Turning, he focused the lenses on the wooden lookout beyond the waterfall. Kayla had a clear view of this gorge before she died. Did Hans see something, too? Did he return on his own to check it out?
A twig snapped and Ian jerked, banging the binoculars against the bridge of his nose. “What was that?”
“Little jumpy?” Meg stood up, brushing debris from her clothing with one hand and clutching the radio in the other.
“Anyone who takes a picture of this gorge or ventures into it turns to stone or winds up dead. Hell, yes, I’m jumpy.”
“Well, that was an animal.”
“So was whatever did that to him.” He pointed to Hans, who could tell no secrets now.
Meg got on the radio and gave their coordinates to the mountain rescue team. She slipped the radio in her vest pocket. “They want us to wait with the body.”
“Did they ask what you were doing here?”
“Not yet, but then I work here. What’s your excuse?”
“I’m with you.” He jerked his thumb toward her.
“You know, it’s a good thing that maid survived the attack in your room this morning, or you’d have three deaths at your doorstep.”
“Cahill doesn’t like me.”
She waved her hands. “Pete doesn’t like anyone.”
“Anyone close to you?”
“He’s a little protective.”
“And a little smitten.”
“Pete doesn’t get smitten by anything or anyone.” She turned her back on Hans and paced away from him. “We’re just friends. He’s been good to Travis.”
That twisted the knife. “I’m glad. I’ll have to thank him for it one day.” Ian clamped down on the wave of jealousy that threatened to make a fool out of him. He coughed and cleared his throat. “So what do you think about Hans? Innocent tourist or unlucky terrorist?”
Meg scuffed the toe of her boot against the dirt. “When he first disappeared, I had a hard time believing he’d killed Kayla. I may not be the greatest judge of character, but he seemed like a standard, if overly enthusiastic, tourist.”
Ian’s head snapped up. Had she directed that last comment at him? Was she implying she’d misjudged his character when they got married? He smacked his cold hands together and stamped his feet.
He had to stop thinking about Meg at every turn, when he should be focused on this case. Just his luck the terrorists had dumped their cargo in Meg’s neck of the woods. Even though his presence here led to the discovery of his son, surely there could’ve been a better time to find out about Travis. Would Meg have even attempted to contact him if he hadn’t crash-landed on her mountain?
Red-hot flames of anger leaped in his belly every time he thought about her deception. Okay, maybe avoidance rang truer than deception, but it engendered the same emotion. He wanted to stay angry at her, but her voice, her touch, her smell sent different kinds of red-hot flames to his belly.
The thwack of the helicopter blades cut through his tangled thinking. Shading his eyes, he looked to the sky. The big bird blotted out the sun and then dipped and weaved to find a safe spot to land.
Meg waved her arms overhead. “I think they brought an EMT with them. Maybe he can give us Hans’s cause of death.”
“This is going to be a crime scene now.” Ian tracked the binoculars along the slopes and crags of the gorge. “There’s something here, Meg. I can feel it. Something has invaded this peaceful place and has left an ugly mark.”
She tilted her head as she watched the chopper touch down. “There have been two murders here, Ian. That’s evil enough. I’m not convinced there’s anything special about this place. I don’t see any suitcase or weapon, do you?”
“Not yet, but it’s here. I’m sure of it.”
“Then we need to find it first.” She swung around as the mountain rescue team hopped out of the helicopter.
One of the rescue team recognized Ian from the day before, but they’d all been briefed as to Ian’s true identity, and nothing seemed to surprise these guys.
Ian led them to the body, which was still tucked beneath the bush where they’d found him. “I didn’t move him, except to brush the leaves from his face to ID him. He’s the missing tourist from yesterday.”
The EMT bringing up the rear barked, “Cause of death?”
“I thought you could tell me. Like I said, I didn’t want to touch him.” Ian faced Meg and rolled his eyes.
The EMT Meg had called Greg crouched beside Hans. “Do we have a serial killer on our hands out here, Meg?”
