Beneath the Surface
Page 31
“Yes, ma’am,” Adam said.
Gabe glared at Anissa for a second before grabbing a sketch pad and getting to work. “She thinks she’s being mean, but I didn’t want to get wet today anyway.”
Adam didn’t bother responding to Gabe’s mutterings. Partly because he wasn’t so sure Anissa had been trying to be mean. As far as he was concerned, she’d given the worst job to him. It took him ten minutes to change into the dry suit and prep everything he would need if Anissa or Lane required assistance.
He tried to ignore the shrouded body near the water’s edge. They couldn’t do anything about the evidence destroyed by the man who’d jumped in the lake and tried to save the victim. Even after he was sure she was dead, he’d gone down repeatedly until he freed her and pulled her body to the surface.
Adam focused on the work Anissa and Lane were doing in the water, prepping the car to be retrieved.
“Adam.” Anissa’s voice came through the earpiece he was wearing. “You might as well go ahead and call Sabrina.”
Dr. Sabrina Fleming was a local professor of cybersecurity and computer forensics.
“What did you find?” Adam asked.
“A laptop.”
The Carrington County Sheriff’s Office had a wonderful forensics team and they did great work, but Sabrina had a lab filled with all the latest equipment, as well as everything that would be needed to attempt to pull any information from the waterlogged computer.
“I’ll send her a text now.” Adam retrieved his phone from his bag. He didn’t need to look her up in his contacts. He had her number memorized.
She responded immediately.
“Anissa,” Adam said, “she can come now. How long will it be before you bring it up?” Underwater criminal investigators never removed anything from the water. The laptop would need to be placed in a special box filled with lake water. Recovering anything from the hard drive was actually harder if it dried out improperly.
“Tell her to come on,” Anissa said. “We’ll have it ready.”
Adam fought the grin that tried to cross his lips. This wasn’t the time for it. Someone had died. But at least he’d get to see Sabrina this afternoon.
A shower of gravel drew his attention to the steep incline surrounding him. He gave Dr. Sharon Oliver, medical examiner, a nod as she inched her way down the embankment to the body. “Weren’t you on call last weekend?” he asked her.
She let out a huff as she set her bag beside the body. “I was. And I will be on call for the next two weeks while Dr. Sherman enjoys his thirty-fifth anniversary by traipsing all over Europe.”
Adam laughed. She sounded put out, but he knew she wasn’t. “You’re just jealous.”
She flashed him a wicked grin. “You got that right.”
“All right, honey,” she said, addressing the victim. “Let’s see what you can tell me and then let’s get you away from prying eyes.”
Gabe approached the body and snapped pictures as Dr. Oliver examined it. “I assume you’re talking about our hovering friends.” He glared at the heavens, where a news helicopter circled.
“Indeed,” she said.
Adam studied the surface of the water, thankful he had an excuse to look away from the body.
“Um, Campbell?”
Adam tried to ignore Gabe, but he didn’t want to be unprofessional. “What?” He didn’t turn.
“You may want to see this.”
Jerk. Gabe knew how he felt about dead bodies. “I’m watching Anissa and—”
“Adam.” Gabe’s tone was . . . off. What was going on?
He kept his eyes on the water but backed toward the body. “What is it?”
Gabe clapped a hand on his back. “I’ll watch the water. You need to talk to the doc.”
“Wha—”
Gabe nodded his head toward the body.
Adam made eye contact with the doctor. She pointed to the victim. Why were they so insistent that he look at a dead body?
Fine.
Lord, help me.
He glanced at the victim.
Then stared.
There, written in permanent marker on the victim’s abdomen, were six words.
They killed me. Ask Adam Campbell.
Lynn H. Blackburn is the author of Hidden Legacy (Love Inspired, June 2017) and Covert Justice, winner of the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel. Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose), as well as experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children.
www.LynnHBlackburn.com
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