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CHAPTER SEVEN

T he man pulled his cap low and stared at the park map without seeing it. The park ranger stood a mere ten feet from him talking on her cell phone. He didn’t get service in the remote area of the park, but somehow, she had a signal. He’d overheard her mention Judge Mary Van Britton, so he’d crept closer to eavesdrop on her conversation. They’d identified his first love. He was certain he couldn’t be connected to the judge, but he needed to find out exactly what Emily Davis knew.

He’d taken every precaution possible to keep from being identified.

All would be well, but if Emily got too close, he’d take care of her. And the pleasure would be all his.

Emily was enjoying a moment’s reprieve in the office on Monday morning when Wade’s voice broke the silence. She spilled the coffee she’d been pouring into her travel mug. After cleaning up her spill, she glanced through the open door into the visitor center. Austin was pointing something out to Wade in the interactive exhibit area.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself. There was no way she would hide from him. He wasn’t going to disappear from her life again anytime soon, so she may as well get used to having him around. The idea didn’t disturb her as much as it would’ve a few weeks earlier. Forcing a smile, she strode up to the two men. “How’s it going, guys?”

“Never better,” Austin answered in a strange tone.

Wade took a step back from the glass case he’d been inspecting. “I have work to do. I’ll leave you two alone.” Before giving them a chance to reply, he was pushing through the front doors.

“That was an abrupt exit,” Emily said. “Did I interrupt something?”

Austin raised an eyebrow and frowned. “No. I was showing him the exhibits.” His chin jutted out, and she noticed how tightly his jaw was clenched. “You need to tell Wade the truth. He can’t be in the same room with us together because he thinks we’re an item, and he isn’t over you.”

“It’s been more than a decade. I have no doubt he’s moved on.” She straightened her ponytail.

He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re lying to yourself. It’s obvious the two of you have unresolved feelings.”

Maybe she was deceiving herself, but she didn’t need him to point it out. “I need to patrol the campgrounds. I’ll see you later.” She started toward the door, leaving her coffee behind in her haste.

Austin’s words followed her through the door. “If you don’t tell him the truth, I will.”

The following day, Emily was eating her lunch in her vehicle at the turnoff for Boulder Field Road when she spotted Wade’s Crown Vic. If she was going to come clean, now was as good a time as any.

She stuffed her sandwich back into the bag, her appetite gone. When she reached the parking lot, Wade was starting down the deer trail where she’d first come across the skull. She shuddered and braced herself to return to where it all started.

It was silly for it to bother her. She’d been there dozens of times during those first few days after the discovery of the remains. There was nothing to fear now.

She slid from the driver’s seat, shut the door, and dashed to the trail hoping to catch up with him. The birds weren’t singing, so the area was eerily silent.

Wade must’ve sensed someone’s presence on the trail. His posture stiffened, and he reached for his service weapon as he turned toward her. Her hands went up automatically. “It’s me.”

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that, Em.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure you’d hear me if I called out, so I tried to get closer first.”

“I can hear you fine.” He took a few steps toward her.

She closed the remaining distance. “I hoped we could talk.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea for us to be alone? If I were Austin, I wouldn’t like it one bit.”

“That’s the thing.” She blew out a puff of air. “Austin and I are not?—”

A bloodcurdling scream interrupted her confession. “I need to see to that.” She jogged toward the sound, and Wade kept pace with her across the uneven terrain.

When they reached the distraught woman, Emily knelt down beside her. “Are you all right?”

“There was a bear. A big one. It had two cubs following it.”

“Did the bear come toward you?”

“She stared at me for nearly a minute. When I hollered, she ran off with her cubs.”

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. “How did you end up on this trail? It’s closed to the public.”

Wade stood nearby, but left Emily to do her job.

“I was on another trail and wandered down an unmarked path. I got turned around and ended up here.”

She didn’t believe the story. The hiker had more than likely ignored the warnings posted at the trailhead and had gone around the barriers. “Are you camping here at Hickory Run?”

The woman nodded.

“Why don’t we head back to my vehicle, and I’ll give you a lift to your campsite.”

Wade walked them back to her vehicle. “I’ll see you later, Em.”

She ducked her head, so he wouldn’t see the emotions brewing there.

After dropping the woman off, she realized she’d never finished her conversation with Wade. Maybe it was for the best, at least they’d been getting along well. If she told him the truth, he’d be angry and might not want anything to do with her. She wouldn’t blame him.

A call came over the radio late the following afternoon. The dispatcher said they’d received a complaint about kids drinking beer and carrying on at Sandy Lake. Emily glanced at her watch. Her shift was over, but she responded to dispatch that she would check it out before heading home.