Twining her fingers together, she shot a sideways glance at Ian. “Define serial killer.”
“Really?” He twisted his head to the side and raised his brows. “Dead body yesterday, dead body today. I’d say that’s a good definition.”
“It’s not like every tourist in Crestville has something to fear.”
“Just the ones along these particular trails. I talked to Sheriff Cahill after we got your call. He’s thinking of shutting down the trails out here.”
Ian nodded. “That’s not a bad idea. Would Rocky Mountain Adventures lose a lot of money?”
“The season is winding to a close anyway. Once the snow gets here, more tourists are interested in the skiing than the hiking, mountaineering or rock climbing.” Meg gazed up at the gray clouds scattered across the misty sky, her cheeks red with the cold. “And the snow is on its way.”
The EMT yanked off his gloves. “His neck is broken.”
“Accident or intentional?” Ian hunched his shoulders and tightened his abs, as if ready to take a punch. He already knew the answer, even if the clueless EMT didn’t.
“I don’t know.” The EMT matched Ian’s shrug. “He could’ve broken it in a fall.”
Ian let his gaze wander from Hans’s inert form, across the rugged terrain and then up the tree-and shrub-dotted hillside he and Meg had traversed earlier. A fall? Not bloody likely.
“Any marks or bruises on his neck?” Ian knew how to snap a man’s neck with his bare hands. He figured any well-trained operative worth his salt could do the same.
Spinning in a circle, the EMT flapped his arms. “Does this look like an examination room to you? An autopsy can tell us more.”
Ian cocked an eyebrow at Meg. Not if this guy was performing it. “Is Sheriff Cahill on his way to search the area?”
Greg stepped forward. “We have orders not to move the body until he gets here.”
Another chopper swooped into the valley, announcing Cahill’s arrival. In two steps, Ian was beside Meg. He moved his lips close to her ear. “This should be interesting.”
“Try not to antagonize him and things will go a lot more smoothly.”
He snorted. “Who said I wanted things to go smoothly?”
Cahill had his job to do and Ian had his. Those jobs might bisect along the way, but Ian had no intention of bringing the sheriff into a top-secret investigation. Ian wouldn’t be responsible for putting Jack’s life in any more danger.
Cahill dropped from the chopper and, once clear of the blades and the wind they stirred up, sauntered toward the group hovering around Hans’s body. Swaggered would be a better word. He acted like he owned this mountain…and Meg.
Ian squared his shoulders and dug the heels of his hiking boots into the cold earth. For now, this mountain belonged to him. And Meg? He wrenched his mind away from thoughts of Meg and her warm, pliant body…and her cold, deceiving heart. He’d sort that out another time, when Cahill’s gaze wasn’t drilling him.
The sheriff brushed past Ian, tipped his hat at Meg and crouched beside the body. “Well, whaddya know? Mr. Covert Ops here decides to take another hike and another dead body turns up.”
“Technically, this one was already here when I arrived.”
Cahill ignored him and pushed to his feet. “Meg? What were you doing out here this late? I thought you were leading the Morningside hike, and that should’ve ended over an hour ago.”
Ian clenched his jaw.
Did the guy keep track of Meg’s schedule? The fact not only annoyed the hell out of Ian, it should be creeping-out Meg.
He glanced at her smiling up at the sheriff, her eyes bright and her cheeks glowing. She didn’t look creeped-out in the least.
“I was and it did, Pete, but one of the hikers left his binoculars, so I came back for them. I ran into Ian, and we decided to take a look around.”
Cahill leveled a finger at Ian. “I’d stay as far away from this guy as you can, Meg. Trouble follows him like groupies tail a rock star.”
At Cahill’s ridiculous analogy, Ian covered a smirk with his hand and then turned it into a yawn when Cahill switched his attention from Meg to him.
Meg’s lips twitched. “He has a job to do, Pete, just like you. Now, is this officially a crime scene? Because the guys from mountain rescue have been trampling all over the place.”
“And you two?” He swept an arm to encompass Meg and Ian. “Have you been trampling all over the place looking for clues?”
