Chapter Nine

Two months ago

The agents who had been around for the Chalk brothers murder trial talked about how cool Camille Gregory had been under pressure. The lead defense attorney, a beefy guy who had gotten as close to the witness box as he could and bellowed his questions, trying to intimidate Camille, got only cool scorn from the state's star witness. "What I want to know, Ms. Gregory, is what someone like you—a waitress—has to gain from testifying against powerful men like my clients. Who put you up to this?"

"I've always had a strong sense of justice," Camille said, looking him in the eye and not blinking. "But maybe you missed that class when you went to law school."

The courtroom came apart at that, and the judge had to pound his gavel and admonish the witness to stick to answering the question. But Camille wasn't cowed. "Was that a question?" she asked. "It sounded to me like an accusation."

The media had loved her. Countless articles referred to her as a "brave young woman." If she was losing sleep under the strain of the trial, she never showed it, those veteran agents told Shelby when she was first assigned to question Camille.

But Shelby had seen a softer side of her friend. One who confided that she spent more than one break during her testimony in the ladies' room throwing up from the stress of it all. And even though she had been upset that the Chalk brothers had gotten away with murder, part of her was relieved to have that ordeal past her. She had focused on building a new life for herself and doing all she could to protect her family.

So when Shelby visited Camille one Saturday afternoon for a "girls' night" of wine and videos and noticed the circles under Camille's eyes and the chips in her manicure, Shelby knew something was up. "What's wrong?" she asked as she watched Camille fumbling to open a wine bottle.

"Nothing's wrong." Camille tried to smile but couldn't force the expression into her eyes.

Shelby snagged one hand and pointed to the mangled manicure. "Has someone else been picking at your nails, then?"

Camille pulled her hand away. "It's nothing."

"If you're upset, it's something."

"I don't want to get into trouble." She wrestled the cap off the wine and filled two glasses.

"Tell me, and we'll figure it out together."

Camille set aside the bottle but didn't pick up her wine glass. Shelby waited, the silence stretched between them. She was better at this game than Camille and knew it.

"I know I'm not supposed to go on social media," Camille began.

Again, Shelby said nothing. She sipped the wine, gaze fixed on Camille.

"I opened an account. Not under my own name. And I never post. I'm just on Facebook and Insta and a few other places, to see what my old friends are up to."

Shelby wasn't surprised. She hadn't worked much with witness security, but she couldn't imagine Camille was the first person to break the no-social-media rule. "What name are you under?" she asked.

"Gladys Grunch." Camille wrinkled her nose.

Shelby pulled out her phone, opened the Instagram app and found the account. No posts, as Camille had said. She checked Facebook. Same. "This doesn't look bad," she said. "The cybersecurity people will want to take a look. They can set it up so the account can't be traced back to you."

Camille picked up her wine glass. "Okay."

Shelby laid aside her phone. "What's the problem?" she asked. "What has you upset?"

"A woman I worked with at Britannia—Amy—posted the other day that a man came into the restaurant, asking about the night Judge Hennessey was murdered. At first, she thought maybe he was a reporter and told him she didn't want to talk about it. Then he said he wasn't a reporter, that he worked for the Chalk brothers. He said they had hired him to find out what had really happened that night. He said the Chalk brothers wanted to clear their name."

"Maybe they did hire someone," Shelby said. "We can look into it."

"That's not what upset me," Camille said. "It's that he told her the Chalk brothers believe someone else was at the pub that night, with me. They found out my car was in the shop that night and thought maybe my brother gave me a lift to work and picked me up, so he might have seen something." She set the wine glass down hard enough that some of the liquid sloshed onto the counter. "Zach wasn't there. I took the bus that night. But if the Chalk brothers believe he was, they might hurt him."

"We'll check out this guy and see what we can find out," Shelby said. "And we'll alert local law enforcement to keep an eye on Zach."

Camille nodded and picked up the wine again. "This place Zach is living—Eagle Mountain. Have you ever been there?"

"No."

"I looked it up online," Shelby said. "It's pretty. Really small, in the mountains. They don't have a traffic light or a single chain store. Hard to imagine."

"I would think it would be harder for a stranger to blend in, in a place like that," Shelby said. "And easier for the local cops to make sure Zach is all right."

