Page 13 of High Country Escape

“Do you see the man?” Aaron asked after a moment.

Dalton sat back and shook his head. “I don’t recognize any of them. I only saw his face for a few seconds. He was wearing a hat. And he had a mustache.” The men in the photos were all clean-shaven. Still, he ought to be able to recognize him, shouldn’t he?

Travis gave no indication that he was disappointed. He began gathering up the photos. “Thank you for coming in,” he said again.

“Was William Ledger’s photo one of those?” Dalton asked. “Does that mean I didn’t see him?”

“He might have been wearing a disguise,” Aaron said. “Or Roxanne could have been attacked by someone else.”

“Do you remember any part of the license plate number of the vehicle?” Travis asked. “Or anything else about the vehicle?”

“No. It was just a big pickup truck with after-market welded bumpers.”

“We’re looking for trucks like that with any front-end damage, but it’s possible with a bumper like that there isn’t any,” Aaron said.

“I wish I remembered more,” Dalton said. “But I was focused on the accident. I thought this guy was just a bystander trying to help.”

“Come on,” Aaron said. “I’ll walk you out.”

They headed back down the hallway. “Does Roxanne know Ledger is out of prison?” Dalton asked.

“We told her this morning.”

“How did she take it?”

“She was pretty upset.” Aaron stopped at the door leading to the lobby. “Why are you so interested in Roxanne?” he asked. “I didn’t know you two knew each other.”

“We don’t. May Delgado introduced us at the fair Saturday morning, then I was first on scene at the accident Saturday afternoon.”

“You were the one who made the 911 call,” Aaron said. “How did that happen?”

“I was driving in that area and saw the wreck.”

“What were you doing out on County Road 3?”

Dalton scowled. “Do they teach you how to grill people at the law enforcement academy?”

“Just answer the question.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was looking for Roxanne. I’d heard she lived in one of those tiny houses and thought I’d look her up, maybe ask her out.”

Aaron grinned. “I’m betting that’s a first.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re not exactly a Don Juan. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. This woman must have really got to you.”

“Yeah, well, now this has happened and she’s here in a place where she knows hardly anyone. I feel for her.”

Aaron put a hand on his shoulder. “She could probably use a friend. Just...go slow. She’s been through a lot.”

He shook off his brother’s hand. “Just because I’m not dating every woman I see doesn’t mean I don’t know how to behave.”

“Still, I think Roxanne is a special case,” Aaron said. But he relented and opened the door.

Dalton mulled over Aaron’s words as he drove to his apartment. He thought he knew what Aaron had been trying to say. Roxanne had suffered a lot at a young age. That had to have affected her. But she had come here to make a fresh start. Because of what happened all those years ago or because of something else? He wanted to know. He felt drawn to her. She was quiet, like him, and reserved. Debra had called her rude, but he didn’t think that was true. Roxanne struggled with people, the way he did. Maybe he could help her with that—and she could help him.

Roxanne paced. Ten stepsto one end of her tiny home, ten steps back. She nibbled at her thumbnail and replayed the conversation she had had with Sheriff Walker that morning over and over. William Ledger was free—his life sentence shortened to only fifteen years. Because of some clerical error? No one seemed clear on that part but it didn’t really matter: The end result was the same—William Ledger was a free man. Free to hurt other children. Free to hurt her.