Canyon Killer (Eagle Mountain: Unsolved Mysteries #1)

Chapter One

“I love my family. I really do. But sometimes they annoy me almost beyond bearing.” The infant in Bethany’s arms stared up at her with wide blue eyes, then blew a bubble.

Bethany laughed. “Yeah, why am I complaining to you? But give it twenty years or so, and you’ll understand. Families are wonderful, but sometimes…”

She shifted the infant, Joella, to her other arm and turned back to the computer at the front desk of Peak Jeep Tours and Rentals.

The message blinking there, from her mother—who also happened to be her boss—informed her that Mom had made a dentist appointment for her for the following month.

As if Bethany, at twenty-three, wasn’t capable of making her own appointment.

She was tempted to call and cancel it, but in the small town of Eagle Mountain, Colorado, there really was only the one dentist, and she liked him.

She sighed, closed the message and turned her attention back to the baby.

“Uh, Bethany, is there something you’ve been keeping from us?”

She looked up from admiring the infant to find her brother Dalton regarding her with a quizzical expression.

She had three brothers, and Dalton was the youngest, two years younger than Bethany.

Tanned, with a scruff of a beard and a faded Alpine Adventures T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, he looked as if he had lived in Eagle Mountain all of his life, instead of only two months.

Locals still looked her up and down and said things like “You’re not from around here, are you?

” And she had lived here nine months. It really wasn’t fair.

“She belongs to a couple who booked a Jeep trip up to Portnoy Basin,” she said and smiled down at the baby again.

“Are we offering free babysitting with our tours now?” Dalton leaned over and snagged a handful of jelly beans from the bowl on the corner of the desk.

“They thought they would be able to take her with them.” She settled Joella into her carrier and tucked a soft yellow blanket around her. “I had to explain we couldn’t allow an infant, even in a carrier, in an open-topped Jeep on a rough four-wheel-drive road.”

“And they talked you into watching her.” Dalton chuckled. “You’re such a sucker.”

“It’s not as if she’s much trouble,” she said. “And the trip was her mom’s birthday present. She was really looking forward to it.”

“Sucker,” he repeated. “I’m going to see what I can find for lunch.”

Dalton moved past her, into the back room, as the front door opened and a man entered—tall, twentysomething, bronzed, chiseled features and close-cropped hair, aviator sunglasses, dressed in khaki cargo pants and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. Your basic gorgeous, outdoorsy type this town seemed to be full of.

Bethany smiled broadly. “Hello. How can I help you?”

“I need to rent a Jeep,” he said.

“Great.” She returned to the desk and pulled up the Jeep rental form. “How long would you be needing it? We rent by the hour, but the daily rate is a better deal.”

He moved in closer. He smelled like leather and some exotic spice. Expensive. “I need it for a couple of months,” he said. “Until the project I’m working on in town is finished.”

“Oh.” She looked back up at him. He had removed the sunglasses to reveal blue eyes, fine lines at the corners. “Most people just want to take them into the mountains for a day or two.”

“I need it for at least a couple of months,” he repeated.

“Sure. We can do that.” Bethany forced her attention back to the form.

It was either that or keep staring at him like a smitten teen.

“Since you want it for that long, I could offer you a ten percent discount.” That wasn’t an official policy, but it made sense to her.

And it wasn’t as if Mom and Dad were going to fire her for trying to please a customer.

“Thanks.” He handed over a matte black credit card. The kind that screamed high credit limit.

“I’ll just need your name and contact information.”

“Ian. Ian Seabrook.”

She filled in his name and the address and phone number he rattled off, copied off his insurance and driver’s license information, then checked the board to see what was available.

They had a couple of their usual blue rental units available.

And a brand-new black one. The black one wasn’t officially in the rental pool yet.

Dalton and his twin, Carter, were lobbying hard to put it in the tour fleet so they could drive it.

But hey, Ian looked like he would take good care of it. She grabbed the keys off the hook.

The door opened and Carter came in. He and Dalton weren’t identical twins, but they looked enough alike that people who didn’t know them well sometimes got them confused.

Carter was an inch taller and five minutes older and a little beefier than Dalton.

“Whose Porsche is that parked out front?” he called.

Ian turned to look at him. “It’s mine.”

“Are you taking a tour with us?” Carter leaned back against the desk, focused on the newcomer.

“Mr. Seabrook is renting a Jeep,” Bethany said. She inserted Ian’s credit card into the card reader.

“Seabrook.” Carter straightened. “Ian Seabrook?”

“Yes.” Ian accepted his credit card from her.

“You’re the guy who bought Humboldt Canyon and closed it to climbing.” Carter turned to his sister. “Some of the guys were talking about it at the last search and rescue meeting. Humboldt was a popular climbing spot, and this guy closed it and is going to develop it.”

“I’m going to build a via ferrata,” Ian said.

“What’s a via ferrata?” she asked.

“It’s Italian for iron way,” Ian said. “It’s a climbing route with steel cables, platforms and walkways. It will be open to the public.”

“It’s a tourist attraction.” Carter spoke with a sneer.

“Like this Jeep tour company.” Ian slipped his credit card back into his wallet.

Touché. Bethany bit back a grin. Carter definitely deserved that comeback. “It sounds like a lot of fun,” she said.

Actually, anything to do with climbing scared her, though training with search and rescue was helping her conquer that fear.

So far she had been content to help the really skilled climbers with their gear, but she had taken a couple of training sessions navigating some less technical terrain.

She had joined search and rescue when she’d first moved to Eagle Mountain to push herself out of her comfort zone, and it was definitely doing that.

“It sounds to me like a rich guy looking to make a profit off something that used to be available to everyone for free,” her brother said.

