Excerpt of Unearthed by J.S. Marlo

A cool breeze wafted through the open door of the garage.
Alone with the bones that he and Jordan had spent the
morning unearthing, Avery savored every drop of his
latest Red Eye. The quiet solitude and the absence of
guests suited his spirits. No one bothered him while he
recreated his three little specimens. The dig had yielded
two new skulls, confirming his belief he was dealing with
two rabbits and a cat.

"I ran into Terry Jordan as he was leaving." From the
doorway, Rowan looked at him with a haggard expression.
"He told me you completed your collection."

Perspiration soaked her tank top, pasting the fabric to
her chest, and mud caked the sides of her running shoes.
The spirited woman wasn't self-conscious about her
appearance. One more quality he admired about her, though
he didn't like her ability to sneak up on him. Over the
years, he'd relied on his sixth sense to warn him of
someone's presence long before a noise betrayed the
intruder, but for some obscure reason, Rowan shut down
his inner alert system.

"Did you go running?"

"Made it to the marsh." In her hand, she held a glass
half filled with clear blue liquid. She took a mouthful.
Droplets trickled down her chin, which she wiped against
her collarbone. "Are you going to introduce me to the
poor dead animals?"

He invited her to approach the table. "Meet Calvin,
Cisco, and Rascal."

A bright smile accentuated the glow on her face. "Nice
names." She scooped Cisco's cranium and examined it from
every angle. "I see markings on the frontal bone."

"Very observant." That she showed interest in the
findings pleased him. "But you missed the ones at the
back." He set aside his Red Eye to cup the skull. His
fingers brushed her hand, and he relished in the softness
of her touch as he flipped the skull for a better view.
"Here—and there." The tip of his index finger traced the
shallow furrows.

"They don't resemble teeth marks."

"No teeth." The lines were too precise to be random
animal bites. "A tool was used. Something like a
pocketknife or—"

A spasm rocked Rowan's body. The skull and the glass
slipped from her hands. He reached out for Cisco's
remains, but failed to catch the glass. It shattered on
contact, spilling its contents on the cement floor.