Touched by Death (13 page)

Grimacing, he remembered Peppe from last night. The
old man had been sitting in soiled clothes. Emile had thrown down the
food and walked out. He wasn't going to clean the old man's ass again.
Once had been too much for him.

Damn women's work.

Well he wouldn't do it anymore. And if Tasha or John
wouldn't take care of it… His eyes glowed with inspiration as he stared
at the grave. Then he'd find someone who would.

D
ane's dusty black truck sat in front of the lab trailer
when Jade arrived the next morning. He leaned against the box, waiting.
Her heart smiled. She was such an idiot. Yet she couldn't deny he made
her feel like a woman again.

Good thing. Her self-absorption and self-enforced
seclusion had shut her hormones down as she'd allowed anger and hurt
to dominate. No longer.

"About time you got here." His big grin
warmed her heart. Dane opened the door of his truck, and reached in.
"What do you think you're on, Haitian time or something?"

She laughed. "Nah, boss checked in yesterday.
Meetings with him put us behind schedule."

With a regal dip of his head, he pulled out two cups
of coffee. "And as a boss, I understand the benefit of keeping
workers happy. So one is for you." He presented her with a one.

"Woohooo. You are a definite keeper. Thank you."
She shuffled her bags, so she could take it.

His eyes darkened. "Glad you're so easily pleased."

She grinned. "Often the simplest things in life…"
She dropped her bags at the door and brought out her keys. She inserted
the key into the lock but realized when she turned the key – she'd
actually locked it. The door had been unlocked. She frowned and pushed
it open.

"Problem?"

"The door wasn't locked. It should have been,"
she said shortly, her gaze sweeping the interior. The equipment was
all there, at least what she could see at first glance. Nothing appeared
disturbed other than what could be attributed to Meg or Dr. Mike who
worked here the afternoon before.

"Someone forget to lock up?" Dane stayed
on the porch, poking his head inside. "It looks the same."

"I don't know. The equipment is set out slightly
different. I didn't close yesterday so can't say if the others moved
things or not." She wandered to the back and then down the far
side. She shrugged her shoulder. "I can't see anything missing.
It just feels off again."

"Again?" His voice sharpened. "This
has happened before?"

She gazed back at him over her shoulder. "Yes.
This is the second time. I can't pinpoint what's wrong. It's more a
sense of things not being quite right." She shrugged and walked
back out to the small porch. She took a sip of coffee.

"I thought they were going to bring in security
guards?"

Blowing the steam off her cup, she nodded. "I
did too. Might have something to do with our moneyman, slash boss who's
here now. I don't think he likes the added expense."

"Then maybe he should be told about this to make
sure security funding does get approved."

She gave him a sideways look. "I'm not sure that
would make a difference."

Dane's cheeks hollowed out, his jaw jutting forward.
"It damn well should. You shouldn't be out here alone."

He was worried about her. She smiled. It had been
a long time since anyone other than Duncan had given a damn about her
safety. "I'm not, normally. One of the others will be here in an
hour or so."

"That's not good enough. It's not that this part
of the country has a higher crime rate than the rest, but you've opened
a controversy with this grave, you're foreigners and you have expensive
equipment and facilities. That makes you and these trailers a target."

She grimaced. "I know. I'll talk to them."

His jaw squared, he planted his legs slightly apart.
"Today."

She glared at him, liking the power of his personality,
just not so much when it was turned her way. "Fine. Can we leave
it for now, thanks?"

Studying her face, he gave one decisive nod. "Sure,
I have to go to work anyway. Unless you want me to stay around until
someone else arrives?"

"No. I'll be fine."

He smiled and turned to leave. "Thanks for bringing
the coffee," she called out as he descended the steps and got into
his truck.

With a wave, he drove off.

Her good mood restored, Jade headed inside. After
making sure nothing was missing, she went to the reefer to double check
the chart numbers. She left the reefer door open to allow for more light
as she wandered the rows of dead. So far the numbering system appeared
to be working.

