Free A Justified Kill by Marylynn Bast Page B

weren’t for the gaping hole in his throat and gashes ripped through his chest and belly . Tipping the b ottle of whiskey over , she poured the liquid down the front of him, and the remainder into his mouth. T he old mattress quickly soaked up whatever rolled off his body and would become the perfect ignition source. She knew the tent would quickly bec ome engulfed in flames. Glancing around one more time, making sure there was not hing around the campsite to show anyone but Gerald had been there , Amber stepped back . Unless they were werewolf, the local sher iff and fire department would not suspect a thing. She hoped.
    Amber held the flame of the mat ch to the end of the cigarette. She hated the smell and had never tried smoking because she didn’t see any reason to. It was a nasty habit and not good for anyone’s health . She looked down at Gerald once more. N either was pissing of f a werewolf . She laughed at the thought and dropped the book of matches beside the mattress . Holding the flame under the cigarette , she watched it slowly catch fire. Once it did, the fire spread quickly and his body immediately burst into flames. Escaping the inferno, s he r an deeper into the woods, turning around in time to watch the tent with Gerald’s dead body inside blaze brightly in the darkness of the early morning hours .
     
    ****
     
    The Forestry Service responded to the fire, but the campsite and everything inside the tent that would burn had been reduced to ashes by the time they arrived. Anything that wouldn’t burn was charred or melted. The men’s main goal was to prevent the fire from sprea ding throughout the forest. This was one of t he reasons Amber had stuck around as well. She didn’t want the forest and its inhabitants to suffer from the death of a sick man. The heavy rains from a couple nights before still had the ground wet, so the flames only singed a few of the closer trees branches. The men quickly doused the remaining flames
    Amber watched from her hiding place deep in the forest where she remained still and quiet. She heard them talking amongst themselves when they disc overed th e charred bones of the body which lay inside.
    “I think this is Gerald, the drunk who was always staggering through the woods, his van is parked on the side of the road where it usually is.” The one with his back to her was talking loud and his voice carried in the still, quiet morning. The other three men agreed.
    “I was getting ready to kick him out of here anywa y. Guess there’s no need for it now.” Amber recognized Trigger Michaels from the time he had come into the bar. He was taller than the other three.
    From what she remembered Catherine saying he had just been named the Deputy Conservator over that area of the forest . Trigger was Hunter’s younger brother, so that must have given Catherine bragging rights since he was over the Assistant Conservators. Who knows? Amber shook her head at the thought and continued listening when Trigger spoke into the radio he had looped over his shoulder.
    “Base, this is Michaels.”
    A young male voice crackled over through the small speaker . “Go ahead Michaels.”
    “Fire i s contained, but we have a body , might want to call the Sheriff and get him out here, Fire Department to o. I’m sure they ’ ll want to investigate this. Oh, might as we ll go ahead and call Bob, he ’ll wanna rule on the death .” Trigger dropped the radio, allowing it to fall against his chest while he listed to the response.
    Amber could hear the deeper voice of the Director responding from the base station. “Copy that, Sheriff was notified when the fire was reported . He should be there soon. Keep the area secure and let me know if you need anything.”
    The four men stood outside the camping area and stared out into the dark forest . They never realized they were being watched. “Sheriff needs to hurry up and get here, I’m tired!” Trigger grumbled shuffling his feet, hands dug into