Touched by Death (8 page)

The shadows lengthened
around them. Jade swallowed hard, grateful she was here with Bruce and
not Meg. Something about a strong male presence made her feel better.
Not that she was a wimp. However, right now, tired and worn out, she
felt that way. "And?"

"Almost." He
eased away some more dirt and shifted around slightly to attack the
mound from the other side. She stepped out of his way.

"Where did everyone
else go?"

A laugh escaped him; he
stared at her, his big grin splitting his dusty face. She couldn't believe
he hadn't shaved off his thick red beard. That had to be hot as hell.

"They've probably
gone back to the hotel to grab all the hot water before us."

She groaned comically,
happy to have an excuse to ease the tension twisting inside. "They
would too, wouldn't they?"

"Hell yeah."
His boisterous laugh rolled across the rocks. "Hold on. Almost
done…and I'm sure the hotel is equipped with enough hot water for
us."

"I'm not so sure.
If you're wrong, you're sacrificing your shower for me."

He grinned. "Like
hell––" His voice cut off in shock. She heard a weird jangle
and dropped down beside him to peer down at the mix of bone, cloth and...

She went down on one knee.
Her breath caught. Her mind rebelled. She whispered – barely
loud enough to be heard, "
Dear God.
What is that?"

"Look for yourself."

He pointed down where
the tibia widened at the end. A few ligaments still connecting to the
foot were now slightly askew inside the shoe. Bits of cloth clung to
the ankle and footwear.

Oh God.
Her stomach heaved uncontrollable. Jade lurched off
to one side where her lunch made a hasty exit.

After a long moment, when
she was sure there was no more to come, she spun around to face Bruce.

He waited for her, a worried
look on his face. "Are you going to be okay?"

She glanced back down
at the leg bone. She didn't know how to answer.

A chain lay twisted around
the lower leg of the female skeleton.

Securely attached at the
ankle was a rusted iron...manacle.

T
he dinner conversation rippled on around Jade as
if she were a mere rock in a swiftly flowing river. That suited her.
Mental exhaustion and stress had added to her physical deterioration
during the day. Numbness had settled in.

"Hey Jade, tough day? You look like you're ready
for bed."

With a wan smile in Susan's direction, she couldn't
help but agree. "That's where I'm going after this."

Dr. Mike studied her face in concern. "Don't
overdo it out there. You're more valuable in the lab than doing grunt
work."

Keeping an eye on the staff was part of his job, so
Jade didn't take his comments too close to heart. He was a compassionate
man, all too willing to help out himself, if need be. "I hear you.
We've reached the point where I'll be in the lab from now on."

"See that you are."

Meg gave her a curious smile. Jade didn't know if
she should mention what she and Bruce had found or not. She shot a questioning
look at Bruce.

He shrugged then began to explain. "Part of the
reason for her fatigue is the emotional stress caused by the last victim
we found – after everyone else had left."

Bruce directed his comments to Dr. Mike. "We
left the last set of bones we found, in the ground, covered with dirt
and rock. We needed to consider the situation before proceeding. I believe
this is an adult female. The shoe is still there on the foot. We don't
know about other clothing. We only uncovered a foot and ankle."
He put his fork down and took a long drink of water.

Watching him closely, she empathized when he swallowed
heavily.

At the site, the horror and implications of what they'd
discovered had quickly overtaken them both. They'd covered what they'd
found and left – silently. They'd not spoken of it on their way back
and had separated at the hotel entrance to get showered and ready for
dinner.

Jade glanced around, noticed that the room reserved
for their meals had a door that could be closed. Hopping up first, she
walked over. She realized no one was close enough to hear them, yet
felt compelled to shut it anyway.

Bruce waited until she'd retaken her seat. He gave
her a nod of thanks and elaborated.

"This discussion stays with us. It's possible
we'll have to bring the authorities into the mix but they may also not
have the manpower or the interest in pursuing our findings."