"Jade? Are you in here?"

Startled, Jade bolted upright from her bent-over position
and spun around. "Jesus, Stephen you scared me."

"What are you doing?" He peered around the
door and grinned at her as she walked toward him. "There you are."

"Hey. I was cross checking the numbers on the
bags." Jade hopped out of the reefer truck and waited while Stephen
closed and locked the door.

"Wilson went to town with Dr. Mike instead, leaving
me free to get back to work. I'm going up to the gravesite." Stephen
patted the metal handle. "Bruce is heading this way in few minutes."

She smiled. "I'll go back to the lab and wait
for him."

He took off, whistling and Jade busied herself around
the lab for the few minutes she had alone. Before she had time to puzzle
through the feeling she'd had in the trailer, she heard the sound of
yet another vehicle. This one an SUV.

Bruce.

He waved as he drove to the lab trailer. Jade walked
to the railing to greet him. "Hey."

Hopping out, he climbed the stairs and walked around
the new porch. "I like the new addition. From Dane I understand?"

She wandered around the small space appreciating the
simple two-by-four construction. "Yes, a simple switch for a few
weeks."

"It looks good."

"Any word on overnight security for this place?"

"Tony has vetoed the idea for now. Why?"

Oh shit.

She explained about the unlocked door and the weird
feeling. "Did he give a reason?"

"Not in the budget." Bruce gave her a mocking
look. "We'll need to make sure we follow protocol as we shut down
every night. To know that we've locked up properly."

"Why is everything all of a sudden about money?"
She watched as Bruce walked the tiny porch, still grinning approval.

"Because our moneyman is here on the spot. It's
easier to deal with them when they are a long way away. But when they
are here, they're all about control, power…and saving money."

"And because they pay our salaries we are all
about compliance?" She frowned. "Part of the reason I was
interested in coming was the good we'd be doing. It's hard to see that
come down to number crunching."

He studied her face. "I understand how you feel
and I think this is only temporary. Once Tony goes back home, that negativity
will ease back as everything returns to normal." He dropped his
bag on the counter. "I'm going up to the gravesite. Are you coming?"

"Absolutely." The walk only took ten minutes
but they went from the large clearing, down a path to an opening that
showed the valley. It was gorgeous country. Add in the sunshine and
the easy-to-tolerate temperatures and it was no wonder Haiti was a popular
tourist destination. At least it had been. The earthquake had made a
dent in that.

Stephen met them at the spot where he'd found the
remains in chains. He'd taken the tarps off the exposed area and had
moved some more of the rocks that surrounded the bones. They stood and
studied the big job in front of them.

"Is Tony coming here? This morning?" He
should see this himself, but Jade doubted anyone was ready to bring
him in on this issue.

Bruce laughed. "Not likely. Not willingly."

He looked from her to the grave and back again. "He's
not going to know the difference between these or any other set of bones.
I suggest we excavate very carefully – and tell the authorities if
our suspicions are confirmed. If and only if, we have forensic evidence
of foul play, it will be our duty to bring someone official in on this."

Stephen nodded. "I don't see how we can't. I
can't just ignore this. If what we see here is what we think it is,
I will tell someone. Then if the authorities need help dealing with
these bones, they'll have my free labor."

Jade had to agree with that. "We'll process this
as we would any of the bodies. That won't take any more time or money
than the others. Once processed, the information is there to turn over
to the police, if necessary."

As Bruce went to open his mouth, she added, "Or
I will process them on my own time in the evening. I'll volunteer my
labor, just like Stephen suggested."

"Okay, before we go a little nuts on this, why
don't we start the processing and see how long it takes us to do these
few bodies? We'll measure that against the time it takes to do the same
number of other bodies." Bruce suggested, "If this takes longer,
we'll all stay one night and work together to make up the time."

Stephen and Jade looked at each other. Jade smiled
and added, "Works for me."

"Good, then let's get started."

