Page 11

Ten

Glacial Heights

As Raven approached the two hikers, they ran to meet him, both talking at the same time so fast he couldn’t understand either of them. He held up a hand. “Okay, slow down. I’ll talk to you one at a time. Who would like to go first? How about we start with your names?”

Raven made notes. “Okay, and do you often come here to walk your dogs?”

“Yeah, it’s a beautiful place in summer.” Michelle shuddered. “Until now. We’ve seen hunters’ kills strung up in trees but not around here. We didn’t go close, but when I noticed the hair I figured something was up. I called 911 right away.”

“I said we should wait here.” Vilma opened her jacket to display a shoulder holster. “We both carry protection here in the forest. You never know who is lurking about.”

Nodding, Raven looked from one to the other. “Did you happen to see or hear anyone?”

“No.” Vilma pointed to the trees. “I noticed the crows, so we took this trail, but we can see right across to the body. We both listened and kept moving until we were undercover here in the trees. That poor woman. Who would do such a thing?” She rubbed her arms. “I can’t stop shaking.

Do you figure the killer is hanging around? ”

Folding his notebook and pushing it into his pocket, he looked from one to the other. “I doubt it, but would you like me to give you a ride home?”

“Nope, we’re fine. Our vehicles are parked at the ski resort.

It’s only a short walk from here.” Michelle’s mouth turned down.

“Whoever did that won’t dare to come near us.

We’re armed and the dogs will alert us if anyone is near.

” She looked at Ben. “That’s a mighty fine dog you have there.

I’ve never been this close to a K-9. He seems placid.

I figured they were on attack mode twenty-four/seven. ”

Raven rubbed Ben’s ears. “No, only when he meets the bad guys. They react to orders, and the rest of the time they’re normal super-intelligent dogs.

” He heard Emily clear her throat and flicked her a glance.

“Okay, I’ll call if I need anything else.

” He handed them a card each. “If you see anyone suspicious on your way home, call me.”

“We will.” Vilma headed along the trail with Michelle close behind.

“Those women are braver than I am.” Emily scanned the forest. “I’m seeing men behind every darn tree.”

Raven shook his head. “If anything moves out there, Ben will bark. He can hear much better than we can, so don’t worry.” He led the way through the trail to the tree decorated with body parts.

The stench of death reached him on the usually fresh alpine breeze along with a high humming sound.

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he glanced at Ben.

The feeling of being watched concerned him but the dog hadn’t reacted.

Perhaps it was the barbaric murder that was getting under his skin.

He scanned the area for the umpteenth time and then reached into his pocket for a face mask.

He noted that Emily had already covered her face and was keeping close behind him.

He stopped a few yards away from the carnage and grimaced.

The blackened body parts appeared to be moving in undulating waves and then a crow dived down to hang on one of the ropes sideways to peck at the rotting flesh.

A black mass of angry flies rose up in a swarm.

Raven took a few steps back as they flew into him. “Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“They’re just flies.” Emily marched past him. “Dead bodies always have flies on them in summer, some are crawling with maggots. You’ll get used to it.”

Shaking his head and waving the flies away, he stared after her as she marched in, boots and all, without a moment’s hesitation. He admired her attitude, she had grit. “No, I won’t, and I’m not sure I want to.”

He stood back, intending to watch her do her work and assist if required.

She walked around the scene in a businesslike manner, taking photographs from every angle and then swabbing the open mouth of the victim.

The horrific scene didn’t faze her at all.

“You handle death very well. I admit seeing this poor woman brings back memories I’d rather forget. ”

“She’ll be forgotten if I don’t tell her story.

” Emily took out her phone again and took more photographs.

“Right now, my dad and I are the only people who can bring her killer to justice. We’ll discover the proof to put the man who did this behind bars.

My dad will stand up in court and speak for her.

This is why I do this job. It’s not nice and I could be helping the sick, but she needs me. No one else will tell her story.”

His admiration growing, Raven nodded slowly. “I can see why you’re so dedicated, but it is an awful job. Seeing so much carnage. Do you get bad dreams?”

“As in, do I believe the dead haunt me, demanding justice or something?” Emily gave him a long look. “You need to speak to Dave about his angle on the dead. He will tell you; it’s not the dead you should be worried about—it’s the living.” She turned away to continue with her work.

Unable to ignore the flies that crawled up his face and tried to get into his eyes, he brushed them away.

Beside him, Ben gave a low growl just as a red spot danced across Emily’s back.

When it moved slowly to her head, he reacted on muscle memory, as if he were still on the college football team.

He lunged forward and grabbed her, taking her to the ground with all his body weight behind him.

He heard the breath whoosh out of her just as a bullet thumped into the torso of the victim hanging right where Emily’s head had been.

“Oomph” Emily wriggled below him. “What exactly do you think you’re doing?” She snorted. “Let me up now. Trust me, I know how to protect myself.”

Finding her insinuations a little insulting, Raven rose up enough for her to turn to face him and then covered her with his body. “Shooter. Lie still.” He indicated to Ben to drop and the dog shuffled along on his belly to lie beside them. “It must be a sniper. I didn’t hear a shot.”

