Warning: This chapter contains adult situations, language and mature subject matter.

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Chapter 10: Puzzle Pieces

"You two are better than cadaver dogs," Tom Becker said as he squatted down beside the partially exposed body. "What's this make? The third body you've found for me?"

"Something like that," Frank replied grimly. "The thing is, Sheriff, Joe and I don't think this is Angela Wilson. She had dark hair."

Tom fingered the wispy strands. "You're right," he said. "I've got some hair samples from Angela's brush that we collected during the investigation, just in case we needed to identify a body later. This stuff's too light." He stood up. "Don't touch anything else. I sent for the forensic people from the state troopers' office after you called me." He put his hands on his hips and looked around. "I still can't believe you found this."

"Don't blame yourself, Sheriff. You weren't looking here," Frank said. "And if this isn't Angela, chances are the body wasn't here when you were looking."

"True." Tom pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I don't want to jump to conclusions until we get some DNA results back, but I can guess you think this is Janice Woollery."

Frank nodded. "The location and decomposition of the body don't point to too many other people."

"Yeah," Tom agreed with a nod. "Nevertheless, we'll let the forensics people tell us who she is anyway. Rose!"

The young deputy jumped at the sound of her name. She had sidled up next to Joe, presumably to look over his shoulder at the body. "Yes, Sheriff?"

"Take your cruiser and head back down to the highway. The forensics team may not know the way up here."

"Right away, Sheriff!" Rose hurried off and Joe heaved a sigh of relief.

Frank moved closer to him so he could whisper in his ear. "Was she feeling you up? I couldn't see both of her hands."

Joe rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly.

Tom turned to his other deputy, a man who had been hired just a few months before Rose. "Corbin, get some police tape and cordon this area off."

"Yes, sir." Corbin glared suspiciously at Frank and Joe for a moment before heading to Tom's car.

Tom scratched his head. "I'm not sure how I'm going to explain why you two were looking for a body back here. That ghost story is a little far-fetched."

"No one needs to know about that part," Frank said.

"Maybe not," Tom answered. "But if that does turn out to be Janice Woollery, it's going to seem mighty lucky that you found her."

"It was an accident," Joe immediately spoke up. "We were looking for Angela. Finding this body was just a fortuitous accident. We'll have to keep searching the area."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Corbin returned with the police tape and several stakes, and Tom went to help him set it up. Frank and Joe moved out of the way so they would not be inside the cordon.

"That has to be Janice," Joe said in a low voice. "Do you think Mitch Wilson killed her, too?"

"He must have," Frank replied in an equally low tone.

"But why?"

"Maybe she couldn't take being an accessory to murder and Mitch killed her to keep her from confessing."

Joe nodded. "That's reasonable. But why put her here?"

"The police had already searched up here looking for Angela. Even if they searched this area again, they would most likely search in the vicinity of where his contrived evidence indicated his car was parked, and we're pretty far from there."

"Makes sense." Joe watched Corbin and the sheriff, chewing on his lip. "If that is Janice, it should be enough evidence to bring Wilson back for questioning."

"It should be," Frank agreed. "But I still want to find Angela's body. If forensics doesn't find anything to tie Wilson to this body, Tom won't be able to hold him. But if Angela's remains are found up here after Wilson admitted he was here, that should be enough circumstantial evidence to hold him for a little while."

"But maybe not enough to charge him," Joe said.

"Maybe not." Frank sighed. "I'm going to completely hate it if he gets away with this."

"We have to make sure he doesn't."

The coroner arrived at the same time as the three forensics people, her medical bag in one hand and a body bag over her shoulder. Dr. Noelle Chambers had been the coroner in Bayport for less than a year. She had applied for the position after spending a few years in the morgue in a large city, when the previous Bayport coroner resigned after thirty-five years on the job. Frank liked Dr. Chambers. She never treated him like a meddlesome teenager.

"What have you got for me, Tom?" Dr. Chambers said, ducking under the cordon after handing the body bag to Rose.

"Dead body under a log. It's unlikely it got there on its own."

Dr. Chambers squatted down by the exposed skull as she pulled on her gloves and looked it over critically. "Not likely," she said.

Frank and Joe watched in silence while Dr. Chambers and the forensics team went over the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary. After searching around the log methodically, they had everyone join in to help lift the log and tip it away from the body. Then Dr. Chambers and the leader of the forensics team, a gray-haired woman with steely eyes named Dr. Ribisi, shooed them all out of the way so they could examine the body. When they were finished, Dr. Chambers directed Corbin and Rose to put the body in the body bag. Then she walked over to where Tom was waiting with Frank and Joe, pulling off her gloves as she approached.