She pulled into the lot below the lake and parked. Nobody was in the lower parking area, but the hair stood up on the back of her neck, and an eerie sensation came over her. Was somebody watching her? Shaking off the feeling, she forced herself to leave her SUV and trudge up the staircase to Sandy Lake.

It wasn’t difficult to spot the disturbance once she reached the top of the stairs. A cluster of three guys and three girls were hanging out lakeside. One young man tossed his beer can, and it landed by the shoreline where the water lapped at it, pulling it into the lake. He made no move to pick up the can. She would issue a citation to him for littering in addition to the tickets the whole gang would get for consuming alcohol in a state park. Despite what dispatch had said, they appeared to be in their early twenties rather than their teens. She hoped they were all over twenty-one, so she wouldn’t have to cite them for underage drinking in addition to their other violations.

Walking up to them, she smiled. “Good afternoon. How’s everyone doing today?”

They scowled in her direction. She hadn’t expected them to be thrilled with her presence, but the open hostility emanating from the group was over-the-top.

She walked a short distance away, pulled the radio from her belt, and requested backup. It was unlikely the situation would get out of hand, but it was best to be prepared in case it did.

As she took a step toward the group, Jerry appeared out of nowhere. She might not be comfortable around the maintenance man, but right now she was glad for his presence. Besides, he was a churchgoing man, so how bad could he be? She recalled a special she’d seen about the preacher, Gary Heidnik. There was evil in all walks of life, and she’d do well to remember it.

Emily proceeded toward the group again. “Sorry for the delay. I had to make a call.” Her gaze traveled from person to person until it landed on a young man built like a linebacker. “We received a call about kids out here drinking and carrying on.”

“As you can see, lady, we’re not kids.” The young man towered over her when he rose to his feet.

“The park has a strict ‘no alcohol’ policy, so I’m going to issue you each a citation,” she said. “I’d like to see some identification, please.”

The man scowled at her and took a step in her direction. She moved her hand to rest on her service weapon. He received the message and backed down, removing his wallet from his back pocket.

Emily watched as Pete and Austin approached the area from the lot behind the bathhouse. As she was taking down information from the last of the violators in preparation for writing them each a citation, Pete sauntered over with his chest puffed out like a rooster. “Is everything good here?”

Emily fought the urge to laugh. His demeanor reminded her of the cartoon character Johnny Bravo. “Everything is fine. I’ve got things under control.” She glanced over toward Jerry who leaned against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest.

Pete’s condescending stare made it clear he didn’t think her capable of handling herself. She wished she hadn’t called for backup. Austin strolled over and broke the tension.

She issued tickets while the other two rangers chatted about the weather. Thankfully, one of the young women hadn’t been drinking, so Emily allowed the girl to drive her friends home.

As Emily neared the stairs to return to her SUV, Wade approached on foot. She stopped and waited for him.

“What’s going on here?” His stare took in the three DCNR vehicles in the upper lot.

“Some young adults ‘getting their drink on.’ One of the girls was sober. I gave her friends citations and allowed her to drive them home. Hopefully, we won’t have to deal with them again for a while.”

“That’s a lot of ranger vehicles for a couple of kids.”

“They were being difficult, and it was just me, so I called for backup. Pete and Austin both showed up. The pickup belongs to our maintenance man, Jerry. I hadn’t realized he was around when I called it in. He has a way of showing up where you don’t notice him coming or going. It’s uncanny.”

“Interesting,” he said.

“Aren’t you working today?”

He raised a brow, clearly confused by the question.

“I noticed you have your personal vehicle.”

“I switched cars at lunch time. I knew I wouldn’t feel like driving back to the barracks to get my truck before heading home.”

“What are you doing at Sandy Lake? This isn’t anywhere near your crime scene.”

“I need a moment to relax and think through the case before I head home.”

“I’ll leave you to it.”

“You’re welcome to join me.”

She was about to accept his invitation when her fellow rangers drew near.

“Detective, I’m glad you’re here.” Pete smiled.

Emily wanted to remind him Wade’s title was sergeant, but it wasn’t her place.

Wade gave Pete his full attention. “What can I do for you, Ranger Cunningham?”

Pete pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Wade.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the license plate number and make and model of a truck. An F550. I remember stopping it more than once after dark on Boulder Field Road. At the time, I believed it was a poacher out scouting, but considering the recent discovery of bodies out there, I wondered if you might want to take a look at this guy.”

Wade slid the paper into his back pocket. “Thanks for this. I’ll look into it.”

Austin gave the group a salute and tucked into his SUV.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Emily waved.

Pete smirked. “I won’t be here.”

“I was speaking to Austin.”

Pete droned on for another ten minutes before leaving her alone with Wade. She strolled over to the lake with him at her side. “What do you think of Pete?” she asked.

“He’s conceited and brash, but the information he gave me could prove useful.” He studied her. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” She looked out over the glass-like surface of the lake.