"I guess it's silly for me to worry after all this time," Camille said. "I mean, Zach doesn't have anything to do with the Chalk brothers or Judge Hennessey's murder or anything. He's moved on with his life and probably doesn't even think about me."

"Your family hasn't forgotten you," Shelby said. "How could they?"

Camille shrugged and drained her glass. "It's hard," she whispered.

"Hard to be without them," Shelby said.

"That. But it's harder to know I can't protect them. Before, during the trial, I could still keep an eye on them, and there were cops everywhere to look out for them. Then, when it came time for me to leave, I knew that staying away from them was the best way to protect them. Knowing that what I was doing was helping them kept me going those first difficult months. But when I read Amy's post online, I realized how vulnerable they still are. And how helpless I am." Her eyes met Shelby's, shiny with unshed tears. "They shouldn't have to suffer for what I did," she said. "That was never what I wanted."

Shelby put her hand on her friend's. "I know," she said. "I promise, we're still looking out for them."

Camille looked down into her empty glass. "Zach looks tough, but he has such a soft heart," she said. "He could never have stood up to what the Chalk brothers put me through. I think to deal with really bad people like that you have to be a little bad yourself."

"You're not bad," Shelby said.

"Only when I have to be." She smiled, and some of the sadness lifted. "I feel better now, talking to you. Now let's pick out a movie. I'm in the mood for something sappy and romantic. How about you?"

Shelby would have liked to talk more, but she knew when to surrender to Camille. The moment of vulnerability had passed, and the impervious Camille was back in charge. The woman who had made up her mind and wouldn't back down.

E LDON AND Z ACH met in the Zenith Mine parking lot after work on Wednesday and drove together in Zach's truck to Caspar Canyon. With the summer solstice approaching, the days were long enough to allow plenty of hours of good light for climbing the many designated routes on the canyon's granite walls. They shouldered their gear, and Eldon led the way into the canyon. They passed other climbers along the way, many of whom called out to Eldon in greeting. "Do you know everybody?" Zach asked after the sixth time they stopped to chat with another climber.

"This is a small town," Eldon said. "Sooner or later you do feel like you know everyone. But the climbing community is especially close."

"How long have you lived here?" Zach asked.

"A little over two years. How about you?"

"Nine months," Zach said.

"You'll be an old-timer in no time." They stopped beside an empty section of canyon wall that towered thirty feet overhead. Smooth rock in shades of caramel, red, gold and cream reminded Zach of melted candle wax—and looked almost as slick. "This is a good beginner pitch," Eldon said. "Let's get our gear set up."

Zach studied the wall again. It wasn't perfectly vertical, but almost, and while permanent pins studded the wall like cloves in a ham, nothing about this said "beginner" to him. "I really haven't climbed much at all," he said as he unfolded his harness. "Just a couple of times during SAR training."

"That's all you need for this pitch," Eldon said. "Trust me."

Helmets and harnesses in place, Eldon reviewed the basics. Then he turned to the wall. "I'd start right there. See that handhold? Grab hold of that, then you can put your foot right there. See where the rock juts out a little. Perfect step. From there, you should be able to reach that little lip to the left. See it?"

Zach looked closer, and he began to notice not smooth wall, but dozens of little divots and protrusions. Enough for a hand-or foothold. Still, he had to be strong enough to make his way up the wall without losing his balance. "What if I miss a hold or lean back too far?" he asked.

"The rope will catch you." He indicated the belay ropes stretched out between them. "I'll climb up first and set this, then you come up after. Don't worry. It will be just like walking up a ladder."

Eldon went up first, without a rope. He easily scaled the wall, moving so quickly Zach didn't have time to make note of every place he put his hands or feet. He anchored the rope and tossed the end down to Zach, who fastened it to his harness as he had learned in SAR training. Then he rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath. "You can do this," he muttered, and started up.

Eldon had lied, he decided after he had hauled himself up the first few feet. This wasn't as easy as climbing a ladder. But it wasn't impossible. And as long as he avoided looking down and focused on carefully choosing his next handhold or his next step up, he could do this. His muscles protested and shook with strain by the time he reached the top, but he didn't freeze or freak out. He was grinning by the time he stood beside Eldon at the canyon rim.

"That was great." Eldon slapped him on the back. "How did it feel?"

"It felt good." He rolled his shoulders. "I felt...strong."

"Didn't I tell you? You may have more bulk to haul up here, but you have the muscle to do it. Did you play football in high school?"

