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“’Course not.” The boy offered an eager smile, nearly bouncing as he walked down the icy sidewalk. Kaden, on the other hand, took far more care. The last thing he needed was to fall and break a hip. Dom would never let him hear the end of it. “Man, I can’t believe you’re here.” Wayne abruptly dug into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a phone. He waved it toward Kaden. “Do you mind? I need proof.”
Kaden swallowed a curse, pinning a smile to his lips as they halted long enough for the boy to stand close beside him and lift the phone to take a quick selfie. Seconds later, they were continuing their journey down the frozen street.
“Thanks.” Wayne shoved the phone back into his pocket.
“Tell me about the picture you posted.”
Without warning, the boy shot him a worried glance. “I’m not in trouble, am I?”
“No trouble.” Kaden held up his hand. “I promise.”
“Okay.” Wayne blew out a relieved sigh, a plume of vapor circling his youthful face. “I was headed to work yesterday morning when a couple of friends—” He grimaced, as if the word threatened to stick in his throat before he continued his story. “Before they climbed up from the old railroad tracks and said they’d found a body. Honestly, I didn’t believe them. They’re jerks most of the time. But when I crawled down there, I could see the bones. They were just there. Frozen in the ice, like something out of a horror movie. That’s when I took the pictures.”
“It’s odd that no one had ever noticed them before.”
“Not really,” Wayne protested. “None of us ever went around the tracks. There was no reason to. There was nothing down there but thornbushes and a bunch of broken bottles kids used to throw off the bridge. It wasn’t until they shut down the tracks to replace them that the guys decided they could use the steep hills for some sledding fun.”
Kaden offered a grudging nod. He supposed the explanation made sense. Unfortunately, it did nothing to help establish when the person had died, or how they’d gotten to such a strange location.
Had it been a tragic accident? Or something more sinister?
“Did you see anything else?”
“Like what?”
Kaden cautiously avoided a slick patch in the middle of the sidewalk, not entirely sure how to frame his question. He wanted to know why Vanna might have been in Pike.
“Anything the person might have had with them. A purse or a briefcase?”
“Oh.” Wayne scrunched up his face, as if he was struggling to recall anything that might impress Kaden. “Nope,” he finally conceded. “I didn’t really notice anything but the skeleton. I was pretty freaked out.”
“I don’t blame you.” Kaden offered a sympathetic smile. “What about your friends? Did they happen to notice anything?”
Wayne snorted. “They were even more freaked out than I was. Especially Drew. He puked his guts out. ’Course, he still went back down to show me the skeleton. He even moved aside some of the branches so I could get a clearer view. Cord wouldn’t. He flat out refused to go.”
“Drew?” Kaden kept his tone casual, even as he tucked away the fact that the boy had not only found the skeleton, he’d also touched it. He seemed like someone Kaden needed to meet.
“Drew Hurst,” Wayne said.
“He lives around here?”
“Yep. He’s a senior along with me at Pike High School.”
“I might have a word with him.”
Wayne looked disappointed. Was he hoping he’d be the only one in town to talk to Kaden? Then he suddenly perked up.
“I can set up a meeting if you want. You know . . . introduce you. Oh, and you might want to talk with Cord Walsh. He was there too, you know. He might have noticed something.”
Kaden smiled. “That would be great.”
Wayne came to an abrupt halt in front of a red-brick building with a glass door set between two large windows. Just above his head was a heavy sign with the name PORTER etched into the wood.
“This is the place.” Wayne shoved open the door, releasing a welcome blast of warmth. “We can talk more inside.”
“Great.” Kaden eagerly followed the young man into the narrow space that was lined with shelves. It felt dark and cramped, but there was a warm smell of cookies that drifted through the air and a gleam on the planked wooden floor that revealed it had recently been mopped and polished.
Wayne took off his parka and tossed it on a nearby counter. “You know, you haven’t said why you’re interested in the skeleton.”
