between the partial and the terminus of Ben's prints at least three times. The distance between them was at least ten feet. The ground between them was soft and dusty, and should have been covered with prints.
I pointed out what I saw, talking more to myself than the others.
'Ben was over there, facing away from us, playing the Game Freak.'
Ben Chenier's ghost walked past on the path, its feet leaving Ben's prints. His ghost was hunched over the Game Freak, which was loud with shrieks and the splat of wet blows. A darker ghost stepped through me, moving toward him. Its right foot kissed the impression into the dust in front of me.
'Ben didn't know he was here until he reached this spot. Then maybe Ben heard something or turned for no reason, I don't know which, but the man was scared that Ben would see him and call out.'
The dark ghost suddenly accelerated toward Ben, pushing off in the soft soil and leaving the partial print. I watched it happen.
'Ben still didn't know what was happening, not really, or we'd see scuffs in his footprints. Ben had his back turned. He grabbed Ben from behind and lifted him off his feet. He covered Ben's mouth so he couldn't scream.' The dark ghost carried a struggling boy into the brush.
88
When the ghosts faded, I was shaking. 'That's what happened.' Myers was staring at me. So were Starkey and Chen. Myers shook his head, but I couldn't read his expression. 'So where are his other prints?' 'That's how good he was, Myers. He didn't leave other prints. This one was a mistake.' Richard shook his head, disgusted, then got up. Myers got up with him. Richard said, 'I can't believe this is all you have, one crappy half-assed hole in the dirt, and your only explanation is that Rambo stole my son. Jesus.' DeNice glanced around the hill. 'Maybe they just didn't look hard enough.' Fontenot nodded. 'Bubba, I hear that.' Myers nodded at them, and Fontenot and DeNice spread out over the hill. Gittamon leaned closer to the print. He said, 'Can you make a cast of this; John?' Chen pinched a bit of soil and let it dribble through his fingers. He didn't like what he saw, and frowned, sourly. 'You see how fine and dry the soil is, like salt? Soil like this won't hold its structure. You got soil like this, you can lose a lot of detail when you make the pour. The weight of the plastic deforms the impression.' Starkey said, 'Everything's a drama with you. I've worked fifty blast sites with this guy and it's always the end of the world.' Chen looked defensive. 'I'm just telling you. I can frame the impression to help with the structure, then seal the soil before I pour, but I don't know what I'll get.' Starkey got up. 89
'You'll get a cast. Stop whining and start working, John. Jesus.'
Richard watched DeNice and Fontenot searching through the brush, then shook his head. He checked the time.
'Lee, this is going to take forever at this rate. You know what to do. Hire more people if we have to and bring in whoever we need. I don't care what it costs.'
Starkey watched Gittamon like she was hoping he would say something, and she spoke up when he didn't.
'If more people come out it'll end up like a zoo down here. It's bad enough now.'
Richard slipped his hands into his pockets.
'That isn't my problem, Detective. My problem is finding my son. If you want to arrest me for obstruction or some silly thing like that, I'm sure that'll make a good story in the local news.'
Gittamon said, 'No one's talking about anything like that. We just have to be concerned with preserving the Grime scene.'
Myers touched Richard's arm. The two of them had a low conversation, then Myers turned back to Gittamon.
'You're right, Sergeant, we need to worry about preserving the evidence and also the case against whoever took Ben. Cole shouldn't be here.'
I stared at him, but Myers held the same unreadable expression. Gittamon looked confused.
I said, 'I don't get your point, Myers. I've already been
here. I was all over this slope searching for Ben.' Richard shifted his shoulders impatiently.
'What's not to understand, Cole? I never practiced criminal law, but I'm enough of a lawyer to know that you'll be a material witness in whatever case arises. You might even be named as a party. Either way, your presence creates a problem.'
9°
Starkey said, 'Why would he be a party?'
'He was the last person to see my son alive.'
The canyon grew hot. Sweat leaked from my pores and blood pushed hard through my arms and legs. Chen was the only one who moved. He tapped a sheet of rigid white plastic into the soil a few inches from the shoe print. He would frame the print like that to support the soil, then spray a thin clear sealant not unlike hairspray to bind the surface. Framing the soil would lend strength. Binding its
surface would yield structure. Stability was everything. I said, 'What are you saying, Richard?'
Myers touched Richard's arm again, just as he'd done outside Lucy's apartment.
'He's not accusing you, Cole. It's nothing like that, but it's clear that the man on the phone bears a grudge against you. When everything comes out, maybe it will turn out that you used to know him and didn't like him any more than he likes you.'
'I don't know what he's talking about, Myers.' Richard said, 'Myers is right. If his lawyer can establish that the grudge goes both ways, he'll argue that you purposefully contaminated the evidence against him. He might even claim that you planted evidence. Look at O.J.'
Starkey said, 'That's bullshit.'
'I used to be a lawyer, Detective. Let me tell you that when you're in court, bullshit sells.'
