Burning Ridge

by Margaret Mizushima

  Robo launched himself away from the stone-lined fire ring and dashed into the woods beyond the campsite. Mattie stayed close on his heels and Brody kept a short distance behind. He always covered her back, and she’d come to count on him.

  She followed her dog through the trees for another fifty yards, the odor thickening as she traveled. The air grew heavy with the stink of rotting flesh. Robo picked up speed, dashing down into a hollow and then slowing. He pinned his ears, slinking up to a mound of dirt and debris.

  Mattie raced to catch up. By the time she reached him, Robo had sat down and was waiting for her. His mouth opened in a pant, and he wore a smug expression as though quite satisfied with himself.

  She squatted beside him and hugged him close, giving him lots of praise and pats for doing such a remarkable job. Since the stench was so bad, she wondered if this had been his destination all along, and he’d shown her the fire ring just for kicks.

  “Here’s the big prize,” she said to Brody.

  A shallow grave that had been ravaged by predators lay before them, putting on a partial display of its contents. Mattie’s stomach clenched as she took in the sight. The upper body of a burned corpse had been exposed, its arms bent like those of a boxer, its wrists flexed, its fingers curled into blackened claws. Roasted flesh had been harvested from the bone by the animals that had dug into the gravesite, and the face had been uncovered enough that Mattie could see the disfigured lower half—its jaw thrust open by its charred, protruding tongue.

  In all her years of law enforcement, it was the worst thing Mattie had ever seen. She controlled her need to retch and scanned the lower half of the grave.

  One leg was exposed, foot and boot missing. She forced herself to think analytically. Could Bruno have done this damage when he’d found the body? No, this couldn’t have been his handiwork. A pack of coyotes or foxes must have dug up the grave, one of them had dragged away the boot, and Bruno had merely found it.

  Charred pieces of wood were scattered about and there’d been enough digging to see that the body had been buried inside another fire pit—this one huge.

  “A burning pit,” Brody said, scanning the area around them. “For getting rid of a body. Plenty of wood for fuel, but not enough heat to do the job.”

  Mattie struggled to remain as detached as Brody. Who was this poor man? At least she thought it was a man. What kind of a horrible death had he faced? Who was his family, and had they reported him missing? “Why bury him way up here?”

  Brody shrugged. “Slim chance of being interrupted. Besides, he was probably killed up here.”

  She forced her eyes away from the desecrated corpse. “We need to preserve this scene the best we can. This one’s going to get complicated.”

  Brody straightened, thrusting his thumbs under his utility belt. “That’s for damn sure.”

  SEVEN

  Brody left to bring back the others while Mattie remained at the gravesite. She squatted beside Robo as he nosed the pocket in her utility belt that held his tennis ball. He didn’t seem to be depressed that he’d found a dead person. Since he’d tracked the odor of decomp this time, rather than a scent article from a living person, perhaps he’d known what he would find.

  When Robo successfully completed a mission, he expected playtime, his reward at the end of the search game. Mattie scanned the area, trying to decide what to do. She couldn’t play with him here and risk destroying prints or other evidence. She wrapped an arm around him and hugged him close, putting her cheek against his. She told him what a good job he’d done and offered a treat. Looking expectant, he backed away, shifting his eyes from the pocket that contained his ball to her face.

  Her heart went out to him, and she decided to distract him with work, perhaps the only thing he loved more than play. “We’re not done yet. We’ve got to go back to work.”

  She took a short leash from her utility belt and attached it to the dead ring on his collar. She intended to do a grid search to see if she could find anything outside the environmental norm, anything the killer might’ve left behind.

  Mattie stood, asking Robo to sit at heel so that he would settle down. In her mind, she laid out a grid of the area in front of her and then raised her face to determine the direction of the breeze. The odor of decomposing flesh filled her nostrils.

  The forest remained silent.

