I am just about done scanning when he calls out my name.
“Morgan! Look
at what I found!” For a moment I am scared, but his voice is cheerful.
It can’t be anything serious. I swivel around and meet him at the base
of an old oak tree. Jimmy is pointing at a natural divot created by the
roots, a smile on his face. I crouch down to get a closer look. It’s a
pile of plastic dice. Five of them. My mind grows fuzzy as I contemplate
them, my eyes narrowing and my brow furrowing. The excitement drains
from Jimmy's face as he studies my unexpected look. I reassure him.
“Uh-good job. Good job finding those. And for not touching them. We
don't know…they might be evidence, so we should just leave them.”
“Okay,” he mumbles, but with a slight smile of satisfaction at having
remembered what the lieutenant told us before going out into the woods.
I continue to squat, my eyes fixated on the dice. I am trying to figure
out their significance while Jimmy skips away towards the edge of the
river. I can’t put my finger on why the scratched and worn surface of
the dice looks familiar. For some reason I feel like they have something
to do with me. I rake my brain trying to think of why they are there,
where they could have come from. When it hits me, I feel dumb for
forgetting.