said.
“You don’t want to see the whole place first?” Trisha asked.
“I can’t wait to look around,” Meg said.
“And we will,” Brett said. “When we’re back.”
Scarlet looked suddenly nervous. “All of you are leaving?” she asked.
“I’m staying,” Diego told her.
She lowered her head quickly, but he got a glimpse of her expression first and could tell that she was tremendously relieved. Strange. Was she afraid of Ben and Trisha Kendall?
“We need to talk to the officer over there in his car, too,” Matt said.
“They had people out there for hours—pretty much all through the night—after I called 911,” Ben said.
“You never heard anything?” Diego asked. “You didn’t hear the gunshots?”
“No, nothing,” Ben said, as Trisha shook her head. “None of the guests did, either.”
“Well, we’ll take a look, see what we can see,” Diego said. “Ben, you mind coming along? You can tell us what you found.”
Trisha took Ben’s hand, making it clear that if he was going, so was she. Scarlet, arms crossed over her chest, joined them without a word as they walked across the gravel parking lot toward the police cruiser.
The back of Diego’s neck prickled. They were being watched.
He turned toward the stables and saw a grizzled cowboy standing in the doorway. The man waved to Diego.
Diego waved back, then looked over at the house. Upstairs, a curtain was pulled back. Someone was watching them from one of the bedrooms. He also thought he saw a face in a downstairs window, but whoever it was quickly stepped back, as if they realized they’d been seen.
Diego decided not to pretend. He waved to whoever was at the house, as well. No response.
The officer got out of the car as they approached and said, “Can I help you folks? No lookie-loos allowed up on the mountain, just in case that’s what you’re here for.”
Matt stepped forward to produce his credentials. The officer looked at him and then at the others. “This is of interest to the FBI? Why?”
“Let’s just say there’s something about it that resonates for us and leave it at that,” Matt said.
The officer nodded, studying them. “Don’t go past the tape,” he told him. “Not unless I get an official okay from my boss.”
He got back into his car and Diego figured he was calling headquarters, alerting them that the FBI was interested in their crime scene.
Diego turned to Ben as they all started walking up the slope. “Tell us what happened, how you discovered the bodies.”
“I had been at the stables—I’m a horse guy, spend as much time as I can there—and was walking toward the house when I saw lumps up by the trees, lumps that shouldn’t have been there. It was too dark for me to tell what they were, so I walked over and...”
He paused and drew a shaky breath.
“He was a bloody mess. She was just...bloody. It looked as if he had been...cut up before he was shot. I was shaking so badly I dropped my phone. I had to pick it up from the dirt to dial 911. I turned my back to them and just stared down at the house until the cops arrived. I think I was in shock when they finally got there. I couldn’t help thinking the scene was just like the pictures Scarlet had shown me, and I said so to the cops, and I am still so damned sorry I did.”
Diego looked at Scarlet. “Tell us about those pictures.”
“I don’t know how they got on my camera,” she said, and there was a mix of frustration and fear in her voice. “I ran into Ben and wanted to show him the shots I’d gotten of an elk. And they were just there. Pictures of dead people.”
“The same dead people you saw?” Diego asked Ben.
Ben frowned and then nodded gravely. “If it wasn’t them, it was just like them. One showed the guy hung up in a tree, but the other one... It was both of them, same position, same huge amount of blood. I handed the camera back to Scarlet, asked her what the hell was going on. She saw the pictures and
“You don’t want to see the whole place first?” Trisha asked.
“I can’t wait to look around,” Meg said.
“And we will,” Brett said. “When we’re back.”
Scarlet looked suddenly nervous. “All of you are leaving?” she asked.
“I’m staying,” Diego told her.
She lowered her head quickly, but he got a glimpse of her expression first and could tell that she was tremendously relieved. Strange. Was she afraid of Ben and Trisha Kendall?
“We need to talk to the officer over there in his car, too,” Matt said.
“They had people out there for hours—pretty much all through the night—after I called 911,” Ben said.
“You never heard anything?” Diego asked. “You didn’t hear the gunshots?”
“No, nothing,” Ben said, as Trisha shook her head. “None of the guests did, either.”
“Well, we’ll take a look, see what we can see,” Diego said. “Ben, you mind coming along? You can tell us what you found.”
Trisha took Ben’s hand, making it clear that if he was going, so was she. Scarlet, arms crossed over her chest, joined them without a word as they walked across the gravel parking lot toward the police cruiser.
The back of Diego’s neck prickled. They were being watched.
He turned toward the stables and saw a grizzled cowboy standing in the doorway. The man waved to Diego.
Diego waved back, then looked over at the house. Upstairs, a curtain was pulled back. Someone was watching them from one of the bedrooms. He also thought he saw a face in a downstairs window, but whoever it was quickly stepped back, as if they realized they’d been seen.
Diego decided not to pretend. He waved to whoever was at the house, as well. No response.
The officer got out of the car as they approached and said, “Can I help you folks? No lookie-loos allowed up on the mountain, just in case that’s what you’re here for.”
Matt stepped forward to produce his credentials. The officer looked at him and then at the others. “This is of interest to the FBI? Why?”
“Let’s just say there’s something about it that resonates for us and leave it at that,” Matt said.
The officer nodded, studying them. “Don’t go past the tape,” he told him. “Not unless I get an official okay from my boss.”
He got back into his car and Diego figured he was calling headquarters, alerting them that the FBI was interested in their crime scene.
Diego turned to Ben as they all started walking up the slope. “Tell us what happened, how you discovered the bodies.”
“I had been at the stables—I’m a horse guy, spend as much time as I can there—and was walking toward the house when I saw lumps up by the trees, lumps that shouldn’t have been there. It was too dark for me to tell what they were, so I walked over and...”
He paused and drew a shaky breath.
“He was a bloody mess. She was just...bloody. It looked as if he had been...cut up before he was shot. I was shaking so badly I dropped my phone. I had to pick it up from the dirt to dial 911. I turned my back to them and just stared down at the house until the cops arrived. I think I was in shock when they finally got there. I couldn’t help thinking the scene was just like the pictures Scarlet had shown me, and I said so to the cops, and I am still so damned sorry I did.”
Diego looked at Scarlet. “Tell us about those pictures.”
“I don’t know how they got on my camera,” she said, and there was a mix of frustration and fear in her voice. “I ran into Ben and wanted to show him the shots I’d gotten of an elk. And they were just there. Pictures of dead people.”
“The same dead people you saw?” Diego asked Ben.
Ben frowned and then nodded gravely. “If it wasn’t them, it was just like them. One showed the guy hung up in a tree, but the other one... It was both of them, same position, same huge amount of blood. I handed the camera back to Scarlet, asked her what the hell was going on. She saw the pictures and
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