Skye Cree 03: The Bones Will Tell Read Online Free Page A

roll of her eyes. “You know me better than that. I used those tongs there to pick up the note and the newsprint”
    Harry shook his head. “You attract some crazies, Skye. You know that?”
    “Seems there’s nothing I can do about that. Take a look. It’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen some pretty weird stuff. I want to know who these bones belong to. Was she someone’s daughter? Was she a mother who left children behind? Was she a sister? Are they still actively looking for her? What were the circumstances where she ended up in a cardboard box? And how did her remains get here, specifically to me, to my office?”
    “All reasonable questions,” Harry remarked.
    “There’s a trail and we need to follow it,” Skye asserted.
    “Read the note,” Josh prompted. “The person who sent the package obviously kept up with current events, knew Skye’s tie-in with the Artemis Foundation.”
    “Why make his sins public now? Why write about them now? Why contact me like this at all ?”
    Harry scratched his head. “I’m no profi ler but… I’d say he has some terminal disease and he thinks the clock is ticking or he wants attention or could be both. If it’s for the attention he probably thinks the spotlight has somehow escaped him.”
    “He wants his fifteen minutes of fame,” Josh concluded. “On that we all seem to agree.”
    “ I know one thing. He knew Skye was out of town,” Harry proposed after skimming the message. “Knew the box would likely sit here until she came back to deal with it herself. Who gathered your mail while you were gone?”
    “Travis. He came by every other day. But I only talked to him once in two weeks.” Her cheeks got a little pink at that, remembering she’d been absorbed in other things, too busy to do much else, other than enjoy the island and Josh.
    “At the time Travis mentioned that quite a bit of mail had piled up. I thought he was exaggerating.” She threw her arms out wide. “Obviously he wasn’t.”
    Josh frowned. “If this guy knew we were away, then he’s probably staked out this place at one time or another, maybe even staked it out today to watch you guys show up here.”
    Harry thought about that then leveled Josh with a stare. “Is it too early to ask if you’re getting anything from the note, the bones? Point me in a direction, Josh.”
    Josh ignored the astonished looks from the police officer and the crime scene tech. “Not a thing, other than the fact they’re human bones. Female.” He waited a beat before adding, “She died violently. That’s implied, of course. But I think she was strangled. Sorry, I can’t do any better than that.”
    “Isn’t that unusual in light of recent events?” Skye prompted, meeting Josh’s eyes. “I mean, I thought you’d pick up on…a lot more than that.”
    Josh lifted a shoulder in a shrug as his lips spread into a wide grin. “Maybe I’ve lost it. Maybe spending two weeks in the tropics drummed it out of me.”
    “O r maybe the bones are just too old or more like we’re witnessing a shield of some kind that combats your special powers. Ever think of that?” Skye returned in a teasing tone.
    “Maybe. But I want to go on record as saying I didn’t handle these bones up close so I’ll reserve the right to add any additional info I obtain from said special powers in the immediate future.”
    “That’s convenient,” Skye quipped. “Admit it. You’ve lost your touch.”
    Harry shook his head at the ir back-and-forth banter. “I’ve got a dead woman’s bones in a box and you two are squabbling about what I find very weird in the first place.”
    “Weird is the new vogue,” Josh tossed back.
    “ Good thing, too. Because weird is the staple around here and right now, that’s all we’ve got,” Skye retorted as she watched the tech take possession of the box destined for the medical examiner’s office—and what she hoped most—answers.
     



Chapter Three
    W eird lapped