Chapter Six #2
“We found a relative still living in town—a nephew. And we talked to the nephew’s dad, who lives in Phoenix. They all said Gerald had talked of making a fresh start someplace new. When he and Abby disappeared, the relatives assumed that’s what they had done.”
“Any idea who killed them?”
“None. We recovered the bullets that killed them, but it was a common caliber. Any other evidence like DNA rotted away a long time ago. We’ll probably never know what happened to them.”
Ian nodded. “It’s strange to think they were up there all those years and no one knew it.”
“Bethany says you offered her a job.”
The abrupt shift in conversation didn’t surprise Ian. He had been expecting it ever since he’d seen it was Aaron in the sheriff’s cruiser. “I did.”
“Why her?”
“She’s smart, friendly and calm in a crisis. She’s dependable. I need someone like that.”
Aaron narrowed his eyes, as if weighing the truth of Ian’s statement. “You saw all that in her?”
“She volunteers with search and rescue. That takes courage. Dedication. Hard work. I saw her in action when that protester was hurt. She’s respected by the other team members.”
“She shocked us all when she moved down here and joined search and rescue.”
“Maybe because you only saw her as your little sister. But she’s not so little anymore.”
“That’s what worries me,” Aaron said. “She’s still naive about a lot of things. She’s not used to high rollers like you.”
Ian laughed. “I’m not a high roller. I’m just a rock jock.”
“You drive a Porsche. That’s a high roller in my book.”
“I drive a Jeep now.”
“I don’t want to see my sister hurt. I think she might be a bit infatuated with you. That could end badly.”
The words reverberated through him, as if he’d hit his elbow on a jagged rock.
He resisted the urge to ask for details—what did Aaron mean by infatuated?
Had Bethany said anything about him? What did she think of him?
Instead, he kept his voice neutral. “I’m not going to hurt her. It was a legitimate job offer.”
“And if she turned you down?” Aaron asked.
“I like to think we’ll still be friends.”
Aaron didn’t comment, but he didn’t seem as hostile as he had before. “Call us if you find any more bodies,” he said after a pause.
The comment surprised a laugh. “I hope not.”
Aaron cracked a smile. “Me, too.”
Ian followed him outside. “Will you continue to investigate Abby and Gerald’s murders?” he asked.
“We’ll do what we can, but with so little to go on, it won’t be a priority.”
“That’s understandable, I guess.” He looked up at the caves. “Still, it would be good to know what happened to the—”
The crack of a rifle cut off his last word. The window behind them shattered.
“Get down!” Aaron shouted and dove for the SUV.
Bethany guided her Subaru around a deep pothole on the road to Humboldt Canyon.
She hadn’t called to let Ian know she was coming.
She hadn’t even been sure about it herself until she had turned onto this road.
She still didn’t know what to tell him regarding his job offer, but she wanted to talk to him.
Maybe they could laugh over her parents’ reaction to the news that someone had offered her a new job.
She braked to avoid hitting a rabbit that raced across the road in front of her—a snowshoe hare—big white feet standing out from its summer-brown body.
She was about to speed up again when a pickup truck shot from a narrow side road she hadn’t noticed before.
The truck skidded in front of her, fishtailing wildly before the driver regained control and rocketed past her.
Some people, she thought and continued cautiously toward the canyon.
Her mood didn’t improve when she pulled up to Ian’s trailer and saw a black-and-white sheriff’s department SUV parked next to Ian’s Jeep. She pulled in beside it and looked around but saw no one. Maybe Ian was inside with the sheriff’s deputy. She started to open the car door to get out.
“Bethany, get down!”
Aaron’s voice cracked with anger, but she heard the fear behind his words. He peeked out from behind the SUV.
She stared at him, confused. “What?”
“Get your head down. Someone just shot at us from the cliff.”
She ducked her head below the level of the door but turned to look up toward the cliffs. All was still. Then she carefully eased open the driver’s door. “Where’s Ian?” she asked.
“I’m under the Jeep,” he said.
“Stay in the car and stay down,” Aaron ordered.
