Vanished at Kolob Canyon (Red Rock Murders #6)

Chapter One

Every day in this place stole a little more of Ranger Callen Russell’s soul.

It was funny. People usually escaped to places like Zion National Park and Kolob Canyons National Park to get away, get clarity, find some peace. They took in the towering red rock cliffs, miles of thick, green wilderness and running rivers to find themselves.

He’d only come here to escape.

And it wasn’t working.

Nope. Somehow that great big black hole slowly sucking the life out of him hadn’t gotten the message that he wanted to be left alone.

No matter how many times he’d tried to meditate, focus on his fitness, start a new hobby or commit himself fully to the job, it followed.

His sister was still missing. And it seemed nothing—not even tracing her last known steps out here in the middle of nowhere—would change a damn thing.

The muscles in the backs of his thighs burned as he hauled himself up the next incline.

He had to admit, it was beautiful out here.

Silent like nothing else with barely a whisper of breeze, even in the dead of winter.

Vibrant red rock boulders and sheer cliffsides kept their intensity under the thick-clouded gray sky that not even the jagged bare tops of the pines could penetrate.

Not many tourists dared to chance the cold, leaving the trail fairly empty.

Callen wasn’t going to complain about the lack of hikers asking him the same questions over and over.

It took everything he had not to roll his eyes and put as much distance between him and the public as possible, but he had a reason for being here. He had to remember that.

There was at least one group out here though. A group of twentysomethings who’d called in the report about finding a set of human bones beneath Kolob Arch.

Probably a prank or a misunderstanding. Thousands of animals roamed the 232 square miles of open desert, wilderness and mountains. The bones could belong to any one of them. Hell, it could be a black bear’s lunch, for all he knew. Guess he’d find out soon enough.

Labeled as the largest natural arch in Zion National Park, Kolob Arch attracted millions of visitors every year, with its delicate sandstone bridge spanning from one side of the cliff to the other.

But he’d come here for one reason only: Lauren.

The past year had gone by too fast, shoving him a little farther away from getting answers every day that passed without any idea of where she’d gone.

And breaking his family’s heart in the process.

His brother, Cieron, couldn’t pull himself out of the hole he’d dug since hearing the news of their sister’s disappearance.

Unemployment, debt, substances Callen had never asked about.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his younger brother without those dark patches underneath his eyes, and his parents were just as bad.

Sleepless nights, relentless questions from friends and extended family, canceled holidays and family dinners.

Colds that spanned months and bouts of depression that no amount of therapy and medication could shake.

The stress was eating them alive and aging them decades within the span of a few months, and Callen wasn’t sure how much longer they would withstand the not-knowing where their daughter had ended up.

Callen would find out.

He would put this family back together. He’d endure these trails every day and put his life on pause, if that was what finding Lauren required. No matter how long it took.

Low voices broke through the trees blocking off view to the trail ahead, a curve that would reveal the magnificence of the arch and the beautiful backdrop of the red rock cliffs in the next hundred feet.

Callen saw the group of three hikers before they noticed him, all younger than his forty years.

College age, if he had to guess, two male, one female. “Someone call the rangers?”

All three turned in Callen’s direction, each clinging to their backpacks and water bottles with a little less color in their faces. The tallest of the group nodded. “Yeah, man. We…we wanted someone to know. They’re just sitting up there. Like someone put them there on purpose.”

Dread pooled at the base of Callen’s spine. If this wasn’t some kind of prank, something had definitely spooked these kids.

Callen motioned toward the base of the arch curving high above their heads.

A quick survey of the area didn’t reveal anything out of the ordinary, which meant these hikers had most likely explored the oversize boulders stacked almost all the way to the brim of the naturally curved bowl behind the arch. “Can you show me what you found?”

“I’ll take you.” The female hiker, short and petite compared to her friends, gripped the straps of her backpack until her knuckles turned white. “She’s just over here.”

Callen moved to follow, leaving her companions on the trail.

One looked as though he was about to lose his lunch.

The forced deep breaths at this elevation would only make the nausea and any potential dizziness worse.

Even out here at ground level, Kolob Canyons and Zion were five thousand feet well above sea level.

It took months of exposure and training to fight off elevation sickness, as he’d learned the hard way.

“Take a seat before you pass out, and for crying out loud, breathe normally. Your brain isn’t used to this much oxygen. ”

A grumble was all the response he got as both men sat in the dirt, and Callen maneuvered around the first few boulders leading up to the arch after their companion.

Despite the overcast clouds, the strands of her slick, dark ponytail seemed to glitter in the muted light.

She navigated the boulders like a pro, confident in an I-will-always-leave-you-wanting-more way.