"The body is definitely female," Dr. Chambers said. "I'd estimate it's been there for three to four months. My preliminary guess is she died from blunt force trauma to the head. There's a good-sized bash in the side of her skull. But I'll need to examine the body for other damage to be sure."

Frank looked at Joe and nodded. "Will you be able to use dental records?"

"Should be able to," Dr. Chambers said. "Her teeth are intact. Hopefully, she's a local and had work done in town." She looked at Tom. "Do you think it's that woman who went missing back in April?"

"Might be," Tom said noncommittally. "I've got some hair samples from the missing woman. We should do DNA tests as well as checking dental records."

Dr. Chambers nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem. Dr. Ribisi already asked about getting some hair and tissue samples when I do the autopsy."

"Dr. Chambers," Frank said. "When you examine the body, could you look for ligature marks around the neck?"

"You think she might have been strangled?"

Frank shrugged. "No, but I would like to eliminate the possibility."

Dr. Chambers squinted at him. "You know something you're not telling me," she accused.

"I don't want to influence your examination, Doctor," Frank said with a smile.

"Hm." She continued to study him. "You better tell me what this is about later."

"I will."

Dr. Ribisi's two assistants helped Rose and Corbin carry the body back to the coroner's van, and she came over to where the others were waiting. "DNA tests on the hair and tissue samples will take a few days, Sheriff," she told Tom. "Dr. Chambers said you have a missing person this might be, so I'd appreciate any information you might have about her."

"Fortunately, I collected hair samples when we searched her house," Tom replied. "You can pick them up after you stop by the morgue."

"Good. Of course, if we don't get a match, you'll have some work to do."

Tom scratched his head. "We don't have a lot of unsolved cases here in Bayport. I think we'll figure it out." He glanced at Frank as he spoke. Obviously, he didn't want to say that he already had a good idea who the body was.

Frank, Joe and Tom brought up the rear as the group returned to where their vehicles were parked. Frank's car was blocked in, so the boys had to wait until everyone else had pulled out before they could leave.

As they drove back down to the highway, Joe turned sideways in the seat so he could look at Frank. "Dr. Chambers said the body might have been there three or four months."

"Yeah," Frank nodded.

"That coincides with the beginning of the ghost sightings."

Frank nodded again without comment.

"Angela was probably already dead three months by then."

"It's possible no one saw her ghost before then because it was still early in the year for making out," Frank said, his tone half-amused and half-speculative.

"People make out up here year-round," Joe pointed out. "It's supposed to be quite romantic in winter with snow on the ground." He drummed his fingers on his knee. "I don't get it. That body should have been Angela's. Could being buried in the ground have lightened her hair?"

"I don't know," Frank shrugged. "We'll just have to wait for the DNA tests."

When they got home, Frank pushed the button on the garage door remote clipped to the sun visor above his head as he turned into the driveway. He grinned at Joe. "I know it sounds bad, but I like being able to park in the garage now that Mom's gone. It will be so much easier going to school later when winter sets in."

"Yeah," Joe agreed, but his answering grin faltered. "Uh oh." The door into the house opened and Fenton stepped out to watch them park. "I wonder what he wants."

Fenton lifted his eyebrows at them as they got out of the car. "I think maybe it's time you boys told me about your investigation," he said. He looked curious and excited, like he used to do when they got involved in something interesting.

"Have you been listening to the police scanner again, Dad?" Frank asked.

Fenton grinned. "I've let myself get out of touch. Listening to the scanner is a good way to pick up on the town's vibe. But I admit I was pretty surprised when I heard the sheriff was going up to Lovers Lane to check on a report of a body. I figured it had to be you guys." He tipped his head toward the house. "Why don't we discuss it over a glass of lemonade?" They followed him into the kitchen and he took a pitcher of lemonade out of the refrigerator. "It's frozen concentrate, I'm afraid. I have no idea where your Mom keeps the juicer."

Joe snorted. "Mom hasn't juiced a lemon in years, Dad. She used the frozen stuff, too."

"No kidding?" Fenton smirked. "I guess that explains why it tastes the same."

Joe got glasses and the three of them sat down at the kitchen table.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Fenton said.

"All right," Frank replied. "We started out investigating a ghost sighting up on Lovers Lane."

"A ghost?"

"That's right," Frank nodded. "Several people reported seeing a ghost at this one particular spot up there, so Joe and I have been going up there to investigate."

Fenton leaned forward excitedly. "Was it really a ghost?"

"Yup. We think we know who it is, or was, too. A woman named Angela Wilson, who disappeared back in April. We think her husband had something to do with her death. He was having an affair at the time."

"So it was her body you found?"

"Well, that's just it." Frank frowned and looked at Joe. "We're not sure it was. The hair color is wrong."