His radio crackled, and he said something she couldn’t make out. Bethany sat with her body twisted awkwardly and folded forward, her head pressed against the steering wheel. She tensed, waiting for a gunshot or a shout or anything but the ticking of her car’s engine as it cooled.
“I think whoever was up there is gone,” Aaron said.
She turned her head and saw that her brother had emerged from behind the SUV, so she started to straighten up. “Stay down!” he barked.
Ian scrambled from beneath the Jeep and moved, crouched down, to her side. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I came to see you.” She glanced toward her brother, who was talking on the radio again. “What’s going on?”
Aaron was off the radio now. He moved toward them. “Bethany, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see Ian. What is going on? Why are you here, Aaron?”
“Ian and I were talking. Someone took a shot at us.” He looked over his shoulder. She followed his gaze and saw the shattered window on Ian’s trailer.
That had her up and out of the car. “Are you okay?” she asked Ian.
“I’m fine.”
“I’m fine, too,” Aaron said.
“I can see that,” she said. “And at least you’re wearing a ballistics vest.” She turned back to Ian. “Who was shooting at you?”
“We didn’t see them,” he said.
“They had to have been up on the other side of the canyon,” Aaron said. “Though I don’t know how they could get up there.”
“There’s a dirt road,” Bethany said. “Just a track, really. We used it to get to the cliff top to rescue that climber. You have to park and walk about a hundred yards.” Fear jolted her. “I may have seen the person who shot you. Or seen their truck.”
“What?” Ian asked.
“Who was it?” Aaron asked.
“I didn’t see the driver, but as I was coming up here, a white pickup truck came shooting out onto the road from that dirt track. He was going so fast, he lost control for a minute, then straightened out and flew by me. I wondered why someone would be driving so recklessly on that rough road.”
“Can you describe the truck?” her brother asked.
She frowned, trying to remember. “It was just a truck. White. Two doors, I think.”
“Ford, Chevy, Dodge or Toyota?”
“I don’t know.” She gave Ian an apologetic look. “I’m not a car geek. I don’t notice them much.”
“Someone’s coming,” Aaron said as the crunch of tires on gravel reached them.
Ian stepped in front of Bethany. “Stay behind me,” he said.
The car turned out to be another sheriff’s department SUV. Deputy Jamie Douglas parked next to Aaron’s vehicle and got out. “I got your call about the gunshots,” she said. “Is everyone okay?”
“Just one gunshot,” Aaron said. “And we’re okay.
It took out a window.” He indicated the shattered glass.
“I’m pretty sure they’re gone now. Bethany just got here, and on her way in she was passed by a white truck driving erratically.
She said it came from a dirt road that leads up to the other side of the cliff.
That’s the direction the shooter was firing from. ”
Jamie moved over to the window and examined it. “Can I go inside?” she asked Ian.
“Of course.”
She went into the trailer and emerged a few moments later with a plastic evidence bag. “I found the bullet. Remington .223.” She showed it to Aaron.
“Let’s take a look up on the cliff top,” he said. He and Jamie returned to her cruiser and drove away.
When they were gone, Bethany wrapped her arms around Ian. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” she said.
He held her for a moment. He felt good. Solid. Sexy, too. On that thought, she pulled away. She had no idea how he felt about her, and she didn’t want to come on too strong.
“Come inside,” he said.
He didn’t say he felt vulnerable standing in the open, but in his place, she would have.
She followed him into the trailer, where he grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the glass.
She fetched a trash can and helped him clean up the area.
Only then did they sit, side by side on a love seat on the end wall.
“It’s good to see you,” he said. “I was worried that the shooter was still around.”
“Thank goodness they left.” She angled toward him. “What was Aaron doing here?”
“He came to tell me they’ve identified the two bodies we found in the cave.”
“Already? Who were they?”
He told her about the newlyweds who had disappeared fifty years before. “And their families really thought they had left without bothering to ever get in touch?” she marveled.