“Just up here.” His guide—more girl than woman, now that he got a closer look at her face—carved a path around one of the largest boulders. And pulled up short.

Callen understood why a moment later.

They hadn’t been lying. And his former life in private security had not prepared him for this.

The remains were clearly human. Smaller than he expected when he’d let himself imagine what he would find.

Unholstering his radio, Callen crouched mere feet from where the skeleton’s feet protruded in a sitting position.

As though the remains had been left here.

Compressing the push-to-talk button, he hailed the division head of the law enforcement rangers.

“This is Simpson.” The voice on the other end of the channel brooked no small talk or argument.

Murray Simpson had a reputation in the park, and Callen could confirm in his study of every ranger contracted in Zion while he searched for Lauren the no-nonsense enforcer solely lived for two things: justice and his fiancée, a ranger in the fire management division.

The few times Callen had talked to the law enforcement ranger, Simpson had given him straight answers and offered resources when they were available.

It was only recently Callen had dared reveal why he’d come to Zion in the first place, and Simpson had so far kept his word not to spread the news.

“This is Russell. I need you out at Kolob Arch.” Callen stared at the shape of the skeleton’s jawline, the hole where the nose should have been.

The bones hadn’t been picked clean as far as he could tell, and an animal wouldn’t have left the remains in one piece as far as he knew.

These seemed almost…bleached. Too white where the cases he’d studied in which skeletal remains had been left behind were more of a cream color.

“I’ve got a set of remains here. They’re human. ”

Simpson took a beat. “You’re sure?”

Callen memorized the curve of the empty eye sockets staring back at him. “It’s looking at me right now.”

“All right. We’re on our way. Until then secure a perimeter of at least ten feet if you can manage, watch where you’re stepping and keep your hands off the remains.” Simpson signed off.

“Law enforcement rangers are on the way.” Standing, Callen held out his hand to corral the female hiker and surveyed the footprints surrounding the body—Was it a body if it was stripped of muscle and flesh?

—before backing them up a good five feet where the boulders allowed.

At least four distinct treads peppered the area around the remains.

Damn it. He’d have to submit his boots to Simpson’s team to rule out involvement.

Because his gut was telling him the appearance of these bones hadn’t been accidental or an animal discarding its dinner.

Someone had left them here. “They’re going to want to talk to you and your friends before you leave. ”

The hiker curled both arms around her middle. “I can’t believe this happened. Who was she?”

“What makes you think the bones are female?” He carved a physical perimeter into the few inches of red sand with the toe of his boot to mark off the area.

It wouldn’t do a damn bit of good if a strong wind came through the alcove, but the curve of these cliffs had protected the skeleton from the elements this long.

“These bones are smaller than the average male, and the pelvic bone is much broader, nature’s way of preparing the female body for childbirth.

” The hiker swiped at her face. “I’m studying to be an anthropologist. Gathering data from bones such as gender, age and socioeconomic status is part of the job. ”

Callen didn’t know what to say to that or what to think about the kernel of desperation building in his chest the longer he studied the remains.

What kind of man hoped his sister wasn’t still alive and suffering at the hands of whoever had abducted her?

That she’d found peace like this with a beautiful view?

“You can go back to your friends if that makes you more comfortable.”

They didn’t have to wait long for the law enforcement division to arrive on the scene.

One of Simpson’s rangers, a woman he hadn’t met yet, isolated the three hikers on the trail to get their statements while the man himself stretched out a hand to Callen at the boulder just before the flat area where the body had been found. “Anyone touch the remains?”

“Not while I’ve been here, but there are a lot of treads inside the perimeter.” Callen shook his head as the shame took hold. “Including mine.”

“We’ll need an imprint of your boots to rule out any involvement.” Simpson crouched in front of the skeletal remains. “Agent Perry is taking the lead on this one. Seems this might not be the only victim expected to turn up in Zion.”

No. Callen hadn’t heard him right. It wasn’t possible. “Agent Perry?”

Simpson pointed down the boulder path. “FBI incoming.”

But there she was. Every ounce the woman he remembered.

And for the first time since he’d stepped onto the trail, cold worked through him at the sight.

It’d been a year, but she hadn’t changed.

He could still feel the sensation of that long, dark hair she’d pulled back between his fingers, recall her wide smile anytime he’d looked her way.

Her gasp when he’d gotten down on one knee with a diamond ring in his hand and the one after that when he’d gotten her into bed.

No matter how many times he’d tried to forget, she was still there. Haunting him every hour of every day.

Agent Maeve Perry.

Lauren’s best friend.

His ex-fiancée.

And the woman who’d compromised the missing person investigation that’d torn apart his family.