The Bone Field by Debra Bokur (top e book reader txt) 📕

willing to act on their behalf, they have no problem with that. Everyone’s pretty sure these aren’t ancient remains.”

Kali nodded. “Of course. What have you found so far?”

Walter and Stitches exchanged looks. Walter swallowed the piece of donut he’d been chewing and cleared his throat.

“Another male. Except . . .”

Kali waited.

“Except he doesn’t appear to be alone,” said Stitches. “As we widened this latest grave, we could see the elbow bone of a second figure protruding into the first skeleton’s humerus, and also a tarsal from another foot, so it looks like there’s another full skeleton buried very close. Side by side.”

“Hands folded?” asked Kali.

“The first one, yes,” Walter answered. “They’ve just started uncovering the second person.”

Kali moved closer to the hole. “Any sign of another anchor charm?”

“Not so far,” said Stitches, “but there’s a lot of earth to sift through.”

Walter turned back to the waiting team. “Okay, everybody,” he called. “You know the drill. Careful.”

After a few moments of reorganization, the digging continued. As the mound of red-hued soil grew larger, Walter rejoined Kali, Stitches, and Tomas where they stood a little way back from the hole in the ground.

“Do the two new bodies have skulls attached?” Kali asked.

“The first one, yes,” answered Stitches. “But we’ve not gotten that far with the one buried beside it.”

They each considered the ramifications in silence.

“Four people popping up in the same field without anyone noticing that any of them had gone missing is statistically unlikely in a population as small as the number of people on Lna‘i,” Walter finally said. “This whole thing is giving me a big case of the heebie-jeebies.”

“Yeah. Same.” Kali looked back to the small crowd that had gathered around the pair of bodies, feeling uneasy. On the other side of the service road that ran the length of the field, thick shrubs and small trees formed a natural barrier between the plantation and the countryside beyond it. A long length of police tape had been erected along the edge. She suddenly became aware of movement; several figures became apparent, moving slowly through the vegetation.

“We’ve got interlopers,” she said, indicating with her eyes the line of shrubs where she’d seen people moving about.

“Damn it,” said Walter. “Guess it was just a matter of time. I knew that tourist couple was never going to stay quiet about what they found. The body in the fridge has been all over the news, and when the police launch left port this morning, I noticed that the next ferryboat was packed. Word’s out, I think. At least about the first body.”

“Yeah, it’s all over the news and the fake news,” she said darkly. “We’re going to need to set up a dedicated phone line for incoming calls.” She moved closer to Tomas.

“Company,” she said, indicating the far side of the service road.

He followed her line of sight. “Okay,” he said, resigned. “I’ll go run them off.”

“I’ll help,” she said. “Just give me a minute.” She turned back to Walter. “Are you staying over here tonight?”

“Can’t,” he said. “I’ve got to make an appearance in traffic court first thing in the morning. You’ll have to fill me in as this unfolds, especially if this isn’t the last of it—but I’m going to need you around, so don’t stay longer than you have to. We got a heads-up from another arrest we made in the cock-fighting ring that there’s a big meet-up planned in the next few days. Vice says they can use our help.”

Kali sighed. “Okay. I’ll plan on heading back tomorrow, but I guess that depends on what else the day turns up. I should probably bring over my tent and camping gear and just set up house until the whole field has been turned over.”

As Walter turned to rejoin Stitches, Kali caught up with Tomas. Together they walked from the field to the service road and ducked beneath the plastic police tape, moving steadily across the rough earth toward the shrubs. As they drew closer, they could see a crowd of people, standing in groups except for a few who had separated and moved to the back. Two of the women dressed in long skirts from the group Kali had seen on the ferry carried signs with sentiments that opposed the digging: LET THE DEAD REST; STIR NOT THE SOULS OF THE DEPARTED; while a few other signs challenged the police. CATCH THE KILLER, read one, while another had the words MURDERER IN OUR MIDST scrawled in red paint. Kali expected them to disperse when they caught sight of Tomas’s uniform, but instead they just waited. Kali felt her jaw clench when she spotted Chad standing near the front.

“What did I tell you?” she said when she was close enough for him to hear.

“A funny thing happened on the way to the beach,” answered Chad, his smile flashing in the sunlight.

Kali’s eyes swept the crowd, estimating that there were approximately twenty-five people there. “Did you hire these people?”

“Hire them?” said Chad, feigning surprise. “These are some of my loyal local fans.”

“And this is a police investigation,” she said.

“Ah, I believe what you mean is that this is a crime scene,” countered Chad. “And I’m here in my capacity as a journalist to get an official statement about why this pineapple field is filled with dead bodies. That, and why the police are trying to hide it from the public.”

There were murmurs of assent from those standing around Chad.

“That’s right,” said a short, stocky man standing beside him. “There’s a serial killer loose. What are the police doing to find him—or her—and protect the public? Most of us have kids. We’re too afraid to let them out into our yards.”

The other voices became louder and more adamant. The two women holding the religious signs began to sing a hymn. Kali wondered where their older, tattoo-opposed companion was. To the rear of the crowd, one person stood slightly apart from the others, saying nothing. He was tall, his face concealed by