Chapter 3
Three
The smell of rain came on the buffeting wind and the trees groaned like an old squeaky gate as Jenna followed Raven and Kane into the forest. She shook her head, unable to comprehend why a frightened woman would walk along a dark trail alone.
Many hiking groups enjoyed it for the outstanding scenery along the way, but it wasn’t a place where she would enjoy walking alone.
Bear Peak had a terrible reputation. Murders had occurred there from way back before she became sheriff.
She’d witnessed the results of a few that happened over the last few years, and even though she’d begun her time in law enforcement as DEA Agent Avril Parker, she never imagined that when she started her new life as Jenna Alton in Black Rock Falls that she would encounter so much carnage.
It seemed that the dense forest in this area of the mountain offered a number of places for serial killers to either hide or dump their victims’ bodies.
As she increased her pace to keep up with her deputies, she constantly scanned the shadows, aware that not only wild animals roamed the woods but also psychopaths.
“She stopped here.” Raven turned to look at her as she came along the trail behind him. “There are footprints along the edge. They don’t look disturbed or panicky. I figure she stood here to admire the view.”
“Yeah, I can see where she turns and walks away. The stride is measured and normal.” Kane crouched to get a better view.
“This woman is frightened of her own shadow, and if she got this far without being scared, she was doing really well. I recall her telling me that she enjoyed taking videos of the surrounding countryside. Maybe she stopped here to capture the scenery?” He indicated to Ben to continue and the dog took off at a trot.
The trail widened and Jenna moved closer to Kane. “Neither of the dogs seems to be acting as if anything is wrong. They’re sniffing the air and following the scent.”
“The thing that concerns me most is she didn’t arrive at Raven’s ranch, and if she got there after he left, Blackhawk is working with the dogs today and would have contacted Raven to let him know she was late arriving.
” Kane gave her a side-eye. “If she’d changed her mind halfway and turned back, the dogs would have led us back to the vehicles.
The fact that her truck is still in the parking lot is cause for concern. ”
Jenna scanned the ground ahead. Pine needles and leaves scattered across the rocky mountain trail, making any footprints impossible to discern.
Only the soft soil at the edge of the mountain offered the opportunity to discover footprints.
The trail was very popular and any number of people could have come by this way over the last few hours.
In fact, it was the perfect opportunistic area for anyone intent on murder to hang out on the off chance they could grab someone.
The trail was shrouded in long patches of darkness and then would break into bright patches of sunlight so intense they blinded hikers.
The free publication offering maps of the local hiking trails gave a stern warning about traveling through the forest alone due to the large quantity of wild animals.
Although in all her time as sheriff, animal attacks had been very few and far between.
Very occasionally, someone would stumble over a grizzly and its cubs, but most hikers took precautions and remained vigilant.
The men and dogs walked at a rapid pace.
Jenna sucked in deep breaths of the cool mountain air as she paced alongside Kane.
With each step the gradient got steeper and covered with tree roots and loose gravel.
The latter came from the runoff from the melt, carrying with it small rocks and other debris across the trails.
Ahead, Ben’s bark shattered the silence of the forest, sending birds flying high into the air.
Behind him, Duke sat down, signaling that he had found something.
As she got closer, Ben scratched at the edge of the mountain and Raven dragged him back by his harness. “What’s he found?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Raven gave a few short orders to Ben and the dog sat motionless. “The ground along the edge here is churned up.” He looked at Kane. “Grab me by the belt. I need to hang over the edge of the ravine. Maybe she took a tumble and fell?”
“Wait.” Kane handed Duke’s leash to Jenna, pulled out his phone, and moved along the edge taking photographs.
“This looks like a scuffle to me. We need to record it before it rains. This might be a crime scene… Okay, done.” He moved closer to Raven, grabbed him by the belt, and spread his legs.
He used his other arm to grip the trunk of a tree. “Okay, I’ve got you.”
Jenna held her breath as Raven leaned out over the massive drop to the valley below. She found it hard to believe that Jan had ignored the posted warning signs and walked too close to the edge. No one could possibly be that stupid.
“Pull me back in.” Raven staggered backward and turned to look at them, his face grim. “I see a body. There’s nowhere I can see to get to it by foot. I figure I can get the chopper close enough to drop a team down to retrieve it.”