“I would think you’d be more interested in my opinion of Austin since he’s the one you’re dating.”

“Everyone loves Austin.”

He grinned. “Is that so?”

“I’ve yet to meet someone who doesn’t think he’s great. He even makes friends while handing out tickets. There’s something about him that draws people in.”

“What is it that draws you to him?” he asked.

He’d given her the opening. All she had to do was speak the truth, but words eluded her. She turned her head to keep him from noticing how flustered she was. “Aren’t we were going to talk about the case?”

“Sorry.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have asked about your love life. It’s none of my business.”

The following morning, Emily arrived at work earlier than usual, and Austin was already waiting for her when she walked through the door of the park office. He spun his chair around to face her, and the look on his face was not that of easygoing Austin. “Either you tell him, or I will.”

“Tell who what?” She took a step into the room. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m tired of getting death glares from Wade Brunner.”

“He does not glare at you.” She laughed it off. “You’re insane.”

“Tell him we’re not seeing each other.”

“If I tell him that, he’ll think I lied to him.”

“You did lie to him.”

“He made an assumption. Maybe I should’ve set him straight, but I didn’t lie.”

“It was a lie of omission.”

“You and I can have a pretend breakup?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He stood. “Then you’d go from lie of omission to outright lie and a bit of acting to go along with it. I’m definitely not getting involved in that. Tell him the truth, Emily.” The look in his eyes softened. “He’ll understand.”

Austin left her standing there and a moment later, the outer door slammed.

Tight knots formed in her gut at the prospect of telling Wade the truth. Austin was right, she needed to do it, but it wouldn’t be easy.

Emily pulled into the parking lot on Route 118 below falls trail and waited for Sam to arrive. They planned to drive Sam’s car up to Lake Jean and hike down Falls Trail. It was a beautiful and challenging hike, but she wasn’t in the mood for an uphill climb, so she was glad Sam suggested parking a car at the bottom of the trail, so they could drive back up.

She was thankful she hadn’t run into Wade since her last conversation with Austin. She would tell him the truth and explain why she lied, but she wasn’t sure how to explain something she didn’t understand herself.

When she spotted Sam’s car pulling into the lot, she grabbed her backpack, hopped out of her car, and hit the lock button on her key-fob. She pulled open the passenger door of Sam’s car and climbed in.

“We can hike uphill instead, if you want?”

“Not a chance. We agreed on downhill this time,” Emily said.

“Works for me. I had to hike Old Bulldozer Road Trail to locate a hiker yesterday. The man sprained his ankle and couldn’t go on. The battery in his cell phone was dead. Not that he would’ve had a signal anyway. It’s a good thing he’d thought to tell a neighboring camper what trail he was hiking and when he planned to return. If he hadn’t, we might not have known he was missing. I had to radio Chase to come get him on an ATV.

“My legs felt like jelly by the time I got home. The first mile of that trail is killer steep.” Sam pulled out of the parking lot and headed West on Route 118 to Route 487 and made a right turn.

“You should’ve taken the ATV to begin with.”

“Next time.”

“By the time you need to rescue someone on that trail again, you’ll forget how steep it is.”

“Doubtful.” Sam made another right at the entrance to Ricketts Glen and drove down to the lot by Lake Jean. She parked at the end closest to Falls Trail.

Fifteen minutes later they were hiking down the dirt path when Sam stopped and stared at her.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“What’s going on with you and Wade?”

“Nothing.”

Sam picked up her pace again. “You’re not interested in Austin again, are you?”

“Not even a little. Why?”

“Then why haven’t you told Wade that you and Austin aren’t an item?”

“Because I’m embarrassed. Okay?”

“I get that,” Sam said.

“I never should’ve let it go on this long, and now it seems like this huge thing. I’m not sure how to approach it, but I know I have to.”

“If you want to be with Wade, you do.”

“On Wednesday, Austin told me if I didn’t tell Wade the truth, he would.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” She forced out a breath. “I haven’t seen Wade since, so I haven’t had a chance to talk to him.”

“Don’t you have his number?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to talk to him in person?”

“It would.”

Emily studied her friend. “Why do you care?”

Sam straightened her ponytail. “I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.” She walked backwards while they were on flat ground. “You like Austin more than you admitted last time we talked about him.”

Emily turned around, so she could see where she was going.

“Fine. I’m crazy about Austin, but he barely knows I exist, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You two would be perfect together. I’ll tell him you think he’s cute.” She giggled.

“Don’t do that! If you want, you can feel him out and see if he’s interested in me.”

Emily had a hop in her step. She was excited her friends might find what they’d both been looking for in each other. “I can’t imagine him not wanting to date you. He’ll be ecstatic when I tell him you like him.”

“Don’t! Just find out whether or not he has any interest in me. Nothing more.”