Casey allowed another taste of his wine. “You just turned thirty, right?”

  She made a face. “Is that supposed to mean something? Is my life over because I’m thirty and single?”

  He held up his hands. “No, no. That’s not what I meant at all.”

  “Good.” She sipped her wine. “I can assure you I will never forget my thirtieth. I found human remains in my freezer.”

  “That’s too bad. Definitely made for a memorable event.”

  “I’ll get over it. As my father would say, just another day.”

  Except it wasn’t just another day. It was a really bad day.

  Casey stood, gathered his plate and glass and took them to the kitchen. Naomi trailed him. Without further conversation they cleaned up the kitchen and tossed the remains of dinner in the trash.

  Naomi poured more wine and Casey wished he could indulge but he wouldn’t take the risk. The sweatpants and hoodie sweatshirt made her look like a little girl.

  “What are you smiling about?” She held up the bottle. “You want more?”

  “I should pass.”

  She stared at him over the rim of her glass. “What’s the smile about? I swear, I can’t think of a thing either of us has to smile about at the moment.”

  If he told her would she be flattered or annoyed? “I like the sweats. You look relaxed.”

  She tugged at the baggy top. “When I came home all I could think about was standing under the hot spray of water and getting into something utterly comfortable.”

  He had to remind himself to speak since his brain was still stuck on the image of her under that hot spray of water.

  She set her glass aside. “Okay, I don’t know if it’s the wine or the insanity of the past few days driving me, but I have to do this. I cannot take it anymore.”

  He frowned. “What can’t you take anymore?”

  “Kiss me.” She planted her hands on her hips. “I know you’re feeling the attraction just like I am so let’s get it over with. See if the real thing can stand up to the memory.”

  “You want me to kiss you?” he confirmed, his pulse already hammering.

  “Only if you want to—if you’re as curious as I am, then I’m certain you want to.”

  She had no idea.

  He took her face in his hands, glided the pad of his thumb over her cheek. “I’ve dreamed of doing this again for a very, very long time.”

  He kissed her.

  His lips melted into hers and the rush of sensations made it impossible to breathe.

  He drew back just far enough to look into her eyes. “How’s that?”

  “I’m not sure. Can we do it again?”

  A knock on the door sent them stumbling apart.

  Grappling for his composure, he held out a hand for her to stay put. He walked to the window and checked the porch.

  Deputy Lawton.

  Breathing easier, he moved to the door and opened it just enough to hear what the man had to say.

  “Just wanted you to know that I’m on for the night. You have any trouble you let me know.”

  “Keep your eyes open, Lawton,” Casey warned. “I’m sure you heard what happened to the deputy earlier.”

  “Got it, Agent Duncan.”

  He turned on his heel and walked back to his car.

  Casey closed the door and locked it.

  When he turned back to Naomi she was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  “See you in the morning.”

  Then she was gone.

  One thing was for sure. That long ago kiss didn’t hold a candle to the one they’d shared just now.

  The memory would haunt him for another twenty years.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Honea Farm

  Friday, October 21, 6:00 a.m.

  Casey had just poured his second cup of coffee when he got the word. He was needed at the excavation site. They’d found something.

  He hadn’t heard a sound from upstairs. He’d worried that when he showered she would wake up, but she hadn’t stirred. It was late when she went to bed. Considering the recent events, he doubted she went to sleep immediately. Probably didn’t sleep well, either. He’d wanted to follow her up those stairs last night something fierce. But she hadn’t extended the invitation and he knew better.

  At least they’d had that kiss. The memory warmed him.

  Whatever happened when this investigation was done, he would think of that kiss for a very long time to come.

  Casey found paper and pen in a drawer and left her a note to call when she was up. He pulled on his jacket and headed out the front door, locking it behind him. It was warmer this morning than last night. He hurried down the porch steps and to the cruiser parked next to his SUV.

  The deputy powered down the window. “Morning, Agent Duncan.”

  Not Lawton. There must have been an early-morning shift change. Casey was surprised he hadn’t knocked on the door to announce the change.

  “Deputy.” Casey gave him a nod. So far this week he’d met a different deputy for each shift. Except for Lawton. He’d showed up for the detail three or four times now. “I’m heading across the field to the excavation site. I’d like you to move to the front porch until Ms. Honea is up.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  While Casey loaded into his SUV, the deputy climbed the porch steps and took a seat in a rocking chair. Casey backed up, then turned toward the narrow dirt road that led deeper onto the property. He could drive most of the way. A ping warned he had a text message. He stopped and had a look.

  Call me.

  Casey put the SUV in Park and made the call to his ASAC. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Preston Wagner answered on the first ring.

  “Duncan, this case just elevated to the highest priority.”

  Casey braced for whatever profound news he was about to receive. “I’m listening.”

  “Dental records and prints confirm your vic, Arlene Beck, was Anna Becker. Those numbers on the file jacket are showing up as foreign bank accounts that go back decades. There’s a lot we don’t know. But we were notified to stand down. I need you to wrap up and get back to Nashville.”

