Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

THURSDAY

Jenna stood at her office window staring at the mountains. It had stopped raining, but a thick mist hung across the forest as if the clouds had slipped down from the sky. Dense green pines filled the bottom slopes of the mountain range, the color fresh and still soaked from the rain. The blacktop still bore the scars of the flooding. Brown patches of soil spilled across the road and large dirty puddles were still evident as the water drained away. Everything smelled damp, and outside there was a strange putrid odor on the wind. The usual fresh pine and alpine fragrance was missing. High above, a small patch of blue sky was trying to push its way through the cloud cover and a stream of sunshine was making rainbows. It would be an artist’s dream to paint a picture of that minuscule moment in time, the exact second when the seasons changed and new life emerged from the forest.

She turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs and Kane looked up from his laptop as expert tracker Atohi Blackhawk knocked on the door. She smiled. “What brings you into town? It must have been difficult driving down from the res in this weather.”

“The highway from the mountain is clear, although the drive from the res to the highway was difficult.” Blackhawk’s eyes narrowed. “The mudslides throughout the mountain are extensive, many usual trails are blocked. One of the fire roads is almost impassable. When I get home, I’ll make a map and send it to you. I figure you’ll need to convince the mayor to get a crew up there to clear the fire road before summer.” He sighed. “I came into town to see Norrell. She gave me the task of hunting down which one of the Whispering Caves flooded. As they cover a mile across one side of the mountain range, I hunted down those close to the river.”

“Did you discover anything interesting?” Kane leaned back in his chair, twirling a pen in his fingers.

“I assume you’re aware of the seismic activity that occurred during winter and the avalanches?” Blackhawk rested one hip on the edge of Jenna’s desk. “From what I observed, the seismic activity has caused fissures in the side of the mountain above the caves in one area. During the melt and the subsequent rain, a new water channel was opened up. A small river is evident. It comes down the mountainside through the caves and runs into the river. I believe this would be the most probable place for the bodies to have been buried as there are mounds of sand and debris. I discovered very old animal bones usually found deep in caves spread alongside the new riverbank.” He smiled. “It’s far too wet for Norrell and her team to risk the mountain at this time. I figure give it a few days to dry out, or we’ll have search and rescue out there digging them out of the mud. I don’t figure the evidence will be going anywhere.” He pulled out his phone and scanned through some images before handing it to Jenna. “As you can see, when the debris initially burst out of the cave it was spread over the forest floor. Since then, the water flow would have been slower and now it’s little more than a trickle. Unless we get some more heavy rain, I don’t think it will be an issue.”

“The bodies were dehydrated, so very light.” Kane walked over to the kitchenette and filled the coffee pots. “I figure once the top layer of sand was washed away, they’d have been picked up like dead leaves and floated down the river. Even after being in the water for a time, they were still emaciated. The only thing that was bogging them down was their clothes.”

Interested, Jenna leaned back in her chair and stared at the images. “There seems to be debris all over. Did you happen to notice anything out of place or interesting?”

“Norrell made it clear that I was not to disturb any evidence.” Blackhawk raised his eyebrows, and a smile lit up his face. “I did mention I’d assisted you at many crime scenes, but she insisted I take only photographs and GPS coordinates. I used crime scene tape to mark the area. I also took coordinates of all the mudslides, trail blockages, and the fire road I mentioned. I’ll send all the information to you as soon as I get home.”

“Coffee?” Kane pulled cups from the cabinet and laid them on the table next to the fixings.

“Thanks, it’s been a long morning.” Blackhawk dropped into a chair in front of Jenna’s desk. “I must apologize for not dropping by to see Tauri. The flooding has been a problem for everyone, I believe. I seemed to have been spending all my time moving horses to high ground. How is he and how are you, Jenna? You’re looking very well.”

Jenna smiled. “Tauri is great. If you get time, you should drop by the kindergarten to see him. He would love a visit. He talks about you all the time.” Unconsciously, she rubbed a hand over her belly. “I’m doing really well. The moment I stopped spewing, everything seemed to return to normal, apart from a ferocious appetite.”

“That has to be a good sign, not that I’m an expert on pregnancy, but when my dogs are in whelp they eat like crazy.” Blackhawk chuckled. “Not that I’m comparing you to a bloodhound.” He took the cup of coffee that Kane offered and added the fixings. “I’ll be sure to drop by the kindergarten on my way to Aunt Betty’s Café. Now the rain has stopped, I’ll have more time to spend with Tauri after kindergarten.” He looked at Kane. “Is he still practicing his languages? He told me you were teaching him Spanish as well.”

“He has a thirst for languages, so I’ll take it slow and give him a good basic knowledge as we go through.” Kane handed Jenna a cup of coffee and sat down beside Atohi. “He needs you and your family in his life. We don’t want him to lose touch with his cultural heritage. We both figure it’s essential that he walks on both sides of the path.”

“In the end it’s his choice.” Blackhawk opened his hands. “We can only offer him guidance along the way. Whatever he decides, we all know in our hearts that he’s been raised with love, and that is all that really matters.”

Jenna’s computer pinged to announce an incoming video call, and she turned her screen around. “It’s Kalo.” She accepted the call. “Hey, Bobby. Did you find anything interesting?”

“Well, Cole Peters’ laptop and phone arrived this morning. I didn’t have a problem getting into them, but there isn’t really anything interesting to report. The laptop is mainly filled with college assignments and a few downloaded images of various things. His phone has images of him, Abby, his parents, and his dog. The only message of interest I discovered contained his plans to drop by Abby’s place on Halloween. They’d planned to walk down Main and look at the Halloween attractions in town and then head up the mountain to meet their friends. He only mentions the friends as ‘the guys.’ His phone calls are back and forth between the group of men that we know about and Abby. There are a few calls to his parents, the pizzeria, and various other takeout places, but overall, it’s just a typical record of a young man’s life in college. I’ll work on it for a couple of days just in case there’s anything that I’ve missed, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t think there’s anything on his laptop or his phone that we can use to pin his murder on anyone.”

Disappointed, Jenna leaned back in her chair and sighed deeply. “I had hoped we’d find some useful information. From the people we’ve spoken to about him, Cole was a nice guy, an incredible sportsman, and a loyal friend. Whoever decided to end his life might remain a mystery because we can’t find a motive for his death.”

“Well, if you do come up with any interesting suspects, send them my way and I’ll put them through the wringer.” Kalo smiled at her. “If there’s any dirt on any of them, I’ll find it. Catch you later.” He disconnected and his image vanished from the screen.

Jenna reached for her coffee. “One dead end after another. I’m starting to believe this one will slip through the net.”