Jade ran to the lab to retrieve her camera while Bruce
grabbed the closest shovel. Two bodies. At least that's all they'd found
today. Tomorrow, unfortunately, could be a whole different story.

When lunch arrived, in the form of Meg and brown bags,
Jade was more than happy to head back to the hotel and her paperwork.

She called her brother later that night and dumped
the story on him. Jade sat in their new office space with windows open.
A cool breeze wafted in, circling around and bowing back out again.

His stunned silence sat heavy on the phone line. "Shit.
This was supposed take your mind off your own problems."

She laughed. "Well, it did that."

"Sure. As much as I'd love to see you find justice
for these victims, remember they are dead and you are not. Don't do
anything that will put you in danger."

"I won't." But she wasn't so sure she'd
be able to follow through. There were too many unanswered questions.
Who knew where this would lead?

"What's the matter? What's happened? Are you
in danger now?" His sharp voice snapped through the phone lines
pulling her back to the conversation

She rushed to reassure him. Her poor brother had done
enough worrying over her lately. "No. Of course not. No. I'm fine.
Everything here is fine. Honest. Don't worry about me."

A doubtful silence filled the lines. "You know,
I held off coming to Haiti to give you some time. I'm thinking it might
be time to come over..."

"Now, don't you go off on in panic," Jade
said. "Come for a visit if you want, just not because of this.
I'm okay."

"And you damn well better stay that way."

She grinned. "I will. I love you too."

"Good. That's the first time you've said that
since you were in Haiti last time."

She went quiet inside. How sad. Just another example
of how self-absorbed she'd been. Damn her selfish soul. After a moment,
she said softly, "I'm sorry. I've given you a lot of grief and
worry recently, haven't I?"

His voice warmed. "No. Don't ever think that.
You have been through a lot. You're entitled."

And she had been. But that time was over. This Haiti
trip
had
been good for her. She hadn't expected these results. Certainly, not
the sense of things being back to normal. Not this fast. She knew there'd
be relapses, particularly when she returned home, but this trip had
forced a paradigm shift and she'd grown with it.

His joyous laugh came through so clear and sharp,
she leaned back and closed her eyes. She missed this. Missed him. Her
brother had been such a mainstay in her life, a stalwart support. She
was blessed. And had so forgotten to see and appreciate the gold in
her life because she was locked in her self-imposed prison of pain and
misery.

Instead of walking away, he'd been shining at her
side for so long and so consistently that she'd become accustomed to
it. She'd forgotten to be grateful for his presence.

Not anymore.

"You are the best brother anyone could have and
I am so appreciative that you don't belong to anyone else but me."
Tears collected in the corners of her eyes and despite her best attempts,
she sniffled.

"Jesus Jade. You're killing me here."

Smiling through her tears, she said, "Sorry,
I know you don't like emotionalism, but I just needed to say that."

"And needed to say it at a time that I can't
wrap you in my arms and hug you." His voice deepened with emotion.
"You know I love you, kitten. I don't know what's going on over
there. If anything happens to you, I'll be heartbroken – you know
that, right?"

"Yeah I do." She sniffled harder. "I
didn't mean to get into this right now, but all those dead women..."

"I know." He sighed heavily. "Wish
I could help. I'd do anything to stop you from ever being traumatized
again."

"I would too. And we don't know for sure that
our theories are correct. Yet. We need to find out the truth. Or what
we can while working here. That's on the table for tomorrow."

"Then you call me tomorrow. When you get back
to the hotel give me a quick call. Just a 'Hi Duncan, had a great day,
love ya' kind of call. So I know you're okay."

"I'll be fine," she insisted. She stood
and wandered the window, loving the cool night air and the sultry darkness
that was so distinctive to this part of the world. If the phone cord
reached, she'd have sat out on the patio surrounded by the gardens.
She'd been truly blessed to have the chance to come back here. Maybe
she could think more charitably of Tony for granting her this opportunity.