  A chill lifted the hair on her neck, and she scanned the area. New forest growth blocked her visibility. Fresh evergreens of all heights grew scattered among the blackened husks of trees burned long ago. Brush, deadfall, groves of aspen with their bright green leaves hanging motionless. Granite boulders, huge towering monoliths, and rocky outcroppings. Other than the gravesite, she could see nothing but normal mountain terrain.

  She glanced at Robo. His hackles remained flat. Her dog hadn’t sensed anything, so it could be her imagination getting the best of her. She glanced at the violated grave and saw the raised arms, their joints contracted by the fire, and the charred fists. Who was this victim? What happened to him?

  She shook off her hinky feeling and focused back on the task at hand. Bending forward, she hugged Robo against her leg, patted him briskly, and while she led him to the right side of the grid she intended to walk, she began the chatter that told him it was time to get to work. Then she gave him his command for evidence detection: “Seek!”

  With Robo’s nose and Mattie’s eyes on the ground, they started the painstaking task of walking a grid, searching about two feet of space at a time, working in strips back and forth between the gravesite and the brook. She marked faint horseshoe prints and boot prints with a short spike topped with orange flagging tape. Though disappointed that the rainfall had crumbled the imprints’ edges so they were no longer clear and sharp, she could tell they were made by large-sized cowboy boots, not a work boot like the one found on the body.

  They were finishing up when Mattie heard the clack of steel horseshoes against rock, a signal that the others were approaching. There was still a large area around the gravesite to search, but at least she’d completed the important part where their group would be walking back and forth. The rest could wait.

  Brody and the others must have tied the horses, because they came in on foot. She told Robo to sit beside her and turned to watch them pick their way across the brook on large stepping-stones that Brody had placed to fill in the gaps.

  She called a warning. “I’ve marked some prints here that we need to preserve, although none of them are very good.”

  Her gaze connected with Cole’s, and they checked in with each other silently. He seemed to be holding up all right. On the other hand, some retching noises escaped from Ed Lovejoy’s throat that didn’t bode well.

  Brody reacted at once. “If you’re gonna puke, get back on the other side of the creek. Now!”

  Ed scurried across the water, holding a hand over his mouth. He disappeared into some bushes down the trail, and heaving noises emanated from the spot.

  Stella and McCoy approached the gravesite while Cole kept his distance. Stella leaned forward and McCoy squatted down next to the body, both taking a closer look.

  “We’re going to need a team to excavate this body,” Stella said. “Maybe a forensic anthropologist, or some kind of specialist in managing burned remains.”

  “I’ll call in the CBI,” McCoy said, referring to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

  “That’s the way to go.” Stella made eye contact with Mattie. “What do you still need to do?”

  “Search the area. See if Robo hits on anything.” Her dog had been known to find cigarette butts and bullet casings that eventually helped solve cases in the past, small things that a human eye might overlook.

  “All right.” Stella turned to Cole. “Dr. Walker, let’s get the tarp you brought and cover this body.”

  Cole nodded and left to go back to the horses.

  “We’ll need an overnight watch,” Stella said. “Chances are it could be tomorrow before w
e can get someone from the CBI up here.”

  “I’ll stand guard,” Brody said.

  Mattie recalled the eerie feeling this site gave her and hated to leave Brody up here alone. “I’ll stay, too.”

  Brody shook his head. “Not necessary.”

  McCoy stood. “I’ll activate the sheriff’s posse to organize horses to transport people and their supplies up to this area. We should be able to get tents, food, and whatever you need here by later this afternoon. Deputy Brody, you’ll be in charge of securing this site and supervising the team I send up.”

  “All right.”

  “I’ll assign several posse members to stay with you until we can get the investigation team up here.” McCoy paused, obviously still thinking. “Deputy Cobb, you’ll conduct the search around the area now before everyone else comes in. Once you finish, I want you to go back to town. You and Detective LoSasso can escort the investigative team up here whenever they arrive.”

  His plan made sense. Many members of the sheriff’s posse were crack shots with rifles. Brody would be safe with them backing him up here at the site.

