poor woman.”

Funny how I hadn’t cried for myself when I’d seen a similar hole in my own head. I was crying for someone I didn’t even know.

He brought his forehead to mine. “Don’t ever apologize for your humanity, Spitfire. It’s easy to get hardened in this job.” He pulled back, then released my neck and wiped a tear from my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

I gave him a wobbly smile. “Thanks.”

“I need to try to get closer,” he said. “I’m relieved it’s not your cousin, but I still think this woman was killed by someone in the cartel.”

I nodded my agreement. I was tempted to tell him about my vision, but it wouldn’t help or change anything.

“Go,” I said quietly. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure? I can walk you back to the truck.”

“No. I’m fine. Go. This could happen to Selena or Cody. If you can find something to protect them, go find it.”