by Jill S. Behe
“Why?”
Honey bear, you should know by now what my answer has to be.
“The cryptic, ‘I’m not allowed.’ Right?”
See, you do remember.
“Doesn’t make me happy.”
Oh, sweetie. It’s not meant to.
“What’s it meant to do?”
Make you think. If I were to give you all the answers, your brain wouldn’t stay alert.
He sighed, knowing she was right. “Still, it would be nice to know if we were on the right track.”
I have to go now.
“Of course you do.”
Be safe, my love.
“I’ll do my best.”
An hour later he and Levi were slogging through ankle deep mud to the pasture gate.
“I still don’t see why you needed to bring that block and tackle.”
“It’s not a block and tackle, it’s climbing gear—which you should recognize as we used it quite often in our military days. All I can say is, it may come in handy at some point today.”
“All right.”
Lars walked over, hands in his overall pockets. “Had to put the cows in the barn. They’re not too happy with me about that.” He nodded towards the middle of the field. “Couldn’t have ’em trompin’ around on the poor thing out there.”
Decker and Levi exchanged Holy Shit looks.
There was no way to preserve the scene. The forensic guys would be fuming.
“Trampling cows. If that don’t beat all.”
“Sheesh.” Levi scratched his head. “How long you figure she’s been there, Lars?”
“Don’t rightly know, but by the odor, I’d say at least a day and a night. But, I didn’t see her when I let them out earlier. Course it was raining this morning, and foggy to boot. Coulda missed seeing her.”
Decker nodded. “I concur.”
Levi squinted at him. “You concur?”
Decker squinted back. “What? I agree with his assessment. Is that better?”
Levi shook his head. “I need to call my team and find out how lost they are. They should’ve been here by now. They’re going to be as thrilled with the crime scene as those cows are to be in the barn.”
Agitated, though not sure why, Decker stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’m going to check out the body.”
His friend stopped dialing. “Don’t—”
Decker turned. “Don’t what? Touch anything? What hasn’t been touched?”
The man growled, then turned his attention to the phone.
Decker walked into the pasture to where the body lay, face down. He was relieved to note the absence of hoof prints. Those cows hadn’t stepped on her.
Praise the Almighty.
Not that she’d have felt it. It was the principal of the thing. Plus, the coroner wouldn’t have to figure out which injuries were from the cows, and which had been inflicted by the killer.
After finishing his call, Levi began to further question the farmer until he became aware that Decker still knelt next to the victim. “Excuse me a minute, Lars.”
“Course.”
Decker looked up as Levi approached.
“It’s the driver. Megan.”
“Megan?” Levi squatted next to him. “Driver?”
“Remember the other day? Those two lost girls asking for directions? This is the driver.”
“God damn. You sure?”
“Look how she’s dressed.”
“Hell and damnation. We need to catch this crazy bastard, or we’ll be finding dead bodies from here to the Canadian border.”
“Technically, we can’t prove this is his work.”
“Get real, Deck. We both know it’s his work. My gut’s telling me, and your analytical brain is telling you.”
“Sirens.” Decker nodded, and stood. “Your team has arrived.”
“About damn time. I’ll put Grammersby in charge. We won’t need to stay.”
“That’s good because we need to find her friend. The one with the map.”
Levi rubbed the back of his neck. “Let’s head to the Lookout. Seems a logical place to start.”
“Let’s go.”
“By the way….”
“Yeah?”
“There’s something you need to know.”
He turned to face his friend. “About what?”
“Something Bethany told me after Sierra’s party last night.”
“You were still talking to her at that point?”
Levi made a face. “I was employing man-of-the-house tactics to make sure she knew how much trouble she’d made, and how disappointed I was that she’d ruined Sierra’s birthday.”
“Okay. So what brilliant enlightenment did she try to bestow upon you?”
“Didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“Damn, Levi—”
“Just shut up and let me say it.”
Decker spread his hands. “Go for it.”
“Seems the children’s librarian approached my lady love while at the library a few days before Sierra’s birthday. Said she’d ‘observed’ the two of us—you and me, pal—flirting with two college coeds on the main drag in town in front of everyone.”
“What the hell!”
“Kinda what I said.”
“You explained about it though, right? She knows we—” He paused. “Of course you did. How—? I didn’t realize Ms. Fontenot was such a vicious liar. What a little weasel.”
“Not a lie, but definitely, obviously, likes to twist things around some to make us—the male animal—out to be something we’re not.”
“Dammit, Levi. It was just an innocent—”
“Preaching to the choir, dude.”
“Stirs me up.”
“You and me, both.”
“This isn’t over.”
“Not by a long shot, but don’t go making an enemy.”
“She had no call—”
“No. Still….”
“We’ll see.”
They pulled into the parking lot at The Cornice Lookout.
Levi was doubly pissed. They were now in Boulder County, and Boulder P. D. jurisdiction. Or probably the county sheriff’s.
“There’s the car they were driving.”
“That confirms they made it here.” Levi got out, grabbing his rucksack. “Let’s go see if we get lucky.”