“Carter!” She glared at him. “Nobody asked you.”

She wouldn’t have wanted to be on the receiving end of the look Ian sent Carter. “Why don’t you wait and see what I do before you pass judgment?” Ian said.

Joella chose that moment to start crying. Bethany rushed to the carrier and picked up the baby. “Sorry,” she said, raising her voice to be heard over the wailing. She bounced the infant in her arms as she returned to the desk. “Let me finish up the paperwork and get you on your way.”

“Cute.” Ian leaned closer. He smiled and extended one finger. The baby immediately fell silent and grasped his finger.

Uh-oh. Call her a cliché, but she couldn’t think of anything more devastating than a good-looking guy smiling at a baby. She blamed evolution, stirring up all those hormones. He looked up and met her gaze. Yep. Devastating.

“How old is she?” he asked.

“I don’t really know.” One-handed, she grabbed the paperwork from the printer tray. When she turned back, she caught his puzzled look and laughed. “I’m watching her for a couple of customers.”

He accepted the paperwork. “Thanks. Um, I didn’t get your name.”

“It’s Bethany. Bethany Ames.”

“She’s my sister.” Carter still looked out of sorts. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Her face heated, but she stayed calm. “Ignore him,” she said to Ian. She handed him the keys. “It’s parked at the end of the row. Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks. I’ll check it out, then come back in an hour or so to pick it up.”

“Then I’ll look forward to seeing you again.” She put a little extra warmth behind her smile. She wasn’t dating anyone, and no matter what Carter said, Ian Seabrook seemed really nice.

He nodded and left.

As soon as the door closed, Carter turned on her. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he simpered. “Honestly, Betty. You sounded pathetic.”

Her brothers only called her Betty when they were annoyed with her. “And you sounded out of your mind.”

“What are you two fighting about?” Dalton came in, a half-eaten sandwich in one hand.

“Ian Seabrook was in here, and Bethany was flirting with him,” Carter said.

“I wasn’t flirting.”

The door that led to the back office opened again, and their mother entered. Trim and athletic, with blond, curly hair and freckles, Diane Ames could probably pass for ten years younger than fifty-two. She stared at Bethany. “What are you doing with a baby?”

“She’s the Hendersons’—on the ten-a.m. tour. They didn’t realize they couldn’t take her with them.”

“You could have refunded their money and suggested they hire a babysitter,” Carter said.

“And have them leave disappointed or even angry?” Bethany smiled at Joella. “Besides, she’s no trouble.”

“When they come back, ask them to give us a good review on social media,” Dalton said.

He was the business’s IT and media manager, in addition to one of their tour drivers. Carter maintained all the Jeeps. Everyone wore multiple hats in a small business like theirs.

“Did I hear a customer in here just now?” Mom walked over to the desk and bent over the computer screen.

“A guy rented a Jeep for two months,” Bethany said.

“Not just a guy,” Carter said. “Ian Seabrook.”

Dalton let out a whistle. “Let’s hope nobody vandalizes the Jeep. A lot of people around here are really upset with him.”

“Who is Ian Seabrook?” Mom asked. “Why are people upset with him?”

“He’s, like, a billionaire who bought Humboldt Canyon and closed it to the public. He’s going to build a climbing area for tourists.”

“Is he really a billionaire?” Bethany asked. He had looked so ordinary. Well, gorgeous and ordinary.

“The son of a billionaire,” Dalton said. “His dad owns Seabrook Holdings, one of those big companies that buy up little companies, drain them dry, sell them off, then move on.”

“He seemed very nice,” she told her mother.

“Which Jeep did you rent him?” Carter asked.

“The black Wrangler.”

“The new one?” He loomed over her. “Why did you do that?”

“It was purchased for the rental fleet,” she said.

“That wasn’t for certain,” Carter said.

“I think a man who owns a Porsche knows how to take care of an expensive vehicle,” she said.

Her brother’s lip curled in disgust. “Like you’re such a good judge of character.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she snapped.

“You thought Justin was a great guy, too.”

Justin Asher, Bethany’s former fiancé. The man who had waited until the invitations had been sent and all the nonrefundable deposits paid before he’d decided she wasn’t the woman for him.

“Carter, that was uncalled for,” Mom said.

He looked at the floor. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But the new Jeep? And to a guy like Ian Seabrook?”

“Just because he has money and he’s starting a new business doesn’t make him an awful person,” Bethany said.

“It does if he closes off land people have been using for free for decades,” Carter said.

“Both of you, stop arguing,” Mom said. “People are here for the one-o’clock tour.” She nodded toward the front window, where they could see half a dozen people getting out of two vehicles. “Boys, get the Jeeps ready.”

Grumbling to themselves, Carter and Dalton exited.

Mom and Bethany started checking in new arrivals.

As soon as they were out the door the morning tour returned, and they had to see to them.

The Hendersons were thrilled with the trip and happy to see Joella and to hear that she had been a perfect angel in their absence.

They promised a good review online and left a generous tip.

By the time Mom and Bethany were alone again Mom had apparently forgotten about Ian. “Your dad and I have chiropractor appointments this afternoon,” she said. “You shouldn’t run into any problems, but if you do, you can always call us. And don’t forget to lock up after the last tour returns.”

“I’ll be fine, Mom.” Bethany wanted to remind her that she had been working for the company since before they’d bought out the previous owners, but thought better of it.

Nothing she said could get past this image her family had of her as flighty and irresponsible.

For some reason she had never ceased to be their silly little girl, despite all evidence to the contrary.

She said goodbye to her mom, and settled in to file paperwork, confirm reservations for the next day’s tours—and possibly daydream about a certain blue-eyed billionaire.