Free For All to See (Bureau Series Book 1) by Megan Mitcham Page A

beads of his sweat. “I agree this isn’t his usual MO. Adrian Tau assured you he’d stay on Jim Gallow. If it turns out to be the husband, it’s not our jurisdiction. So, we finished what we came here to do. Find out if it’s our guy or not. We can’t do that if we don’t clear the woods, which is the last place Nichole Gallow was seen alive.”
    “If you’d told Tau, we could’ve had a human chain clear this sauna yesterday.”
    “And have any potential crime scene polluted with ten or more people’s DNA. Thanks, but no.”
    “You don’t trust him do you? Then again, you don’t trust anybody.”
    “There’s a short list of people I trust. Tau isn’t on that list, but I’m betting he’s on your list.”
    “My list?”
    “Your list of people who fit the forensic profile.”
    “I forgot all about the damn list last night.”
    “We were both beat.”
    “Yeah to all of it. He’s on the list, the husband, her karate instructor, that guy’s nephew, a couple of bouncers at the bar, a few fellas at the gym, and a man who works with her husband.”
    “Only a tiny percentage of the population is over six feet tall and you’re telling me all of them live on this island.”
    “I looked into it. The place used to be the number one exporter of sugarcane for the Brits. They couldn’t work the fields themselves. So, like our lazy ancestors they shipped in slaves from Africa. And Darwin’s theory pervaded for the next century.”
    “Meaning all the biggest and strongest survived, and then reproduced.”
    “That’s about it.”
    Nathan slashed through the nine. They’d cleared another two miles this morning and only had two more to go. He put one foot in front of the other and pushed ahead.
    Suppose he was wrong. Then Madelyn wouldn’t be in danger. Through college, law school, his two years with Miami PD, and his six with the FBI, nailing the bad guy was all that mattered. For as long as he could remember it’d been his singular goal. And that suddenly paled to his desire to keep this woman safe.
    All the saliva in his mouth evaporated and his skin fit as though it had shrunk in the excessive temperatures. Yep, dehydration caused his delusional thoughts. He needed to clear this jungle, get the hell off this island and back to work. His fingers coasted over the stamped piece of metal that hung beneath his shirt. The unforgiving edges reminded him of the vow he’d taken.
    Renewed purpose quickened his steps. He shoved the paper back into his pack and scanned the dense undergrowth. Piercing yellow rays sliced through the forest canopy just ahead, adding to the suffocating sting in his lungs. Despite it, his steps propelled him in the direction of the thinned foliage. He shoved an armful of branches out of the way and stepped into a ten-foot circular clearing.
    His steps faltered. He still, after all these years, had to wrestle a wave of sickness. He slapped both hands on his nape and huffed a breath. His skin chilled despite the temperature.
    Like an arm shooting tall out of the ground with its fingers crinkled in every direction, the thick hardwood held the camouflage rope connected in a noose around Nichole Gallow’s broken neck. At least that part had been quick. Her toes dangled about three feet from the ground. Blood tarnished the greenery, stealing the beauty of nature and that of the woman.
    His gaze avoided her naked flesh, split chest, and splayed insides. He studied the rope and the small goat trail that led away from the body, down the mountain.
    “Finished ten,” Dick radioed.
    Nathan reached blindly for the device and pressed the button. “Call Williams. Tell him we need that team and we need them right now.”

11
    W alking into Chief’s office , every hope Madelyn clung to had evaporated like ice on the surface of the sun. The solemn look on his face and the business-like persona radiating from Agent Brewer told her all she needed to know. Her friend was gone, never to return again.
    She