"Like what?" Susan leaned forward. "Tell
us. The suspense is killing me."

"The woman we found had a manacle and chain attached
to her ankle."

Jade had to clarify. "She'd most likely been
a prisoner at the time of her death."

"What?"

"Good Lord."

Everyone sat back and stared, their gazes going from
Jade to Bruce. Both nodded.

"Now you understand the problem. We need to figure
out our next step," Bruce said before taking another drink.

"Are we thinking she was murdered?" Meg's
gaze went from Jade to Bruce.

Bruce shook his head. "We can't say that –
at least at this point; and although Dr. Mike is qualified to make that
determination back home, we have no authority here."

"Besides, she could have been killed by the earthquake
or infection like any of the others. She might have been a prisoner.
That doesn't mean the person responsible…" Jade added an afterthought,
"Killed her. She could have been chained in a basement or shed
and died in the earthquake – the same as everyone else buried here."

"Is it really possible that no one noticed the
chain when she was thrown in?"

"Definitely – and there could be several legitimate
reasons for that, including the time of day she was placed in the grave,
where she was found and even who found her. She might have been wrapped
tight, concealing the chain." Bruce lifted his coffee cup and took
a long sip. "Or no one cared. Think about it. If you have a woman
chained somewhere and she dies in a natural disaster what are you going
to do? You still have to dispose of the body. You still have to do it
quickly, and for all we know, this person lost other people too –
ones he cared about. There was essentially no law at the time, no one
to care what you did."

"God what a horrible thought." Meg shuddered.
"Remember that serial killer, John Gacy? Didn't he bury a mess
of boys in his basement and around the yard? What if this guy were a
serial killer? What if her 'owner' was killed in the earthquake, too?
Anyone finding her wouldn't have understood or known what to do. They'd
have been all too happy to dispose of her body where no one would ask
questions," she added with relish.

Jade winced. "What better place than a mass grave
where everyone is more concerned about expediting the burial of the
rotting bodies and no one is checking to see what killed them?"

Dr. Mike held up a hand, "Whoa. That's letting
your imagination go way too far. All we know is that this woman was
buried with a chain around her ankle. Now Haiti has some pretty disturbing
rituals and beliefs when compared to Western ways and we can't just
jump in here and assume foul play. Maybe by burying her with a chain,
someone was hoping to keep her soul chained here."

"Not that that is a great improvement, but I
take your meaning. We can't assume anything at this time." After
that, Jade stayed quiet and listened as the conversation rose and fell
– the various hypothesis and suggestions kept them all busy.

They might not have the facts; still Jade didn't need
anyone telling her this was bad news. She already knew it was.

Whoever that woman was, she hadn't had an easy ending
to her life.

Several days later, Dane drove up to the lab trailers
and parked. He waved at Bruce who stood outside the reefer truck then
walked over to see him.

"Hey Dane. Good to see you. I wanted to thank
you. Using your heavy equipment definitely lightened our load and improved
the process."

Dane smiled at Bruce – an amiable caring person
doing a very difficult job. So far, Bruce had done well keeping the
lid on this project. Dane had heard only minimal grumbling about this
place amongst his workers. He'd actually stopped by to see how the team
was progressing. And maybe check on Jade.

He asked, "How are you guys getting along with
the language?" His own French was only passable and his Creole
– a gibberish mixture of Spanish, French, Portuguese and English –
was just about as bad. If it weren't for his English-speaking foreman,
he'd be hiring translators. Thankfully there was enough English spoken
here that he could get by.

Bruce grinned. "I'm amazed at how easy it is
to understand the locals with a little bit of this and a little bit
of that. I'd have said I was only fluent in English except I did take
French and Spanish in high school. Who'd have thought I'd remember any
of it?"

"Wish mine were better. Any trouble with the
locals over the grave?"

"Everything is quiet – just the way we like
it. We're willing to help out the locals with identification and burial
of these people any way we can. The DNA testing is going to take some
time." Bruce shrugged. "Since when did anything like this
go quickly?"

