Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
The GPS took Austin and Nora off the main highway and onto a narrow county road winding through thick, mountainous woods.
Nora had been quiet for most of the drive, and Austin appreciated that. He didn’t feel like talking. Every possible explanation had been running through his head since Deputy Harlan’s call.
Dad had gotten turned around. Dad had gone walking. Dad had followed someone into the woods.
Dad had fallen.
That last possibility kept coming back.
He had a bad knee. High blood pressure. No medication since Tuesday.
Austin tightened his hands around the steering wheel. Beside him, Nora glanced over but didn’t say anything.
A few miles later, the pavement narrowed before giving way to gravel.
“There.” Nora pointed ahead. “That’s the trailhead.”
Austin turned into the small parking area. Two sheriff’s cruisers were angled near the entrance, and his father’s Camry sat at the far end of the lot beside a line of trees.
He parked near one of the cruisers and shut off the engine.
A uniformed deputy approached as Austin and Nora climbed out. “Agent Donnelly? I’m Deputy Harlan.”
Austin nodded. “Where are your searchers?”
“We have three deputies out here. One is on the main trail, one is checking the creek, and another is working the road shoulder and parking area.”
Austin looked at the Camry. The doors were closed, and nothing about the vehicle appeared unusual. That somehow made it worse.
“Show me.”
Harlan led him across the gravel. Austin stopped beside the driver’s door but didn’t touch it.
First, Austin studied the parking area. His father had parked at the farthest edge of the lot, closer to the trees than to the main trailhead. But a faint opening cut through the brush a few yards away.
“That’s an old maintenance trail,” Harlan said.
Austin looked at Harlan. “Has anyone checked it?”
“Not yet. We started with the main trail and the creek. That’s next.”
Austin was already hurrying toward it.
“Agent Donnelly,” Harlan called. “Wait. We’ll go together.”
But Austin couldn’t wait.
If his father had parked near this end of the lot, there might have been a reason.
Nora followed him while Harlan radioed the other deputies and jogged after them.
Leaves crunched beneath Austin’s feet as he entered the woods. The old trail was narrow and uneven, with roots pushing through the dirt and branches hanging low enough to scrape his jacket.
He scanned the ground as he walked but saw nothing.
The path sloped downhill and gradually disappeared beneath fallen leaves. Austin pushed through a tangle of branches.
Then he saw the jacket.
Brown leather. Aviation style. Worn at the sleeves.
His dad’s. He’d recognize it anywhere.
Austin stopped.
For one strange second, his mind refused to make sense of what he was seeing.
His father sat slumped against the base of a tree twenty feet away, one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent awkwardly.
“Dad?” Austin ran toward him.
There was no response.
“Dad!”
He sprinted now.
Some part of him already knew the truth.
Another part refused to accept it.
Austin dropped beside his father and pressed two fingers to his neck.
His skin was cold.
There was no pulse.
The world around Austin went completely still.
Behind him, Nora drew in a breath.
Austin stared at his father’s face. His eyes were closed, his head resting against the tree as if he’d sat down because his knee hurt and decided to take a nap.
Except he wasn’t breathing.
Austin had seen dead bodies before.
Too many.
But none of them had ever been his father.
Pain tore through his chest so sharply that he couldn’t draw a full breath.
Nora didn’t move.
She watched as Austin remained crouched beside his father with two fingers pressed against the older man’s neck. He had to know the truth by now. She certainly did.
But he left his hand there a few seconds longer.
She gave him space.
Finally, Austin lowered his hand. “Don’t touch anything.”
His voice had changed from urgent to flat and controlled.
Nora nodded as he rose. He didn’t look entirely steady on his feet, and worry pulsed through her. This would be a lot for anyone.
Harlan reached them a moment later, with another deputy several yards behind him. Both men slowed when they saw Jeff Donnelly slumped against the tree.
Harlan removed his hat. “I’m sorry.”
Something raw and unguarded passed over Austin’s face.
Nora looked away, giving him what little privacy she could.
When she glanced back, his expression had closed again.
“There’s no obvious trauma,” Austin said. “No blood. Nothing around him looks disturbed.”
Harlan nodded. “We’ll secure the area and notify the medical examiner.”
Nora watched as Austin studied the ground surrounding his father. Then he looked at the trail they’d followed. Nora could almost see him making himself study the scene instead of the man beneath the tree.
“I’d like to go back to the car,” Austin finally said. “I want to look at it again.”
“Of course,” Harlan said.
Nora stayed beside Austin as they made their way uphill. She didn’t ask whether he was okay. There was no point.
He clearly wasn’t okay.
By the time they reached the parking area, another deputy had arrived and begun stringing crime-scene tape near the trail.
Austin went directly to the Camry. He checked the back seat through the window, then cupped his hands against the glass to block the glare.
There was no file box and nothing on the floorboard.
“You checked the trunk?” he asked.
“Empty,” Harlan said.
Austin moved to the front passenger window and crouched, changing his angle. He studied the floor, the dashboard, and the spaces around both seats.
Then he leaned closer.
Something white showed in the narrow gap between the passenger seat and the center console. Only one corner was visible, wedged deep enough that it disappeared from every other angle.
“There’s something between the seats.”
Harlan crouched beside him. “I see it.”
He pulled on gloves and opened the passenger door. Another deputy photographed the paper where it lay before Harlan carefully worked it free.
It was a folded piece of stationery bearing the motel’s logo.
Harlan slipped it into a clear evidence bag and held it where Austin and Nora could read the three handwritten lines.
Renshaws
October 18
Who added Fog Lake and why?
Nora’s breath caught.
Austin swung his head toward her. “What?”
“The Renshaws.” She pointed at the name. “They’re a Southern Gospel group. They’re singing at our church homecoming.”
“When?”
“October eighteenth. A little more than three weeks from now.”
Austin looked at the note again. “I’m not sure how long they’ve been around. Did your family know them?”
“In a manner of speaking. Everyone on the circuit knew everyone else—or at least knew of them.” Nora searched through memories that had long ago blurred together. Churches. Buses. Fellowship halls. Stages. “We crossed paths with the Renshaws, but I can’t remember anything specific about them.”
Austin’s gaze settled on the first line. “He wrote their name down—and he did it for a reason.”
Harlan lowered the evidence bag. “We’ll have the car processed.”
Nora glanced at Austin. His expression was controlled again. If she hadn’t watched him kneeling beside his father moments ago, she might have believed he was fine.
She knew better.
For the first time since Austin Donnelly had shown up at her house, Nora didn’t see an FBI agent.
She saw a son whose father had just died.