Stranded

her up.
    Jack just stared back at them. He shook his head again, and Maggie knew the opportunity was lost.
    A scream made all three of them jolt. It was blood-curdling, wild and pained and definitely human. Maggie felt it all the way down her spine. Birds fluttered up in response. Even the breeze seemed to pause.
    Demarcus
.
    Then Otis came thrashing through the trees, a mountain of a man pounding up the same path they had just followed. He was drenched in sweat, his orange jumpsuit splattered with blood all over the front where there had not been a splatter before. He was grinning like a madman and holding up something in his right hand like it was a trophy.
    “You’re right. Ain’t nothing to it,” he said to Jack.
    Now at the side of the boat, he was breathing hard and Maggie noticed he had Jack’s knife in his left hand. In the other he held up what had to be one of Demarcus’s fingers.

CHAPTER 59

    BLACKWATER RIVER STATE FOREST
    Creed had gotten Tully’s text message. But the GPS readings he sent were surprising. He would have never guessed the killer’s dumping ground to be in the middle of a state forest. But as Creed drove along the winding road he thought, What better place?
    Bolo sat in the back, mouth open, tongue out, anxious and panting. Creed had gotten Grace home safe and sound and into Hannah’s protective hands. Unlike Grace’s, Bolo’s body filled the back half of the Jeep.
    As far as Creed could tell, the dog was part Labrador, part Rhodesian ridgeback. He got the happy, tongue-lobbing attitude from the Lab part of him along with webbed paws, which made him an excellent swimmer. From his ridgeback ancestry, Bolo had acquired an unshakable bravery. He was hands down the best multitask air-scent dog Creed had, but he was careful about when and where he used Bolo. The dog was overly protective of Creed, almost to the point of being fanatical. The last time he used the big dog, a sheriff’s deputy had yelled at Creed and seconds later the man was flat on the ground, pinned there by ninety pounds of muscle and bared fangs.
    In police slang, BOLO was an acronym for Be On the Look Out. Seemed totally appropriate.
    From Tully’s text messages, Creed knew that he and Maggie were accompanied by two state troopers, a Virginia prison warden, and Otis P. Dodd. Though the prisoner would be shackled, Creed was glad to have Bolo along this time. As well as his Ruger .38 Special +P placed under the driver’s seat.
    Creed found the two black Chevy Tahoes and sent a text to Tully that he’d arrived. As Creed gathered his gear from the back of the Jeep he scanned the trees that surrounded this small clearing. He had one last GPS coordinate from Tully. He glanced at the gadget’s screen and it looked like they were close by, yet he couldn’t see them inside the thick forest.
    They were losing light and soon the rain and thunder would arrive. Right now the storm was a rumble on the other side of the west tree line. He had warned Tully that it would be too dangerous during the storm. He wouldn’t allow his dogs to be out in lightning. Tully had assured him if they didn’t locate the site before all that happened, they would resume tomorrow.
    Bolo whined, excited and filling the liftgate opening. He nosed Creed’s hand as Creed loaded his backpack. Then he head-butted Creed’s shoulder.
    “Bolo, take it easy.”
    He glanced at the dog and stopped what he was doing. Something was wrong.
    Bolo’s eyes were wild. The hair on the back of his neck stood up straight. His nose was working the air and he was already breathing hard and fast.
    Creed stood completely still and tried to listen. Bolo looked as if he heard something. But to Creed’s ears, it was quiet. Almost too quiet.
    He checked his phone. No return text message from Tully, but reception would be spotty in the middle of the forest. He told Bolo to stay still while he put on and buckled the dog’s vest and harness. He could smell the dog’s sweat and feel the tension in his body.
    Dogs didn’t associate different scents with different emotions. But some large scents would elicit a reaction. A large scent could mean a cadaver exposed and in the early stages of decomposition.
    Creed felt a knot start to twist in his gut. The other possibility for a large scent would be blood—fresh blood and lots of it.

CHAPTER 60

    Jack had chained Maggie’s right ankle to an iron ring in the floor at the back of the boat. Not like she’d be able to