  Stella spoke up. “We need to get down to telephones soon.”

  “You and I will go down as soon as we get this site secure,” McCoy said.

  By this time, Cole had returned, carrying a tarp, two shovels, rope, and a hatchet.

  “You can set those things right here.” Mattie indicated an area that she and Robo had cleared near the gravesite.

  “I’ll cut some stakes,” Brody said, picking up the hatchet and going toward some deadfall to find suitable branches.

  Cole began to unwrap a large sheet of green plastic. “This is new tarp, Sheriff. Never been used.”

  “Perfect.” Sheriff McCoy moved to help him unfold the tarp without letting it touch the ground.

  Mattie and Stella each took an end and the four of them stretched and lowered it, stepping carefully to avoid debris around the grave. Mattie felt relieved to have the charred remains covered and hoped the tarp would help contain the odor. Even a little bit would help.

  Brody brought over several wooden stakes and joined Cole and the sheriff while they attached short lengths of rope to the tarp’s corners. They anchored it to the ground by tamping in the stakes with the blunt side of the hatchet’s head.

  McCoy studied the gravesite and evidently decided all was in order. “Detective LoSasso and I need to leave. Cole, can you stay and go down with Deputy Cobb when she finishes?”

  “Sure.”

  “What should we do with the horses when we get to the parking lot?”

  “Tie them to the trailer. I’ll take care of them when we get back,” Cole said. “Could one of you call my family and tell them I’ll be late getting home?”

  “I’ll take care of it,” McCoy said.

  Stella caught Mattie’s eye and tilted her head, signaling that she wanted to talk privately. Mattie followed her, fording the stream by stepping on the large stones, while Robo splashed through the water and gamboled beside her. He still had his eye on that tennis ball pocket, and she knew she couldn’t put him off much longer.

  “I’m going to take the boot back with me and get it sent to the lab,” Stella said. “Okay with you?”

  “I guess we’re done with it now.”

  “Do you need anything before we leave?”

  “I’ve got everything I might need in my pack.”

  “Cole tied it back on your horse.” The horses were in sight now and Mattie could see her pack tied behind Mountaineer’s saddle. Ed Lovejoy leaned on a boulder, waiting, and he raised one hand in greeting when he spotted them.

  “Are you going to be all right on that horse going down?” Stella asked.

  “I can handle it. You?”

  Stella shrugged. “Piece a cake. You’ll check in at the station when you get back?”

  “I’ll call on my way and stop in as soon as I get to town.”

  “Good.” Stella studied her for a few beats. “Take care going through these trees when you search. Make sure someone stays with you. This place makes my skin crawl.”

  Mattie nodded, glad she wasn’t the only one. “Will do.”

  The party of three mounted up and left while Mattie untied her pack. Slinging it over one shoulder, she headed back toward the gravesite. Robo darted in front of her, whirling to face her and then trotting sideways.

  She could deny him no longer. Setting aside her determination to get the job done, she put down her pack and removed his ball from her utility belt. Finding a relatively flat place and utilizing the space on the trail, she tossed Robo’s ball out about twenty feet. He dashed forward and pounced on it, looking ecstatic as he brought it back, clutching the neon-yellow ball between his sharp teeth.

  She tried to forget the grisly reason they were here so she could give Robo his due. After all, this was his version of a coffee break.

  EIGHT

  Even though Mattie was an expert at hiding her feelings, Cole could still read her anxiety. She scanned the area constantly and jumped at the slightest sound. Something was bothering her. The grotesque corpse certainly qualified as enough to disturb anyone, but he could tell there was something more that had her on edge.

  After Cole finished a search of the upper trail near the stream, he stood watch at the gravesite while Mattie and Brody combed the area for further evidence. They’d been at it for hours and hadn’t yet come up with anything. He glimpsed Robo running through some willows off to his left and then saw Mattie following close behind. She looked tired, her brow etched with a frown.

