Free Dark Passing (The Ella Reynolds Series) by Liz Schulte Page B

brain warred over what to do. One part said to get the hell out of there and find Fagan before I became a disgusting pile of Ella, but another part of me, the part that had trouble reconciling that this was real, wanted a closer look—to see what I couldn’t unsee. If I had gotten that poor girl killed…
    I shook off the guilt. The chances of Fagan letting me into this investigation were nil. This was my only opportunity to know, to look at the deranged product of evil once again. I squatted down, still five feet away from the body. I stretched my arm and phone toward the pile, trying to shine a light on it without disturbing the crime scene. It hardly looked human—more like a large animal that had been run over by a lawn mower, all fleshy chunks and tufts of what could be hair on top of a larger mass that could have been a body. Was that a finger? An ear? It was hard to tell in the dark, gooey pile. Maybe it wasn’t a person at all.
     Dizziness swept over me and the familiar sensation of a panic attack took root. I stood up and crashed full speed through the woods, jumping at every snap and rustle of bare limbs as I strained to breathe. When I broke free on the other side, I gasped for air, but pushed on. Fagan’s car was completely dark. I skidded to a halt and stared, suddenly worried he was dead too, and I was alone.
    Shit.
    The lights flashed, and relief brought me close to tears. I tore open the passenger door.
    “Wasting my time—”
    “A body… the woods.” I cut him off. The numb calm flaked away, leaving me exposed. My hands shook uncontrollably. Saying there was a body out loud made it so much more real. The world around me spun in a blur of darkness and brought a deep-seated terror that I’d thought was gone back to life.
    Fagan blinked a few times, then flew into a flurry of action. He pulled his gun, radioed for back up and paramedics, and got out of the car. I slumped sideways into the passenger seat, my feet planted on the ground outside. I leaned my head over my knees as white noise filled my head.
    “You need to take me to the body.”
    I ignored him, trying to stop the shaking.
    He grabbed my shoulders and lurched me upright. “Show me where the body is.” His blue eyes drilled into mine.
    I swallowed against the lump in my throat several times, but nodded and stood up unsteadily.
    “Follow the exact path you took. We don’t want to make new tracks.”
    I somehow managed to get him back into view of the pile. I pointed, but didn’t move any closer this time. The morbid fascination was gone; I just wanted to go home. I couldn’t say how long it was before red and blue lights flashed through the trees. Fagan and I headed back through the woods, and he let me sit in his car. I shut the door to block out the sounds then leaned back with my eyes closed and counted my breaths. My phone buzzed in my pocket and my heart stuttered. I took it out with shaking hands. Gabriel. Seeing his name made my eyes well. I couldn’t talk to him right now. I had to keep it together until I was alone.
    It took hours. By the time Fagan returned, I no longer noticed my hands shaking because my whole body quivered. Cold and exhausted, I could hardly keep my eyes open.
    “I take it you didn’t see anything.” Fagan’s voice made my muscles clench.
    I let out a long, slow breath. “No.”
    I couldn’t make out his facial expression in the darkness of the car, but moments later the engine came to life. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” He drove me to Martha’s in silence.
    As soon as he stopped, I got out of the car and headed for the house. As I reached for the door, someone grabbed my shoulder. I yelped and swung around. Fagan gave me a rueful smile—then shoved his hands down the front of my coat. I froze. All my snarky comments and objections got caught somewhere between my brain and my throat. His rough fingers slipped under the neckline of my shirt, and I slammed my fist into his chest, making him