Chapter 28
Tyler
Tyler stared at his phone.
The message sat on the screen. I understand. I don’t want to hurt you anymore. Take care of yourself.
His thumb hovered over the keyboard. He wanted to type more, wanted to tell her he loved her, that they could make this work, that he didn’t want to lose her.
He wanted her to write back and say it was all a terrible mistake, that she’d had a moment of weakness but was over it now.
That she wanted to be with him. But a new message didn’t arrive.
He set the phone face down on the kitchen table.
Deep down, he’d known this was coming. He didn’t blame her for ending things.
Being with someone like him couldn’t be easy for her, not with people talking and whispering, or Adam showing up out of the blue and arresting him or taking him in for questioning, or Rusty attacking him and Brooke stepping in, putting herself in danger.
She did the right thing. The best thing, really. If he were any kind of man, he would’ve done it himself. Instead, he’d been wrapped up in Brooke, in how she made him feel, in who she was. All he wanted was to be with her.
Tyler touched his jaw. The swelling had gone down some overnight, but it still hurt.
His ribs ached when he breathed too deeply.
There was bruising around his neck. Nothing major but noticeable in the right light.
It was a small price to pay for being stupid enough to think they could have a normal date and be a normal couple.
The house was quiet. The day stretched ahead of him with nothing to fill it.
He went to the kitchen window. The lawn still needed mowing.
That was something he could do. The paint on the trim was peeling too.
He’d told the landlord he’d handle it in exchange for a break on the rent.
Maybe today was the day. Outside, the air had that early-October chill that Wyoming always brought, cold enough to bite but not yet settled in.
Winter might hold off long enough for him to do the job.
He should’ve taken care of the trim weeks ago, but since he’d met Brooke, spending time with her took priority over almost everything else.
Now he had all the time in the world.
Tyler filled a glass with water and drank it at the sink. The cold soothed his sore throat.
He was convinced Brooke had saved his life last night. If she hadn’t hit Rusty when she did, things could’ve gone differently. Rusty was drunk and angry and not thinking straight. He might have actually killed Tyler right there in that restaurant.
And Brooke had stopped him.
Then she’d driven Tyler home, made sure he was okay, and called herself an Uber rather than stay.
Because staying would’ve been too much. Too close. Too dangerous.
Tyler understood. Ordering the Uber had been a conscious decision. She could’ve stayed, they could’ve . . .
No. This was for the best. Now she could live her life without his mess holding her back. She could run her coffee shop without customers whispering about the murderer she was dating. Train for her ultramarathon without worrying about him. Live the life she deserved.
Tyler set the glass down and walked into the living room. He sank onto the couch and stared at the blank television screen.
He was alone again, back where he started when he returned to Irma nine months ago.
At least Brooke was safe.
Tyler’s phone buzzed. He grabbed it too fast, hoping it was Brooke changing her mind.
It was Robert. Everything okay? Heard about the restaurant.
Tyler typed back. Fine. Just a misunderstanding.
It wasn’t exactly the truth, but he didn’t want to tell his boss that some guy tried to kill him. Besides, it was obvious he’d already heard. And if Robert heard, so had the cops. Boverman would have a new excuse to harass him.
Sue wants to know if you need anything.
I’m good. Thanks.
By tomorrow, everyone would know about the fight. About Brooke defending him.
More gossip. More judgment. More reasons for people to believe he was guilty.
Tyler went to the window. A car drove past. Normal Sunday morning traffic. People going to church or brunch or whatever normal people did on Sundays.
He hadn’t felt normal in years and hadn’t gone to church since Jen and Garrett died. Sometimes, he missed it. Mostly, he just felt guilty about not going.
His phone buzzed again. This time it was a number he didn’t recognize.
This is Edi. Heard about last night. You okay?
Tyler hesitated before responding. How’d you get my number?
I’m a cop. I have ways. Seriously though, are you all right?
Bruised but fine.
Good. Stay safe, Tyler.
He stared at the message. Edi believed him. Robert and Sue believed him. Even Brooke believed him, though she’d chosen to walk away.
But believing him didn’t change reality. Didn’t find the real killer. Didn’t clear his name.
Didn’t keep Brooke safe. Tyler’s mind kept circling back to that.
What if staying away from her doesn’t actually keep her safe? The thought made his chest tight.