"I can't imagine the cost, myself."

"No but if I had the money, and one of my family
was buried there, I'd understand spending it this way. I lost my sister
to leukemia years ago and it gave my mother unending comfort to be able
to go to her grave and visit with her. She still makes the weekly trip
even though we lost my sister a dozen years ago."

Dane walked over and sat down on the boulder beside
Bruce. "Understandable."

"Absolutely. We've pulled out over fifteen so
far and are processing as fast as we can. Hopefully, families will step
forward and help us identify these people and give us direction for
reburial. Otherwise, the remains be reburied here." Bruce waved
his hand toward the grave. "Maybe they'll erect a more formal monument
although I don't know… The people here live simply and don't need
the same trappings that Americans tend to feel are necessary."

Dane studied the view in front of him. Peppe, Tasha's
father, lived in the original Jacinte homestead just on the other side
of the large clump of trees on the left. Dane couldn't help but wonder
what the old guy thought about Bruce and his team's quest. If he even
understood what was happening.

"Haitians have strong beliefs though life here
is basic. More about survival than anything else. I'm a little more
sensitive to this issue as my sister-in-law is beyond distressed about
this whole thing. Because she's pregnant, no one wants to upset her."

Both men shared a commiserating glance. "Yeah,
don't have any kids myself, however some women go through it just fine
and then there are a few that seem to change personalities over the
nine months. Easy to see something like this tipping the balance."

"Right now, my concern is more for my brother's
sake than hers. Maybe that's not fair, and I'm sorry if that comes across
as harsh. Tasha's personality shift in the last week or two makes it
hard to be sympathetic." Dane shook his head. Talk about an understatement.
"That sounds cold and I don't mean it to be. John, he's being incredibly
patient. Still, I don't know how long he can handle the tension. If
it were me, I'd have said something way before this. Guess that's why
I'm not married."

Bruce chuckled. "Yeah, me too."

Not knowing how to broach the subject, but really
wanting to know the answer to the question that plagued him, Dane said,
"So...are other members of the team married? Can't be too easy
to do this job and leave a family behind." He bent his head to
study his shoes. And waited.

"No one is married, though having a committed
relationship is a big help for individual members when it comes to dealing
with this type of work. I believe the easiest way to deal with death
on a regular basis is to have a way to affirm life." Bruce studied
Dane's face, his grin widening. "Well just for your information,
all three women are single and although Meg, the tall brunette, appears
to have a long-term relationship, she jumped at the chance to come here."

Dane smiled slightly.

Bruce continued, his voice light and tinged with humor.
"Now Jade, the short blonde, appears to have a solemn attitude
toward life, and I don't believe she is in a long-term relationship…
And then there is Susan – our bubbly black-haired technician. She's
also single."

Dane almost winced. Damn, Bruce appeared to be really
enjoying this. "Well put about Jade. Life appears to be a serious
business to her."

"Yes, she's quiet. But focused and dedicated
and I love workers like that. She's determined to do right by everyone
in that grave and find each of them their home."

"Hmmm."

"She could do with a bit of cheering, too. So
if you want to stop by her trailer and say 'hi' – feel free. Isolation
isn't good for her. She tends to be a loner most of the time anyway.
Hard to break her out of her shell."

Trying for a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders,
and knowing he'd failed, Dane gave it up. Pretense wasn't his style
anyway. Besides, he really wanted to get to know Jade better. He stood.
"Good. I'll stop by there after I'm loaded."

Dane walked away, aware Bruce watched him. Bruce was
just looking out for his team. Was protective of them. That was fine.
Dane could handle a little scrutiny. He had nothing to hide.

The sound of heavy machinery broke her concentration.
Jade lifted her head from her workbench and frowned. Was Dane here?

She paused to straighten, wincing as her back crackled
and popped. She needed to change the height of her worktable or she'd
resemble a hunchback by the end of this job.