  She wouldn’t like it, but he couldn’t help but worry about her. A few months ago, she’d withdrawn from him and his kids. He didn’t know the details, but she’d told him that she was working with a counselor on issues from her past and she needed a little space. She was a hard woman to read, and he was trying to respect her need for privacy by not pushing too hard. He didn’t want to spook her and make her shy away from him again.

  Since Sophie’s kidnapping, Mattie seemed most comfortable spending time with the kids and him at their house. She accepted his casual embrace and even his kisses, but she avoided talking about their relationship. He could tell her past still haunted her.

  Mattie turned away and directed Robo back out from the gravesite, with Brody trailing behind. It looked like she was making giant loops, giving her dog freedom to run and sniff wherever his nose would take him. By now they’d almost completed a circle around the gravesite, searching everyplace the rugged terrain would allow. The brook that separated the crime scene from the trail flowed toward the south, spilling over a sharp drop-off into a steep-sided canyon that defied penetration, but it appeared they were combing through the rest of the area.

  Last fall, Mattie had told him that her father had been an alcoholic, and he’d frequently smacked his family around when he drank. One night the abuse had gone too far, and six-year-old Mattie had called the police. Cole winced when he imagined such a thing happening to a little kid, but he believed it said something about Mattie’s fortitude, even as a child.

  Mattie’s father had been killed while serving time in prison—Cole’s vengeful side couldn’t help but rejoice a little bit about that—but she’d never heard from her mother again, and that seemed to be the root from which her pain stemmed.

  Lately, her pain had become his, because he’d found himself falling in love with her, and whatever affected her affected him as well.

  Cole spotted her again, approaching through the trees. This time she kept coming and made eye contact, so he put his thoughts about her past away. She gave him a shrug, telling him she’d found nothing.

  Brody materialized through the thick pine soon after and followed her and Robo into the clearing. He unslung his rifle from his back and carried it in his hands the last distance.

  “That was damn disappointing,” Brody said. Cole had grown used to the man cutting right to the chase, his words often sharpened with a sarcastic edge.


  Mattie nodded her agreement, her face showing her fatigue. Knowing that she battled insomnia most of the time, Cole wondered if she’d been able to sleep last night. He was glad the sheriff had told her to return to town instead of spending the night with a corpse.

  Cole checked the time. “It’s about four o’clock. I expect someone will be arriving with supplies soon.”

  “You two might as well start back down the mountain,” Brody said. “I can take it from here.”

  A shadow of concern flickered across Mattie’s face, Cole catching it before it disappeared. “I need to play with Robo again,” she said. “Even though he didn’t find anything, he still worked hard and needs his reward.”

  Brody shrugged. “Do what you need to, and then you can go.”

  Mattie started to leave the gravesite, but turned back to face Brody. “I think we need to do one more search between here and the stone ring of the campfire. And I want Robo to sweep the sides of the trail, just in case he can find something in the foliage.”

  “Are you trying to delay so you don’t leave me here alone?” Brody asked, his brow furrowed with a scowl.

  Mattie looked at him. “You wouldn’t leave me without backup.”

  “I did once, remember?”

  Brody must’ve been talking about last fall, when he’d left Mattie guarding a gravesite while he went down the mountain to organize an investigative team. Cole took a step back. This was between the two of them, none of his business.

  “That was different. You had to,” Mattie said. “But I’ve got this strange feeling, Brody, like we’re being watched. I’m not going to leave until backup arrives.”

  Brody stared at her with that measuring look he tended to give people.

  Mattie turned away, leaving no space for argument. As she departed, she spoke over her shoulder. “I’m going to play with Robo, and then we’ll finish a sweep of the trail. By then, someone will have arrived with supplies.”

  Brody shot a glance at Cole. “She’s always been stubborn like that,” he grumbled. “But you can’t argue with protocol, and it’s best to keep two people together if possible. We’re taking over your whole day.”