They stood close to each other for support; the light on the ground offered by the flashlight enough to show the torment on their faces. Finally, she nodded acceptance and pointed the flashlight at the end of the spade. Ed looked at Linda for a moment more. The longer he knew her the more he liked her. He turned his attention from her beautiful face to the task at hand. Gently he coaxed the spade into the soft earth. By the light of the flashlight he worked his way around the area that he thought the girl was buried in. He took away the top layer of black soil and placed it to one side, ready to be put back in place, then he carefully dug deeper, making a pile beside the suspected grave. He didn’t know how deep the murderer had buried her but he guessed at least three foot down so that animals wouldn’t disturb the remains. The ground was soft and clay-like, each spadeful separated with a squelchy, wet noise. The soft, rotting black topsoil lasted for about eighteen inches before it became lighter in shade. Although it was better than digging in hard ground it was still back-breaking work and after a few minutes Ed was breathing hard but he continued apace.
“Stop! What was that?” cried Linda.
“What was what?” Ed looked around where he had been digging but could only see moist earth and ooze.
“There, just in front of your right foot, it’s covered over again but I am sure I saw something.”
Ed moved the earth around with the spade where she had pointed but still, he saw nothing.
“There! There! Right by your foot.”
Ed knelt down and moved some earth with his hands. They both gasped when they saw the bright red swatch of fabric. The colour was still vibrant and the small delicate yellow flower print was still equally as clear. Ed got the spade and shaved away another layer of the clay-like earth from around the fabric. The flashlight beam was quivering. He looked up to see that Linda was shaking uncontrollably, hugging her own body with her left arm. Ed was reluctant but he spoke to her.
“I’m sorry, I’m gonna need some help here.”
Ed stood and held out his hand, Linda took it and stepped down into the shallow trench. They both knelt down and began to move clumps of clay with their bare hands, not wanting to hit anything with the sharp blade of the digging tool. Within seconds they had uncovered more of the material which looked to be the bottom of a dress. It was Ed that worked his way sideways into the packed earth and discovered the limb.
“Oh my god!” exclaimed Linda. She fell back as she instinctively drew away from what she had seen. The palest of skin could be seen as Ed removed more of the moist earth. The patch of white skin became a thigh. They now worked together, moving upward towards the torso.
“She doesn’t look as if she’s been here for a week, let alone forty years, how can that be?” Linda asked.
“I guess the clay soil has preserved her”, he replied. He paused then added, “I think you should probably step out now, we’re nearly where the head should be”. She nodded, passed the flashlight to Ed then climbed out of the grave. She stepped a few feet away, turning her back on the horror in the clearing. It took just another minute of scrapping for Ed to find the neck and then moments later, the girl’s severed head.
“Oh dear god!” he murmured.
Between quiet sobs, she whispered “Ed, please hurry, I want to go?”
“I’m nearly done” she heard him say. He was grunting from exertion then it went quiet again. She turned back towards the hole in the ground just as he was climbing out. In the flashlight light she could see he held a piece of ribbon taken from one of the girls ponytails.
“Hold the light would you, I’m gonna cover her back over, hold this too?” He passed her the light and ribbon, grabbed the spade and gently started replacing the soil. The light strayed a little as she hiccupped with her crying but she tried not to shine the beam directly into the grave. When it was done Ed carefully put the topsoil back in place and patted it down with the spade. Linda’s tears had dried as he finished making the ground look as undisturbed as possible. He threw a few pieces of dead branches and leaves around the area they had dug. He took the flashlight back and swept the beam around, checking his handy work. He nodded to himself, reached for Linda’s hand and led the way back to the car.
TWENTY-FOUR
It was fully dark as they made their way back to the Jeep so the going was slow. Linda blipped the remote and jumped in the passenger side.
“Could you drive, I don’t think I’m up to it?” she asked, offering the keys to Ed.
“No problem”. He took the keys, dumped the flashlight and spade in the back then walked around to the other side of the car. As he got in he noticed that the cell phone was flashing from its holder on the dash.
“You’ve got a message, your phones flashing”.
“Oh, it’s probably Esther seeing what time we’ll be back, I’ll give her a call and tell her we’re on our way”.
Linda picked up the phone, unlocked it and opened the waiting message. Ed looked at his companion in surprise as a huge sob ripped through her. She broke down in tears, the cell falling to the floor as she held her face in her hands. Ed picked up the phone and read the message: IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE YOUR BOY AGAIN DUMP THE SALESMAN AND GO HOME BITCH.
“Linda?…… Linda? Listen to me, phone home, see if Josh is there”.
She pulled herself together almost as quickly as she had lost control. Ed was realising that this woman was made of strong stuff, and now this, after the evening they had already gone through.
“Call home, make sure they’re alright, I’ll get us heading back”.
She sniffed several times but the look of shock in her eyes had now been replaced by a steely hard face, accentuating her pointed chin and high cheekbones. She took the phone back and keyed in a speed dial number as Ed adjusted the electric seat and got the Jeep turned around to face back down the track. He let the 4x4 bump slowly down the rugged track, taking frequent glances at Linda’s silhouette in the darkness. She held the phone tight to her ear, her knuckles white from the grip. In between the squeaking of the springs as it bounced in and out of the ruts he could hear the faint electronic ringing of her home phone tainting the silence. He could picture the phone on the wall of the kitchen where they had sat just a day before enjoying chicken pie. The longer it rang, the more Ed thought the noise was mocking them. Finally, she rang off.
“Oh my god Ed, they’ve taken Josh, and probably Esther too. What am I going to do?”
“What are WE going to do, we’re in this together. We’ll get him back, I promise.” Ed sounded surer than he felt inside. He knew what this guy was capable off and inside he knew that if Josh had been taken it was very likely he was already dead.
“We have a big advantage here; he doesn’t know that we know who he is. We can find him and get Josh back, but I think we’re going to need some help. But let’s get back to your place and see what’s happened first.”
Linda said nothing but nodded in response. The ground had evened out a little as the tracks got wider. The Jeep had extra halogen lights fitted to the front which Ed utilised to good effect but he still drove faster than the conditions allowed. Soon they were back on to blacktop and he hit the gas hard, heading for Linda’s ranch house.