Stranded

other trips. But he’d barely pulled into a parking lot when he saw something that made his skin prickle. Beyond the one-story brick building Creed could see a big man holding hands with a little girl, leading her to the truck parking lot, where big rigs filled every slot.
    Creed sat back, tried to control his breathing. His palms were sweaty and his hands fisted around the steering wheel. If hecould just breathe, he could ward off the panic. But he didn’t stop watching.
    Was the man leading her? Or dragging her?
    How could he tell in the dark?
    The pair walked from shadow to shadow, illuminated only now and again by a shot of light from the pole lamps. And those got fewer and fewer as they headed toward a rig at the back of the lot.
    Creed told himself that he needed to settle down. He couldn’t afford to interfere every time he saw something that he didn’t think looked right. And yet, his heart wouldn’t stop racing.
    That’s when he noticed the little girl wore only socks—bright white against the black asphalt. No shoes.

CHAPTER 16

    Maggie and Tully had offered to buy dinner and drinks for everyone. Even Lily.
    The CSU techs had collected the skull and three long bones. They had loaded up the body and head, zipping them into separate body bags and keeping them in their respective plastic bags. Janet had insisted they not open the black plastic one in the field and Maggie agreed. The tear had already shown them enough. Opening it any farther might disrupt evidence. And certainly disrupt the maggots. As much as Maggie hated the disgusting insects, they played an important role in determining time of death. It was best to leave them undisturbed for the techs to process back at their lab, and let the human remains stay intact for the medical examiner.
    The techs passed on the dinner invitation. They were on their way back to Omaha, about a two-hour drive.
    Sheriff Uniss had assigned new deputies to secure the farmstead. Two of his deputies chose to go on home. The sheriff and the young deputy joined them, as did Howard Elliott and Buzz, the construction crew foreman, along with his men.
    The person Maggie thought definitely needed a meal passed. Lily had accepted the ride to the truck stop but said she wasn’thungry. Maggie suspected that Lily’s meth run was winding down. As soon as they arrived Lily seemed to know exactly where she wanted to go. This was her haven and before Maggie even noticed, Lily had disappeared from sight.
    They had been at the truck stop’s bar and grill for almost two hours and yet Maggie and Tully were the only two eating. Also, Maggie and Tully hadn’t bought a single thing. The men took turns buying rounds of drinks. Several truck drivers had joined them, shoving together four tables in the middle of the restaurant. The truck drivers were having fun educating Maggie and Tully on trucker lingo, which helped lighten the mood.
    Although they had warned the deputies and construction crew not to discuss what they had seen at the farm for at least twenty-four hours, Maggie knew after several drinks the men wouldn’t remember their request. As odd as it sounded, she hoped their shock and awe remained on the decapitation and that they would forget about the orange socks. As insignificant as the socks seemed to be, they might play a crucial role in the case.
    Now as they sat back, Maggie noticed that Tully had fallen behind, accumulating bottles of Sam Adams. And it looked like he hadn’t touched his fries. Yes, the burgers were huge and loaded with extras but that didn’t usually stop Tully from stealing her fries by now. They sat side by side, Maggie crammed between Tully and Sheriff Uniss, so close that they had been bumping elbows. Sheriff Uniss was in a discussion with one of the truckers about the price of gas and the politics that came with it.
    Maggie plucked one of the fries from Tully’s plate to get his attention.
    “You doing okay?” she asked and waved a hand at the three bottles of beer in front of him, only one of which had been touched.The others were still full. He had the corner of the table and plenty of room, unlike the rest of them. In fact, Maggie had set her
Booty Hunter
cap there on the edge, out of the way.
    “I keep telling them not to bring me any more.”
    “And you’re just not hungry?”
    He pulled a ziplock plastic bag from his trouser pocket to show her about a dozen white pills.
    “Sinus infection. I need to be taking these antibiotics, but