Chapter Sixteen #2
“I saw someone running away, but I couldn’t tell much about them. They were dressed in dark clothing and moving pretty fast.”
“You two seem to be drawing a lot of attention,” Schneider said. “Any idea why that is?”
“No,” Chloe said. “We haven’t done anything wrong. I wish whoever this is would leave us alone.”
The other deputy examined the front door. “This doesn’t look like it’s been tampered with.”
“They had a key,” Chloe said. At his quizzical look she added, “The key was in the purse that was stolen earlier today.”
“I don’t think there’s anything more we can do here,” Schneider said. “I’ll file a report. If your burglar comes back, give us another call.”
“You’re not going to look for them?” Chloe asked. “They left on foot. They might still be out there.”
The two deputies exchanged a look she couldn’t interpret. “We’ll drive around, see if we spot anyone suspicious,” Schneider said. “But they’re probably long gone.”
The two left, and Chloe locked the front door behind them. “I don’t think they believe us,” she said. “They act like we’re making this up to get attention or something.”
“I don’t think anyone believes you made up the break-in at your apartment,” he said.
She hugged her arms around herself, suddenly cold. He drew her close and she leaned into his embrace. “That feels so wonderful,” she said.
“To me, too,” he said. “It feels…right.”
Yes, being with him felt right. In spite of so much that was wrong.
brIAN HAD BEEN reluctant to leave Chloe Friday morning, but she assured him she was all right. “Better than all right,” she had added, with a kiss that had him wanting to drag her back to bed. “I’ll be fine. Now go save lives.”
He wasn’t exactly saving lives, but midmorning found him gliding down the last slope before the base area, towing a rescue sled containing a fourteen-year-old girl who had twisted her knee. “You’re doing great, Allie!” her mom, who skied alongside the sled, called.
The sled bumped over a rough spot on the trail. “Hey, take it easy!” the mom called to Brian.
“Sorry,” he said, and adjusted his grip on the pole of the sled. “We’re almost there.”
The muffled ringtone from his phone sounded from his jacket pocket. “Is that your phone?” the mom asked.
“I’ll get it later.” He braked to slow as they approached the base area and brought the sled to a smooth halt right in front of the medical clinic.
He dropped the handles of the sled and moved to release the straps holding Allie in place.
Chase moved alongside to help. “How was the ride?” Chase asked the girl.
Allie managed a wobbly smile. “Not too bad. Though I couldn’t really see much.”
“The medics will take care of you now,” Brian said, as two women in scrubs emerged from the clinic.
“Thank you,” Allie said.
“I’ll get the sled back up to the top of Lift Six,” Chase said.
“Would that have anything to do with a certain liftie working six today?” Brian asked. Chase and the liftie, Cerise, had a not-so-secret relationship.
Chase grinned. “Maybe.”
“Go for it,” Brian said, and moved away, pulling his phone from his jacket as he walked.
His heart beat harder when he recognized his lawyer’s number on the screen. Her message was brief. “Call me.”
He called her number and the receptionist instructed him to hold. He paced back and forth, head down, stomach in knots.
“Hello, Brian,” Pamela Barnes’s voice was clear and calm.
“Sorry I missed your call,” he said. “What’s up?”
“There’s been a new development.”
He waited, mouth dry.
“Are you still there?” she asked.
“Yes. What’s the development?”
“The county prosecutor is convening a grand jury to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to charge you with the murder of Sharee Anderson.”
He locked his knees, which felt in danger of giving way. “I thought they didn’t have enough evidence to charge me.”
“They may have found something new.”
“But what?”
“We’re not entitled to that information unless the case goes to trial,” Ms. Barnes said. “But if I had to guess, it could be they finally got back the rest of the DNA tests on your glove. Maybe they found Sharee’s DNA on the glove.”
“I never touched her,” he said. “I swear.”
“If someone stole the glove in order to frame you for the crime, they may have made sure Sharee touched the glove,” she said. “This doesn’t mean the case is over. But I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“The grand jury still has to decide, right?” he asked. “Maybe they won’t agree there’s enough evidence to charge me.”
“Grand juries usually go along with the prosecutor, so don’t be surprised if this goes ahead,” she said. “If that happens I’m confident we can persuade a jury not to convict you.”
“Has the sheriff’s department even considered any other suspects?” he asked. “I talked to people who saw Sharee alone downtown at night. One even saw her the night she was killed, talking to another woman.”
“I told you not to investigate on your own.”
“I wasn’t investigating. I was doing my job, helping an injured skier. He recognized me and volunteered that he had seen Sharee. Then I had pizza at the restaurant next to the alley where Sharee was found and a server there told me about seeing her with another woman on the night she was killed.”
“Did you share this information with the sheriff?” Barnes asked.
“Not yet, but I will.”
“Let me talk to them,” she said. “You need to keep quiet. Have you talked to your parents about the case?”
“No.” The last thing he wanted was for his parents to know he had been accused of this terrible thing.
“You should. Defending a criminal case is expensive. You’re going to need their help.”
“Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll talk to them.”
“The grand jury is scheduled to convene next week. I’ll be in touch after that.”
“Okay. Um, thanks for letting me know.”
He ended the call and slumped onto a nearby bench.
Why did the DA believe he had enough evidence to convict Brian of murder?
Could one stray glove be enough to send him to prison?
And Chloe! Oh God, Chloe. She would never want to be with him if he was arrested for her sister’s murder.
He groaned and bent over his knees, struggling not to be sick.
“Brian? What’s wrong?”
He looked up to find Connor bent over him, face twisted in concern.
Brian straightened. “I had a call from my lawyer. The DA is asking a grand jury to indict me for Sharee Anderson’s murder.
” He let out a choked laugh. “Guess I won’t be pursuing that senior ski patrol certification.
” He wouldn’t be doing much of anything if he ended up going to prison.
Connor sat beside him. “Does this mean you’ll be arrested?”
“I could be. The grand jury meets next week. I guess I’ll know more then.”
“If there’s anything I can do to help, I will,” Connor said.
“If I am arrested, will you look after Daisy?”
“Of course. And I’ll ask Stacy if there’s any way she can help.”
“That would be great.”
“You should take the rest of the day off,” Connor said.
“I don’t think I can afford to do that,” Brian said. “Besides, if I go home, I’ll only sit and fret. Better to be out there on the snow.”
“Take Daisy over to Bridger Bowl and patrol, then. And try to focus. You don’t want to get hurt because you weren’t paying attention.”
Brian stood. “Thanks. I’ll do that.”
Bridger Bowl’s expert terrain was seldom crowded. Skiing the open terrain with Daisy would clear his head and help him decide what to do next. Like how he was going to tell his parents about this whole sad mess.