Chapter Twenty
I scramble to my feet and give chase, with Dalton and Storm behind me.
We barrel through the thick forest, heading northeast until we reach a foothill, where Gretchen scrambles up and whips rocks back down.
When one hits me in the leg—my bad one again—I yelp and lose my footing.
Dalton catches me. I start going after her again, but he holds me back.
“What are we doing when we catch her?” he says.
“Finding out what the hell is going on.”
I try to wrench away, but he tightens his grip and lowers his voice. “We can’t take her to Haven’s Rock.”
“We’ll find another solution.”
“What? Leave her in the forest with a tent and tell her to make camp? Presume she won’t follow us?”
“She thinks we killed Blake.”
“Which doesn’t mean she isn’t the killer.”
I open my mouth to argue, when the truth of his words hits, and my cheeks heat. I should be the one making that observation. I should be the one holding back, thinking this through, even as I feel like a terrible person for not rushing to her aid.
“Right,” I mumble. “Hormones.”
He pulls me into a hug and kisses the top of my head. “You don’t need to have an excuse for wanting to help someone, Casey.”
“Still blaming hormones.” I give myself a shake. “Yes, I hate seeing her run off when she might be in danger. I also hate seeing her run off when she might be the danger. Blaming us for killing him sets up her story, if she needs it.”
“But she might also be telling the truth.”
I exhale a long breath. “That whoever killed him is now hunting her. Yes. But we can’t run her down and forcibly confine her for her own good.” I lower my voice. “She got close to Haven’s Rock. Too close. I think she saw Will and Kendra.”
“Which doesn’t mesh with her crazy-mountain-man and mail-order-bride rant.” He tilts his head. “Do they still do that? I’ve heard of it in Old West histories.”
I make a face. “It does still happen, in a much more modern way, usually online. One of the best-known origins for the women is the Philippines.”
“Ah.” He nods his understanding. My mother was half Chinese, and half Filipino. “So clearly an average white guy with a hot Asian wife bought her online.”
“Did you just call me a ‘hot Asian wife’?”
“Never.”
I shake my head. “But yes, if she saw Will and Kendra—which I really think she did—then clearly we’re not what she expected.”
He lifts a finger. “Kendra is Indigenous. Didn’t one of our new residents mistake her for April? He heard that your sister was the doctor and presumed it was Kendra.”
“Ugh. Yes. So clearly we’re running a whole town of crazy mountain men and their mail-order brides.” I rub my face. “Okay, so we let Gretchen keep running.”
“For now. We can’t have her hanging around until she stumbles into town. We’ll stay in lockdown and increase patrols for the night. Skip sending Will and Kendra to Lilith’s place. Tomorrow, we’ll track Gretchen and see if another night out there convinces her to talk to us.”
We declare our day at an end. By the time we’re back to Haven’s Rock, it’s late afternoon and we’re exhausted.
Our workday started early and was so jam-packed that it feels like it should be midnight.
We need to give Gretchen time to decide she’s safe.
Or, after another night out there, decide she’s not safe and agree to talk to us.
First order of business is getting Lilith settled.
Well, no, before that comes a combined late meal and baby time.
Then Dalton stays with Lilith and Rory while I head into town to tell people we have a guest. I’m getting better at delegating this sort of thing, so I corner a few people and have them pass on the word.
We say that Lilith is local to the area.
We’ve known her since before the town opened.
She’s safe—as is her, um, Siberian husky.
She needs a place to stay temporarily, and so she’ll be in the family residence.
I’ll give it some time for word to spread before I bring Lilith and Nero into town. While I wait, I want to talk to a couple of people. I find them just as they’re coming in from patrol.
During a lockdown, I can’t set a bad example by hailing anyone loudly in the streets, so I jog over as Anders and Kendra head to the gun locker, where Kenny and Yolanda wait to take the next patrol shift.
I wait for the shift exchange. Then I ask Kenny and Yolanda to hold on before heading out.
“We had a run-in with Gretchen,” I say. “The wife of our dead man.”
They’re all staff, so they know the details.
“She’s still out there?” Anders says.
“Actually, I was trying to sneak up on you and Kendra when I heard her behind me. I think she might have been following you.”
“Us?” Kendra says. “Where was this?”
I tell her.
“Shit,” Anders says. “I didn’t hear anything.”
“Me neither,” Kendra says. “Lousy guards we are.”
“She was a hundred feet behind and being quiet. Also, I can’t say for sure she was following you and not me. Anyway, she bolted and we had a run-in and a … Well, I’d hesitate to call it a conversation. Apparently, Eric’s a crazy mountain man and I’m his mail-order bride, and we killed her husband.”
“That’s…” Anders trails off. “You aren’t kidding.”
Yolanda snorts. “She saw a bearded white guy and his Asian wife and baby. What else could it be?”
“In her defense, that’s what her husband thought, though he only saw me. She says we made him nervous, and he wanted to get out of here. That’s why they left so early. He went to soak his foot, where he was murdered. Since then, someone has been hunting her.”
“Hunting her?” Kenny says. “So we actually do have a killer out there?”
“Or she’s setting up a story,” Yolanda says. “Help, my husband was murdered by a crazed mountain man, living in the wilderness with his poor mail-order bride.”
“Either way, she bolted,” I say. “We’ve decided to let her run and track her down tomorrow. That means be extra cautious out there. She doesn’t seem to be armed, but she does wield a wicked tree branch. If you see her, you can try to talk her down, but don’t pursue.”
