18. Angel #2
Tucking his hands into his front pockets and rocking back on his heels, Brad looks down at the ground.
“Emily and I went camping with some friends at Rocky Mountain National Park over a three-day weekend during our senior year of college. It’s been almost twenty-five years to the day since it happened, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
” Brad looks up and smiles wanly. “Sorry. I’m sure you don’t want to hear my tale of woe. ”
I lean forward in bed, shifting so I can focus on Brad without missing a word.
“I can’t speak for everyone, but I would like to hear it.
” If the accident happened almost twenty-five years ago, then the three-day weekend would have been Columbus Day weekend.
Everything in my gut says this event was the catalyst for the abductions, but until he says the words out loud, I can’t be sure.
Daisy sets the flowers down on a small table and holds out her hand toward Brad, leading him to one of the chairs by the window.
She sits in the seat next to him, leans forward, and gives his hand a gentle squeeze.
Most people wouldn’t notice how Daisy’s body stiffens slightly or that she moves away an inch to put distance between herself and Brad, but no doubt Uri’s warning is still fresh in her mind.
“You don’t have to share, but we’re great listeners, and sometimes talking about something can help. I’m sure Emily was a beautiful person inside and out.”
Brad looks at her hand and then up at her. “She was.”
Even from where I’m sitting, I can see unshed tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
“After we set up camp, we celebrated Emily turning twenty-one. Beers were passed around, the campfire was roaring, and laughter filled the air. It was a simple celebration, but it was exactly what she wanted: a safe place in nature surrounded by close friends. Despite it being her birthday, the rest of us were the ones who imbibed too much.”
Brad shakes his head as if he’s trying to dispel the memory.
“The next morning, Emily was bright-eyed and excited to go hiking. She’d grown up mountain climbing in the Rockies, backpacking in such a way that a tent was only used for inclement weather, and traversing trails that would challenge even the most experienced hikers.
The rest of us were hungover, so I asked her to wait a few hours until we had some coffee and food in our stomachs. ”
“But she didn’t, did she?” I ask.
“Emily wasn’t very patient when it came to doing what she wanted. Once she set her mind to something, that was it,” Brad says. “She went off on her own, telling us she was just going to check out some trails to see which one we should take later in the day, but Emily never returned.”
Owen types something on his phone, then looks up. “Was she abducted?”
“No. Authorities say she tripped and fell into a ravine. It was two days before the search party found her body, and it’s one of the reasons I was determined to help find you both, even though I’ve since learned that you two are not cousins.
All I could think about was the fact that you were trapped, alone in the dark and likely praying for someone to find you. Just like my Emily.”
Since Owen was likely doing a quick internet search to corroborate Brad’s story, I look over at him for confirmation. Owen dips his chin, letting me know what he found supports Brad’s claim that Emily’s death was an accident.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I tell him. “That must have been very difficult to process. I couldn’t imagine losing the love of my life.” I glance toward Daisy before Brad can notice.
“It wasn’t easy, especially when her brother blamed me for her death.
At her funeral, he said that if I’d been with Emily rather than nursing a hangover, maybe she’d still be alive.
While I know it’s not my fault, it’s a thought that plagues me as much as it did him.
But life goes on, and Emily wouldn’t have wanted me to wallow in my misery because that’s not who she was.
She would have hated that I spent years behind a desk, staring at four walls and a computer monitor for most of my day, but I couldn’t say no to a lucrative job that practically fell into my lap. ”
“Dominion Atrix Group,” Daisy says.
Brad looks at her with surprise since he never told us that.
He thinks about it for a second before letting it go.
“Working at Dominion paid the bills and then some, but in the end, it didn’t give me the freedom I craved.
Actually, it felt more like a prison sentence than a career.
It’s why I would take two weeks off every year to commemorate Emily’s memory by doing what she loved: shutting the rest of the world off and communing with nature. ”
Two weeks off that spanned Columbus Day weekend would explain the lack of a money trail during that time frame. “Now you get to do it all the time working for the Park Service.”
“Yeah,” Brad says. “I work during the week and spend my weekends exploring, rock climbing, and finding out-of-the-way places where I can be alone and disconnect. In fact, I’ll be doing just that tomorrow, so this visit is as much a ‘glad you guys are okay’ visit as it is a ‘goodbye.’”
When Brad stands, Daisy walks him to the door.
He looks at me, then at Daisy. “Just so you know, I never would have asked you out if I’d known that you two aren’t related.
It’s clear to me that I overstepped. I wish you two the best of luck with your lives together because one never knows how much time they have left. ”