Joe spoke up. "We think it might be the husband's lover. She supposedly moved away with him, but she was his alibi in his wife's disappearance."

"I see." Fenton nodded thoughtfully. "So it sounds like you've still got some loose ends to wrap up."

"It looks that way," Frank replied. "Once the DNA tests come back, we'll know if it's Angela or not. If it's not, we're going to have to keep looking for her body."

Fenton ran a hand across the top of his head. "I should have been more help to you boys on this one."

"That's ok, Dad," Frank said, glancing quickly at Joe. "Quite honestly, it's been a welcome distraction from what was going on between you and Mom. "

Fenton made a face. "That's something, I guess." He finished his lemonade. "Well, I've got that AA meeting tonight, but it's not until 8pm. I can leave after dinner. I've got a little more paperwork I want to wrap up before then, so I'll be in my study, if one of you doesn't mind cooking."

"That's fine, Dad," Joe said. "I'll cook."

"Great." Fenton stood up and clapped a hand on Frank's shoulder. "Thanks for filling me in. I kind of wish I'd seen that ghost, though. That's something I've never had come up in any of my cases." He put his glass in the dishwasher and headed for his study.

"That wasn't too bad," Joe said. "He didn't ask very many questions."

"Thank goodness," Frank agreed with a nod. "Did you notice? He put his glass in the dishwasher instead of the sink."

"Yeah, I did notice," Joe chuckled. "How many times did Mom complain about that? And now he does it without being asked."

"In his defense, Mom was very particular about how the dishwasher should be loaded."

"Yeah," Joe said. "But then she'd complain if we didn't put the dishes in. The more I think about it, the more it seems like she was looking for excuses to be irritated with us. I think we're all going to be better off."

"It's too bad, really," Frank said with a loud sigh. "If she'd just been honest with us, or at least with Dad, about her feelings, things might not have gone this far. Do you suppose she's more open with that Barry guy?"

Joe's forehead wrinkled. "You know, I suspect she isn't. She's been keeping herself to herself for so long, I wonder if she even knows how to really share with someone. I bet she didn't even tell her friend Eleanor the whole truth."

"Maybe not." Frank stood up and put the half-empty pitcher of lemonade back in the refrigerator. "Do you want to go back up to Lovers Lane tonight after Dad leaves for his meeting?"

"Yes." Joe snagged their empty glasses and put them in the dishwasher. "I have some homework to do, though, so I'd better do that now since I said I'd make dinner."

"Ok."

Fenton left at 7:30 that evening to go to his AA meeting. He was obviously nervous, but he put on an optimistic face as he headed out the door. When he was gone, Frank helped Joe clear the table and load the dishwasher.

As Joe started the machine, he glanced at the clock. "It's kind of early to go up to Lovers Lane," he said. "But I'm not sure there's enough time to have sex."

Frank laughed. "Those are the two options? Sex or investigation?"

Joe grinned. "We haven't done it since last night."

"You are really randy!" Frank teased, but in truth, he had been thinking about sex himself. Even while talking with Fenton over dinner, he'd kept having little fantasies about holding onto Joe's slim hips while he banged his ass. "Well, it only takes twenty minutes to get up there, which leaves us nearly an hour if we want to be there before 9:30." He put his arms around Joe's shoulders. "So if you're not too demanding, I could probably ram you pretty good before we go."

Joe wrinkled his nose. "How romantic!"

"You want romance?" Frank leaned forward and kissed Joe very gently on the lips. "How about thirty minutes of kissing, teasing and fondling before I get to the banging?"

"I don't know!" Joe chuckled. "I'm not sure I could hold out for thirty minutes. I'm already hard."

"Already?" Frank looked down. "From one little kiss?"

"No." Joe's smile widened. "You kept looking at me during dinner and I had the distinct impression you were thinking about fucking me, which got me thinking about fucking you. My hard-on was inevitable."

"You knew I was thinking about sex?" Frank shook his head. "It's really spooky that you always seem to know what's on my mind."

Joe shrugged. "I think it's just because we know each other so well. You always seem to know what I'm feeling, too."

"I suppose I do." Frank pulled Joe close and kissed him again. "Let's go upstairs. I want to fondle your pretty bottom."

"And my perky little tits?"

"Of course!"

In Joe's bedroom, they quickly stripped out of their clothes and snuggled into bed. Frank wrapped his arms around Joe and kissed him deeply, his tongue winding around Joe's eagerly.

"Umm…" Joe moaned. "I like that," he murmured against Frank's lips.