“And if we do talk her down?” Kenny asks. “You don’t want her back here.”
“If that happens, radio it in. Lilith is letting us use her cabin.”
Kenny nods. “Good idea. Since she’s in town for a while.”
“Lilith’s in town?” Anders says.
“I’ll explain on the way,” I say.
I pick up both Rory and Lilith after that, letting Dalton get in a bit of work.
I take Lilith on a tour of town. People gawk, but it’s mostly friendly interest, with a few hellos.
Sebastian is walking Raoul, so I take the opportunity to introduce Nero to our own resident wolf—half wolf, at least. Raoul isn’t having any of it.
Not only is there another male canine in his town, but he’s hanging out with Storm, which is absolutely unacceptable.
There’s a bit of a row. It’s settled easily enough, because this isn’t Nero’s territory, and he seems to feel no need to get defensive about it. While Raoul barks and growls and snarls, Nero stands calmly beside Lilith as if this dog is clearly upset about something unrelated to him.
The meeting between Lilith and Sebastian goes better. In her wandering, she’s seen the First Settlement—and steers clear of it. I explain that Sebastian spends part of his year there, with his girlfriend, and that gives them something to chat about as we walk … and Raoul sulks.
We round a corner to see someone bearing down on us, cleaver in hand.
“What are you doing to my dog?” Mathias says. “I thought we were on lockdown, and you have him barking…” He trails off as he sees Nero. Then he sees Lilith.
His gaze goes to me and he says, in French, “This is not your stranger with the dead husband.”
“I hope not,” Lilith replies in perfect French. “Since I don’t have a husband. Though, if I did, I might kill him, so…” She shrugs.
“This is Lilith,” I say as I switch Rory to my other arm. “She’s a photographer who’s been living backcountry with her dog.”
Mathias looks down at Nero. “That is a wolf.”
Lilith laughs. “Everyone says that. Nope, he’s just a very big husky.”
He meets her gaze. “One hundred percent Canis lupus.”
She squints at Nero. “Are you sure? The guy swore he was a husky.” She sighs. “You can’t trust any itinerant dog breeders you meet in the wilderness.”
Mathias snorts a laugh. “Wolf, as I am sure you know. I would be curious as to how he is so well-behaved.” He hooks at thumb at Raoul. “That one is impossible, and he is only half wolf.”
“It’s the dog part that’s the problem. Like werewolves. It isn’t the wolf blood you need to worry about: it’s the human blood.”
“Unless your pet is a werewolf,” Mathias says, “and so he knows how to behave.”
“Could be,” Lilith says. “See, I didn’t murder my husband after all. He’s just currently in wolf form.”
That makes Mathias laugh. When he reaches a hand down for Nero to sniff, Raoul growls and Mathias turns to Sebastian. “Take him home before he barks again.”
Sebastian salutes. “Yes, sir.”
As they leave, Mathias says, “As Casey is apparently not performing introductions, I am Mathias. The local psychiatrist.”
She gestures at the cleaver. “Specializing in lobotomies, I presume.”
He looks down at it. “Ha! No. That is for my other job. I am the butcher. Everyone here wears many hats. You should come by the shop, and I will find a bone for your not-wolf.”
“He would appreciate that. Thank you.”
I finish the tour and then show her the apartment where she’ll be staying.
We built a family residence for families and couples, but we only have one of each right now—Dana and the boys, plus a recently arrived couple.
That means Lilith can have a decent-sized apartment for her and Nero.
Afterward, we’re standing on the porch, Rory dozing in my arms, when Max comes around the corner, and stops short, seeing Nero.
“Hey, Max,” I say. “I’d like you to introduce you to Lilith. She’ll be staying here for a while with her dog.”
“That’s a wolf.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Lilith says. She sighs. “Next time, I’m asking for pedigree papers.”
Max doesn’t crack a smile. “That’s a wolf. Even before I came here, I could tell when they used sled dogs instead of wolves on TV. And I knew it the last time I saw him … at your cabin.”
Lilith goes still, and I curse under my breath.
“I forgot that,” I say as I lower my voice. “Yes, he’s a wolf, and he’s the one you saw. It slipped my mind, or I would have warned you.”
Max shrugs. “He seems fine now. He just really didn’t want me going near your cabin.”
“I’m so sorry, Max,” Lilith says. “I was inside that night, and when I heard him growling, I came out. I should have gone looking. I just thought he was scaring off an animal.”
“I heard you. I could have gotten closer, but I didn’t know you.” He rocks back on his heels. “So you’ll be staying with us?”
“If you’d rather not have Nero around, he can stay with Casey and Storm.”
“His name’s Nero?” Max tilts his head, looking at the wolf. “Can he be touched? Or is he not that kind of pet?”
“You can pet him. Just let him see your hand first.”
Max puts out his hand, and Nero sniffs it. Then he tentatively pets the wolf. “Is he going to be outside your apartment? Like at the cabin? He might not be used to people walking past.”
“Good point. I was planning to keep him inside with me. He needs more exposure to people if I plan to take him back to civilization.”
Max nods. “He does. Being here will help. Get him used to different people walking past your apartment and all that.”
“Excellent idea.” She looks at me. “I think I’m in good hands here. I’ll take that invitation for dinner, though. You said seven?”
“Come by anytime after six. Dinner will be at seven.”