Chapter Twenty-Two
Twenty-Two
Leanne sped down the highway, searching for the sign. She passed the turnoff for Long Canyon Road. The highway curved, and the wooden sign for Big Bend Outfitters loomed ahead.
Leanne slammed on the brakes and hung a left.
She bumped along the pitted dirt road as a log cabin came into view.
A light shone from the porch, but the parking area was empty except for an old white pickup and a dusty black Jeep.
Off to the side was a boat trailer stacked with three long river rafts.
Leanne parked beside the Jeep and tromped up the wooden steps to the cabin, where bundles of firewood lined the porch. Ignoring the Sorry We’re Closed sign, she yanked open the door.
The woman seated behind the cash register looked up.
“Are you Terry?”
She slid from her stool, setting her phone face down on the counter. “That’s me.”
The clerk wore a green T-shirt with the rafting company’s logo on the front, and her long red hair was pulled back in a braid.
“I’m Detective Everhart.”
“You’re with the sheriff’s office?”
Leanne flashed her badge. “Madrone PD.” She glanced around the shop. Boxes of T-shirts sat in the middle of the floor beside piles of hangers, as if the clerk had been putting out inventory when she got interrupted.
“Where is Izzy?” Leanne asked.
“She just left. Someone came to get her.”
“Who?”
“I think one of the sheriff’s people? I’m not sure where they went.”
“I can take you.”
Leanne turned around as Justin Carr stepped through the door. The river guide wore brown cargo pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt with the Big Bend Outfitters logo on it.
“They wanted to talk to her out at the scene,” Justin said. “Want me to show you?”
“Yes.”
Leanne followed him out of the cabin and down the steps as he glanced over his shoulder. “Izzy called you?”
“Terry did. She told me Izzy’s phone was out of juice.”
He led her to the pickup loaded with oars and propane tanks.
Leanne slid inside the cab. “Where’s this place, exactly?” she asked as Justin hitched himself behind the wheel.
“Near the trailhead. Terry didn’t tell you?”
“She didn’t explain anything. All she said was Izzy found a body and wanted me to meet her here ASAP.”
They bounced over ruts in the road as they made their way back to the highway.
“Do you know what happened?” she asked.
“Only what she told me. I was running a load of propane down to the park when I saw—”
“Which park?”
“Big Bend. Our main location.” He pulled onto the highway, and soon they were speeding south.
“I passed the sign for Gold Springs Nature Preserve, and I saw this woman on the side of the road, waving me down. I didn’t realize it was Izzy until I pulled over.
She said her phone was dead and she needed to call 911. ”
“Did you see the crime scene?” Leanne asked.
“No.”
“Who called it in?”
“Izzy used my phone. Soon as she got off, she threw up all over her shoes. She was shaking pretty bad, and her hand was bleeding. I think she was in shock, so I took her back here to use our first-aid kit.”
Leanne looked ahead at the highway. She checked her phone. Nothing yet. But given that Terry had been on her cell phone a minute ago, Leanne guessed it wouldn’t be long before word got out.
She muttered a curse and raked her hand through her hair.
“You all right?” Justin asked.
“Yeah,” she said, even though she wasn’t at all. She looked at him. “What are the odds this stays quiet until tomorrow?”
“Zero.” He glanced at her. “People are already talking.”
By “people,” she assumed he meant river guides and park rangers. Word traveled fast around here, and it was probably only a matter of time before the media got wind of it and showed up.
Leanne sighed. “Crap.”
“Sorry. Not my fault, though,” he said. “I didn’t tell anyone, and I don’t think Izzy would. Maybe the sheriff’s people did?”
“Doesn’t matter. It was bound to get out.”
The sign for Gold Springs Nature Preserve appeared ahead. Justin slowed down and pulled onto the road leading to the trailhead. The narrow road curved, and a line of emergency vehicles came into view—two sheriff’s cruisers, an ambulance, a red pickup from Chisos County Fire and Rescue.
Leanne recognized the black pickup parked beside the ambulance as Justin pulled in behind one of the sheriff’s cruisers.
She pushed open her door. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Sure.”
She got out and tried to get the lay of the land.
No red-and-blue emergency lights, luckily, but someone had set up a big white spotlight near the trailhead, which was sure to attract attention.
She scanned the people milling around, mostly sheriff’s deputies and a couple of guys from the fire department.
Duncan caught her eye from across the lot. He said something to a uniformed deputy and then broke away to meet her on the edge of the parking area.
“Where’s Izzy?” she asked.
“Giving a statement.” He nodded toward a white sheriff’s SUV near the trail sign. Leanne didn’t see Izzy but assumed she was seated in the vehicle being interviewed by someone.
“Why didn’t you call me?” she asked Duncan. He was dressed in his typical jeans and navy blue sheriff’s office polo, his badge and gun on his hip.
“I just got here two minutes ago.”
“What happened?”
“From what I hear, Izzy was out hiking, and she came across a body.”
“Female?”
Duncan nodded.
“You see it?”
He nodded again.
“Sounds like you’ve been here more than two minutes.”
He rested his hands on his hips. “Leanne—”
“Forget it.” She crossed her arms. “What’s your take? What are we dealing with?”
