Chapter 1
Joel Francisco hopped into his vehicle and drove out, following Chelsea in her SUV.
Timber’s words echoed in his mind. He had to think about whether he was willing to go in that direction.
He was certainly interested, but she was going through her own stuff right now.
He was happy that Chelsea and Sterling were getting along so well and that it was working out for both of them and their grandfather.
They had all been through the wringer with Penny.
Sterling had longed for family, only to finally realize there was plenty of it out there—just none who had wanted to connect with him or even knew he existed—except for Chelsea and Grandpa, now that they had been reunited, despite all Penny’s lies.
The farm was perfect for them all. Sterling and Chelsea lived in the main house that had three bedrooms, so the last one was designated as a guest room.
A caretaker’s cabin was nearby, and Grandpa chose that for his home.
Sterling wanted him in the main house in that third bedroom, but Grandpa wanted his independence.
He wanted to leave early in the morning to do some fishing, without waking up everybody else.
The caretaker’s cabin needed some work, but Grandpa insisted on moving in immediately. He wanted out of that old folks’ home. Besides, he liked camping. So Sterling got it fixed up for him as quick as they could, thankfully with help from some of Timber’s crew. It was all working out so well.
Conversely, Joel had so much family it was all he could do to get away from them, and they weren’t necessarily family that he wanted to spend time with, at least not right now.
They were the smothering kind, and being around any of them meant you were supposed to do what they said, and then your life would be fine.
If you didn’t, then it was all your fault because you didn’t listen.
And the blame just got heavier and heavier from there.
He didn’t need that, nor did he need to hear everybody complain about the fact that he’d gone into the military in the first place.
After all, if he hadn’t, he would have come back in much better shape.
He already knew that part and didn’t find it helpful.
He didn’t regret the years he had put in.
He also didn’t necessarily regret the shape he was in right now.
He was a very different person today, and maybe he could only become that person through the hardships he had experienced.
When Chelsea slowed down on the road up ahead, she put an arm out the window and pointed.
He raised a hand in reply for her to see, and she took off, dust and gravel spitting out from her tires.
He slowed and pulled up to where she had pointed and definitely found a vehicle.
The older red truck had a simple tarp cover fastened over the bed.
It had been driven off the road, of course in one of the sections they hadn’t managed to get properly fenced yet.
With additional acres being added to the Haven over time, the reinforced fencing became a chore that was even more important.
Joel pulled off to the side and studied the vehicle.
It was just parked here, looking deserted.
Movement on his right caught his gaze. On the roadside, close to the dilapidated fence—and struggling to get off the ground—was an eagle.
He studied it for a long moment, then opened his truck door and hopped out.
With his phone, he took a video and sent it to Timber.
The response was immediate. Timber phoned him. “We can look after it here, but we’re not set up for raptors long-term. Can you see what’s wrong with it?”
“Yeah, hold on.” Joel stepped around the front of the red truck and took a step closer to the massive bird, trying to take flight but couldn’t. “I think it has a broken wing.”
“Okay, get a blanket or coat or something over its head before you pick it up.” There was silence, then a muted conversation on Timber’s side. “I can come out in a bit but need to help here for a moment.”
Joel replied, “No problem. Here is where the truck was that Chelsea told us about. I can look around for any humans too, once I subdue the eagle. If you can bring something to transport the bird, that would help.”
“Any campers sleeping in the truck?”
“I’ll take a quick look inside and around the area.
Call you right back.” He disconnected and headed to the truck.
He wanted the eagle to calm down before he attempted to throw a jacket over it.
He returned his attention to the truck. It appeared deserted.
Frowning, he searched for footprints, for something, anything.
He didn’t even find tracks leading away, except one set back to the road.
Had somebody run into trouble and then headed back into town to get a lift?
Joel wasn’t sure what was going on. He opened up the driver’s door and peered inside, checked for any paperwork in the glove box, but that was his first indication that something was wrong because the glove box was empty.
Was this vehicle stolen?
That wouldn’t surprise him, but it was an odd place to dump a stolen vehicle.
As he headed round to the back, he untied one corner of the tarp and lifted it and froze.