“We didn’t want to disturb a crime scene, Sheriff. I didn’t even move the body when we found it. Still don’t know the exact cause of death.” He tilted his head toward the EMT now mucking with a clipboard.
The EMT looked up and shoved his glasses up his nose. “I told you the victim broke his neck.”
“But you haven’t determined whether an accident or a person broke his neck.”
“The coroner will determine that.” Cahill turned his shoulder to Ian and faced Meg. “My deputies and I will be out here for a while. You can get a ride with the sheriff’s department helicopter. You, too, Dempsey.”
“That’s okay, Sheriff. I started a hike this morning and I’m going to finish it.” Ian said the words to Cahill’s back without even looking at Meg. He figured this was a test for her: him or Cahill.
“I wouldn’t feel right leaving Ian here all by himself. I don’t want to lose another visitor in these mountains.”
She’d chosen him. A flush of victory washed over Ian and he felt like a ten-year-old boy on the school yard.
Cahill snorted. “I don’t think Dempsey needs a tour guide, Meg. Just be careful. We’ll be here for a while, if you need any help.”
As Cahill scattered orders among the deputies and EMTs, Ian and Meg zigzagged away from the scene of the crime, plunging deeper into the gorge.
When they’d trekked out of eyesight and earshot, Ian grabbed Meg around the waist and pulled her backward. “That puffed-up sheriff had one thing right. You do need to be careful.”
She turned in his arms and looked into his face. “If Hans is the one who killed Kayla, what happened to Hans?”
“We don’t know for sure if Hans did kill Kayla. Maybe he saw what she saw and someone took him out, too. So far, all of the people on that hike have checked out, including Hans. We need to concentrate on finding that suitcase.”
Her wide eyes scanned the gorge that tumbled out before them in the hodgepodged chaos of nature. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
He nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking, but Kayla must’ve been close to something. Hans, too. And I think this area is key.”
Meg’s radio crackled and they both jumped. She stepped back and yanked it out of her pocket.
“Meg, where are you? We heard you found the German tourist’s body?”
“I’m hiking back in, Matt.”
“Why didn’t you take Pete’s chopper?”
“Just wanted a look around.” She met Ian’s eyes and shrugged.
Meg always did catch on quickly.
“There’s a man here looking for his binoculars.”
Meg covered her mouth and snorted. “I have them. Tell Evan to come back to the office tomorrow to pick them up, or better yet, I’ll drop them off at his hotel tonight.”
“Meg…”
“Over and out, Matt.” She stowed the radio in her pack and clapped her hands together. “Okay, let’s get down to business.”
“We need to find that case. If Kayla, and possibly Hans, saw it, we can, too.”
“It’s not going to blow up in our faces when we find it, is it?”
“If it survived a drop from an airplane, I doubt we have to worry about that.” He brushed strawberry-blond bangs from her eyes. “You don’t need to do this, Meg.”
Her eyelashes swept across her eyes, extinguishing the blue blaze that flared momentarily. “Don’t shut me out, Ian. I know I don’t deserve your trust, or even your friendship, after keeping Travis from you.”
She stopped and Ian zipped his lips, not wanting to contradict her. Did he forgive her? Did he understand her reasons? He knew all too well why she’d done it. He hadn’t exactly popped the champagne when Meg had announced her first pregnancy. The news filled him with doubts and fears. He hadn’t had time to grow accustomed to the idea of fatherhood because Meg miscarried eight weeks into the pregnancy.
When he’d tried to comfort her, she’d accused him of being insincere and relieved that he didn’t have to step up and be a parent. He hadn’t felt relief, not at all. The loss of their baby had gouged another hole in his battered heart. It had spurred on his panic that he couldn’t keep a child safe—even before he made it into the world.
He couldn’t put those feelings into words, so Meg couldn’t offer him the solace he’d needed. He burrowed further into work, and she withdrew. The beginning of the end of their marriage.
“I don’t want to shut you out, Meg.” He traced the delicate line of her jaw with his thumb. “Ever again.”
