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Knohat it was froraphed it where it lay, then spread out the body bag Gently they eased the bundle out of the earth and laid it, quilt and all, in the open bag Before closing the zipper, Pete peeled back a fold of the quilt for a final photo Looking down, John saw brutally sold locket he re persons file photo

He couldn’t hold back the moisture that blurred his eyes “Hello at last, Bethany Ann,” he said

CHAPTER 14

By the ti the van, everyone on the teaht sandwiches in the cooler, but nobody felt like eating

Ted and Reuben pro Pete and John awake in the front It was slow going over the network of rutted logging roads They drove with the n, the cool, fresh air flowing into the cab

“So what’s next?” John asked, though he pretty much knew

“We’ll process the evidence here The body will go to the lab in Juneau to establish the official cause of death”

“You saw the skull Wouldn’t you assume blunt force trauma?”

“Probably,” Pete said “But at this point, we can’t rule out anything”

“So how soon can you arrest Boone for murder?”

As soon as the words were out of John’s mouth, he knew he’d asked a useless question The team had found Bethany Ann’s body, but it had yet to be determined how she’d died, let alone that Boone had killed her They’d found no fingerprints and no rind his teeth in frustration All he wanted was for this to be over so that he and Eet on with their lives

“If we had a reliable witness come forward, like maybe a family member, we could issue an arrest warrant,” Pete said “Otherwise, we’ll have to sift through the evidence, which ”

“Hell, he married her in that fake ceremony He took her to the trailer and probably took all her money He was there—and as far as we know, he was the only one there”

“It’s all circuh for a conviction” Pete braked the van as two deer bounded across the road “Traverton said you knew the fa? He was hanging around today, like he knehere the grave was and was trying to keep Daisy fro it He’s the one we need to talk to”

“You could try I could show you the family ho to hi to a nine-year-old”