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It was flashy, but still the type of jewelry to have personal significance to the owner.
    I was also deeply certain I knew who the owner was.
    “Did you find glasses? A pair of rimless eyeglasses?” I asked.
    Violet grimaced. “He was shot with a large caliber bullet in the back of his head, which means most of his face disintegrated with the exit wound. If he was wearing glasses, they’re gone now. Besides, I’m not sure he was killed here. This could just be the dump site.”
    She stopped arranging the clothing and stood, her knees popping with the effort. She looked down at me with an odd sort of compassion on her face. “So it is him.”
    I stood too and pinched the ring between my thumb and forefinger, holding it out so she could see the diamonds. “Joe.”
    “Numero Tres,” Tarq said, and I jumped. I’d been so focused I’d forgotten that he and Loretta and Des were standing vigil with me.
    Violet shot him a wry sidelong glance. “Officially known as Giuseppe Ricardo Solano. No wonder he hasn’t been frequenting his usual haunts, why we haven’t been able to pick him up on surveillance for the past couple months.”
    Nope. Because he’d been haunting Mayfield instead. What had he done to get himself executed, besides briefly kidnap me? It didn’t make sense.
    But what better place to hide a body than in a cemetery?

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
    Violet finally released me from the scene. Tarq had stuck with me the whole time, although we had very little to say to each other—certainly very little we could say within listening distance of law enforcement officers. The ideas rattling around in my brain fell into the category of useless speculation anyway.
    Des had hung around too, whether out of professional curiosity or personal concern, I didn’t know, but I appreciated it.
    It hadn’t crossed my mind that I’d be a suspect in Joe’s killing until Violet informed me that she’d swing by the mansion later for an official statement. But I guessed it was logical. I might have been one of the last people to see Joe alive, other than the entourage he’d brought with him to kidnap me. I wished I’d paid more attention to those guys in the brief moments when I’d seen their faces, wished I’d caught their names in the quiet snips of conversation I’d overheard.
    Des and Loretta flanked Tarq, helping him cross the clearing in the direction of the main track where they’d left their pickup. I angled toward the bunkhouse with a flashlight to cut through the deep forest gloom.
    After a couple months of almost daily hikes, I was finally getting my bearings on the property, at least the more populated areas with dirt tracks. It helped that dawn was lightening the east, giving me a reference point. I could barely keep my eyelids open, but I didn’t want to postpone a difficult conversation any longer.
    But once I caught sight of the mechanics’ garage near the bunkhouse, I knew there was one other thing I needed to do first.
    I found Dwayne in the garage’s beautiful new kitchen, shirtless, leaning over the gleaming stainless steel, triple-wide sink, water dripping from his scraggly beard as he groped for a towel.
    “Knock, knock,” I called loudly.
    “I heard you.” Dwayne’s back was still toward me, his voice muffled as he swiped the towel over his face. “Guess you don’t mind that I’m indecent.”
    “I’ve seen you in worse condition,” I replied. The garage’s bathrooms weren’t quite finished yet, which explained why he was using the kitchen for his morning ablutions.
    Dwayne’s grin revealed crooked, worn teeth that had needed a dentist’s attention decades ago. He pulled a holey T-shirt down over the gray hair on his chest and then buttoned a plaid flannel shirt over the top. “Not too many women have had the pleasure of seeing this hot bod.”
    I chuckled. “Especially not Special Agent Violet Burns. I think she’d be very interested