Field of Graves by J.T. Ellison Page B

impulse to reach over and wrench the ring right off Taylor’s finger and throw it in the trash. Taylor Jackson had no failings that Sam could see, other than caring too damn much about her job.
    “Taylor, there’s one other thing.”
    “More? What?”
    “She was pregnant. About six weeks along.”
    Taylor could do nothing but stare. The thoughts were flying, bouncing off each other like bumper cars. None were coming together.
    Sam continued. “It’s possible some of the tearing and damage I found could have been inflicted that long ago. It’s possible that whoever killed her was the father of the child.”
    “You’re reaching there, Sam.”
    “I know. But it could be. You can’t rule it out. If he was the father, it’s possible he didn’t know about the child.”
    “Or he did, and that’s why she ended up in the river, viciously stabbed. Ah, hell, Sam, this is just too much. Can you run the DNA you collected from Shelby against the fetus?”
    “I can, yes, but it isn’t going to happen as fast as you’d like. Simon’s already dumped a couple of high-profile private cases he’s working on—he’s not going to want to jump through this hoop again immediately. Besides, I’m only bringing it to your attention. It’s possible we have two different killers, despite the similarities.”
    Taylor stood for a long moment, staring at her best friend. Tapped a finger along her leg. “I understand, but I want it done. Please ask Simon to drop everything and work on this, okay?”
    “All right. I’ll ask. I may go over and help him run some samples, speed things up.”
    “That would be incredible, Sam. Thank you. I’m heading back downtown. We need to get a game plan together, find this girl’s family and give them the news before we release any information. You’ll get to me the second you hear from Simon?”
    “I will. Hey, I heard about the grand jury. Are you okay? Do you need anything? I know revisiting all of it won’t be easy.”
    Sam was possibly the only person on earth Taylor had been completely honest with about that night. Oh, she’d told the truth, she’d just left out the parts that made her look weak and stupid for falling for Martin’s rap. She’d never forgive herself for hesitating. If she’d only gone straight to Price the moment she found out, none of this would have happened.
    She hugged her best friend, long and hard. “Thank you for caring. I’m fine, I promise. It’s only a recitation of the facts, and I want to see his partners go down.”
    “It wasn’t your fault, Taylor. Not one ounce of it. Don’t you ever forget it.”
    Taylor smiled sadly. “If you tell me that often enough, one day, I might start to believe you. I gotta run.”
    “Do me a favor? Stop by the drugstore and grab some Advil Cold & Sinus. We can’t have you getting sick on us.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she said, waving good-bye.

15
    He stood in the shadows, watching, felt the breeze kick up, smelled the fire coming from the sky. It was time. He said the words quietly, hands raised.
    “‘And after these things, I saw four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.’”
    His voice rose, the ecstasy of the moment driving him. “But I am the fifth angel. And I call upon my brothers to unleash the winds of wrath upon us. Blow away the sins of our people, take those undeserving of my love. Ruin the nonbelievers, allow my vision to caress those worthy of my divinity.”
    In answer, the wind blew harder, and he knew he was blessed.

16
    The rain was coming down hard by the time Taylor rolled into headquarters. She was fervently hoping the captain had a plan.
    The squad room was unnaturally quiet, so Taylor wandered out into the hall, looking for her people. Lincoln was walking toward her with a pot of coffee, gesturing to the conference room. She followed him in to find Price, Fitz,