“So, she picked him up and carried him while we ran,” Robert said.
“We didn’t get far,” Richard continued.
“They hunted us like animals,” Robert said, his anger growing.
Harri imagined how terrified her sister must have been that night. How desperately she must have wanted to get away, but she couldn’t leave a little boy behind. Harri put her hand on her chest feeling her heart break apart.
“When was this? The fall of 1994?” Harri asked.
It was almost time. She could tell both men had pulled back into the past and she hoped Robert had loosened his grip on Richard and forgotten he was holding a gun.
“No. The summer of ’95.” Richard said.
Their theory had been correct. The photo was from the summer of ’95. They’d had her sister for almost a year. A year where she must have endured so much horror and pain.
“How did you ever get away? Who were these men?”
“The shots were ringing out everywhere,” Richard explained. “Bobby and I swerved off the path and sprinted through the woods. We reached the beach and jumped right in. The water was so cold, but we kept going. We left them all behind,” Richard whispered, his tone horrified, his guilt seeping through every word.
“We just wanted to get away, to get off the island like Chris had.”
“You both were only boys,” Harri said.
“Why did you take me then?” Dan screamed. “After all that happened, why would you do this to other people?”
He wasn’t going to be still any longer.
“I never touched you, did I?” Robert said, pointing the gun at Dan.
“Put the gun down, Bobby,” Harri said trying to diffuse the situation.
“I didn’t touch any of those boys,” Robert said through gritted teeth. “I never hurt them. I’m not like Chris. I made them clean.”
“Give me the gun, Bobby,” Harri said as she extended her arm.
She wanted all his attention on her. He pointed the gun at her.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” Robert sneered.
Richard took that moment to strike. He threw himself at the gun.
“Get down,” Harri yelled and threw herself on Dan. Her collarbone exploded with pain as her body hit Dan’s. They both fell to the ground.
Harri watched as the two men struggled for the gun. Richard was losing ground. Harri left Dan on the ground and rushed to help Richard.
She was halfway to them when the gun went off. Richard’s face crumpled in pain. He’d been hit. Robert fumbled for the gun, but Richard grabbed it from him.
The gun went off again, this time hitting Robert. Both men fell. Harri crawled over to Robert. The blank look on his face showed he was dead.
“Oh, my god.” Dan whimpered behind her. “Oh, my god. Is he really dead?”
Harri glanced back at Dan. He crumpled to the ground, sobbing. She turned to Richard and took his hand. Blood spurted from his mouth. The bullet must have hit the lungs.
“Hang in there, Richard,” Harri pleaded. She squeezed his hand and watched his eyes flutter. His lips moved and Harri kneeled closer, straining to hear his words over Dan’s sobs.
“I should have stopped him. I knew it could have been him when the first boy went missing. I hoped it wasn’t.”
“This wasn’t on you,” Harri said. “You got away. You saved us. You’re a good boy.”
Richard’s breathing was shallow. He was slipping away.
“Tell me who did this to you?” she begged. “Who killed my sister?”
“John, Mark, George,” he whispered as his eyes closed for the last time.
“No!” Harri cried. “Please, no. Richard!” Harri shook him, but he was gone.
“Harri! Harri!” Jake’s voice sounded behind her.
Harri shook her pounding head in disbelief. She must be worse off than she thought. Then strong arms enveloped her, and she cried out in pain.
She heard Jake’s voice in her ear. “I found you.”
Harri cried out in pain. Her shattered collarbone sent shockwaves of pain through her body. “Broken. I’m broken.”
Jake cradled her gently as Gavin checked Dan. She was safe. Jake had found her. With the last thoughts, she let go and drifted into the comfort of painless darkness.
41
Day 10 – October 6, 2018
Harri Harper turned her face to the sun as the motorboat bumped along the lake to the small island where the NecroFind team had been working all morning.
Her collarbone was set, and her arm was in a sling. Medication dulled her pain, but she was careful not to overdo the dosage because of her concussion.
The night of the rescue still remained a partial blur to her. She remembered Jake’s arms around her, but little else. She woke up in the hospital the next morning with contraptions holding her arm just so and a bandage around her head.