“Hang on.” Decker grabbed the climbing gear and tarp from the back seat. “Got a feeling we’re going to need this. You’ve got a First Aid kit, right?”
Levi shrugged into the heavy backpack. “It’s in here.”
The two of them hiked up the inclined trail towards the high point of the Cornice. Levi was puffing some, but kept pace.
Partway up, Decker pointed into the brush. “A purse.” He pulled out his cell. “I’ll take a few pictures.”
“Good thinking.” Levi waited for him to finish documenting the scene before wading into the knee-high brush to retrieve the bright red leather bag. “There’s a wallet, cell, and car keys.” He opened the wallet. “Driver’s license is for a Megan Delaney. Sixty-seven dollars in cash. A couple of credit cards. A receipt from the diner in town. Looks like whoever took her from here, just threw this. Didn’t take anything out of it.”
“Probably figured it would slow down identification once we found her. Brooke’s got to be here somewhere.”
“Why? Megan ended up twenty miles away.”
“For one, I don’t think the killer could have handled removing two bodies. And second, nothing concrete. Just a feeling.”
Levi contemplated a moment. “Like the feeling we’d need that gear?”
“The very one.”
“I’ve got a feeling, too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m feeling that this was staged on purpose.”
“Staged?”
“Okay, not the right word. Don’t know if you noticed we changed counties on the way here. We’ve got two girls in two different police jurisdictions.�
� Levi waved his arm. “Lars’ place is still in my area. This here? This is Boulder P. D. territory. I’ll bet my best bowling ball, the killer did it that way on purpose. So we’d have more rigmarole, more paperwork, more potential clues lost, more people screwing up potential crime scenes. Burns my hide, is what it does.”
“Now that you mention it, I did see the Boulder County sign on the way here. Didn’t think anything of it. I should have realized this was out of your area. You going to let Boulder know we’re here?”
“I’ll contact them once we know what we’re dealing with. Hopefully not with another body, and hopefully it won’t put their nose out of joint. I hate having to share info. Even if we find the other girl, Brooke, and she’s alive, we’ll still have to let them know what’s going on.” Levi let out a disgusted sound and adjusted the backpack strap. “All right then. Let’s get it done.”
Finally reaching the top, they scoured the area but saw no sign anyone had been there recently. Decker stood looking over the edge. Liz, if you’re nearby, and if that girl is here, please give me a clue. Then he saw something white among the green and brown of the landscape. “Levi. I think she’s down there.”
The other man got on his hands and knees to get a better view. “I see a shoe. I think.”
“Yeah.” Decker dropped the gear from his shoulder and began unwinding the rope. He shrugged into the harness and clipped the cords through a carabiner, stuck the tarp inside his jacket, and held out the rope. “Can you secure this to a tree? Make it a thick one. I doubt she’s conscious. It’ll be tricky bringing her up. Can you get a signal? No doubt we’ll need an ambulance, too.”
Levi checked his cell, shook his head. “No service. You’d think, being this high up there’d be at least one bar. Don’t worry, I’ll get you both up, pulley style.”
“Sometimes it’s a good thing we trained to do this kind of thing.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Decker pulled on repelling gloves, and started over the side. “Stay ready.”
Levi nodded.
The rappel down the sheer cliff to Brooke took longer, and was more physically stressful than Decker had realized, but he made it.
The girl was on her side, facing away from him, on the very edge of the ledge. Any movement, and she could roll off. She’d already fallen over twenty feet, and he didn’t want her rolling over and dropping another thirty.
Decker moved closer, careful not to jar her. He had no worries the ledge would break off, but erring on the side of caution was ingrained. “Brooke? Can you hear me?”
A small moan.
Praise Jesus. She’s alive. God, please don’t let me screw this up, or hurt her any worse than she already is. “My name is Decker Brogan. Remember me from Cascade Falls? The police chief and I gave you directions. Do you remember that?”
Only the sound of the wind—which was picking up—answered him.
“It’s okay if you don’t remember. Levi and I are going to get you out of here, okay?”
He looked up, contemplating the return climb, and mentally sighed. It was going to be exhaustive.
“You’re going to have to trust me, Brooke. It’s going to hurt. I wish I could tell you different, but I promise we’ll get you to safety. Can you tell me where it hurts?”
No answer.
He felt for a pulse. There was one, but shallow and skipping. Her skin was cool and clammy, and had bluish, almost translucent, tint.
The girl was in bad shape.
Keeping up a running dialog with the mostly unconscious woman, he spread the tarp and smoothly moved her onto it without too much jostling. He gathered the four corners, made a square knot to hold it together and fastened them with a short cord, then threaded all of it into a larger carabiner, and finally attached it to the rappelling rope.
“Can you hear me, Brooke? I’m going to have Levi start pulling you up. I’ll try to make it as painless as possible. Okay?”
Another small moan gave Decker hope that she’d heard him, and possibly understood what he’d said.
He yelled up, “Levi! Start pulling! Slow and steady, my man.”
“Roger that! Here we go.”
As anticipated, the ascent was even more strenuous than the descent.
