evidence bag. ”
“ Excuse me, ma'am? ”
“ I need an evidence bag, now. ”
She pulled her left hand from behind her back. A thin line of blood seeped between her fingers. The officer, a shocked look on his young face, quickly produced a plastic Ziploc bag from his utility belt and she dropped in the wedding ring that hugged tight to the knuckle. I t glittered back, a reflected flash of sunlight against the blood smeared appendage.
Chapter 6
Hood Lake Float Plane Port
Anchorage
Monday June 20th
3 p.m.
After three days surrounded by the most stunning natural beauty she had ever seen, breathing air cleaner than she had ever imagined possible, Hildegard Farris ’ s face glowed. She had never believed scenery like that was real. She'd always assumed that what she'd seen in paintings was from the artist ’ s imagination or that online pictures had been P hoto-Shopped. Living her entire life east of the Mississippi River and never farther north than Cleveland, she had only known hazy, humid summers and cold, wet winters.
The sapphire blue of the skies and the crystalline waters of the lakes and rivers had stunned her. Photographing wild bears, wolves, sheep, coyotes, lynx, and moose took her to a whole new level. Hilde felt as though she had been on another planet. As the plane touched down on Lake Hood, she was excited to see Lonnie again and brimmed over with a desire to share the wonders she had seen.
Lonnie waited for them in Marcus's truck next to the dock. As the plane pulled in, she climbed out and walked across the wood planks to where the plane would be moored. Marcus stepped out onto the pontoon while it coasted into the slip. He tossed the line to his pregnant wife and she squatted to secure it, her round belly forcing her legs apart as she reached for the tie down. As they got off the plane, Hilde and Mike were all smiles. The mood fizzled when they saw Lonnie's expression.
“ Hey, baby, ” Marcus said, “ you okay? ”
“ Harold and Maureen are dead. ”
“ Huh? ” Marcus's mouth hung open in shock. He stammered, “ What are you talking about? ”
“ Accident Saturday night as they were leaving the wedding for their honeymoon. Some idiot T -boned their car and ruined their happily ever after. ”
“ Dear Jesus, ” Marcus said.
“ That's horrible, ” Hilde said.
“ Are you all right? ” Mike asked.
“ Yeah. It ’ s just... ” S he trailed off.
“ Let's get unloaded and back to the hotel, ” Marcus said. “ We can talk about it there after everyone gets cleaned up. ”
The trio was covered in three days’ of camp grime. Their excitement doused, they suddenly felt exhausted. They unloaded the plane and packed the bags into the truck. Lonnie drove back to the Captain Cook, where a bellman helped take the bags up. Inside their room, Lonnie lay on the bed while Marcus showered. When he came out, she stared at him from the bed where she lay on her side. Wearing nothing but a thick white terry cloth towel around his waist, he crossed the room, slid onto the bed, and lay next to her.
She gently stroked his brown skin with the tips of her fingers, running over the network of scars that crisscrossed his washboard abdomen like a sheet of lace sewn by a drunken weaver—the artwork of war left by an Iraqi roadside bomb. Tears welled in her eyes. He pulled her to him, as close as her belly allowed. She buried her head in his muscular chest and the emotional dam burst, her sorrow taking its natural course unfettered. Several minutes passed before the sobbing slowed and she was able to speak.
“ They were just married. Not even one day, ” she convulsed with more sobs. “ They waited so long to find each other. They were so happy. Then that man had to ruin everything. ”
Marcus held her close and let her cry. Lonnie seldom let herself take things to heart regardless of the gore she saw on a fairly regular basis. Before becoming a lieutenant, she had spent more than six years on
“ Excuse me, ma'am? ”
“ I need an evidence bag, now. ”
She pulled her left hand from behind her back. A thin line of blood seeped between her fingers. The officer, a shocked look on his young face, quickly produced a plastic Ziploc bag from his utility belt and she dropped in the wedding ring that hugged tight to the knuckle. I t glittered back, a reflected flash of sunlight against the blood smeared appendage.
Chapter 6
Hood Lake Float Plane Port
Anchorage
Monday June 20th
3 p.m.
After three days surrounded by the most stunning natural beauty she had ever seen, breathing air cleaner than she had ever imagined possible, Hildegard Farris ’ s face glowed. She had never believed scenery like that was real. She'd always assumed that what she'd seen in paintings was from the artist ’ s imagination or that online pictures had been P hoto-Shopped. Living her entire life east of the Mississippi River and never farther north than Cleveland, she had only known hazy, humid summers and cold, wet winters.
The sapphire blue of the skies and the crystalline waters of the lakes and rivers had stunned her. Photographing wild bears, wolves, sheep, coyotes, lynx, and moose took her to a whole new level. Hilde felt as though she had been on another planet. As the plane touched down on Lake Hood, she was excited to see Lonnie again and brimmed over with a desire to share the wonders she had seen.
Lonnie waited for them in Marcus's truck next to the dock. As the plane pulled in, she climbed out and walked across the wood planks to where the plane would be moored. Marcus stepped out onto the pontoon while it coasted into the slip. He tossed the line to his pregnant wife and she squatted to secure it, her round belly forcing her legs apart as she reached for the tie down. As they got off the plane, Hilde and Mike were all smiles. The mood fizzled when they saw Lonnie's expression.
“ Hey, baby, ” Marcus said, “ you okay? ”
“ Harold and Maureen are dead. ”
“ Huh? ” Marcus's mouth hung open in shock. He stammered, “ What are you talking about? ”
“ Accident Saturday night as they were leaving the wedding for their honeymoon. Some idiot T -boned their car and ruined their happily ever after. ”
“ Dear Jesus, ” Marcus said.
“ That's horrible, ” Hilde said.
“ Are you all right? ” Mike asked.
“ Yeah. It ’ s just... ” S he trailed off.
“ Let's get unloaded and back to the hotel, ” Marcus said. “ We can talk about it there after everyone gets cleaned up. ”
The trio was covered in three days’ of camp grime. Their excitement doused, they suddenly felt exhausted. They unloaded the plane and packed the bags into the truck. Lonnie drove back to the Captain Cook, where a bellman helped take the bags up. Inside their room, Lonnie lay on the bed while Marcus showered. When he came out, she stared at him from the bed where she lay on her side. Wearing nothing but a thick white terry cloth towel around his waist, he crossed the room, slid onto the bed, and lay next to her.
She gently stroked his brown skin with the tips of her fingers, running over the network of scars that crisscrossed his washboard abdomen like a sheet of lace sewn by a drunken weaver—the artwork of war left by an Iraqi roadside bomb. Tears welled in her eyes. He pulled her to him, as close as her belly allowed. She buried her head in his muscular chest and the emotional dam burst, her sorrow taking its natural course unfettered. Several minutes passed before the sobbing slowed and she was able to speak.
“ They were just married. Not even one day, ” she convulsed with more sobs. “ They waited so long to find each other. They were so happy. Then that man had to ruin everything. ”
Marcus held her close and let her cry. Lonnie seldom let herself take things to heart regardless of the gore she saw on a fairly regular basis. Before becoming a lieutenant, she had spent more than six years on
Similar Books
