Page 6 of Amazing Grace

Squatting down, she gingerly poked a finger at the arm of the figure on the ground. It was hard and cold and there was no mistaking what it was then. It was not a dummy.

It was a dead body.

A formerly breathing human.

An honest-to-Christ corpse on the floor of her maze.

All her former beliefs flew out of her head like a flock of blackbirds, leaving her feeling lost and alone.

Now what should she do? Call the police, of course. Molly had probably already called it in. She shakily stood up and began backing away. Then her feet grew minds of their own and took off running.

She navigated the maze out of sheer rote memory, not really breathing until she stepped free from the maze onto the field. She saw a figure standing next to her truck.

Molly.

Oh, poor Molly! She’d been so scared, and now Grace knew why.

And felt the same way.

Who was it? What was the body doing in her hay maze? Why would someone kill somebody in her maze, of all places?

It was secluded, that’s why,she thought.Secluded, closed, and empty, and there was no one around to hear anybody scream.

She ran to Molly and found herself being the one held this time.

“Did you see it? It was there, wasn’t it.” Molly sounded dry, hoarse, as if she’d been sobbing so hard her throat was sore.

Grace nodded. “Y-yes. It’s there. A body. Somebody, oh God, somebodydiedin my maze.”

“I called the sheriff’s office. They said she’d be down here soon.” Molly patted Grace on the back. “It’ll be okay, right? Of course, it will.”

Grace didn’t know if Molly was trying to calm her or herself. Probably both. “I didn’t recognize him. I have no idea who that person is.”

Molly sniffed loudly and moaned, and Grace felt her start shaking again. “I do. I recognized him. It’s my ex, Grace.”

“Your ex? As in ex-boyfriend? What is your ex doing dead in my hay maze?”

“I don’t know! I haven’t seen him or talked to him in over a year.” Molly pulled away from Grace and began to pace. She had her arms wrapped around her as if trying to hug herself. “What is he doing in Summit Springs? In your maze? Dead?”

“You’re asking me? I don’t even know the guy.” Grace felt her nerves shredding. “Where the hell is the sheriff?”

A siren screaming in the distance seemed to answer her question. She reached for Molly’s hand and held on to it tightly.

They waited, holding hands like a pair of kindergarteners frightened about starting their first day of school, waiting for their new teacher to arrive.

Several moments later a plume of smoke could be seen coming up the twisting mountain road toward the field. They watched the exhaust from the sheriff’s SUV marking the vehicle’s progress up the road.

The SUV pulled into a spot not far from where Grace and Molly had parked, and Sheriff Briona Maverick slipped out from behind the wheel. Her sheepskin coat was open, and the sun caught the badge on her hip making the gold glitter.

Deputy Tom Padgett got out of the other side and trotted around the SUV to stand by his boss.

“What’s going on here?” Sheriff Maverick asked. “Somebody said there’s a dead body?”

Grace nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She pointed toward the maze.

Sheriff Maverick cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you drew us a map? No? Then I think maybe you should lead us to it. Both of you.”

Grace nodded again and squeezed Molly’s hand in reassurance. “C-come on, Molly. We’ll show them. It’s this way,” she said to the officers.