Levi pulled steadily with Decker free climbing as close to her as possible, leveling out the rough patches.
At the top, Levi hauled her over the edge carefully and carried her to a flat grassy spot then opened the tarp. The woman was beyond pale, lips purple. Her face was deeply bruised, and he could see lacerations on her hands and legs. Luckily she still had on the U of C-Boulder sweatshirt she’d been wearing in town. At least that should have kept her warmer than just a T-shirt. But, who knew what internal damage she’d incurred, or if any bones were broken, or if they had aggravated all of it by moving her?
They didn’t have time to be thorough. It was going to be dark soon, and they still had to get down to the SUV.
“This is bad, Deck. We need to get her out of here ASAP.”
“I agree.” Decker swigged water. “We’ll take turns carrying her. Okay with you?”
“Yeah, but I’ve got first watch. You need to recover some from the ascent. Hey, you got a cloth of some kind? Maybe dampen it with that water, and we’ll wet her lips. Maybe get some moisture down her throat, too.”
“Let me check the first aid kit.” Decker rummaged through Levi’s backpack and retrieved it. Best he could come up with was a gauze bandage.
Pouring water on it, he handed it to Levi who dripped it into Brooke’s mouth. “Not too much.”
“I remember our training, Deck.”
They watched her throat move as she swallowed, and grinned at each other.
Another sign she was hanging on.
“Okay, Brooke. We’re going to take turns carrying you down the trail. We’ll be as careful as we can.”
Finally back in the parking lot, Levi unlocked the vehicle and Decker laid Brooke gently onto the backseat, then crawled in beside her.
“Boulder General is closest.”
“Then let’s get this bucket of bolts moving, LT Don’t spare the ’orses, mate! Let that siren rip!”
“Roger that, good buddy!”
Siren blaring, Levi tromped on the accelerator. Tires squealed at the sudden extreme demand, spraying dust and gravel in their wake as the SUV tore out of the parking lot toward Boulder.
Chapter 37
Hours later, Levi dropped Decker off at his truck and headed back to the office before going home to hug his girls.
Decker went home, fetched Bella, and set out for town. It was dark, and going on 11pm, but he needed to see Teal, just needed….
“Huh!” He looked over at the dog. “I feel like I’m not going to settle until I see her, Bella Mia. Talk to her. Hold her.”
Bella woofed, then yawned, and curled up on the seat.
Decker was beat.
“Wish I could do that.”
But he had to get to Teal.
At her house, he and Bella walked up the sidewalk, rang the bell.
Took Teal a few minutes to answer. She was in a bathrobe and slippers, worry on her face, but invited them in.
As the door shut behind him, Decker wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. “Sorry to disturb you so late, babe.” He held on tight, swaying with her.
Bella danced around them.
Teal ran her hands up and down his back. Something was wrong. Bad wrong. But the fact that he’d come to her for reassurance gave her such a thrill. There was more, something he was mentally agonizing over. “Nice welcome. Tell me what happened.”
“I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m glad. You have no idea what it means to me that you thought to come here. But that wasn’t just an I’m-happy-to-see-you hug. And, it’s not the whole reason you’re here.”
“I couldn’t settle without coming to see you.” He released her. “Can we sit?”
“Absolu
tely. Would you like coffee?”
“No. Thanks, but I’m too wound up already.”
“Make yourself at home. I need to turn off the tea kettle.”
He sat, Bella at his feet, and rested his head against the back of the sofa.
That’s how Teal found him. She slid in beside him, kissed him awake. “Now, spill it.”
It took him a minute to wake up. “We found two more. Well, one and a half, sort of.”
She didn’t need him to tell her what that meant. “Oh, no.”
“Two college students from U of C, Boulder. Levi and I spoke with them a couple days ago, or so. They were lost. Needed directions to The Cornice Lookout.”
“And?”
“Lars Pendragon found one of them, the driver, Megan, in his pasture late this morning. Levi and I knew her friend had to be around somewhere, and checked the first logical place, the Lookout. We found her. She’d fallen, or been pushed, over the cliff, and was badly injured.”
“Oh, Decker. Is she—?”
“We were able to get her out and to the hospital. They took her right to surgery. Apparently, she had a punctured lung that needed to be taken care of before anything else. We were told she’d be in ICU for a while afterwards, to keep a close eye on her. The prognosis isn’t good. They don’t expect her to make it through the night. Levi ordered an around-the-clock protection detail outside her room.”
“I’m so sorry, Decker.”
“Not you’re doing. We can’t prove all these killings are by the same person. But Levi, being more in tune with—” He shook his head. “He said we knew. His gut, and my brain. We know it’s the same killer.”
Teal watched him. It tore her up to see the misery, pain, frustration…the grief. She took his hands, keeping eye contact.
Decker shrugged. “I don’t know—”
“Shh. Relax.” She gave his hands a squeeze. “You have a suspicion.”
He nodded.
“And you’ve spoken with Levi about it?”
“No. Not yet.”
Teal’s eyes rolled. “You haven’t worked out the who, or the why, yet. Right?”
“Correct.”