“Oh dear Lord in the morning!” said Richards, who
102
HARD ROW
had crossed the road to shine her own light on his
find.
There, hidden from casual view was a naked torso
that was armless, legless, and headless as well. Because
it was lying on its back, it took them a moment to ori-
ent themselves, to realize that the three black stumps
nearest them were probably the neck and what was left
of the upper arms, which meant that the opposite end
should have been the sex organs. It was probably male
like the earlier parts they had found. There was a mat of
hair between the flat breasts, but nothing was left in the
genital area except a dark ugly gouge.
Denning drove the crime scene van down to the site
and set up his floodlights. As he surveyed what was left
of the body before taking pictures, he shook his head
and said to Dwight, “You know something, Major? We
got ourselves one pissed-off killer.”
Every man in the group felt a painful twinge of sym-
pathetic horror as they gazed down at the mutilated vic-
tim. Dwight, too. Once again, he thought of the church
sign where they had found the first hand.
What the hell had the guy done to wind up like this,
with his personal parts strewn across the county?
At the other end of the state, Flame Smith turned off
the main highway and shifted to low gear. The engine
protested against the steep climb ahead and her tires
spun against the loose gravel, before they gained trac-
tion and began to inch upward.
103
MARGARET MARON
Tree branches brushed either side of the car. Normally
she enjoyed the roller-coaster effect of this drive, but
that was in daylight. Tonight, the sky was overcast. No
moon. No stars. Only her headlights to illuminate the
opening between the trees. Driving up here to Buck
Harris’s mountain retreat had been an impulse fueled
by bourbon and anger.
That he could be so cavalier as to go off to sulk about
the money he was going to have to give up in this di-
vorce settlement! Did he really think that staying away
from court would somehow make that fat greedy wife
of his settle for less? And even if she did wind up with
a full half of their assets, how much money did a per-
son need? As someone who had been forced to scrabble