  “Wait—” Casey took a second to slow his frustration. “What does that mean, stand down?”

  “You know what it means, Duncan.”

  “I know what it means,” he growled. “I’m asking you in what capacity should I stand down on this one? We have multiple homicide victims and no confirmation that they’re all related. If—”

  “It means that whatever you find, it has nothing to do with Becker or that history. It means this is bigger than the Bureau and a task force will be taking over.”

  “Give me the day at least,” Casey argued. “There are loose ends to tie up here.”

  “I can give you that,” Wagner agreed, “but you cannot move forward on this investigation. It’s above our pay grade.”

  “I can live with that,” Casey relented. “But I want to know how did this Anna Becker end up in Franklin County, Tennessee, as Arlene Beck?”

  “I don’t know much,” Wagner admitted, “but I know that after the death of her mother, Becker—Beck—disappeared. She was the one to turn her mother in to the authorities. I have no idea why and probably never will. Before the authorities could move in on her mother—Ursula Becker—she was murdered. The daughter was never heard from again. It was assumed that the daughter was dead, as well. Apparently, that was not the case.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate that much.” He had a feeling this information explained a lot more than maybe Wagner understood.

  “Duncan, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but the order came from above.”

  “Got it.” Casey ended the call before more could be said. No need to give the man time to toss out any other restrictions.

  Casey had never been one to break the rules. But this was different. He wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know what he knew. He damned sure wasn’t leaving Naomi in the dark when she deserved far more. This was her home. Her family.

  When he reached the grotto, the excavator sat dormant, but judging by the amount of dirt and rock lying in a pile to one side, the digging had been going on for a while this morning. He was glad he hadn’t gotten the call from Wagner before the excavation began. Maybe they’d uncovered more pieces of the puzzle Naomi would need to get on with her life.

  Whatever was going on, he wanted the whole story. He wanted to protect Naomi from anything that might be coming. Hell, at this point they still had no idea who the bad guy was.

  Casey parked and headed for the half a dozen people huddled around the open pit that had been unearthed just above the pool of water below. One of the team members, Ted Letson, glanced up at him and shook his head. When Casey reached the other agent and had a look into the pit for himself, he understood the reaction.

  What the hell?

  In the pit was a pickup and a car. Both were damned rusty and bent up from being dumped into the pit and then covered with dirt. The vehicles looked to be thirty or more years old.

  “One of the Franklin County deputies who is licensed in cave rescues,” Letson explained, “is down there trying to locate a license plate on one or both vehicles. He had his gear in his truck, so we let him have at it.”

  Casey snapped a pic. “You called Tanner or Brannigan?”

  “On the way. Called them right after I called you.”

  Casey opted not to mention his conversation with Wagner. He intended to push forward as far as possible before the new investigators arrived.

  “Yo!” the deputy in the pit called out.

  “What have you got?” Letson called back.

  “We got bones in both vehicles. Like entire skeletons. One in each.”

  More victims. At least two. Damn. Casey said, “We need a bigger forensics team.”

  “I think you’re right,” Letson agreed. “I’ll call Wagner.”

  “Don’t worry about Wagner. Call Jensen directly. He’ll get someone down here ASAP.”

  Rule break number one. Wagner would not be happy when he found out.

  Letson made the call. While he did, Casey removed his jacket and donned the proper gear. He was going down there. Every minute they wasted put them closer to being shut down. He’d made a promise to Naomi that he’d find answers for her. He wasn’t going to let her down.

  Casey used the same ladder rope the deputy had put in place to make his way down to the vehicles. The car appeared to have been dumped on top of the pickup. The scent of disturbed soil rose up and filled his nostrils.

  “Have a look,” the deputy said as Casey found his footing atop the car.

  The driver of the car was still strapped into the driver’s seat. Like the deputy said, the skeleton remained intact. The clothes were mostly rotted away, but a pearl necklace hanging from the neck area suggested the remains were female.

  “Can we get a good look into the cab of the truck?” Casey asked.

  “It landed kind of canted to one side so there’s a good slice of cracked window right beneath the right front tire of this car.”

  Casey slipped down lower to a crevice where dirt had not filled in around the truck.

  “Be careful,” the deputy said. “I don’t think this car will move, but you never know.”

  “Got it.” Casey eased closer to the blue truck’s driver side window. It was necessary to force his head into the small area between the car and the truck to see inside. Another set of bones. Mostly intact. No seat belt this time. The bones lay against the passenger side door as if the victim had been slung there when the truck landed in the hole. Like the other victim, the clothes were mostly gone, but a good portion of a set of sneakers remained. He was only guessing, but judging by the length and width, this was likely a male victim.

  His assessments would need to be confirmed but he was usually on the money.

  “I can make out part of the car’s license plate,” the deputy called out to him.

  Casey climbed back in that direction using the occasional rock protruding from the earth and parts of the vehicle’s undercarriage.

