Free Skye Cree 03: The Bones Will Tell by Vickie McKeehan Page A

sense this tie to our killer. Is that what you’re saying?”
    “There is one thing about the images.”
    “What ’s that?”
    “The y’re from a long time ago. Circa early nineties.”
    “T he same timeframe as our killer,” Skye determined. As they passed the base, she studied the terrain, the barracks, even the chapel, trying to pick up on anything else. But when she tried, she got a blank.
    “ Exactly. I’m not sure what I thought I’d accomplish coming out here today. We can’t even get on base. How about we try this another day? Go look at those houses.”
    “You said it yourself. This area has a colorful history , soldiers passed through here in droves. Next time, how about we do our research first before we decide to storm the gates?”
    Josh found a place to turn the car around to head north again as Skye’s phone dinged with a text message. “Is that from Harry?”
    “ Yes and it’s just as we guessed, the guy used a phony name to place the delivery order. But I doubt the killer takes a chance like that again. Even though I don’t think he’s particularly tech savvy.”
    “Why do you say that?”
    “ He printed the address on the packages in his own hand.”
    “Or got someone to do it for him.”
    Skye frowned. “Anything’s possible. Anyway, my point is that while the address might be handwritten, the note itself was typed. Apparently he used an old Optima typewriter so the note was not computer generated. Harry told me that much.”
    “ So they have a starting point.”
    “Only if we find this guy and end up comparing the note to the typewriter.”
    “What’s troubling you then?”
    “Other than the obvious murderer we have on the loose?” She sighed into her hands then rubbed at her temple. “Do you realize how many people go missing without a trace every single year? Just up and vanish?”
    “No, but hopefully you’re planning to tell me.”
    She grinned. “Sure. I won’t even make you guess. It’s in the neighborhood of six-hundred-and-seventy-thousand who go missing each year.”
    Josh’s mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding?”
    “Nope. The majority of that number is resolved, of course. But those that haven’t ended with a resolution, the number is staggering. It still leaves about three thousand cases across the country.”
    “ A huge chunk.”
    “You bet. One is too ma ny, especially when they’re here one day and…gone the next. I won’t lie. Those are the cases that drive me crazy. They still can’t locate all the victims of the Green River killer.”
    “And what about all the re mains that are found but aren’t identified?”
    “ Those are tough because there are probably forty thousand remains that no one is able to put a name to.”
    “Sad but true. That’s a lot of families without answers.”
    “ Look, you okay with having dinner at Lena’s tonight?”
    “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “No reason. Unless you count the crush Zoe has on you.”
    “Not me. Not anymore. Zoe’s transferred whatever she felt for me and is now fully locked into the hero worship stage. Haven’t you heard? She wants to be just like Skye Cree.”
    The look on Skye’s face said it all. Her forehead wrinkled in concentration. “When did that happen?”
    “I don’t know. Could be after you kicked Frank De Palo’s ass. Could be after we tied the knot and she saw how beautiful you looked at the wedding. Either way, Zoe’s moved on from me and that’s a relief.”
    Hearing Josh was uncomfortable as Zoe’s heartthrob made her laugh . “She’s waiting for you to make that job in testing a reality. Teenagers and games, they just seem to go together.”
    “And she’ll get her chance come summer. I want to see how she does in her first full year of eighth grade first with no distractions. I told her that at the reception because she had some major catching up to do in school.”
    “That she did. But she seems to be doing so much better living with Lena than we ever