Rainy weather arrived in earnest as the entire Northfolk police department and a handful of the sergeant’s close family and friends searched the Appleton rental property and farm. We spread out like a fan, searching the woods and adjacent barn and outbuildings on Clara’s side of the land.
Sergeant DelGrande took charge, instructing officers and especially volunteers not to touch anything.
“So, what do you think, huh? You think it’s the kid’s blood or hers in there?” Roland asked, nudging an old stump onto its side with his combat boot. I watched a treasure trove of pill bugs wriggle out from the underbelly. We used to call them roly-polies when I was a kid, I remembered.
“Fuck off, Roland. This is your fault.” I kicked the log back over.
I walked off from him, focusing on the forest floor as I went. My eyes attempted to scan every square inch of it…but I was making myself dizzy and seeing red because I was so angry. I was angry with Roland for not taking Nova Nesbitt’s call. But I was angrier with myself—I’d been so scared about having another “incident” involving a domestic squabble that I’d treated Nova unfairly. She said her husband was dangerous—how many times had she made that clear? Could I have stopped this…? That question kept haunting me…
Pressing my back against the closest tree, I took a deep breath and tried to re-focus. A slow steady drizzle of rain trickled down through the trees. Surprisingly, it felt good as it touched my skin. I felt hot. Rageful. And one of my back molars felt chipped, from all the jaw flexing I’d been doing these past two days.
How could Roland be this stupid? Why hadn’t he answered the call? And why hadn’t I done more—if I trusted my colleagues more, maybe I would have asked a couple of the guys to provide security for Nova… I wondered, ruefully.
“Look, I’m sorry.” Roland was back. He stooped down in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders. He was close, too close, and I could smell his sweat and bitter cologne.
“Sorry, yeah? Well, you’ll be sorry when Sarge finds out you didn’t take the call. She was in trouble. She needed us, and now she’s probably dead.” I blinked back tears, trying to shake off the urge to cry. Roland was the last person I wanted to be vulnerable in front of…
Someone cleared their throat behind us. It was one of the forensics guys, Chad, I think he said his name was.
“Whoever that blood belongs to…they’re probably dead. No one could sustain that much blood loss.” His voice was soft but squeaky, and he looked apologetic as he shared this news.
My eyes darted around the woods, at the floating bodies combing through the trees and field. “She has to be here then. She couldn’t have got far, not after losing that much blood…”
“Unless someone took her body with them,” Roland said. He was chewing on a hang nail and staring off into space, like he didn’t care as much as he should have.
“There’s no evidence that someone dragged a body through that house, though,” I said. “It’s almost like she bled out in that one spot, then just evaporated.”
“Want to come in with me? Take a look? I have a couple things I want to show you inside.” Chad said.
For a second, Roland looked offended that he was directing the question to me and not him. “Keep searching,” I told him, before following Chad back inside the dreaded cabin.
The last thing I wanted to do was look at, or smell, that blood again…but I owed this much to Nova. I should have listened to her…I should have trusted her the first time. I should have called in a sketch artist and tried to talk the sergeant into issuing an Amber Alert without the photo…should have given Nova some sort of police protection out here…should have done something more…Shouldawouldacoulda.
My face sagged as I stared at the rusty stain on the floor again. Whose blood was it? What sort of struggle had happened here…?
Another forensic tech was squatting down on his haunches, his back turned to me. “This.” He held up a paper envelope in his gloved hand.
“What is it?”
“We collected three teeth. Two canines. One molar. Right now, we don’t know who they came from, but I can say this: these teeth didn’t fall out on their own. Whoever they belong to, they took a few blows to the face, at least.”
“How can you tell?” I asked, shuddering in spite of myself. The throb in my own tooth pulsated relentlessly.
“Well, every tooth has its own characteristics. And no two oral cavities are alike. These teeth aren’t complete, there’s pieces missing from each one, which tells me that she suffered some sort of trauma, most likely some blows to the face.”
“You said she. You definitely think it’s Nova Nesbitt then? Could these possibly belong to a child?”
He shook his head. “Only dental records or DNA can tell us for sure. But I’m certain these teeth belong to an adult female. You see, the upper and lower canines in men have this ridge that is more pronounced and frequently…”
But I was no longer listening. I turned on my heels and ran outside, shouting for Sergeant DelGrande. If Nova Nesbitt had been killed or assaulted here, then where was Lily? If the husband had killed Nova, then he’d most likely taken the child with him…This time, I couldn’t hesitate. I needed to act and act fast.
***
“It doesn’t make sense. Why don’t they send one of the other guys? Why does it have to be you?”
I was shoving socks and underwear into my bag, while mom tried to talk me out of going to Granton, Tennessee.
“Why not me?” I said, standing up and stretching my neck side to side. My head and jaw were pounding so hard I couldn’t think.
“It just seems like it would be more of a risk. I’m scared for you, honey,” she croaked.
“Why? Because I don’t have a penis, mom? I’ve mucked this up once, won’t do it again. For all I know, that little girl could already be dead. And instead of trying to find her and hunt down Martin Nesbitt, I’m standing here, trying to convince my mom that it’s the twenty-first century and women can do the same things as men.”
I zipped my overnight bag closed and looked around my bedroom. Where did I put my keys?
“Look, you’re right. I’m sorry. But it’s an entire day’s drive to Tennessee. Do you really have to leave tonight?”
“It’s eight hours if I hurry. If I leave now, I’ll make it by midnight.”
My mom looked as though she might cry. But finally, she sighed and walked out of my room, leaving me to pack. My keys were on the floor next to my computer chair. I scooped them up and grabbed my bag, just as mom popped her head back in. She looked considerably less worried now.
“Roland and Mike just pulled in. They’re going with you, they said.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I tossed the bag over my right shoulder and kissed my mom on the cheek. “Call you when we get in,” I promised.