“We?”
She just looked at him.
He shook his head and glanced away.
“Come on, Duncan. Don’t waste my time. Is she like the others?”
He stared at her, and the tight set of his mouth told her exactly what she needed to know.
Leanne closed her eyes and tipped her head back.
“We don’t know yet for sure, but she appears to be late teens to early twenties,” he said. “Torn clothes. Probable sexual assault.”
“Beaten?”
“Yes.”
“Right side of her face?”
He frowned. “I didn’t get that close. Why?”
She shook her head. “Any idea how long she’s been out here?”
“Not long. Maybe a day, tops. Or a couple hours.”
“Hours?” A chill went through her. “Seriously? You guys should be canvassing this entire place, looking for witnesses! Maybe someone saw something.”
“Hey, good idea. Instead, I’m standing here talking to you.”
She looked at her feet. “Sorry. I’m just—”
“Stressed. I got that. Me, too.”
She glanced up, and the somber look on his face made her feel a surge of dread.
This investigation was about to become a circus.
She knew it. He knew it. And he wasn’t even aware that—as of tonight—Leanne had good reason to believe that not only were all these Jane Doe crimes likely connected, but they might be connected to Hannah Rawls, too.
Duncan looked over the top of her head and nodded. “She’s done, I think.”
Leanne turned to see petite Izzy amid all the oversize cops. She was standing beside the SUV now and talking to a detective from the sheriff’s office.
“Damn, y’all put her with Travis?” She looked at Duncan. Travis Malcom was a condescending prick and one of Leanne’s least favorite people.
“He’s the lead,” Duncan said.
She looked back at Izzy and felt a pang of sympathy that she’d had to sit in that SUV with him, recounting what had to have been a traumatic experience.
Duncan took out his phone. “I need to get this. Talk later?”
“Yeah.”
He stepped away to take his call, and Leanne crossed the parking lot.
“Izzy.”
She turned around, and the pure relief on her face made Leanne feel good. She didn’t have very many girlfriends, but Izzy seemed to have become one of them.
Leanne walked over and gave her a hug. “I got here as fast as I could.” She pulled back to look at her. Locks of purple hair had come loose from her ponytail, and a smudge of dirt streaked her cheek. “How are you?”
She shook her head. Her pupils were dilated, and her skin looked pale.
“I feel a little woozy, to be honest.”
“Here. Sit.” Leanne steered her to a wooden railroad tie at the edge of the parking lot.
Izzy sank onto it.
“Let me get you some water.”
“No.” She held up her hand. “I’ve had about a gallon already. I just need to sit down.”
Leanne crouched beside her, studying her face. Izzy had worked some ugly crime scenes, including last Sunday. But it was different when you weren’t braced for it. Leanne wanted to pelt her with questions but forced herself to wait.
“Do you have any gum?” Izzy asked. “My mouth tastes like puke.”
Leanne reached into her jacket and pulled out a pack of orange Tic Tacs. “I’ve got these.”
“Thanks.”
She emptied some into Izzy’s palm.
“What’s with the bandage?” Leanne asked, nodding at her other hand, which was wrapped in white gauze.
“Devil’s head cactus. I fell on it.”
“Ouch.”
Izzy popped the Tic Tacs into her mouth and swished them around. “Sorry.”
“Why?”
“I feel stupid. I’m supposed to be a freaking CSI, and I totally lost it. I threw up all over my shoes. So disgusting.” She shuddered. “They gave me some flip-flops at the rafting place, but now my toes are freezing.”
Leanne watched her, waiting for the anxiety to dissipate. Izzy held out her hand again, and she gave her more Tic Tacs.
“Thank you.”
“You can have them.”
“No, I mean thanks for coming,” Izzy said softly. “I really appreciate it.”
“Of course.”
“Can I ask a favor?”
“Sure.”
“I left my camera and tripod in Justin’s truck when he gave me a ride. The sheriff’s detective wants to see my pictures.”
“You took pictures?”
“Not of the crime scene. But I took shots of the trail and everything. He said he wants to look through them in case there’s anything useful.”
“Hang on.”
Leanne tromped over to the truck and leaned inside the cab. The space behind the seat was filled with wadded clothes and camping gear. A silver tripod sat on top, along with a Nikon camera with a purple strap. A second camera sat off to the side. It was a Canon, and the strap was black.
Leanne grabbed the tripod and the Nikon, holding up the camera for Izzy to see.
“This one’s yours?”
Izzy nodded.
Leanne brought them over, and Izzy immediately started scrolling through photographs.
“I don’t think I got anything useful. But who knows, right? I took hundreds of shots today.”
Leanne crouched beside her, studying her face. The color was coming back into her cheeks now, and she looked intent as she frowned down at the screen.
“Leanne.”
She turned around to see Duncan waving her over.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” She left Izzy to her task and joined Duncan away from the crowd.
“How’s she doing?” he asked.
“A little shocky.”
He nodded. “The ME’s people should be here in five. We’ve got the scene cordoned off.” He paused. “I figured you’d want to see it before they get started.”
“I do.”
He stared down at her.
“What?”
“Fair warning, Leanne. It’s bad.”