EXCERPT

Collin stopped the car. He switched off the engine and got out to a chill. Talk about a one-eighty from today, when the heat had forced him to stay inside with air-conditioning. Now he needed a furnace to warm his chilled skin.

Since he didn’t have a newer model vehicle that allowed him to pop the trunk open with a button, he had to use his key. She wanted him to dig her grave, of this, he was sure. Picking up the shovel from the trunk, he rounded the Chevy Nova.

Rosemary stood with her back to him. Her long hair fluttered in the light breeze, a veil of rich, dark-brown velvet as mysterious as her. Come. Her feet seemed to skim the sand and left no impressions.

Collin followed, clutching the shovel against him.

The shrilling of an eagle raised goosebumps on his arms. He craned his neck skyward, but darkness hindered him from spying anything.

Rosemary stopped and lowered her head.

Still staring upward, Collin squinted, but  he could not spot the big birds of prey. They had to be above them, maybe even circling. He glanced down where Rosemary was gazing. Something told him to start digging. He sent the razor-sharp edge of the shovel into the sand, picked up a heap of dirt, and tossed it aside.

For the longest time he repeated the same task. Then he’d stop, wipe the sweat from his face, and keep going. Ten bucks she’d been killed elsewhere and her body dumped here, which was why the grave sat deep. Not even the animals could’ve dug her up or smelled her. As for the eagles, who normally did not vocalize much, their shrilling became louder. At times they were upon him, their big wings creating a breeze he welcomed to keep him cool. He couldn’t believe he’d complained earlier about being cold.

Just when he didn’t think he had the strength to go on, the shovel hit something. An eerie feeling walked along his spine like the tips of fingers. He was in the grave now, having climbed inside to keep shoveling. Moving to his haunches, he used his hands to toss the dirt aside. His fingers brushed at the sand to find a bone.