Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

D uke heard the sound of snow crunching beneath an unseen weight outside the cabin again and bristled.

What if the person who’d slit his tires was back?

He couldn’t be sure. But he couldn’t take any chances.

He drew his gun again as he approached the door.

“Someone’s here.” Ranger stood also, instantly going on alert.

The hum of a motor cut through the air.

Would whoever had been here earlier be brazen enough to return? He found it hard to believe.

But maybe.

He grabbed his flashlight and aimed it in front of him, and then cautiously opened the door.

Instead of seeing a person, a bright light blinded him.

He raised his hand to see beyond the glare.

“Duke McAllister?” a deep voice called. “Ranger Garrett?”

Duke remained stiff. “That’s us.”

“We’re with the state police. We’ve been looking for you.”

His shoulders softened as he let down his guard—some. “Someone slashed our tires,” he explained. “We couldn’t get back to the camp, so we started a fire to warm up here. Figured we might have to spend the night.”

The man stepped into the light, and Duke recognized him as one of the officers he’d seen with Gibson earlier. Officer Winsome.

“I’m glad we found you,” Officer Winsome said. “It’s supposed to drop to twenty below tonight, and the snow is supposed to pick up. A storm is headed this way.”

Ranger stepped toward them. “We’re glad you found us also.”

Duke glanced back inside the cabin. “You’re going to want to check this place out.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I believe Pepper Klinkhart was using this place for some kind of secret rendezvous before she was murdered.”

“Good news,” Gibson announced.

Andi and Simmy sat up from where they’d been seated at a table in the lobby—both attempting to work even though their concentration was shot.

Juniper was wandering around, offering cookies and coffee to guests like a good hostess.

Some guests had been questioned and allowed to leave. Others had decided to stay, claiming they had nowhere else to go and weren’t comfortable driving in the snow.

According to Gibson, none of them had anything to offer, however. Those potential leads had fizzled.

They turned toward Gibson as they waited to hear what he had to say.

“We found Duke and Ranger,” Gibson told them. “They had some problems with their UTV, but they’re on their way back now.”

Relief swept through Andi. He was okay. Praise God!

At least this was a little bit of good news in the middle of a lot of bad news.

Andi hardly knew what to do with herself as she waited. So she did what she did best. She paced.

Finally, thirty minutes later, the doors opened again.

This time, Duke and Ranger stepped inside, two officers following them.

Andi and Simmy ran toward them, and Andi threw her arms around Duke.

Duke held Andi close.

“I was so worried,” Andi whispered in his ear. “I kept fighting off the worst-case scenarios that wanted to play out in my mind. But they kept coming back.”

“I’m sorry to scare you. I tried to radio in our location, but there was no service.”

“I know.” She pulled away from the hug and left her hands resting on his chest as she gazed up at him. “Did you find anything?”

His expression tightened. “We did. Everyone’s going to want to hear this though.”

Almost as if everyone in the room had heard him say that, the rest of the gang appeared and gathered around, including Gibson.

“What happened out there?” Gibson placed his hands on his hips, his brow furrowed with curiosity.

“We found an old cabin out in the forest," Duke explained. “At first, we thought it was abandoned. When we went inside, it became obvious someone had been staying there.”

“There are three or four of those old cabins out on our property,” Juniper said. “They’re left over from when goldminers were in this area. But they’re most shacks.”

“Any idea who would be staying there?”

“I have no idea.” Juniper shrugged.

“I think I know,” Duke stated. “It was your friend Pepper, wasn’t it?”

Juniper swallowed hard. “It’s complicated. She had a place to stay here at the camp. But when I first told her she could stay here, she did use one of the cabins. I couldn’t let my parents know she was here, and it was only supposed to be temporary. After my parents died . . .”

“You let her take one of the staff accommodations,” Andi finished.

“I had no reason not to.” Juniper shrugged. “I felt a little guilty about it, like Peppermint was benefiting from my parents’ death. Then I realized that was crazy. Circumstances had changed so there was no reason to keep her presence here a secret anymore.”

“So why would she still be using it?” Duke asked. “It appears she’d been there recently.”

Gibson glanced at Juniper. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

Juniper swung her head back and forth, guilt filling her gaze. “No . . . I didn’t know she still went out there. Nor do I have any idea why.”

“Maybe you should tell us everything you do know then,” Andi said. “No more secrets.”