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CHAPTER THREE

E mily pulled into the housing development in White Haven she called home. She hit the lock button on her key fob and hurried up the footpath to her ranch house. She longed to soak in a warm bath, but first she needed to eat. Her neighbor appeared before she could reach her front door.

“Long day?”

“It was.” Maybe he would take a hint, so she could get inside and relax.

“They mentioned you on the six o’clock news.”

“Oh, joy.”

He hurried to reach her. “I was wondering, if you aren’t too busy, if you might like to, you know, possibly?—”

“Work is crazy right now. I don’t have time for a social life.”

His face fell. “If things slow down, the offer stands. I’d love to, you know, take you out sometime.”

“That’s sweet, Bob.” She mustered up a weak smile, placed her hand on the doorknob, and stuck her key in the lock hoping he would get the point that she didn’t wish to chitchat.

“All right then, I’ll be seeing you, Em.”

She cringed at the shortened version of her name. “I’ve told you I prefer Emily.” She hadn’t let anyone call her ‘Em’ since Wade enlisted. It was all he’d ever called her, and it hurt too much to hear it come out of anybody else’s mouth. And she’d never expected to hear it from him again. Until today.

When Bob reached the end of the walkway, she let herself in and locked the door behind her. She wasn’t in the habit of locking her doors, but something told her she should.

The house phone rang before Emily could set her keys on the counter. She sighed and grabbed it.

“I saw the story on the news.” Her friend Samantha paused for a beat. “I can’t believe you found a human skull. Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Sam.” She took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and held it to the back of her neck before twisting off the cap. “Or, at least, I will be once I recover from this brutal day.”

“Give me the inside scoop.”

Emily sank onto the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. “There’s not much to tell. We were searching for a missing hiker around Boulder Field. I stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle. When I looked for a branch to use as a walking stick, the skull caught my eye. An animal must’ve dug it up.”

“Did they find the rest of the skeleton?”

“They did. You know I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”

“And you know you can trust me.”

“The woman was buried in a shallow grave, dressed in her Sunday best with her hands folded. It was creepy.”

“Wow.”

“That isn’t the half of it. Guess who the detective was?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea.”

“My ex-boyfriend.”

“What ex-boyfriend? You hardly ever go on a second date. When did you have a boyfriend? Wait. Not the guy who left when your sister went missing?”

“One and the same. Wade Brunner.”

“Wow. What did he say? What did you say?”

“We were surprised to see each other.”

“I’ll bet.”

“What did you think of him as a grown man? Is he as cute as the boy you remember?”

“The adult version of Wade is far better looking, but what does that have to do with anything? He broke my heart.”

“He was a teenager.”

“I’m not interested in reliving that nightmare. Besides, he thinks I’m dating Austin.”

“Why would he think that?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t come right out and lie, but I did make sure it looked that way. I’m not sure why, but I suppose I didn’t want him to know I’m single. Twenty-nine and unattached. I didn’t want to sound pathetic.”

“Do you think I’m pathetic? I’m thirty-one and alone.”

Emily shook her head. “Of course not. I was being ridiculous.”

“Is he dating anyone?”

“It didn’t sound like it.”

“I smell love in the air. You’ll be married by winter,” Sam said.

Emily choked on her water. “Not if he were the last man on Earth.”

“Something tells me otherwise.”

“Something tells you wrong. I’m going to grab a bite to eat, take a hot bath, and hit the sack. It’s been a trying day.”

“All right, get some rest, but we need to get together for a hike.”

“I’d like that. Call or text, and we can compare schedules to see when we both have off,” Emily said.

“Will do.”

They said their goodbyes. Emily microwaved her frozen dinner then settled in to watch the news. When it ended, she trudged up to the bathroom for the hot bath she’d been longing to take.

Emily rolled over for the umpteenth time, twisting the sheets around her legs as she did. Thoughts of the torture their Jane Doe might have undergone swirled around in her mind. Was Nora out there somewhere buried in an unmarked grave?

Memories flooded in of times when Nora would tag along with her everywhere. She’d even followed her on dates. It’d been annoying, but she missed those days. Her mind wandered to Wade and those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see into her soul.

Their breakup was so long ago it was like a bad dream, but the moment her eyes met his, the pain was as fresh as the day he strolled out of her life.

Her parents hadn’t gone anywhere, but they’d grown cold and distant. It was as if they’d disappeared along with Nora and Wade, leaving Emily alone in the world.

Something clunked, and she ignored it, pulling a pillow over her head. Her weathered house made strange noises, and her frayed nerves were getting the better of her.

She needed a dog. A dog would alert her of danger and make her feel safe. She hadn’t adopted a pet because of her long hours, but now it felt like a fine idea. Morning couldn’t come soon enough.

Emily smacked her alarm clock to stop the incessant noise. Why she’d considered it cute to set the alarm to crow like a rooster, she couldn’t say. It didn’t appeal to her at 5 a.m.

