The Bones She Buried: A completely gripping, heart-stopping crime thriller(8)

“You’re hungry,” came Noah’s muffled voice from under his pillow.

“Yeah, but I don’t much feel like eating,” Josie said. “We both need to, though.”

They got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen where Grady was cooking eggs and toast for what looked like a much larger number of people than just the four of them. Laura sat at the table, staring sightlessly straight ahead, a full glass of orange juice untouched in front of her.

Grady gave them a pained smile as they entered. Josie had only met him once and had found him nice enough; he had been very doting interacting with his wife. He was in his forties and tall with longish black hair and dark eyes, but he was thinner than she remembered. He turned off the burners when they walked in and came over to greet Noah, wrapping him up in a hard hug and clapping his back. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “This is so… I just can’t believe it. Neither of us can wrap our heads around this. We were going to give her her first grandchild—”

“Please don’t,” Laura croaked. “Please don’t talk about it. I can’t take it.”

Looking at his wife, Grady said, “I’m sorry, Laura. I didn’t mean to upset you more. We’re all devastated.” He turned to Josie. “Do you know who did this?”

“Our team is working on it,” Josie told him. “I’ll be in touch with Officer Mettner today to see if they’ve got any more information.”

Noah sat at the table across from his sister, who said, “We’ll have to start planning the funeral. I texted Theo. He’ll be here in about an hour.”

But Noah’s gaze was on Josie. “Mett?” he said. “Shouldn’t Gretchen be working Mom’s case?”

“Chief won’t let her off the desk,” Josie said. “Not even for this.”

Noah made a noise of disgust deep in his throat.

“Mettner’s good,” Josie tried.

“Not as good as Gretchen. Not as good as you. He doesn’t have the experience—”

Laura cut him off. “Did you hear what I said, Noah? We need to plan Mom’s funeral.”

He looked at her but didn’t respond.

Grady went back to the stove and cracked two more eggs into the frying pan. Confident she had Noah’s full attention, Laura smiled and turned to Grady, “Darling, I think that’s enough food.”

Grady returned her smile, and Josie saw tears glistening in his eyes. “Sorry,” he said. “I like to keep busy. Makes me feel useful.”

“I feel exactly the same way,” Josie shared as she moved over to the counter to make plates for her and Noah. “This is wonderful,” she told Grady. “Thank you for cooking.”

They ate in silence, the Fraley siblings moving in slow motion, their eyes vacant. It was almost a relief when Josie’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket. “Who’s that?” Noah asked.

“A text from Mettner. He said Dr. Feist fast-tracked the autopsy.”

“What did it show?” Laura asked.

“He didn’t say. I’ll have to call him.”

“Go,” Noah said. “I know you want to.”

Josie’s mouth hung open. He hadn’t said it with any malice, but he had said it. “I don’t want to go,” she replied. “I want to stay with you. I told you, Mettner is good. I think he can handle this.”

Noah opened his mouth to speak, but Laura talked over him. “Actually, Josie, we would appreciate your finding out whatever you can. We’ll all have to go to the funeral home to make arrangements today, after Theo arrives. Maybe you can talk to the other officer and the medical examiner and find out when our mother will be released to us. That would be very helpful.”

Josie caught Noah’s eye. “Only if it’s okay with you,” she said to him.

He rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. “It’s fine. Really. Go see what Mettner has turned up. He’ll probably want Theo, Laura and Grady to go in and submit fingerprints so they can eliminate their prints from any found in the house.”

“Yes,” Josie said. “He will.” Or, if he didn’t, she would make sure he did. This was his first homicide investigation.

“And one of us will need to do a walk-through to see if anything is missing. I can do it later, or even Laura.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Grady asked, addressing his wife. “I’m already worried about the stress this is putting on you with the baby. I don’t know if visiting the scene where your mother was…”

Laura put a hand over his. “It’s okay. I don’t have to do it. Noah already said he can do it.”

Noah offered Josie a wan smile. “Call me later, okay?”





Six





Denton’s city morgue was located in the basement of Denton Memorial Hospital, which was an old brick building that sat on top of a hill overlooking most of the city. The small suite of rooms that Medical Examiner, Dr. Anya Feist, presided over were windowless and drab with a lingering odor that was half chemical and half biological decay. Josie had grown used to it over the years, but she could tell the moment she stepped into the large exam room that Mettner had a long way to go. He looked green as he stood beside Dr. Feist at one of the tables, a file spread out between them.