Chapter 1

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Vultures are a common sight in rural Tennessee. These birds told ofthe natural and not so natural deaths that occurred all over themountains and the small towns littered throughout. Normally, youcould expect to find some animal that they were picking over that hadsuccumbed to old age or to a larger animal. That wasn't the case thistime, at least not according to Walker.

Robyn rushed through the woods, carrying her shotgun and dodgingbranches and brush as she followed several dogs and a hog to whereWalker waited for her. She slowed down when the dogs did and movedcarefully through the last several feet to the clearing where theywere supposed to meet.

In the clearing, several police officers were standing around andkneeling next to a small body on the ground. She stepped into thearea, her eyes immediately drawn to the corpse. It was small, toosmall to be way out here alone and Robyn could still see remnants ofthe clothes that they had worn, enough to guess that it was probablya girl judging by the abundance of pink. She stepped towards it,horrified and and drew the attention of one of the officers.

He stood towards the edge of the clearing and was observingeverything, sharp blue eyes scanning for anything that might give aclue as to what had happened here, nostrils flaring as if he coulddetect the spoor of others like a hound and follow it back to thecriminals. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Robyn but onlyfor a moment, then narrowed in suspicion as he drew his gun. "Police. Drop your weapon and put your hands on your head."

The other police were a few seconds slower, taking a minute to lookaround and spot Robyn before pulling their guns and training them onher. She slowly raised her hands, waving her dogs back when theybegan to growl, and put the shotgun on the ground. One of the copscame towards her, making sure to stay out of the line of the othersguns and pulled her hands behind her back, quickly and roughlycuffing her and patting her down before leading her to the first cop.Another cop secured her weapon and brought it over.

"She's not carrying anything on her person. No ID or otherweapons."

He took the shotgun and cracked it open, unloading it and puttingthe rounds inside a plastic bag. "Thanks. I will take her fromhere. You can go back to checking the scene." His voice was deepand sounded like gravel grinding together and his eyes regarded Robynwith a deep suspicion.

Robyn stood waiting, using the time to examine the scene she hadwalked into and the officer that stood in front of her. They werestanding in a small clearing, probably two miles from the main roadand surrounded by dense forest. The body lay off to one side andlooked like someone or something had made an effort to push it intothe underbrush. Two officers were with it and another two wereworking there way around the clearing looking for anything that mightmake the situation clearer. The officer in front of her stood at thefar end of the clearing from the body and, while he didn't appear tobe physically examining anything, you got the feeling that he saweverything. He was an imposing figure and seemed to fit naturallyinto the landscape. Tall and lean, he stood as immovable as a treeand his face seemed to be carved out of the rocks that littered theforest and mountain area. Robyn couldn't find even a glimpse ofsoftness when he turned towards her and felt her stomach tighten inanxiety.

"So, you want to tell me who you are and what you are doing here?"Even his voice was hard.

Robyn breathed deeply, steeling herself for his disbelief, and readthe name tag attached to his uniform. "Well, Officer... D. Michel,my name is Robyn Elmore and I own this property. I was out for a walkwith my dogs and followed them here."

His suspicion deepened as he looked her over, taking in the tie dyedshirt, worn jeans, dirty boots and unkempt black hair. Robyn raisedan eyebrow as he met her green eyes, certain that she knew what wascoming next.

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