Someone was killing women from his past, even if he hadn’t been close to them. Someone had left a threatening note on his truck. Someone had attacked Brooke on a trail.
And now Brooke had defended him publicly. She’d hit Rusty with a chair in front of a restaurant full of witnesses. Had made it clear she was on Tyler’s side.
What if that made her an even bigger target?
What if the real killer saw her as a threat? As someone who needed to be silenced?
Tyler grabbed his phone and pulled up Brooke’s contact. His thumb hovered over the call button.
But what would he say? That he was worried about her? That staying away might not be enough? That whoever was doing this might come after her anyway?
She’d think he was being paranoid. Or manipulative. That he was trying to find an excuse to keep her in his life.
Maybe he was.
Brooke was smart and careful. She wouldn’t take unnecessary risks. She’d be fine.
Except she’d already been attacked once. Already been dragged off a trail by someone strong enough to overpower her despite her fighting back.
If that person came after her again, would she be able to defend herself?
Tyler’s hands clenched into fists. He couldn’t protect her if he stayed away, couldn’t be there if something happened, couldn’t do anything except sit in his house and hope she was safe.
Hope wasn’t enough.
Staying away from Brooke was supposed to keep her safe. But if the killer saw her as a threat, distance wouldn’t matter.
The only way to truly protect her was to find out who was doing this, clear his name, and remove the target from both their backs.
He should’ve been doing this all along. In some ways he had, but the truth was, he was making little headway in finding out who the killer was.
He thought maybe Rusty had killed Sheila, but after last night, he wasn’t sure.
Rusty was drunk, no doubt about that, but he was also hurting.
Tyler knew grief well enough to recognize it in someone else.
Who did that leave? The game warden—Henry. He’d shown up the day they found Sheila. Tyler assumed it was because he was working in the area. He’d gone to Sheila’s funeral, and that’s when Sue learned he’d dated Sheila.
Then he stopped at the shop and said he was there to order a case of oil, but it had sounded like an excuse, especially when Robert told him he could get the same stuff at the superstore down the road without waiting for it to come in.
But the way he had just happened to arrive at the same time Tyler did, walking into the building with him, and the subtle threat he made when he left . . . looking back on it, it seemed a little too coincidental.
Tyler sank into the sofa, turning over the situation with Henry in his mind. Maybe it was a coincidence that he had been the one to show up when dispatch called. Just like it was a coincidence that Tyler was there that day.
They weren’t supposed to be hiking that trail. They had planned on another route, one in a different section of the wilderness area, but Robert had said he heard the loop trail was a good one to take.
Tyler leaned forward. “Well, that’s interesting,” he murmured.
The change in plans had come from Robert.
Everything was set for the other trail until he and Sue arrived that morning to pick him up.
Sue had no idea the plan had shifted and had been looking forward to the original hike, which promised both a challenging climb and a rewarding view at the top.
Robert, however, said he wasn’t up for it.
His back had been bothering him, and he preferred something easier.
Robert did sometimes complain of a stiff back now and then. But he’d said nothing about it on the hike, and he seemed perfectly fine when they came across Brooke and then Sheila’s remains. In fact, he hadn’t mentioned it since then.
He reached for his phone. His finger hovered over Robert’s name.
What are you doing? he asked himself as he put it back on the table. Gonna call your boss and accuse him of murder? Accuse him of changing our hiking plans so we could magically stumble across the body of someone he killed? Brilliant career move.
Besides, it was a stretch. Why would Robert kill Sheila? He could think of one obvious reason, but Robert didn’t seem the type to cheat on Sue. And then Monique? Why kill her? Unless Monique knew Robert was seeing Sheila.
Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe Robert was seeing Monique. Sheila knew about the relationship and . . . and what?
Sheila was blackmailing Robert. Hmm. Tyler could see that. Sheila told Robert she’d tell Sue about him and Monique, and he killed her. Maybe he killed Monique because she knew Robert killed Sheila. It was still a stretch but could fit.
Robert could’ve left the note on his truck, too, simply by slipping out the door while they were working. What about Brooke? Would Robert have attacked her?
He hated to think it could be Robert, but with him and Henry both as possibilities, at least he had somewhere to start instead of sitting around waiting for another body to turn up.
Because he couldn’t live with himself if that body was Brooke’s.