Bone Secrets 03 - Buried

and registration please.”
    Gerald handed over the items. “I was going a little fast back there, wasn’t I? It’s a rental car. Here’re the papers.” He listened hard for any sounds coming from the trunk. It was silent.
    Was Jamie passed out? Or dead?
He needed to check the trunk. He swallowed hard, his heart pounding in his ears.
    The trooper looked over his license. “No, Mr. Bennett. I pulled you over for cell phone use. You passed me a few miles back while talking on your cell phone.”
    Relief, amusement, anger, and disbelief shot through Gerald. “Seriously? The call didn’t even go through.”
    The trooper’s lips twitched. “Well sir, the law doesn’t care if you didn’t get connected or if someone hung up on you. I saw your phone at your ear. I’ll be right back.” He paused, taking a sharper look at Gerald. “You alright, sir?”
    Gerald touched his cheekbone where the Mexican had whacked him with the rebar. “Pretty nasty, isn’t it? Dropped mybar and weights on my face while bench-pressing today. That’s the last time I don’t use a spotter.”
    Disbelief crossed the trooper’s face. “No spotter? Seriously? What were you thinking?”
    Gerald tried to look ashamed. “I know. It was stupid. I figured since the weight wasn’t too bad, I wouldn’t ask anyone, but then my hand slipped.”
    The trooper shook his head and went back to his vehicle with Gerald’s ID.
    Gerald rested his head against his steering wheel. That could have gone far worse.
    And a cell phone violation? He was being pulled over for using his cell phone?
He gave a strangled laugh, suddenly lightheaded.
Holy fuck.
    If only the trooper knew what he’d left behind in Demming. And what he had in his trunk.
    The trooper reappeared at his window and handed back his ID and paperwork. “I’m going to have to issue you a citation for the cell phone use. We’re in the middle of a statewide crackdown because people aren’t taking the law seriously. Get yourself a hands-free unit. Those are currently legal.”
    Gerald silently took the paperwork.
Don’t say a word.
What he wanted to do was cram the ticket in the trooper’s face. But he was getting a free pass. Take the ticket and get to the other side of the state. “I’ll look into it.”
    The trooper touched the brim of his hat. “Drive safely, sir.”
    Gerald watched the trooper walk back to his car. He put on his blinker and pulled out onto the open highway.
How had the trooper seen his phone? The sun had been down for an hour.
    Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
    He kept an eye on the rearview mirror. The trooper’s patrol car hadn’t budged. It got smaller and smaller as Gerald increasedhis speed. Just before he couldn’t see it anymore, it did an abrupt turn and headed in the opposite direction.
    He looked at his ticket. One hundred forty-two dollars for talking on a cell phone?
    Pissed and steaming about the fine, two miles later, Gerald took the rest stop exit.
    Deserted.
    He parked as far away as possible from the little bathroom buildings. He sat in the driver’s seat, scanning the rest stop for a few minutes. Even though he’d watched the trooper head in the opposite direction, he half expected him to reappear. And not be alone. After the rest stop stayed quiet, he stepped out of the car and stretched. Every joint hurt. It’d been a hell of a long day.
    First, the empty Jacobs house, then the old Mexican, the kid from the gas station, Jamie Jacobs, and then a fucking traffic ticket.
    He stood behind his car, eyeing the trunk. He examined the taillights. Both looked intact. If she’d been kicking at them, it didn’t show. He snorted, remembering his fear of a foot hanging out, visible to the trooper. He bent over the trunk, feeling the heat radiate from the metal against his face, listening.
    All silent.
    Ax in hand, he pushed the trunk release button on his key fob.
    Jamie lay motionless. Her hair and shirt were soaked with sweat. He shoved at her legs with the ax handle, and her eyes opened.
Thank God, the bitch is still breathing.
She stared at him, her gaze studying his face and taking mental notes. She didn’t move.
    “You hot?” he asked.
    Her eyebrows narrowed.
    Probably a stupid question.
    “I’ll make you a deal.”
    The eyebrows rose a bit.
    “Knock off the goddamned kicking, and I’ll open the center console area. That’ll let some of the air-conditioning into the trunk. Deal?”
    Jamie blinked and gave one short