Touched by Death by Dale Mayer Read Free Book Online

day out, this would have quickly become 'normal.'
For you the contrast would have been unbearably hard to deal with."
    "You have so got that right. What are you, a
shrink?"
    "Not really. However, understanding human psychology
is paramount in my work." Silence filled the cab for several minutes
as Meg pulled the SUV into the hotel parking lot. "Coming here
was probably one of the smarter things you've done, you know."
    Gathering her purse and camera, Jade paused to look
at her. "How so?"
    "Because you'll find closure this time."
With that parting shot, she hopped out of the SUV and slammed the door.
    Jade followed slowly. Closure would be good –
on many fronts.

***
    Dane struggled to like his sister-in-law. He could
give her some leeway because she was pregnant. A little more leeway
for being upset over the current set of events with the grave, but how
much leeway did she get before she came under the heading of disgruntled
witch?
    He was trying, honestly he was. He'd wanted to love
her, to feel secure about John's future with her. Right now, every minute
he spent with her, she grated on his nerves something awful. He should
move into town, give them more space. Living in the cabin at the back
of the property and having most meals with them was too close – for
everyone.
    Knowing Tasha and John wouldn't notice, he grabbed
his coffee and slipped out to the patio to enjoy the cooler evening
air. The sounds of their argument followed him.
    "I don't care how logical it is. I don't want
you to have anything to do with it. It's not safe. For you or for me."
    "Tasha, I've gone over this several times. There's
nothing dangerous in what they're doing. It's perfectly safe."
    "Waking the dead is dangerous. This isn't just
about you. You're putting me and the baby at risk – not to mention
Peppe and Emile."
    John, weary but so patient that Dane had to give him
kudos for super human effort, said, "I'm also not helping them.
Dane is going to rent them a piece of equipment. That's all."
    "And that's too much," she complained.
    Dane turned and strolled down to his cabin. He'd heard
enough. She could argue all she wanted but he had no plans to rescind
his offer to Bruce. He understood the pain and the trauma on both sides.
That wasn't going to stop the job from happening, so he might as well
help so it could be completed faster. Then everyone would get what they
wanted.
    The deal was done.
    Besides, he wanted to get to know Jade better.

***
    Four days of running around, trips back and forth,
problems and tech trouble… Finally, it was the day.
    Jade stood off to one side and watched as Dane navigated
his smallest loader through the small spindly trees to the gravesite.
He'd wanted to be the one driving, in order to minimize the environmental
damage. He had a good crew working for him, however he insisted this
location required his delicate touch.
    It took two tries to navigate one corner to avoid
having to cut down a tree. Trees were no longer an abundant resource
in Haiti and every one was precious. He backed up and wiggled the large
machine and as delicately as diapering a baby he maneuvered her to the
right angle and swung right, onto the straight path.
    Nice.
    Jade watched him carefully take the machine to where
the rocks met the path before shutting it down.
    "Are we ready?" he asked without getting
out. "Has everything been logged, photographed and removed?"
    Bruce walked over and hopped onto the machine to speak
to him. Heads bent together as they discussed the plan of attack. Jade
knew it would take the bulk of the day to remove the top layer off this
portion of the grave. At that point, Dane would open a ten-foot-wide
working space from the path side, and they'd work left to right until
they ran out of bodies. At which point they'd move into the hill to
look for the last of them.
    She knew all that but it didn't settle her nerves
at this point. Four of the team were scheduled to