“I guess. They supposedly have a nephew who lives here in town. The sheriff spoke to Gerald’s brother. They couldn’t think of anyone who would have wanted to kill the couple.”
“What a mystery.” She sat back. “It’s such a sad story.”
“Yeah, but at least they died together,” he said.
“In each other’s arms. Still, it must have been horrible.” If she kept thinking about it, she was going to depress herself. “When I saw Aaron, I was afraid he came to warn you away from me.”
“He did that, too.” Ian’s eyes met hers—a little bit teasing, a little bit fond. “I think I persuaded him to let you make your own decisions.”
“Thanks.”
“And have you made a decision?”
“I want to make sure you’re going to get county approval to open to the public before I say yes to the job,” she said.
He nodded. “It’s not the answer I wanted, but it’s probably a smart one.”
“I could still help you out. In my spare time.”
“I’d rather, if you aren’t going to work for me, you’d go out with me.”
Bethany stared at him, aware that her mouth was open.
She probably looked like a stunned trout.
She closed her mouth and tried to muster some composure.
Sure, she really liked this guy, but what did he see in her?
“After my brother told me who you were, I looked you up online,” she said. “You’ve dated models. Actresses.”
“I went out with one actress. One time. As for the models…” He shrugged. “They’re not that special.”
“Still, why do you want to go out with me?”
“For one thing, you’re not impressed by me,” he said.
“Or at least you hide it well. You’re smart, and you’re not afraid to stand up to people, even your own family, and say what you really think.
Do you know how rare that is? That first day I met you, when your brother was giving me a hard time, you defended me.
And you didn’t even know me. That made an impression.
” He leaned closer. “You’re also beautiful, and I’d really like to kiss you. ”
“Yeah. I’d like that, too.”
He slid one hand behind her neck, his fingers rough but warm. She leaned into him, and their lips met. Oh, yes, the man knew how to kiss—soft and firm, receiving as well as giving. The sensation moved through her, like ripples in a pond, warmth and awareness and anticipation flowing down her body.
He lifted his head and smiled down at her, a smile full of heat. She reached up to kiss him again, but the rattle of the door had them pulling apart.
Aaron and Jamie entered. “We found a bullet casing,” her brother said. “Same caliber as the bullet that took out your window. Someone has been up there, but they’re long gone.”
“We spoke with the workers at the end of the canyon,” Jamie said. “They didn’t even hear the shot over the sound of their equipment. And none of them saw anything.”
“Why fire just one shot?” Ian asked. “They had us pinned down. They could have kept shooting.”
“Maybe they just wanted to frighten you,” Jamie said. “Warn you off.”
“It frightened me at first,” he said. “Now it just makes me angry.”
Aaron turned to Bethany. “I don’t want you working out here,” he said.
“I’ve already told Ian I want to wait until the via ferrata is up and running.” And after that kiss, she might still turn him down, in favor of a different relationship.
Early days, she reminded herself. Don’t rush things. Just enjoy yourself.
Aaron nodded and turned to Ian. “Maybe you should think about moving into town.”
“I’ll think about it. But I’m going to be here all day working anyway. If someone is out to get me, they’ll know where to find me.”
“I can’t believe people are getting so upset about one canyon,” Bethany said. “There are so many places around here to climb.”
“Maybe this isn’t about the via ferrata,” Aaron said. He rubbed the back of his neck. “I mean, a bullet seems a lot more personal to me. Have you made any enemies, Ian?”
“There are people who don’t like me,” he said. “But nobody who would want to hurt me.”
“This place was for sale before you bought it,” Jamie said. “Did you beat out another buyer? Someone who might be upset that they didn’t get the property?”
Ian’s expression hardened. “I did beat out someone,” he said. “And they were plenty angry about it.”
“Who?” Aaron asked. “We should try to find out if they’re behind this harassment.”
“You won’t find out anything,” Ian said. “If he’s responsible, he knows how to cover his tracks.”
“Who is it?” Bethany asked.
He looked at her, eyes filled with pain. “My father. Phillip Seabrook can’t stand for anyone to get the best of him. Not even his son.”