Inside was a carpet, awkwardly rolled up and definitely not looking like anything he wanted to deal with.
Swearing softly, he hesitated, then went back to his vehicle and found a pair of work gloves.
Now standing awkwardly on the bumper, he lifted part of the carpet so he could take a closer look inside. As soon as he saw the hair, the waxy skin, the open glassy unmoving eyes, he knew.
He pulled out his phone and called Timber first. “We’ve got a problem,” he announced, when Timber answered.
“What kind of problem? Can’t get close to the eagle? I’m on my way.”
Joel snorted. “Sure, but, more than that, we’ve got a body in the back of this truck that Chelsea saw.”
“A what?” Timber roared so loud a flock of birds flew out from the bush beside Joel. “What the hell?” Timber asked.
“Yeah, definitely a dead body is in this truck. Seems to be your property too.”
“I’m on my way. Hang tight.”
Joel added, “Want me to call Richard?” Joel already had the insider’s scoop to contact the town’s police detective first, even though out here, Timber’s rural place fell in the purview of the sheriff’s department.
Regardless, Richard would notify the sheriff, and Timber’s first contact would be Richard, with whom Timber got along better than said sheriff.
Timber gave a heavy sigh. “I’ll call him on the way.” Then Timber disconnected so he could do just that.
Joel hopped off the back bumper and glanced down.
No license plate at all. He took another look inside the vehicle, noting the VIN on the dashboard had been messed with.
Still he took a picture, hoping Richard could still match this truck with its legal owner.
He noted nothing else that could provide any further answers.
No street cameras were way out here, with only the Haven at the end of the road.
Seemed somebody needed a desolate area to dump a body, and they chanced upon this place. He didn’t know if the body was male or female or how long it had been here. Probably not all that long, considering the traffic coming and going from Timber’s place.
Swearing at the circumstances that had brought him squarely into this, his phone rang. Chelsea.
“Hey, did you find it?” she asked.
“Yeah, I did,” he confirmed. “Did you see anyone around the truck earlier?”
“Well, I thought so, one man, at the driver’s side,” she shared. “I was driving and caught a glance of something red, off the road there, and drove on past, then started thinking something wasn’t right, you know? That kind of a thing.”
“Yeah, I do know that kind of thing,” he stated, with a sigh. “Unfortunately you’ll have to talk to Richard about this.”
“Richard? Why?” And then she groaned. “Don’t tell me that it’s stolen.”
“No plates on it, so that’s one thing.”
“Oh, I didn’t even notice that,” she cried out. “I wasn’t really looking. I just thought they were hunting maybe,” she added, “and I thought he had something in his hand.”
“What do you mean they? I thought you mentioned just one person near the driver’s side?”
“I saw only one guy, standing with the door open, maybe rummaging for something.”
“I see,” he murmured as he thought about that.
“Problems?”
He snorted. “I don’t want to say too much right now, but I’ll update you in a little bit.”
“Now you’re acting all mysterious.” The confusion was evident in her tone.
He laughed. “Just gives me a reason to call you back,” he teased.
“As if you need a reason, when you can call me anytime, and you know it,” she scoffed, then laughed. “Listen to us.”
“I know,” he said. “It’s kind of fun.”
“It is,” she agreed, with a chuckle. “It seems like a long time since I had any kind of easy relationship with anybody.”
“But I’m not just anybody,” Joel told her.
Then he turned to see the eagle staring at him, then at the truck, and he winced.
Would eagles go after carrion? The last thing Joel wanted to think about was an eagle tearing into the body in the back of the truck.
But Mother Nature was nothing if not great at cleaning up the messes that humans created.
Chelsea continued. “Of course, my mother’s lovely boyfriend was enough to keep me away from most relationships.”
“And with good reason apparently. Whatever happened to him?” He kept talking as he approached his truck and pulled out an old blanket from the back. He turned and studied the best way to approach the bird.
“No clue.” She snorted. “Absolutely no clue in terms of what they got up to last but they are both finally in jail. I don’t think he had anything to do with the nightmares my mother orchestrated.”
“Have you talked to her at all?”