Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination by Colleen Coble

aren’t buried, but we couldn’t find anything obvious, and Judd saw a freshly dug spot.” The man jabbed a thumb in Judd’s direction. “I had a small shovel, so we dug down a few inches.” He swallowed hard. “We stopped when we saw a bone. That’s when we noticed other bones scattered around above ground. They looked too big to be an animal’s. I called the police on my cell phone.”
    Nick nodded. “Thanks.” He glanced at the other policeman. “You done with these guys?” The man nodded. The men thanked them and headed toward their truck, a beat-up green Ford.
    Fraser walked over to join him after talking to Cyril. “Think they had anything to do with this?”
    “I doubt it. Any clues on the Web site?” He knew his partner would have checked already. Fraser paid for wireless that was available through his phone.
    “Yeah.” He handed Nick a sheet of yellow lined paper.
    Nick glanced down and read the clue silently. For pride is the beginning of sin, and he that hath it shall pour out abomination: and therefore the Lord brought upon them strange calamities, and overthrew them utterly.
    Pain exploded deep inside. “The same verse left at the house,” he whispered. He sagged against a tree. Nick should have been prepared for this.
    “We don’t know that yet, Nick. It will take awhile to get DNA back.”
    He knew. Nick looked back toward the collected bones. “I’ve got someone who can help us identify her faster.” He dug out his cell phone and placed the call.
    GREEN GLADE COMMUNITY WAS THE GLORIFIED NAME FOR THE facility Gideon always thought of as Den of the Zombies. Many of the residents walked around with blank expressions and fixed smiles. Some were violent, and he could imagine them stalking the residents of the nearby town.
    Birds chattered at him from an aviary in the sitting room as he passed. Brightly colored wings flashed by in his peripheral vision, and he paused to watch them a moment.
    “Do you like birds?” A woman in her late twenties with hollow eyes paused long enough to question his scrutiny. “I like to look at them. They don’t even realize there’s a whole world outside. They don’t have to face it.”
    “You don’t have to stay here, you know.”
    Her gaze darted to his face. “It hurts out there.”
    “Pain is good for us. Without it, we would never do anything with our lives.” He indicated the peaceful surroundings with a sweeping hand. “What is there in here? Food, a bed, no pain. But no life either. No growth. Pain is better than pleasure.”
    “It’s safe here.” She didn’t wait for an answer but wandered off, her slippers making scuffing sounds along the tile.
    Gideon shook his head and continued down the hall. Stupid sheep without a shepherd. Miranda was lucky to have him, to be spared from the same fate.
    He pushed open her door and stepped into the room filled with flowers. His monthly Visa bill reflected the cost of these weekly arrivals of carnations. Pink ones, her favorite.
    “Hello, Miranda,” he said.
    She kept her face averted like she always did. Not that it mattered, since he couldn’t bear to look at her destroyed beauty. Though she hadn’t spoken a word in ten years, her body language screamed of despair.
    The doctors called it a catatonic state. He knew she’d just given up. Her pain had lasted long enough. It was time for her to rediscover life. He would give her a reason to live, and she would turn her blue eyes on him and really see him again. She would know all he’d done for her, all he would give up for her.
    She would finally love him again.
    “You’ll have a new face soon, Miranda. I promise,” he whispered, adjusting the pink lace shawl around her shoulders. “I’ll be able to see you as you really are.”
    He’d tried harvesting a few faces after the one he wanted had escaped, but none of them had worked out quite right. Only one face would be perfect, and he would find her again soon.
    “HOW LONG BEFORE YOU HAVE A