After a battery of tests on both her head and body, Harri had been discharged with warnings about avoiding hitting her head and keeping her arm in a sling until her collarbone healed. Jake stayed by her bedside the entire time she’d been there.
Tim, Molly, and Dan visited her in the hospital as she recuperated. Tim tearfully hugged and thanked her. Dan looked like the ghost of himself in daylight, but he didn’t have the hunger in his eyes that she’d seen on his friends at the 7-Eleven. Harri hoped he’d stay clean. He deserved a second chance.
Detective Gavin French and Detective Robinson had been some of her last visitors. They’d found evidence at Robert Payton’s house conclusively linking him to Dan Ledeyen’s abduction and the deaths of Atticus Menlo and Alan Prentiss. The case was closed as Robert Payton was dead. Yet, they were still collecting evidence and wanted to interview her.
Gavin made sure he was the one to tell her about NecroFind. He’d been authorized to invite them to the island to search for the graves of her sister and the six boys that Richard Miller claimed died at the same time.
That’s where the motorboat was taking her. Jake sat by her side, holding her hand in his.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked her.
“Yes and no,” Harri admitted.
“I feel the same way,” Jake said. “Are you going to be okay going back there?”
“What do you mean?”
“PTSD, that sort of thing.”
He said it awkwardly andHarri appreciated his checking in on her like that.
“I’m fine,” Harri assured him. “I’m anxious to see what they’ve found.”
This boat trip was the culmination of twenty-five years of searching, all her training as a cop, and her belief she would someday bring her sister home.
“How many graves have they found?” Harri asked as the boat slowed.
“Nine,” Jake said.
Harri couldn’t take her eyes off the tree line. She could see white tents through the trees and crime scene techs milling about.
The boat skimmed onto the beach and Jake took Harri’s hand. “Let me help you out,” he said.
He maneuvered himself to the beach and reached back for her. Harri allowed him to lift her out of the boat and set her on the rocky shore. She steadied herself against him and took his hand again as they headed toward the NecroFind workstation.
Dr. Susan came out of the trees.
“I’ve been watching out for you,” she said and hugged Harri.
“You’ve found some remains I’ve heard,” Harri said.
“Indeed, we have. If you’ll follow me,” she said a small smile playing on her face.
Harri took the lead and Jake held her hips to steady her as they picked their way through rocks and fallen branches to the burial site.
Harri could see the main cabins of the camp to the left some two hundred feet away. Dr. Susan turned to the right and led her to a small clearing filled with the NecroFind team and the crime scene technicians.
A white canopy had been constructed over the nine partially uncovered graves.
“Is she here?�
� Harri whispered.
Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the bones of the children in front of her.
“We’ve found the remains of what appears to be an older teenager,” Dr. Susan confirmed. “A female.”
Harri turned to Jake. “We did it. We found her.”
“We can bring her home now,” Jake said as he caught her up in an embrace.
They held onto each other as the teams of technicians worked in front of them. Harri nestled her head on his chest, her heartbeat against Jake’s.
She knew this was still an unsolved case. Now, she had to find justice for her sister and these boys who nobody had ever come looking for.
But for now, she’d take the win. She’d found Dan and brought him home and she’d found her sister. She smiled at the thought of Lauren walking free through the woods. She imagined her surrounded by the seven boys and the smallest one in her arms. Lauren turned, smiled and waved, and led the boys into the trees.
“What is it?” Jake murmured.
“Thank you,” she said.
“For what?” He laughed.
“For everything,” she said. “For coming back to me. For being you.”
“I’m so glad I did, Harri,” he replied. “I’m so glad I did.”
I hope you enjoyed reading The Hidden Grave! Detective Harri Harper’s new case is back in Los Angeles in The Broken Trail. Click here for Book 3!
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Also by Dominika Best
Harriet Harper Thriller Series
The Creek Killer
The Hidden Grave
The Broken Trail
The Night Blinder
Ghosts of Los Angeles Series
The Haunting of Sunshine House
The Haunting of Eva Murphy
The Haunting of Alexas Hotel
Copyright © 2020 by Dominika Best
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