“Good. I don’t want that either.” She grabbed his hand. “So let me help you. This is my territory. I know this landscape better than any guide at Rocky Mountain. If anyone’s going to find some obscure suitcase in the wild, it’s going to be me.”
“Okay.” He pointed toward the lookout where Kayla had been standing. “What area could she have seen from up there? And could Hans have been heading toward the same place?”
Meg bit her lip and squinted as she peered at the wooden platform, yellow tape now flapping from the railings to warn people away. “Your initial observation was correct. If Kayla was facing away from the falls, she would’ve had a clear view of this area. We took the hard way down today. Hans could’ve backtracked on the trail and followed another path leading down to this same spot. But why? If he’s an innocent bystander, why would he take the time and trouble to come down here?”
Ian twisted the cap off his bottle of water and chugged the remainder. “Someone looking for this weapon is on the hike. He notices Kayla zeroing-in on something. Maybe he already has his suspicions about her or me. He pushes her over. Hans witnesses everything and thinks maybe there’s money to be had, or plans some kind of blackmail. When Hans disappears from the hike, our man goes after him and kills him, too.”
“That’s your theory?” She drew her brows together. “What if Hans is the one who killed Kayla, and he traipses down here to look for whatever she saw and winds up with a broken neck from a fall?”
“That works, too. In fact, I like yours better, because that means there wasn’t another tourist on your hike who isn’t what he pretended to be. I was supposed to be going over the names of the people on your hike yesterday.”
“Instead, you followed me on my hike.”
He tugged on a lock of her silky hair. “I’m not going to allow you to be out here on your own, Meg-o. So you can go ahead and lead as many hikes as you like, but you’re going to have a shadow.”
“I’m beginning to think Pete was right.” Her lip quirked up on one side when she noticed his clenched hands. “I mean, when he suggested we suspend operations for a while, maybe the rest of the season. The skiers are going to be showing up in droves after the first snowfall, and there’s no way we can keep people out then.”
Smiling, Ian flexed his fingers. “Okay, I admit he’s right…about that. How’s Matt going to feel about suspending his business?”
“Matt’s not going to be happy. Business
hasn’t been great. We used to lead rafting trips on the Hawkins River, but we had to stop those because we didn’t get a lot of bookings. I don’t think Matt’s the best businessman out there. He never wants to spend a cent on promo or advertising.”
“I’m not sure Sheriff Cahill can force Matt to close his operations on the mountain, so it might be up to Matt in the end.” He held up Evan’s binoculars. “Are you ready to do some searching? You’re not going to be late picking up Travis or anything, are you?”
“No. I’m still on the job. I’m supposed to be doing paperwork in the office.” She winked. “Guess Matt isn’t the only lousy businessperson.”
THEY CANVASSED THE AREA in grids, and the crisp, cold air gave Ian a heightened sense of awareness. He could feel it in the way the adrenaline zinged through his blood, in the way everything had a sharp, clean focus—discovery lay just within their grasp.
A bevy of birds took flight from a tree to Meg’s left and a rabbit scurried across his path, almost running across his boots. The creatures didn’t appreciate their intrusion. Probably wondering why the heck these annoying humans didn’t stay on their own trails.
He and Meg wended their way back toward each other as they headed into the next grid. Ian raised his head from studying the ground to give Meg a smile and an encouraging pat when they crossed paths.
Sensing his regard, she jerked her head up and almost simultaneously caught her foot on a root coming up from the ground. She tripped forward, giving a squeal and flinging up her arms. The squeal turned to a cry and a look of terror twisted her features.
Then Meg fell to the ground, blissfully, safely out of range of the gun now pointing at Ian.
Chapter Ten
The whiz of the bullet sailing past Meg’s ear reverberated like a swarm of angry hornets. She hit the ground, a blaze of heat burning her right shoulder. Since she’d thrown her hands up instead of out, her chest and stomach took the full impact of the fall, still hard despite a bed of pine needles.
Mountain Ranger Recon Page 10