"Me, too," Frank murmured back. They kissed for a long time, their hands exploring each other's bodies in slow, gentle caresses. After awhile, Frank shifted his attention from Joe's lips to other parts of his body, his lips and tongue savoring Joe's soft skin. Joe moaned softly as Frank licked him, his eyes closed and his lips slightly parted. His expression was aroused and sexy, and it made Frank want him even more. "I thought you said you wouldn't be able to hold out," Frank teased.

"It feels so good!" Joe moaned. "I don't want you to stop!"

"Don't you want to get fucked?"

"Desperately!"

"But you can wait?" Frank flicked his tongue across one of Joe's nipples and Joe shivered.

"Not anymore!" Joe gasped. He rolled over onto his knees and stuck his butt up in the air. "Do I need to be more submissive?"

Frank chuckled. "That's submissive enough, thank you." They'd left the lube in Joe's room last night, so Frank snagged it out of the nightstand drawer and applied a liberal dose to Joe's backside. Then he positioned himself. "I'm going in."

Joe lifted his hips suggestively.

Smiling, Frank put himself in, pushing slowly into Joe's warm interior. It felt wonderful and he sighed deeply. "Good lord, I love doing this!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "It's unbelievable how good you feel!"

"It's the same for me," Joe groaned. He clutched at the bed and gasped. "Go deeper! I want it really hard!"

"As you command, baby brother." Frank eagerly began pounding into Joe's ass and Joe took him deep. It was incredible. The powerful stimulation drove all other thoughts from Frank's mind; fucking Joe as hard as he could became his only goal. He rammed into Joe until his brother was bucking and crying out with pleasure, his whole body caught up in the wild ecstasy of imminent orgasm.

Joy slammed into them both at once and they cried out together, shaking and shuddering against each other. When it was over, Frank pulled out and they collapsed onto the bed side by side.

"Oh, yes!" Joe wheezed. "That's what I needed. You always know just what I want."

"That's easy," Frank panted. "It's the same thing I want." He stroked Joe's damp hair back from his face. "We really do seem to belong together."

"Yeah," Joe agreed with a small nod. "It does seem that way." He glanced at the clock. "We were quick. It's only 8:30. We have time to shower before we leave."

"Ok, but you go first. I don't think it would be a good idea to get in there together."

"It's too small anyway."

After quick showers, they hopped into Frank's car and drove back up to Lovers Lane. As they bumped along the gravel road, Joe frowned out the window. "It doesn't seem like there are as many people up here as usual."

"Maybe they heard about the body," Frank replied.

"That's stupid!" Joe snorted. "They came up here in droves when they knew there was a ghost up here, but they stay away after a body has been found and carted away?"

Frank shrugged. "Go figure."

They arrived at their usual spot and backed in.

Frank turned off the engine. "Do you suppose we still need to make out to attract her?"

"No," Joe said, his voice strained.

Frank turned to look at him and found himself staring straight into the ghost's pale face. "What the hell?" he whispered.

"She appeared as soon as you turned off the engine," Joe whispered back.

They stared at the ghost, stunned. The ghost gazed back, her pale face still streaked with tears, but there was something different about her expression.

Frank put his hand on Joe's knee. "She doesn't look sad," he said.

"No," Joe responded. "She looks… almost happy. But why? Was it really her body we found?"

"Her lips are moving," Frank whispered.

"She said 'Thank you'!" Joe blinked in astonishment. Then he gripped the windowsill. "What's happening?"

They both watched with wide eyes as the pale apparition changed. The edges of the face crumbled into specks of ghostly light while the center grew steadily brighter, until the ghost's eyes were shining brilliantly. Then the light slowly disappeared as the ghost closed her eyes and her lips lifted into a contented smile. The remainder of the ghostly image broke into sparkles of light, which quickly shrank and disappeared.

"She's gone!" Frank whispered hoarsely.

Joe leaned against the glass. "Do you think she was only appearing because she wanted someone to find that body?" He turned to look at Frank, his eyes damp. "But what if it's not her body? Why would she want us to find a stranger? I don't understand!"

Frank sat back, his eyes fixed on Joe's wounded face. "I think I do." He reached out and took Joe's hands in his. "Angela was trying to commit suicide. She wanted to die. She may not have cared that she ultimately died at her husband's hands. Maybe it even seemed inevitable to her. But if that body we found was Janice Woollery's, and she was killed by Mitch Wilson, maybe Angela blamed herself. If she hadn't put Janice in the position of being an accessory to her murder, Janice might not have been murdered, too."

"She didn't want Janice to disappear without a trace and be forgotten," Joe said and he slowly nodded.

"But if that's the case, I'm not going to let it rest there," Frank said firmly. "Angela may not care if she's never found, but I do." He tightened his grip on Joe's hands. "We're going to find her body, Joe. I don't care if we have to dig up this entire forest."