"Left tackle." Ages ago.

"Same here," Eldon said. "Climbing beats crashing into people on the field any day, in my book."

They spent the next two hours climbing in a couple of different areas. In between climbs, they discovered surprisingly similar backgrounds. Eldon was from Hawaii, but like Zach, he had grown up with one sister. She was married with kids in Hawaii. "My whole family can't understand why I would ever leave the islands," he said. "I miss them all, but I'm happier here. I just fit in better here, you know?"

Zach nodded. He was beginning to feel that way, too. He loved his parents, but he was glad they had moved away from Houston. That city held too many reminders of Camille. Here in the mountains they could all start fresh.

Had Camille felt that when she moved to Maryland? She had truly started over, with a new name, a new backstory. Had she gotten to choose the details herself, or had the Marshals Service assigned her a role? Either way, she would have relished playing this new part. She had always enjoyed being the life of the party or the star of the show.

The sun was setting when they packed up their gear and headed back to Zach's truck. They were loading up when someone hailed them from across the parking lot. "Hey!"

They turned and saw a tall blond loping toward them. "Remember me?" the man asked. "Todd. You two were part of the Search and Rescue team that took care of me when I rolled my ATV last week."

"Todd with two Ds," Eldon said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good." He pointed to the fading cut on the side of his head. "This is almost healed up." He nodded toward their gear bags. "So you guys been doing some climbing?"

No, we just carry this stuff around to look good , Zach thought. Instead, he said, "Do you climb?"

"I've been thinking about getting into it. I just came out here to watch. Say, I owe you guys a beer. Want to go somewhere and grab a drink?"

Eldon looked at Zach. "Sound okay to you?"

Zach shrugged. "Sure, why not?" He wasn't going to turn down a free beer, and it wasn't as if he had anything else planned for that evening.

"You can follow us to Mo's Pub," Eldon said. "Do you know where that is?"

Todd grinned. "It's my new favorite place. Let me help you with your gear." He bent and picked up Zach's gear bag, grunting with the effort.

"I'll get it." Zach stepped in and took the bag from Todd.

Todd slapped him on the back. "Guess I'd better leave the heavy lifting to the real mountain man." He followed them to the parking area, then waved. "See you at Mo's," he said, and loped toward a white sedan.

"You don't mind having a drink or two with this guy, do you?" Eldon asked when he and Zach were alone in Zach's truck.

"It's okay," Zach said. "He seems nice enough."

"He'll probably want to hear search and rescue stories," Eldon said. "He had that look. But we only have to stay for one drink if he's too much."

"I'm good," Zach said. Normally, he wouldn't spend time with someone he didn't know, but he was trying to be more sociable since moving to Eagle Mountain. He wanted to stay here awhile, and that meant fitting in with the community.

Mo's Pub was busy with a midweek crowd. Drinkers filled the stools around the L-shaped bar, a baseball game showing on the TVs overhead. The three men found a booth along one side and ordered beers. "So what brings you to Eagle Mountain?" Eldon asked Todd.

"Oh, you know, the scenery. The outdoors. I live in Denver and wanted to get away from the city for a few days. I'd never been here before and thought I'd take a look." He turned to Zach. "What about you guys? Have you lived here long?"

"A little while," Zach said.

"I can see why someone would want to settle down here," Todd said. "I really like the vibe of the place. Are there any good jobs? Where do you work?" He glanced at Eldon, then focused on Zach once more. His laser focus made Zach uncomfortable. Why was this guy asking so many questions?

"We work at the Zenith gold mine," Eldon said.

"A gold mine? No kidding? What do you do there?"

"Nothing exciting," Zach said before Eldon could answer. They were never going to see this guy again, so there was no need to tell their life stories.

"Zach Gregory." Todd said the name as if trying it out. "Are you related to that woman who was killed during the flood at that campground early last week?"

"How did you know about that?" Zach asked.

"I read about it in the paper. Was she a relative of yours?"

"She was my sister." He kept his voice flat, hoping Todd would get the message that this wasn't something Zach wanted to discuss.

"Hey, I didn't know. I'm sorry." Todd shook his head. "That must have been rough. What happened to her? The paper said a tree fell on her van."

Zach met Todd's eyes with a hard stare. Apparently, this guy couldn't take a hint. "I don't want to talk about it," he said.

