Ivy rolled her eyes. “Please. You were barely gone five minutes. It’s not as if you worked yourself to the bone.”
“Hey, it’s more difficult than you might think to root around in the back of the truck without being able to see what you’re touching. I kept imagining horrible things … like spiders.”
Ivy snorted. “I see you made it without being eaten by a Daddy Long Legs.”
“I’m traumatized and need some attention.” He furrowed his brow as he glanced around. “Where is Amy?”
“She volunteered to get water,” Jack replied. “She left a few minutes ago. She shouldn’t be gone long.”
“You let her go by herself?” Max’s eyes were accusatory when they locked with those of his future brother-in-law. “What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking that the spigot isn’t far away,” Jack replied blankly.
“It’s dark,” Max protested.
“It’s only a little ways.”
“Okay, let’s swap out the women involved,” Max snapped. “Would you have let Ivy walk down there alone?”
Ivy bristled at her brother’s tone. “Don’t yell at him.”
“It’s okay.” Jack patted her hand. “He’s right. I shouldn’t have let her go alone.” He moved to stand. “Let’s go get her.”
“And leave Ivy here?” Max made a comical face. “We both know that’s not going to happen.”
“Then we’ll all go as a group,” Ivy offered.
“No. I’ve got it.” His eyes flashed with annoyance as he swiveled. “I’ll find her … and then we’ll talk badly about both of you on our way back. Be prepared for the infamous Morgan stink eye when I return.”
Jack snickered. “We look forward to that.” He turned his attention – and lips – back to Ivy, but froze in place at the sound of a scream. He whipped his head in the direction of the main property office and narrowed his eyes. It was too dark to make out any movement, but when a second scream split the air, he hopped to his feet. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Max was several feet ahead of them when he broke into a run. “Amy.”
Ivy read the panic that rippled off him in waves and scurried to keep up. “Wait. Max … we’ll go together.”
“We’ll all go together,” Jack agreed, collecting Ivy’s hand as they began to jog down the trail. “Everyone be careful you don’t trip. We can’t see if there are rocks or branches jutting out from the ground.”
“Who cares about that?” Max was beside himself as he scanned both sides of the trail for movement. “Amy?” He screamed her name into the night. She didn’t respond, though, which caused Ivy’s heart to drop to her shoes.
“What do you think happened?” she asked Jack, breathless. “I mean … she was only gone for a few minutes.”
“I don’t know, honey.” Jack slowed his pace and stared hard into the dim light surrounding them. “No matter what, you stay right next to me. You can’t see more than a few yards in any direction and we didn’t bring the lanterns. Just … don’t wander.”
Ivy solemnly nodded. “I’ll stick close.”
“Thank you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then increased his pace to catch up with Max. “Don’t panic yet,” he ordered. “We don’t know that anything has happened. It could be kids playing around … or people drinking … or you know, other shenanigans.”
“Or Amy.” Max was forlorn as he caught Jack’s gaze. “Where is she?”
“I … .” Jack didn’t get a chance to finish because the sound of raised voices caught his attention. He immediately pointed himself in that direction. “Both of you stay close,” he instructed, his cop face firmly in place. “What happened here?”
“There’s a body,” one of the men replied. He had a small lantern in his hand and it only cast off enough light that his features looked somehow ghoulish. “Someone is dead.”
“What?” Jack grabbed the lantern from him without asking and turned so he could see in the direction the man gestured. There, on the ground, was a woman. Her features weren’t identifiable because they were covered by a mass of blond hair … the same color hair Amy boasted.
Ivy’s heart dropped to her stomach. “No way.”
“Amy!” Max barreled forward, his voice ragged. “Omigod! Oh, my … .” He let loose an anguished wail Ivy had never heard before and dropped to his knees.
Helpless, Ivy turned to Jack. “I don’t understand.”
That made two of them.
Five
Ivy’s mouth was dry, her hands shaking, and she had no idea what to do.
Jack, however, was in his element.
“Everybody stand back,” he ordered, lifting the lantern as he edged closer to the woman. He was careful not to touch anything but her neck when he pressed two fingers to her pulse point, his heart shuddering when he couldn’t detect even the faintest of heartbeats. He exhaled heavily and met Max’s gaze. “She’s gone.”
“No, no, no.” Max moved to stride forward, but Ivy regained her senses fast enough to grab her brother around the waist. “Let go of me!”
“I can’t,” Ivy gritted out. “Let Jack do his job.”
“No!” Max ripped himself from Ivy and stumbled in the direction of the body. “I can’t even … I … this isn’t happening.”
Jack extended a hand to keep Max back, but the older Morgan sibling slapped it away, fury rippling through him.
“Max, you can’t touch her.” Jack’s voice was calm, no-nonsense. “I need more light to look her over. Also, we need to call for the authorities.”
“You’re a cop,” Max reminded him, his voice dead.
“This isn’t my jurisdiction.”
“You’re a cop?” One of the men standing to the side, a stocky individual with brown hair and a thick mustache, appeared impressed. “I guess that’s lucky for us, huh?”
“It’s … something.” Jack was grim. “Ivy, can you check and see if you have a signal? If not, Max will walk you to the road to see if you can find a better one. We need to get the state police and the medical examiner in here.”
