“It’s usually common courtesy.” Greg shifted his attention back to Jack. “She’s perfectly fine. This is a quiet group. They pick up their trash and don’t get into any trouble. They were having lunch when a member of our group moved over to those trees to relieve himself. He’s the one who found the body.”
“Okay.” Jack gave Ivy’s shoulder a squeeze and then moved away from her. “Can you show us?”
Greg bobbed his head. “I verified so I know exactly where it is.” He motioned for Brian and Jack to follow him. “This way.”
Jack sent Ivy a reassuring glance and then left her with the others. He was quiet as he allowed Brian to take the lead, but his mind was busy.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Brian offered as they cut through the heavy underbrush. “It’s just a coincidence. It’s not as if this has anything to do with her. She just happened to be out here with a group that stumbled across a body. It’s a coincidence, not some catastrophic plot.”
Jack wanted to believe that, although he wasn’t sure he could. “Yes, well ... why does it always have to be her? I mean, why can’t she just be a normal fiancée? She should be sitting at home, flipping through bridal magazines, painting her toenails ... .” He trailed off, wistful.
The look on his partner’s face was enough to make Brian bark out a laugh. “Oh, please. If that’s the way she spent her days, you wouldn’t have even looked twice.” He paused a beat, considering. “Okay, maybe you would’ve looked,” he said after beat. “You would’ve even lingered. You wouldn’t have held, though. You two need the fire to keep you together.”
Because he was annoyed that his partner was probably right, Jack felt the need to argue the point. “I still wish she was home painting her toenails.”
“Perhaps she should’ve thought about that before she broke the law,” Greg suggested, interjecting himself into the conversation.
“She thought she was doing the right thing,” Jack argued.
Greg slowed his pace. “So you, as a duly sworn officer of the law, are making excuses for a woman who broke the law, huh? I find that ... interesting.”
Jack’s expression darkened. “She saved a woman’s life. Yes, she went about it the wrong way. She would be the first one to tell you that. However, the outcome can’t be argued with.”
“If you say so.” Greg gestured toward the trees. “She’s right on the other side of those trunks. I would prefer hanging out over here, if you don’t mind. I don’t necessarily want to see her again.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” Jack muttered, shifting so he could see the other side of the tree. His eyes were alert as he scanned the ground, his heart doing a long roll when he caught sight of the woman poking out from beneath the bush.
“She’s definitely dead,” Brian noted as he moved into the spot next to his partner.
“Of course she’s dead,” Greg muttered at their backs. “I would’ve called for an ambulance if there was a question about her being dead.”
“I was mostly talking to myself,” Brian countered, shaking his head as he knelt next to the woman in question. He reached into his back pocket and retrieved a set of rubber gloves, snapping them on before pressing his fingers to the woman’s skin. “Lividity makes me think she’s been here for more than a day, maybe thirty-six hours or so,” he murmured. “We should probably get the medical examiner out here.”
“Yeah.” Jack donned his own gloves and moved to the woman’s feet to study her shoes. “Do you recognize her?”
“I’m ... not sure.”
Jack picked up on the moment of hesitation. “Do you think you might recognize her?”
Brian slowly lifted his chin and met Jack’s gaze over the length of the body. “I think I might.”
Despite his insistence that he wanted to keep his distance, Greg took both detectives by surprise with his proximity when he spoke again. “Is she a local girl?”
Jack’s agitation was on full display when he fixed Greg with a pointed look. “Do you mind not getting too close? We don’t want you trampling all over our evidence.”
“I’m not close,” Greg shot back. “Besides, Jason and I have both been through here already. We didn’t know she was here. We can’t take it back, so it’s not as if you have a pristine crime scene to begin with.”
“Well, let’s not make it any worse, shall we?” Jack suggested, wiggling his fingers to get Greg to back up. “Just ... keep it back there, okay?”
“Whatever.” Greg folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a nearby tree. “You guys think you’re so much better than me because you get to wear uniforms ...although neither of you guys are wearing uniforms. Hey, you know what? You didn’t show me any identification. How do I know you’re even real detectives?”
Jack was at the end of his rope. “We showed up in a police car.”
“So?”
“So ... where do you think we got the police car if we’re not the real deal?”
“You could’ve stolen it.”
“What sort of idiot would steal a police cruiser?”
“The sort who wants to pretend to be a cop and solve a crime,” Greg shot back. “What? That’s a thing. I saw it on a Dateline episode once.”
“Well, if you saw it on television,” Jack drawled, shaking his head. His full attention went back to the girl. “She looks young.”
“If it’s who I think it is, she’s young,” Brian confirmed. “She was in middle school when my kids were in high school. Actually ... .” He shifted on his haunches and sent a look toward Greg. “I don’t suppose you could do me a favor, could you?”
Greg almost looked eager at the prospect. “Do you want me to help you collect evidence?”
“Actually, I was hoping you could fetch Ivy for us.”
Greg’s excitement diminished in the blink of an eye. “You want me to get a criminal for you?”
“Oh, she’s not a criminal,” Jack