“Fine, but I can’t breathe.” Emily moved her head slightly. “Can you move just a little?!”

Shaking his head, Raven stared into eyes gray like storm clouds.

Anger flashed in her eyes and her hand came up to push him away.

He grabbed it and grimaced. “I don’t have time for this.

I don’t need to knock women down to get their attention and I have more respect for you than to try anything so darn stupid. ”

“So you say.” Emily wriggled. “You’re squashing me. Move now!”

Raven sighed. “I will if you roll over and be ready to move.” He rolled to one side but kept one hand firmly on her back. “We need to belly-crawl deeper into the forest. Understand?”

Another bullet hit the tree and showered them with bark. Raven stared at her. “Happy now? Head into the deepest underbrush. Move! Now!”

“Fine, but I need my phone.” Emily shook her head. “You’re overreacting. They’re probably stray shots from a hunter, stop overreacting. Who’d want to shoot me?”

Rolling his eyes and praying for assistance, Raven shook his head. He needed to take charge of the situation before somebody died. “You had a red dot on you. You were the target. Someone wants you dead. Now move. I’ll get your darn phone. Keep down as low as you can to the ground.”

As she moved away, he rolled across the ground, grabbed her phone and then followed her.

When they reached inside the tree line, he handed her the phone.

“Stay down, keep behind the tree, don’t move a muscle.

” He called Kane. Hopefully he’d be out of the river by now.

He sighed with relief when Kane picked up.

“I need Wolfe and the team up here ASAP.”

“Something wrong?” Kane cleared his throat. “We found all the boys—one gunshot wound, the others hogtied and drowned. What other bad news do you have for me?”

Raven narrowed his gaze. He wanted to ask about the missing girls but he had his priorities.

“We’re under sniper fire aimed at Emily.

We’ve hunkered down inside the tree line.

The crime scene is barbaric—young female, maybe seventeen.

Em only had time to collect a few swabs and capture a few pictures when I noticed the red dot on her back.

I tackled her to the ground and a shot hit the victim, another followed.

I’m afraid Emily isn’t too happy with me right now. ”

“That’s Em. Stubborn like her dad.” Kane cleared his throat. “Did you get eyes on the shooter? Do you figure he’s still hanging around?”

Scanning the hillside, Raven hadn’t seen any movement at all. “No and I doubt it. Shooting would be difficult with the tremors. I figure he’s gone but I’ll be careful. What’s your ETA?”

“We have the bodies in the van. I’ll head straight for your position.” Kane’s footsteps crunched through the undergrowth. “You’ll need to be vigilant. If this is the killer, he doesn’t want you around. What direction did the shot come from? I’ll need to be on my guard once we reach the area.”

Raven flicked a glance at Emily. “Above us and to the left. I figure the shooter must be at the northern end of the road to the ski resort. He could very well be at the ski resort. The crime scene is in a direct line from there. The tree with the body parts is close to the road, in plain sight of anyone passing by. I figure it was intentional. The killer is using it as a lure.”

“Okay, hang tight. I’ll head to the ski resort with Rio and Rowley via the highway and see if we can flush him out. I’ll send the rest of the team to assist you.”

Raven disconnected and looked at Emily. “Help is on the way.”

“Why is everything so complicated?” Emily hugged her chest. “What is it about Black Rock Falls?”

As if the mountain had heard her, the ground shook and Emily’s face drained of color.

The mountains had suffered numerous episodes of seismic activity over the last six months.

Landslides and mudslides had caused many roads to be closed for weeks.

Wanting to ease her mind, he smiled. “Let’s worry about the shooter. It’s just a tremor.”

“I don’t think so.” Emily shook her head. “I can still feel it. Something bad is happening.”

The ground shook again with intense violence.

The forest trembled and crows rose in squawks and took off into the sky.

Ben let out a long whine and crawled close to his side.

Emily was correct, something bad was coming.

Frowning, Raven scanned the area. Through the trees, a cloud of dust darkened the deep blue sky.

He sprang to his feet. No shooter could take a shot with the ground vibrating.

“Get up! We need to get back to the truck—now!” He grabbed Emily by the arm and they sprinted through the trees with Ben at their heels.

He’d parked his vehicle in the shadows under the trees at the side of the mountain.

As they ran, tremors shook the ground, hurtling them into trees.

When Emily tripped and fell, he scooped her up, tossed her over one shoulder, and ran.

She yelled something at him and hammered his back, but he kept running.

Gasping for breath, he reached the truck and tossed her unceremoniously inside.

Ben followed and Raven slid behind the wheel intending to drive away as fast as possible.

His heart pounded as the screams of trees being ripped out by the roots and cracking of trunks filled the silence.

The ground shook with violence and thunderous rumbles deafened him.

At first a few small rocks pinged over the hood of his truck and then he gaped in horror as massive boulders crashed through the forest, flattening everything before them.

“Oh, my God!” Emily ducked, covering her head. “We’re going to die.”