Neighing with Fire: A Mystery (Colleen McCabe Series) Read Free Page A

and took the sagging wooden steps two at a time, slipping in the sand that now covered them.
    “Stop!” came a voice from below when she reached the top.
    She slid to a halt and grabbed the railing to keep from falling. Sparky barked from below and circled a man and woman in their forties and their golden retriever. With one hand the man held the woman’s torso in a protective gesture and with the other the golden retriever’s collar. The woman stared with her hands to her mouth at the space under the steps.
    “Sparky, stay,” Colleen said. The dog whimpered but stopped circling and sat next to the golden retriever. “What’s going on?” she called to the man and woman.
    “It’s a body!” the woman blurted out, then covered her mouth again.
    “Or what’s left of it,” said the man.
    Had a dolphin or some other sea creature washed ashore in last night’s storm? She inched to the end of the walkway, peered over the railing, and tilted her head. Wooden boards from the original walkway were scattered over the sand but she couldn’t see anything that resembled a body. Colleen clutched the railing, leaned over it to get a better look, and then saw what had grabbed the couple’s attention. Protruding from the area beneath the double walkways was no dolphin or shark but the outstretched fingers of a shriveled and ashen human hand.

 
    Chapter 2
    As Colleen helped Bill Dorman, the Currituck County Sheriff with whom she shared a nascent romantic relationship, she couldn’t help think that if not for the unusually long-reaching waves of Tropical Storm Ana, the body might have remained safely entombed under the walkway forever. She and Bill tied tarps to metal stakes hammered into the wet beach sand as Bill’s deputy, Rodney Warren, finished roping off the perimeter of the wooden stairs. With any luck, their work would protect the body and scene from the weather and prying eyes of vacationers until the medical examiner’s team arrived. She gazed at the shoulder, arm, and hand poking out from the sand. Though she was no forensics expert, she guessed that the body had been buried for some time.
    “Wonder how long it’s been under there,” Rodney said softly so as not to be heard by Martin and Laurie Templeton, the couple who had discovered the body.
    “The ME should be able to tell us once he’s done some testing,” Bill replied, also keeping his voice low.
    “How long until he gets here?” she asked, and peered at the sun that had broken through the dissipating storm clouds. She wondered what the June heat and humidity would do to the body now that it had been uncovered.
    “Let’s hope soon, before this draws too much unwanted attention,” Bill said, eyeing the observant couple and their curious golden retriever.
    “Howdy, folks,” came a voice from around a nearby dune.
    “Speaking of unwelcome attention,” Colleen muttered under her breath, protectively leashing Sparky.
    Bill and Rodney looked at her with raised brows. Denny Custis lumbered toward them with one of his goons in tow.
    “I’ll handle this,” Bill said and moved away.
    Rodney stepped closer to her as Bill shook hands with Denny. “I take it you don’t like Mr. Custis much.”
    “Is it that obvious?” She had never been good at hiding her emotions.
    “Between you and me, I don’t have much use for Custis myself.”
    She was about to ask him why but Bill and Denny were coming their way. Denny’s man remained behind and surveyed the beach.
    “Good to see you, Rodney,” Denny said. Rodney forced a nod. Denny turned to Colleen and added, “Miss.”
    She folded her arms and squeezed Sparky’s lead tight in her hands. Once she had a bad opinion of someone, it took a lot to change it. The fact that Rodney apparently shared her feelings only served to strengthen them.
    “I heard the commotion earlier when chatting with the lady here. Came to check out what all the fuss was about.”
    “You didn’t tell me you were talking to