Ivy nodded dumbly. “Yeah.”
“I’m not walking her anywhere,” Max hissed, his voice dangerously close to violent. “She can walk herself … just like you let Amy walk herself.”
Jack tugged on his limited patience. He understood Max had gone into shock or something – and he couldn’t blame him – but there was no way he intended to let Ivy wander away without someone watching her back. “Max, I know you’re upset—”
“You don’t know anything. This is all your fault!” Max exploded with enough rage that he caused Ivy to take an inadvertent step away from her brother.
“Max, you can’t blame him,” Ivy squeaked out. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. You’ll never know how sorry I am. You have to let him do his job now, though. There’s nothing you can do for her.”
Max didn’t respond. Instead, hands clenched into fists at his sides, he let out a series of exaggerated breaths that made Ivy realize he was trying to talk himself out of attacking Jack. She recognized the calming technique from when they were kids and he had to force himself from going after the individuals who bullied her on a regular basis.
Sensing he had a bit of breathing room, Jack lowered the lantern closer to the woman’s features. He was trying to ascertain if there was any clear indication of violence, but he lost his train of thought when he noticed movement from the other side of the clearing.
“What’s going on?” The voice asking the question was low and clearly female.
Max snapped his head in the woman’s direction, his voice cracking when he finally found it. “Amy?”
“Of course it’s Amy. Who else did you expect? Did something happen?”
Max didn’t respond, instead swooping toward her and pulling her small body into his arms. He burst into tears as he held her, forcing her to lean around his tall frame to get a better look.
“I don’t understand—” she broke o
ff when she realized Jack was kneeling over a body. “Who is that?”
“We thought it was you.” Ivy mustered a wan smile. “I’m happy it’s not, for the record.”
“Me, too.” Max stroked his hand over the back of Amy’s head. He seemed to be lost in her, something Ivy had never seen from her brother. It was fascinating. Of course, the dead body they assumed was Amy was also fascinating … just in a different way.
“Does anyone know who she is?” Jack asked, extending his finger toward Ivy. “Place that call, honey. We need help out here.”
Ivy finally remembered Jack had given her a task to complete and wordlessly nodded. She checked her cell phone for bars and was relieved to find she had three.
“I think she might’ve been staying at the camp over there,” the mustached man gestured vaguely into the darkness behind him. “If it’s the woman I’m thinking of, she was with her husband … or maybe a boyfriend. It was just the two of them. No kids.”
“That’s helpful.” Jack smiled in gratitude at the man. “Ivy, make the call.”
She was already doing it. Even though she felt relief at the fact that Amy was well and whole, that didn’t change the fact that there was a dead woman at the campground.
“So much for a quiet weekend,” she muttered as she lifted the phone to her ear. “This wasn’t what we expected.”
“No,” Jack agreed. “It is what it is, though. We have to do what we can for her.”
Ivy wholeheartedly agreed.
THE STATE POLICE BROUGHT PORTABLE lighting and multiple investigators with them when they landed. Within the blink of an eye, the area surrounding the registration office was illuminated. Ivy found that the light managed to take the edge off her fear.
“Maybe you should take Amy back to the campsite,” she suggested as the lead investigator, Trooper John Winters, pulled Jack aside to get a full report.
“Not yet,” Winters ordered, extending a finger in their direction. “We need to question everyone before we allow anyone to leave.”
“Okay. Sorry.” Ivy sent Jack an apologetic glance and then moved closer to her brother and his girlfriend. “Did you see anything, Amy?”
The woman was white as a sheet. If Ivy didn’t know better, she would believe she was only on her feet because Max was holding her up. As for her brother, he seemed to be stronger now, closer to his normal self. He didn’t look happy, though.
“Of course she didn’t see anything,” Max snapped. “She would’ve said something if she saw it going down. What are you thinking?”
Ivy held up her hands in surrender. “I’m sorry. I’m just trying to get the time to pass faster.”
“It’s okay,” Amy said quickly, shaking her head at Max before focusing on Ivy. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just looking around by the trees over there. They have raspberries I noticed earlier and I was tasting a few.” She looked sheepish. “I was over there longer than I intended and then I realized I was hearing voices and I thought I recognized Max’s voice but couldn’t be sure.”
It was a weird time to be picking raspberries, but Ivy kept that comment to herself. “Did you see that woman earlier?”
“I don’t know.” Amy shrugged, seemingly helpless. “I think I saw a blond woman about four campsites away from where we’re staying. The first time I went down for water I saw her with a man. I only remember because they seemed to be arguing over putting up the tent. I just assumed they were like you and Jack, though.”
Ivy wasn’t thrilled with the comparison. “Well … she’s dead now.”
“Which isn’t Amy’s fault,” Max hissed.
“You need to calm down,” Ivy shot back, the first hints of anger taking hold. “I’m not trying to be mean but … come on. I never said any of this was Amy’s fault. Why are you jumping all over me?”
“Because you let her walk down here alone,” Max replied without hesitation. “That could’ve been her. I thought it was her.” His voice cracked again, telling Ivy he was back to being morose.
