Read Online The Eagle and the Fox (A Snowy Range Mystery, #1) by Nya Rawlyns - Free Book Online

down his back. We don’t usually get anyone coming this far south from the rez, but now and then...”
    “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I saw him just when we sat down before the service started. He was staring at Petilune. I don’t think she saw him, though.”
    “I spied him just before the cops arrived. He was on the porch. Just watching. I have no idea where he got to after that. He certainly wasn’t one of the group being questioned.”
    Marcus noticed the back door was open. He must have forgotten to shut it when he came out to await Josh’s arrival. He said, “I don’t know about you, but all I’ve got is a boatload of more questions.”
    “I agree. How about we wake Petilune up and see if she can fill in some of the blanks.” He went through the door first, then stopped in his tracks. “You always leave the emergency exit door wide open?”
    “Shit, no.”
    Marcus barged past the bigger man and flicked on the overhead lights in the store. They sizzled and zigged, buzzing into a brightness that was harsh and disorienting after being in near darkness for so long. Rushing up and down the narrow aisles, Marcus gave the shelves and standing stock the once over, but nothing seemed out of place or disturbed from the usual chaotic mess.
    The cash register would be locked and devoid of cash. He made sure of that when he closed up. That left his office. Sensing Josh pacing quietly behind him, he made way for the man to approach the closed door first. Josh mouthed is it locked? Marcus shook his head no and watched his friend carefully press down on the latch. The door swung open, its ancient hinges creaking like gunshots. Marcus nearly peed his pants, but Josh simply oozed around the door jamb, a hammer in his right fist.
    The office was empty.
    Marcus moaned, “Fuck,” and had to brace himself against the frame to stay upright.
    Josh suggested, “Maybe you just forgot and left the door open?”
    It was possible, but not likely. He’d been living on site for nearly three years, ever since Tommy passed away. He had a routine. It wasn’t that he was obsessive-compulsive, but he did like to do things in a neat and orderly fashion. He’d schooled himself into small habits that made it easier for him to worry less about the small things like whether or not he’d locked this door or that one. He couldn’t afford to have an alarm system. Besides, there was no central service to monitor an alarm even if he wanted one. There wasn’t even a fire hall in town. Worst case, if you had a fire, you yelled for help and everyone who was within range came running.
    Josh walked into the main store and stood, hands on hips, considering the options. Finally he said, “Go on up and check on the girl. I’ll go out front and look around.”
    Marcus grunted agreement and pointed to the counter. “There’s one of those torchlights in the bottom shelf,” then raced toward the rear of the building and the wobbly set of stairs leading to the loft.
    The door was still closed, just as he’d left it. But in his gut he knew he wasn’t going to find Petilune still sacked out on his couch. After a quick tour that included him pulling the shower curtain that was the only thing affording some privacy in his primitive bath quarters, there was no sign of the girl.
    Looking around, he muttered, “Just how much did you overhear, Pet?”
    If she’d come downstairs looking for him, it would have been easy enough to skulk by the open door and listen in on everything he and Josh had been saying. Not that there’d been anything particularly damning. They’d mostly rehashed everything she already knew. But the one observation that might have set her off was them talking about the dark-haired teen with the braid who was coming on like a stalker. But even then, they hadn’t indicated they were ready to call the cops and start a manhunt to find the damn boy.
    All they wanted was to ask her some questions. So why run... though the more pertinent