A wave of emotion hit Jenna. This poor woman was trying to face her fears and had accidentally fallen over the edge of the ravine—or was she pushed? “Can you tell from this far away that it’s a woman?”
“I figure it’s Jan. Every time I’ve seen her this winter she’s been wearing the same pink parka, blue jeans, and hiking boots.
I can see blonde hair spread out over the rocks.
I figure it must be her.” Raven glanced at Kane.
“We’ll need to call Wolfe. After the last time you rescued me and Emily in the chopper, she’s not going to get into one again soon. ”
“The weather is closing in. Are you happy to do this, Raven?” Kane gave him a searching look.
“It’s been a long time since you flew in an updraft in a ravine this close to the mountainside.
I’ve been in a chopper with Carter and he’s just about the most experienced military chopper pilot I’ve ever met, and he has difficulty. ”
“During many deployments, I flew the same type of missions with the enemy firing at me, and I managed to bring the boys home safe all but one time.” Raven shrugged.
“Sure, I’m a little rusty after a couple of years without flying but I completed a full refresher course.
I’ve been out with Wolfe many times and we’ve flown through the mountain pass to make sure I could handle any situation.
He’s happy with me and I passed all the requirements to the satisfaction of the licensing board. ”
“Wolfe is experienced too, and if you have any doubts, he could pilot and you and I could retrieve the body.” Kane stared at him, hands on hips. “You’re a doctor, and you’ve retrieved a ton of bodies in your time.”
Jenna looked from one to the other, unsure why Kane was questioning Raven’s abilities.
For some inexplicable reason, Kane had concerns about Raven flying so close to the mountains.
Unbeknownst to Raven, Kane had been the sniper who’d rescued him from the fateful wreck along with Ben, who’d been injured in the crash as well.
It concerned Jenna that the dog recognized him, and Raven had even mentioned how much he resembled the sniper who had rescued him from the desert.
Being recognized brought with it a wealth of problems as Kane had a bounty on his head, but luckily, Raven had accepted his denial.
It was fortunate that Kane had removed his fingerprints and had intensive facial reconstruction prior to arriving in Black Rock Falls, and now he appeared much younger than his forty-two years.
In fact, like Jenna, they both resembled people as much as ten years younger than their true ages.
They kept their bodies in great shape by working out every morning.
Jenna enjoyed the exercise to keep up her stamina, but Kane needed to keep his skill set sharp to remain the lethal weapon the military trained him to be.
“Maybe we should allow Wolfe to decide.” Raven whistled to Ben and turned to head back down the trail.
As Raven vanished into the shadows, Jenna glanced at Kane. “Is there a problem I’m not aware of?”
“Nope.” Kane pointed to the sky. “There is a storm brewing, and from the weather forecast, it’s going to be bad.
I honestly don’t like the idea of flying in a chopper so close to the mountain in high wind gusts.
I’m sure Raven is proficient or he wouldn’t have been given back his license, but he does suffer from PTSD, and it was caused by a crash that happened close to a mountain under enemy fire.
By the time we get this organized, the storm is just about gonna be on us, and the thunder and lightning might trigger an episode.
I needed to ask the question. It’s my life hanging on the end of that rope.
” He ran a hand down his face. “It’s times like this I wish Carter were here. ”
Jenna smiled. “Why don’t you call him?” She pulled out her phone to call Wolfe. “I recall he had a case in my county, so he might be working close by. If he is, there’s no doubt we’d be getting a call before long, because there’s no way he’d be flying back to Snakeskin Gully in bad weather.”
“I will.” Kane pulled out his phone and made the call.
Jenna contacted Wolfe and explained the situation.
“There I was, planning on a nice day playing with my new equipment and then y’all go and spoil it.
” Wolfe’s footsteps clattered along the tiled hallway in the morgue.
“As luck would have it, Carter is in Louan this morning. I figure y’all gonna need him if you’re planning on retrieving the body today.
The storm is rolling in and it’s gonna be nasty. ”
Jenna could hear Kane speaking to Carter. “Dave is talking to him now. We’ll come to the morgue and organize everything.” She lowered her voice. “Raven wanted to fly the chopper. He’s not very happy that Dave questioned his ability.”
“He’s a big boy.” Wolfe chuckled. “He’ll get over it. My bird is fueled and ready to go. I just need to do a preflight check. I’ll go and load my equipment. See you in ten.” He disconnected.