She dragged herself from bed after a few hours of sleep, dressed in running gear, and pulled her hair into a ponytail. A run before work should clear her head enough to help her focus on her job. If her ankle could handle it. She hopped on it to see if there was any residual pain. A slight pang, but it should be good.

As she stepped out her front door, she spotted Bob watering his garden. The man took meticulous care of his plants. Maybe she should consider going out with him. A man who gave that much attention to a plant had to be a good guy, didn’t he? He was far too odd for her. She couldn’t see herself with him. Objectively speaking, he was attractive, but she wasn’t interested in him at all. She’d heard love developed over time, and she believed that to be true, but she’d experienced chemistry before, and sizzle couldn’t be manufactured no matter how much time you gave it. It might be unnecessary, but it sure was nice.

She picked up her pace and shook off thoughts of her neighbor. Her musings turned to Wade. There was no denying the spark was still there, but what remained of her heart after his departure from her life was not going to be served up on a silver platter for him to devour.

No. She would focus on work and forget she ever ran into Wade Brunner. Thoughts of the case consumed her for the remainder of her run.

When she rounded the corner onto her street, she observed Bob with a pair of binoculars. The next time she talked to him, she’d have to ask if he’d been birdwatching. He had several bird feeders scattered around his yard and interesting birds frequented them. As she reached her front door, she waved and headed inside to shower and get ready for work.

Pushing open the storm door she discovered an envelope taped to her interior door, she pulled it free and brought it inside. Sinking onto a stool at her breakfast bar, she examined the label with her full name printed in large typeface. She slipped a finger under the flap to open the envelope. A chill crept up her spine as she read the crude poem printed on the single sheet of paper.

Keep away from Boulder Field

If not, please know

My knife I’ll wield

Her hands shook as she set the note on the counter. She reached for the house phone to call the police, but set it back down. It might be an idle threat, and even if it wasn’t, if she called the cops, she might make herself an even greater target. As a law-enforcement ranger, there was no reason she couldn’t defend herself, but it couldn’t hurt call Austin and get his opinion on the matter.

Crime scene tape surrounded his disturbed burial grounds. He stalked away from the site with a scowl and found a stump from which he could watch the area. Pulling out his binoculars he searched the parking lot.

Unless he missed his guess, Emily wouldn’t be able to resist returning. Women like her thought they could do whatever they wished without repercussions. He would make sure she learned a valuable lesson. Choices had consequences.

He’d planned his date for tonight well in advance, so Emily would have to wait, but toying with the female ranger was impossible to resist. Maybe he would speed up the timeline for his next conquest. He saw no reason to delay another whole year. A month in between women seemed reasonable.

A sedan pulled into the lot, and a curvy dark-haired beauty slipped out. She was captivating. Lovelier than the park ranger and making her way toward him. He stood and brushed off his slacks. It was time to make her acquaintance.

Emily patrolled the campgrounds and tried to dismiss the threatening note she’d received. Maybe it was somebody’s idea of a joke. Austin had told her to report it to the police, so she had, but she hoped it wouldn’t get back to Wade. She didn’t feel comfortable bringing her troubles to him, but he was the detective on the case, so he’d hear about it eventually and it would result in a conversation with Wade whether she wanted one or not.

As she drove around the next loop, she spotted a throng of campers encircling the dumpsters. When she slipped out of her SUV, a distinct odor greeted her. Bear. She spotted the large black bear grabbing an easy meal. It devoured a discarded pancake breakfast. Her stomach tightened in knots when she spotted three cubs ten feet from the sow. The crowd surrounding the bear family could spell trouble.

She picked up her radio and requested assistance before grabbing a megaphone. “I need everyone to make your way back to your campsites. Move slowly and quietly. If you learned bear safety and were told to make yourself appear bigger and make a lot of noise, don’t do that now. These bear have nowhere to run until the campers surrounding them are dispersed. We’ll scare them off once the area is cleared of people. Sudden movements may provoke the sow.”

Some of the campers backed away, but nearly half of the onlookers ignored her instructions.

Another park SUV pulled up beside hers, and Pete opened his door. He slid out, grimacing at the scene before him. “Why are these people here?” He narrowed his eyes in her direction. “Didn’t you tell them to get lost?”

“I did. Half of them listened. The other half didn’t.”

He snatched the megaphone from her. “The lady ranger said go! Now go!” With Pete’s command most of the remaining onlookers dispersed, but one man with a camera didn’t budge. After a bit of not-so-gentle coaxing from Pete, he moved along.

When they were alone, she whirled on Pete. “What was with the lady ranger bit?” She scowled.

“You’re a lady and you’re a ranger, right?” He grinned.

“Your comment was rude and sexist.”

“Then you should expect it from me.” Laughing, he pulled a rifle from the back of his SUV. “A few rubber bullets should keep her and her cubs in the woods awhile.”

“Let’s hope so.” She was glad to see Pete take the lead. Aversive conditioning might be effective, but it wasn’t something she enjoyed.