"Yeah, I get it." Todd nodded, then opened his mouth, as if to ask another nosy question.

"What happened with your rental ATV?" Eldon asked, and Zach was grateful to him for changing the subject. "They didn't ding you too much for the damage, did they?"

"Three hundred bucks." Todd winced. "But I guess it's going to cost that much to knock out the dents. That's what I get for going too fast on those rough trails." He turned back to Zach. "My sister died a few years ago," he said. "So I know how you feel."

I doubt it , Zach thought. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said.

"Yeah. She was shot in a drive-by shooting. They never did find out who killed her. That's hard, you know? No closure."

Zach stared. Was this guy telling the truth? How much did he know about Camille's death? Zach hadn't read the article in the paper, so he didn't know how much it said. Maybe he should find a copy and read it. Or he could ask Shelby.

"Zach!"

He jerked his head up to see a familiar woman working her way through the crowd toward them. More than one man's head turned to watch her as she passed. The tall blonde wore formfitting jeans and a black, low-cut sleeveless top that showed off an impressive figure. Zach stood as she approached the booth. "Hey, Janie," he said, aware of Eldon and Todd staring.

"Hey, there," she said, and leaned in to give him a big hug.

When they separated, Eldon was grinning, and Todd was frowning. "I don't mean to intrude," she said, "but I've been looking all over town for you." She kept one hand on his arm, her hip brushing the top of his thigh. She was tall for a woman, close to six feet, and he felt less like a giant next to her. "I wanted to say thank you again." She looked at the vacant seat next to Zach.

"Sit down," he said, moving over to make room.

"I'd better go," Todd said. "It was good to see you guys again." He slid out of the booth and hurried away.

"I didn't mean to scare off your friend," Janie said as she slid into the booth next to Zach. She sat close, almost touching him.

"It's okay," Zach said. "Um, Eldon, this is Janie. She was one of the campers we evacuated from the Pi?on Creek campground."

"I remember." Eldon was still grinning.

"It's nice to see you again, too." She offered him her hand. Her nails were painted pale blue, and her bare arms were tanned, as if she'd spent a week at the beach.

They shook hands. "Where are you from?" he asked.

"I'm from a little town outside of Houston," she said.

"I'm from Houston," Zach said.

He felt the impact of her smile again, heating him up from the inside. "It's a small world, isn't it?" she said.

Houston was a big city, and lots of people from Texas visited Colorado, so it wasn't so surprising he should run into someone from near his hometown. Still, it was a little connection between them. "Would you like a drink?" Zach asked.

"Oh, just a Diet Coke." She hit him with the full force of her smile—white teeth, generous pink lips and brilliant blue eyes that sparkled.

The server arrived, and she ordered a Diet Coke, while he and Eldon asked for two more beers. "Did our friend pick up the tab for the first round?" Eldon asked.

"'Fraid not," said their server, a redhead named Kiki.

"I figured," Eldon said.

"Some friend," Kiki said, and sauntered away.

"You should let me pay," Janie said. "Since I sort of ran him off."

"Don't worry about it," Zach said.

"Are you camping by yourself?" Eldon asked. "Or with friends? A boyfriend?" He smirked at Zach.

"Just some friends." She smiled at Kiki as the server set a glass of Diet Coke in front of her, along with Zach's and Eldon's beers. "Thanks." She sipped the drink, then added, "Actually, they left today to head out to Moab. I decided to stick around a few more days." She moved her leg so that she brushed against Zach. "I was hoping I'd run into you again."

"Uh, yeah. It's good to see you again, too." He sipped his beer, aware of her still touching him. He was flattered by her attention, but why was she coming on so strong? She didn't know anything about him. And all he knew about her was that she was gorgeous and not at all shy.

"How long have you two volunteered with Search and Rescue?" she asked, including Eldon in the conversation.

"A couple of years," Eldon said. "Zach is still a rookie."

"It's really amazing that you give so much of your time and energy to helping others," she said.

"It's a pretty amazing group," Eldon said.

Janie was still looking at Eldon, but her hand was stroking Zach's thigh. Maybe this wasn't even happening. Maybe it was a dream. Any minute now, firefighters would rush in and start spraying him down with a fire hose, or the server would show up with a live duck on a silver tray, or some other bizarre thing would occur to let him know that he definitely wasn't in the real world anymore.

