Chapter 2

TWO

EMERALD FALLS

Thanksgiving Day, November 26

Detective Ellie Reeves missed Crooked Creek and the people in it. But after the last horrific case and the news that Cord McClain was engaged, she'd needed to get away and clear her head.

But she had to go home soon. Back to work. Back to reality.

The town needed her.

She clenched the phone with clammy hands. Her parents had called every day she'd been gone, putting her on speaker, hovering and worrying.

"Yes, Dad, tell Mother I'll be home for Thanksgiving dinner."

"I'm right here," Vera chirped. "And dinner is at six so don't be late. I made all your favorites."

Ellie checked her watch. It was only two o'clock. Her mother was a stickler about not being late. But first she wanted to get her hike in.

"Where are you?" Vera asked.

"At the Emerald Falls Inn. I'm hiking to the Reflection Pond, then I'll head back to Crooked Creek."

"You know the legend about the Reflection Pond," Vera said. "When you look in it, you see a reflection of your future. Maybe you'll see the man you're supposed to marry."

Ellie rolled her eyes. Vera had been pushing her to trade her badge for a wedding ring for years. But Ellie had never seen herself as the marrying kind until… no, she canned the idea.

After this trip, it was all about work. Just like she wanted, dammit.

"Ellie, a major snowstorm is rolling in," her father said, his tone thick with concern. "You best get on home."

"I'll be there this evening," she promised.

"Just get on the road," her father said. "They're saying it might be a blizzard."

That was almost unheard of this time of year, but weather was unpredictable and already the northeast part of the country was under a winter advisory.

"See you soon." She ended the call, yanked on her jacket, grabbed her gloves, backpack, compass and the map of the area, and headed down the steps of the inn. Outside, the woods looked ominous, the sky a smoky gray from the storm clouds rolling in. Unfazed by the endless miles of woods along the Appalachian Trail, she followed her compass toward Emerald Falls. Local artists, photographers and tourists captured the beautiful scenery and the seventy-five foot waterfalls as it fed into the pond. She'd been wanting to see it forever.

Light shimmered through the crystal-clear water, but some locals claimed a majestic emerald glittered in the falls at dawn and dusk.

Wind hurled dead leaves and twigs around her as she trudged mile after mile, the path a narrow ribbon that wove up the mountain. Nestled in the vegetation and expanse of pines and oaks, one could easily get lost. But she had her compass.

The forest swallowed her, the sound of birds twittering mingling with the wind and shivering of the trees. She could hear the waterfalls in the background, the water in the creek that fed into it gurgling, a sign she was getting closer.

Yet the clouds burst open, and snow began to fall. Big thick snowflakes that whirled in the air and quickly accumulated on the leaves and ground. She spotted the falls several hundred feet away and smiled at the sound of water rushing over rocks and gathering in the pool beneath. Her boots sank into the snow, a gust of wind slapping her in the face.

The sky darkened and she decided she should probably turn back. But she was so close that she had to take a peek in the Reflection Pond. As she grew closer, she realized it was frozen over.

Suddenly movement caught her eye. A shadowy silhouette. Between the rocky wall and the overflow of the falls.

She strained to see if it was an animal or person, then spotted vultures soaring above the falls. Her gut tightened.

They could be searching for food. Maybe a dead animal was on the ground. But she was sure she'd seen a person. And she couldn't go back until she'd checked the area.

Spurred by fear, she started to jog. The fastest way was to cross the pond before whiteout conditions set in.

Brush crackled. Twigs snapped. The wind hurled a tree limb down. She jumped sideways to avoid being hit and stumbled. Snow thickened, creating a white blanket. The wail of a vulture blended with the sound of ice cracking beneath her feet. Panic set in and she flailed to right herself. But her foot slipped through the ice. She clawed for a branch to hold onto, but it broke off in her hand.

Suddenly the sting of frigid water seeped into her boots as the ice splintered and she plunged below into the icy water.