  “I can see the first number but nothing after that.”

  Casey looked around. “Let me climb over the quarter panel and see if I can get a shot with my cell phone.”

  The deputy pushed on the car. It rocked ever so slightly. “Better be careful, this thing is not as stable as it looks.”

  “With that in mind,” Casey said, “you get back on the ladder while I do this.”

  “I’m not sure,” the deputy began, “it—”

  Casey shot him a look that warned this was not a debate. The deputy moved back to the ladder and climbed up a couple of rungs.

  When the deputy was safely out of the way, Casey moved up onto the vehicle. The car rocked slightly, and he stilled to wait for it to settle. Then he started to move again. When he was lying facedown across the quarter panel over the rear tire, he slid just far enough to lower his arm between the rear end and the dirt wall. He took a couple of pics and checked the screen.

  He got half the license plate, but he needed the whole thing.

  He slid on his belly, moving closer to the bumper, and reached deeper this time. Angled his phone a little more.

  The car moved.

  This time it didn’t stop.

  Honea Farm, 7:00 a.m.

  NAOMI SPREAD THE covers over her bed.

  She’d smelled the coffee and roused half an hour ago, but she hadn’t wanted to go down and face Casey just yet. It was silly, she knew, but she was a little embarrassed about having insisted he kiss her.

  Sleep had eluded her last night. Between finding Mr. Cotton hanging from that tree and...

  Good grief, how could this all be happening? Murders rarely happened in Franklin County. Suddenly the homicide rate had quadrupled and her farm was the primary crime scene. It was totally crazy. Beyond crazy.

  She walked down the hall and paused at the door of her parents’ room. Surely they had no idea all this was happening.

  But how could they not? It wasn’t just one thing, it was so many things. So many bodies. So many puzzling pieces. The hidden money. The strange strings of numbers. The remains in the freezer. A human head in a box!

  Still, big questions remained. Where were the bones? Who did this? Why? Beyond the money obviously.

  She thought of Arlene and all the years she had been part of this family. Other than Sarah Holland, her mom’s nurse, Arlene was the closest friend her mom had. Between the farm and her mom’s medical clinic, her parents basically knew everyone in town, but they were busy people. Always working either at the clinic or on the farm. There was the occasional community function to which her parents felt obligated to attend but there wasn’t a lot of socializing. Hellos and updates were provided in passing at the Piggly Wiggly or the Farmer’s Co-op.

  Naomi wondered if the lack of close friends was related to all this somehow.

  No. No, her parents had nothing to do with any of this. The idea was ludicrous.

  She moved away from their door and headed downstairs. The coffeepot was calling her name. She hoped Casey had received an update that answered questions rather than piled on more.

  The final step down, she called out, “Good morning.”

  Footsteps in the kitchen drew her in that direction. At the door she almost bumped into a deputy.

  “Morning, ma’am.”

  She blinked. Scrambled to recall his name. “Good morning, Deputy Lawton. Sorry, I was expecting Agent Duncan.”

  “He got a call to go out to the excavation site, ma’am,” Lawton explained. “He asked me to stay in the house since you were still asleep. He’s a little worried after last evening’s scare.”

  So was she. She pushed a smile into place. “Well, all right, then. I am dying for a cup of coffee.”

  “Just made a fresh pot. The other was a little stale.”

  “Thanks.” Casey had likely made coffee before daylight. A fresh pot was a good thing.

  She poured a cup and savored a long, warm swallow before moving back into questioning mode. She leaned against the counter and turned her attention to the deputy. “Have they found something near the pool?”

  “I’m afraid I haven’t heard anything specific, only that they needed Agent Duncan there.” He, too, leaned against the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen.

  Naomi enjoyed more of her coffee. Lawton’s cell phone made a sound and he pulled it from his belt and checked the screen. News, she hoped.

  “Looks like they have found something, ma’am.” He put his phone away. “Sheriff Tanner says the two of us should have a look around here. See if we find any old keys. They found an old car and old truck buried out there by that underground spring.”

  Naomi’s breath caught. “Oh my God. How is that possible?”

  “I don’t know, ma’am.” He shrugged. “Sometimes our folks don’t tell us all they know. They keep secrets. I suppose they think it’s for the best, but it usually turns out to be not good at all.”

  No kidding. Naomi set her cup aside. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I always considered my parents very honest people. I can’t believe they were keeping secrets like this. And Arlene.” She shook her head. “It’s just stunning that she did the things it appears she did. I still can’t fully believe it. Did you know her?”

  Lawton shook his head. “Not really. I mean, I’ve seen her around, but I didn’t know her. One of the other deputies told me she was cutting people off the bone. Wonder what happened to all those bones?” His eyes bugged out a little. “And I heard about that box with the head in it. You’re right. That’s pretty dang crazy.”

  “I’ve tried to think of where she might have hidden the bones, but it’s possible she sold the bones to a buyer on the red market. I’m sure you’ve heard of the red market.”