“Max, I understand this has been an ordeal for you.” Ivy kept her voice low so Winters wouldn’t overhear her. “I’m sorry you’re upset. I mean it. I’m truly sorry. You can’t act like this, though. It’s not my fault.”
“It’s Jack’s fault. He should’ve walked her down to the spigot.”
“We both should’ve walked her down here. If you want to be mad, aim it at me. We didn’t think about it and that’s on us. She’s safe, though. You need to pull it together.”
The look Max shot her was withering. “Maybe you need to pull it together,” he countered. “Maybe you’re the one who is acting like a jerk. Have you ever considered that?”
Rather than respond, Ivy waved a hand in his direction and turned back to Jack. She was done dealing with her brother and his horrible mass of moods this evening. It was good timing because Winters was cutting across to talk to her.
“Detective Harker explained what happened,” he started. “I just need corroboration from you.”
Ivy was familiar with how police investigators worked so she ran through the story from the beginning, leaving nothing out. When she was finished, Winters moved on to Max and Amy to question them. Since Amy was separated from the small group, Winters’ questions for her were different.
“Did you hear any noises when you entered the area?” he asked.
“No. I wasn’t really listening for anything, though. I mean … I was in my own little world. We had a wonderful dinner and I was getting water. I just planned on having a few berries because they looked so good earlier and then heading back. Although … I put down that huge jug thing over there somewhere when I heard Max’s voice. I’m afraid I still don’t have the water.”
“That’s okay,” Jack offered quickly. “I’ll find it and bring it back. You don’t have to worry about it.”
“You definitely don’t have to worry about it,” Max echoed darkly.
Ivy pressed her lips together to keep from exploding at her brother. She figured that was the last thing the trooper needed to bear witness to. She wasn’t sure how long she could contain her annoyance, though.
“Do any of you remember seeing this woman earlier in the evening?” Winters asked. “I’m talking about when it was still light out.”
“I didn’t,” Ivy replied. “I stuck close to camp, though.”
“I think I might have seen her,” Amy offered. “She was over in that direction with a man. I don’t know if he was her husband or boyfriend.”
“Did you witness them saying anything to one another?”
“Oh, well … .” Amy looked decidedly uncomfortable as she shifted from one foot to the other.
“It’s okay, Amy,” Jack prodded. “Just tell Trooper Winters what you saw and that will be the end of it.”
Amy nodded and heaved out a sigh. “They looked to be fighting,” she said finally. “Not like really fighting or anything. I mean … there was no physical violence and they weren’t screaming at one another. As far as I could tell, they were arguing about how best to erect the tent.”
“Which is the same argument Ivy and I had when we arrived,” Jack volunteered. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”
“It doesn’t,” Winters agreed. “I can’t ignore it either.”
JACK SENT IVY BACK TO CAMP with Max and Amy. He opted to stay behind and help as long as he could. He promised Ivy he wouldn’t be long, fixed Max with a heavy stare that warned retribution if he put up a fuss, and then sent them on their way.
Max groused about Jack’s attitude the entire way back.
“He acts like he’s smarter than everybody else … and stronger than everybody else … and the boss of everyone.”
Ivy, who had managed to keep her mouth shut for longer than she envisioned, finally lost it. “I’m sick of your crap,” she hissed, poking her brother in the chest … hard. “I’m so sick of it you have no idea. You can’t blame Jack for this. He didn’t do anything and he doesn’t de
serve your ire.”
“He let Amy walk to the spigot by herself,” Max shot back. “That could have been her and not that poor woman.”
“You don’t know that.” Ivy wasn’t in the mood for Max’s attitude. “We don’t know why she was killed. We don’t even know if she was killed. She could’ve tripped and hit her head for all we know. It’s not as if there was blood or a knife sticking out of her.”
Max slid his arm around Amy’s shoulders as she shuddered. “And thank you for that visual right before we go to bed. I can see Jack has been a tremendous influence on you.”
Ivy continued stomping when they hit the campground. They’d left the fire roaring and she knew she had to douse it before sleep. “I can’t even look at you right now,” she muttered. “Go to bed. Maybe you’ll resemble the brother I grew up with in the morning.”
“I am the brother you grew up with,” he spat. “I’m the same brother that stood up for you when the bullies were picking on you … and stayed home from dances simply because you didn’t have a date. That’s why I’m so angry. I never would’ve let you walk down there alone. The fact that you let Amy is just … I can’t even find the right words.”
“You don’t need to find the right words,” Amy interjected, giving him a small shove toward their tent. “I’m fine. I’m right here. I think you should lay down and get some rest. I’ll join you in a few minutes.”
“No. I want you to stay with me.” Max grabbed her hand. “We’ve been separated enough for one night.”
“It will just be a few minutes.” Amy didn’t back down, instead giving Max another shove. “I will be right behind you. I promise.”
He was reticent but did as she asked, his eyes briefly locking with those of his sister. There was a warning there that wasn’t missed by Ivy. She didn’t acknowledge it, though. Instead she merely exhaled and rubbed her forehead as Amy fixed her with a sympathetic look.
“I’ve never seen him this way before,” she started, apology lacing her words.
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