Stranded

bordered them on two sides. Maggie and Tully had been waiting in the lobby and came out to greet them.
    Both of the Florida state troopers were dressed in gray uniforms and wide-brimmed black hats. They introduced themselves as Wiley and Campos. A man emerged from the front passenger side of the lead SUV. Maggie knew he had to be Warden Demarcus. Kunze had told them the man insisted on accompanying his prisoner.
    Demarcus looked like a politician—a shot of gray at the temples, square shoulders, confident gait, freshly creased trousers, white oxford with a silk tie, and expensive leather shoes that she immediately noticed were polished and shiny. It was the perfect outfit for a hike in search of dead bodies. Maggie wondered if he expected a TV news crew to meet them at the site. Instead of a warden taking responsibility for his prisoner, he looked like a man wanting to capitalize on a celebrity moment.
    Left in the backseat of the first SUV was Otis P. Dodd. Maggie was close enough that she could see him behind the tinted glass. He was watching them, smiling and eating a chicken drumstick.
    “He insisted we stop for fried chicken,” Demarcus told Maggie. “We barely get off the plane and he wants KFC.”
    “I guess he gets whatever he wants today,” Tully said.
    “Within reason,” Demarcus shot back.
    Gwen had described Otis as being a giant of a man, and just the glimpse through the window told Maggie that was true. Despite his receding hairline and droopy eyes with crow’s-feet at the corners, when he gave her a lopsided grin—one that looked quite content but with almost an innocent quality—he did remind her of a teenager.
    Maggie and Tully went to the second SUV with Trooper Wiley. Tully conceded the front passenger side to her. Campos and Demarcus got back inside the lead SUV with Otis. Before Wiley could put the vehicle in gear and follow, Demarcus was back out in the parking lot, trying to manage the fury that was taking over his face. He stomped to their vehicle and stood in front of Maggie’s door. Both she and Tully, who was sitting behind her, opened their windows.
    “Is there a problem?”
    “He wants
you
to ride in his vehicle,” Demarcus said through gritted teeth, not only with anger but with accusation. “I told them it was a bad idea to have a woman along.”
    His fingers reached for Maggie’s door but she opened it before he made contact. She let the heavy door swing open a bit too fast, knocking Demarcus smack in the chest.
    “Oops, sorry,” she said. “Sometimes we women can be a little clumsy and we just don’t know our strength.”
    She heard both Wiley and Tully laughing as she exited the vehicle.

CHAPTER 54

    Maggie sat at an angle in the Tahoe’s leather captain seat, so she could see Otis. He was shackled to the floor of the SUV, sitting in the seat directly behind Trooper Campos. A metal grill separated the front from the back of the vehicle.
    The interior smelled of fried chicken. Otis’s chin was still shiny where he hadn’t wiped it. He was excited to have her in his SUV.
    “You’re Miss Gwen’s friend, ain’t that right?”
    And Maggie immediately understood what Gwen had meant when she said the man had a simple-minded charm about him.
    Now his face was turned toward the window and his gaze was intense. The nervous lopsided grin, which was as much a part of his features as his nose, was subdued. He appeared to know exactly where he was taking them. Yet it wouldn’t surprise Maggie if he had lied about a second dump site just to get a day outside the prison walls. He’d be able to take a plane ride and go for a drive. Get some fresh air and some fried chicken. When he let them pass the exit for the interstate rest area, Maggie suspected that was exactly what Otis had done.
    However, he directed Trooper Campos to the next exit and instructed him turn by turn. Ten minutes later they entered BlackwaterRiver State Forest and Maggie thought to herself, “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
    The narrow road was flanked on both sides by tall, thin pine trees so close together daylight had to fight to get through. They passed by the entrances to a couple of dirt roads, two tracks in red clay that twisted and disappeared into the trees. Trooper Campos continued farther into the forest. He drove over a bridge and Maggie noticed that the water beneath was tea-colored but clear and shallow enough to see the bottom. A sandbar with pristine white sand appeared in the