"Now this is interesting," Eldon said. He was looking over Zach's shoulder.

Zach turned his head to see Shelby striding toward them. Like Janie, she was dressed in jeans, but she also wore a light jacket and a grim expression. She stopped beside the table, and her gaze flicked over Eldon and Janie before settling on Zach. "We need to talk," she said.

"Zach's a little busy right now," Janie said. Her voice was pleasant enough, but Zach still flinched at the look she directed at Shelby. He half expected to smell singed hair.

"Janie, this is Shelby," Zach said. "Shelby, this is Janie."

"Agent Shelby Dryden, FBI," Shelby said.

Janie laughed. "Oh, that's funny," she said. "I thought maybe you were Zach's ex-girlfriend or something." She turned to Zach. "But what does a fed want with you?"

"Zach is a potential witness in an investigation I'm involved in," Shelby said. She looked less sure of herself now. She turned to Zach. "I didn't mean to interrupt. But get in touch with me as soon as you can. I may have found something."

"Really? On Camille's laptop?"

She frowned and shook her head. "We'll talk later." With another glance at Janie, she pivoted and left.

Janie leaned in even closer to Zach. "Now that was interesting! You helping the feds? What was that all about? Who's Camille?"

"It's a long story." What had Shelby found that she needed him to see? Was it a clue as to who had killed Camille, or something else?

"I'm gonna call it a night." Eldon pulled out a wallet and tossed a twenty on the table. "That ought to cover my half of the tab."

"I need to go, too," Zach said. He forced a smile and turned to Janie. "It was good seeing you again."

"You don't have to say goodbye yet." She looped her arm in his. "Maybe we could go back to my place?"

Eldon made a choking sound, as if he was trying—and failing—to hold back laughter, either over Janie's heavy-handed seduction or Zach's obvious discomfort. Zach freed his arm. "Thanks, but I really do need to go."

She pouted, but it was such a put-on look he couldn't take it seriously. He saw Kiki headed their way and raised his hand. "We need to settle up," he said.

They paid their bill, and Janie reluctantly moved over and let Zach out of the booth. "I'm sure we'll see each other again," she said, and threw her arms around him. He froze, and when she stretched up as if to kiss him, he turned his head so that her lips brushed his cheek. He mumbled goodbye, then moved past her and out of the restaurant.

Outside, he remembered that Eldon had ridden with him. He waited until his friend emerged from the restaurant. "I was half afraid you were going to drive off without me," Eldon said as he slid into the passenger seat. "You were in a hurry to get out of there."

"Sorry," Zach said. "I wanted to get away from Janie."

"That wasn't what I expected when we decided to stop off for a beer," Eldon said.

"All I did was help with a rescue. I don't know why she was coming on so strong."

"She obviously has the hots for you," Eldon said. "But you can't complain about having two good looking women pursuing you."

"Agent Dryden's ‘pursuit' isn't exactly the kind most people want," Zach said. "And Janie is gorgeous, but she's a little over-the-top, don't you think?"

"Over-the-top can be good," Eldon said. "But I know what you mean. She came across as kind of fake. The attitude, anyway. I don't know about the rest of her."

Zach nodded and blew out a breath. "I don't have the energy to deal with her right now."

"What about Agent Dryden?" Eldon asked.

"I'll call her when I get back to my place. She's here investigating my sister's murder. Maybe she's found something."

"That's got to be rough," Eldon said. "I couldn't believe Todd kept going on about that, even after you let him know you didn't want to talk about it."

"Some people are just socially awkward," Zach said. "I don't think he meant any harm. Does that happen often? People you rescue glomming onto you afterward?"

"I've never run into it personally, though I've heard stories about Search and Rescue groupies who pursue volunteers. But most people are just grateful and not pushy. I had a guy buy my dinner once when he saw me in a restaurant, but it was all very low-key. He didn't try to be my new best friend or learn my life story. And I never had a woman come on to me the way Janie did you."

"A groupie, huh?" He shrugged. "I don't get it, but whatever." He glanced at Eldon. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"Yeah. May is a local artist. We met when she worked at the coffee shop. Kind of an ordinary way to meet, I guess."

"Ordinary is good," Zach said. Ordinary wasn't something he had had much of in his life since Camille had returned to the restaurant that night. How could life be ordinary again, when he had a sister who had died twice and a file with the FBI with his name on it?