Bone Secrets 03 - Buried

until his gaze landed on Lusco. He pulled the booties off his cowboy boots, dropped them in an evidence bag, and headed in their direction, his face expressionless.
    Not good news.
    Michael felt Lacey’s hand slip into his again as they waited for the detective to come closer.
    “What is it?” Michael spoke first. His gut churned woozily around the Big Mac he’d had for lunch.
    Callahan’s gaze went to his partner and exchanged silent words.
    “Mason?” Lacey gripped Michael’s hand tighter. “Do you need me down there?”
    The detective shook his head. “No remains in there.”
    Michael’s stomach instantly calmed.
Daniel wasn’t in that bunker.
He exhaled and heard Lacey do the same.
    His gaze darted to the pit, and his stomach clenched again. If not in the bunker, then Daniel was probably in that pit. Thrown away like garbage. Faintly he heard Lacey give a small gasp and realized he was hurting her hand. He let go. She didn’t.
    “What is it, Mason?” Lusco spoke low and stepped in to close their small circle.
    Callahan’s steady brown gaze went to Michael’s.
Here it comes.
    “We’ve found a bunch of kid backpacks.”
    Michael couldn’t breathe.
    “Daniel’s name is on one,” Callahan said quietly.
    “Navy blue, Ninja Turtles,” Michael automatically said, the pack’s image clearly in his mind. Along with Daniel’s jacket with the Portland Trail Blazers’ logo, blue jeans, and red Nikes.
What was your brother wearing when you last saw him?
How many times had he answered that question?
    Callahan nodded, disappointment briefly touching his eyes.
    Michael understood. He’d hoped the detective had been wrong, too.
    “Anything to offer an explanation for those adult remains?” Lusco broke the silence.
    Callahan’s face told nothing. “Possibly.”
    Michael wanted to grab the detective and shake him, yell at him to spill every word about what he’d seen in that underground prison. Instead, he held tight to Lacey’s tiny hand. The diamond on her engagement ring dug into his palm.
    “Do the other backpacks appear to belong to the other children we…found?” Lacey’s soft voice cracked.
    Callahan nodded. “Each one is labeled with the child’s name. Clearly marked on the outside in black marker.”
    “Wait a minute.” Michael shook his head. “No. They weren’t marked. It’s unsafe to have a kid’s name plastered across his backpack where anyone could learn his name. The school wouldn’t allow that. Sane parents wouldn’t allow that.” Lacey nodded her head in agreement.
    A look of distaste crossed Callahan’s face. “Someone wrote on the packs. The print seemed the same on each one. I assumed it’d been done at their school.”
    Michael felt Lacey’s hand give an abrupt quiver.
    “He did it. He wrote on them. Why would he do that?” she whispered. “Did he want us to find them? Know we’d found the right place? Or was it for a reason back then? A way to tell them apart.”
    Michael briefly closed his eyes. “I don’t know, Lace.”
    “Those children. All those children.” Tears sounded in the back of her throat.
    Lusco spoke slowly. “Looks like we’ve got our definitive connection. This is a single investigation.”
    Michael met Lusco’s gaze and then Callahan’s. “We…you could use a witness. Did you ask Jamie Jacobs where her brother is?”
    Lusco looked surprised, but Callahan didn’t blink. “Leave the Jacobs woman alone. We’ll find Chris Jacobs and question him again. You don’t need to go hunting for him.”
    Michael should have known Callahan was keeping an eye on him. “No problem. I’ll stay away from her brother.”
    Jamie Jacobs was another matter.

    The man stared at the Yahoo! news stories.
    Adults? They were finding the bodies of adults? What the hell?
    He stood and crossed over to the bottle of single malt he kept handy to impress guests. He poured a generous drink and swore at his shaking hand. He threw back the scotch and relished the smooth burn on his throat. Inhaling deep and meeting his gaze in the mirror, he waited for the calm to flow through him.
    He’d interfered with several people’s lives so long ago, but he’d never felt bad. Not at all. If he hadn’t acted, what would have happened?Sometimes a few need to suffer for the greater good. He’d done the right thing.
    Twenty years.
    Secrets had been hidden for twenty years. And now they were exploding out of the ground like land mines. One small trip wire had set off