the middle of the night?”
“Even a seasoned outdoorsman, like your brother, could’ve gotten lost,” said the sheriff. “I’ve likely been sheriff longer than you’ve been alive, Ms. Baker. In my experience, in cases like this, there’s alcohol involved. And if your brother’d been drinking...” His voice trailed off, but she heard the implication loud and clear.
She couldn’t deny that the sheriff’s explanation was plausible. Sure, it had been years since the last time her brother drank. But, more than once, Axl had sworn off drinking, then fallen back into old habits. Was the explanation really so simple? She wasn’t sure, but Everly refused to give up on her brother so easily.
“Have you searched for his camera?” she asked.
“Until now, I didn’t know to look for one.”
“Well, you should see what you can find.”
Sheriff Haak gave an exasperated sigh. “Ms. Baker, why don’t you let me do my job?”
Biting off what she really wanted to say, Everly clenched her teeth until her jaw ached. This man wasn’t going to be any help, she could tell. That meant it was up to Everly to discover the truth. “Then if you can point me in the direction of where my brother’s body was found, I’ll look myself.”
“Can’t do that.”
The hollow nothingness of grief was slowly replaced with a seething fury. She managed to keep her voice calm and steady. “Why not?”
“First, you could contaminate the scene,” he said. “But there’s more. Your brother was found on private property. You’d need the owner’s permission to go traipsing around his land. He was the one who found Axl Baker, by the way, and called in the report.”
Jaw still tight, she asked, “Can you introduce me to the owner of the property?”
“Don’t need to. You’ve met him already.”
Before Everly could ask what in the world the sheriff meant, he said. “Wyatt Thornton—he’s the man who almost knocked you ass-over-teakettle at the door.”
Not bothering with a goodbye, Everly rose to her feet and rushed into the corridor. She knew it was probably a bad idea to blow off the sheriff like this, but she refused to miss a chance at finding Wyatt Thornton and learning everything he knew.
But where had he gone?
She pushed out the front door and stood in the bitter cold. Luckily, Wyatt Thornton was tall, and therefore easy to find. He stood on the opposite side of the square with a large tank of propane in each hand. He began to cross the street and she rushed after him.
“Mr. Thornton,” she called. “Mr. Thornton, can I speak to you for a minute!”
His pace increased.
She ran after him, her lungs burning with the thin mountain air.
He stopped next to a blue pickup truck and set the tanks in the rear bed, before strapping them in place. He removed a set of keys from his pocket.
“Mr. Thornton,” she said as she advanced, her breath ragged. “That is you, right? I need your help.”
Without a word, he opened the door. “I thought you said you didn’t want my assistance.”
So that’s how he was going to act? Childish? Everly swallowed down the sharpest edges of her anger. “Look, I’m sorry if I was rude before. But I need to speak to you. It’s important, Mr. Thornton.”
“Wyatt,” he said.
“What?”
“Call me Wyatt.”
“Okay, Wyatt, I just need a few minutes of your time.”
He didn’t ask what she needed, but neither did he walk away, so Everly continued. “The sheriff told me that you found my brother’s body yesterday. I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
Nothing.
Repeating what she’d told the sheriff, she said, “My brother was a wildlife photographer. If he was out in the middle of the night, it was for a reason—likely some assignment or other. Did you find his camera?”
Shaking his head, Wyatt said, “I didn’t, but I didn’t know to look for one, either.”
It was the same thing the sheriff had told her. “If I could just get your permission and some directions, I could take a look. I won’t be a bother, I promise.”
“Sorry, but no.”
“No?” she asked, her voice reedy. “Why not?”
“I told the sheriff everything. The investigation’s up to him.”
“I just want to see where you found his body. It might help me understand what happened. He was my brother, my only family.” She paused, hating that she had shared more than she intended—hating even more that she was about to beg. “I really need answers. Please.”
For a long moment, Wyatt said nothing. Everly could sense the war raging in his mind, see the furrows between his brow, his jaw flex.
“Please,” she whispered again.
“I’m sorry,” he said at last. “I can’t get involved, and letting you come out to my place won’t bring your brother back.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
Wyatt looked at the ground as he scraped his toe on the cracked sidewalk. “The medical examiner’s report will be in later today or tomorrow. After that, you’ll have the answers you need.”
Another thought came to Everly—Wyatt Thornton was hiding something. To hell with being polite—she was done. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“The mountains are a hard place to survive, even with training. Accidents happen. The death of your brother is a monumental life event and you want it to have a greater meaning than just...he simply ran into bad luck.” He met her gaze. “But sometimes that’s all you have—a lousy destiny. I hope the autopsy gives you the answers you need.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Go home, anyway. There’s nothing here for you,” he said, not without sympathy.
With that, Wyatt Thornton got behind the wheel. She remained rooted to the spot as he started the engine and backed up. She watched as he drove down the main road and out of town.
He wanted her to go home—give up was more like it. Well, if he thought that she was going to be that easy to get rid of, Wyatt Thornton had better think again.
Everly
