Where Fires Dare to Burn

Chapter 10 - No Secrets in Lasquette

Sheriff Nalen wasn't a big man, but he had a hard, almost rectangular look to him, as though someone had removed him from his role supporting a particularly large building. A hawkish, sharp-featured face jutted out from the curtain of a beard that covered the lower half of his face. His bulky police jacket made him look even more solid, and large, narrow eyes peered suspiciously from below the rim of his hat.

He emerged into the clearing with Kyan and two deputies close behind, one hand resting on his holster. Moving with measured steps, his heavy woodland boots crunched the undergrowth and his head traversed like a security camera, taking in every detail of the scene.

When Kyan saw them he darted forward. "You guys alright? I got here as fast as I..." His voice trailed off when he spotted the body lying a few meters away. "Shit."

"Yeah." Kenny nodded.

Luke forced a smile. "We're okay. Whatever happened, we missed it."

"You boys give us some space now," Sheriff Nalen told them, not taking his eyes off the body in the middle of the clearing. Moving slowly and deliberately, he walked past them until he was standing over the dead student, looking down at her. His jaw tightened. Nalen exhaled through his nose, giving a grim shake of the head before looking back at them.

"Did you see what happened here?"

"No, sir!" Kenny blurted. "We were just walking the trail back down there and we heard someone screaming. Me and Luke-," he jerked a thumb at Luke, "we came up here to see if someone needed help and we found her like this."

Nalen nodded then looked to one of his deputies. "Addy, take a little stroll. See if anyone else has been out here."

"On it, boss." The woman tugged a long, heavy-handled flashlight from her belt and thumbed its switch. A beam of light seared out into the trees. She also pulled out her sidearm before setting off to check the surrounding area. As she disappeared into the forest Nalen's attention returned to the body.

He dropped down to his haunches, pulling a glove of vibrant blue plastic over one hand with a grimace. Reaching delicately forward, he dipped his fingers into the pocket of her coat, feeling around before withdrawing. He repeated the process, checking the other pockets in her jeans, but eventually came away empty handed. Shaking his head Nalen stood up again.

"No ID?" asked the other deputy; an older man with a bristling handlebar moustache of iron grey.

"Not a god-damn thing," Nalen muttered. He looked over at Luke and his friends. "Any of you recognise this young lady?"

Luke shook his head. "Sorry, no."

"Never seen her before," Kyan confirmed after leaning forward to take a closer look.

Nalen straightened up, hands on hips as he scanned the perimeter around the girl's body. "And all this... glowin' greenery?"

"Yeah, we followed it here," Luke said. "Came up from the path like we said and saw that weird glowing maybe..." He glanced at Kenny for confirmation. "What, fifty yards that way?"

Kenny gave a bobbing nod. "Something like that, yeah."

Nalen pursed his lips thoughtfully. Luke could almost hear the gears turning as the sheriff took a few paces back to get a better look at the crime scene. He marvelled at the man's calmness. He might be a cop, but Lasquette Bay was hardly the wild west. This kind of thing didn't happen out here, not in the little lakeside sanctuary. Still, Nalen didn't seem rattled in the slightest, his sharp features instead twisted into an expression of grim fascination, like the whole thing was just a jigsaw puzzle on his kitchen table to be solved at his leisure.