“She loves to check out nothing.”
Sean lowered his flashlight beam to the end of the trail that led down through the woods, impenetrable now in the dark. “Bowie’s still on probation. It’s easier for him if it was just the wind that knocked over the pile and had Hannah thinking she heard someone whispering her name. Maybe it’s easier for us if it wasn’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jo asked sharply.
“The investigation’s stalled,” Sean said. “We’re all getting restless and impatient.”
“I’m not.” She waited, as if she expected Elijah to argue with her, then said, “I just want to know what happened here.”
Sean sighed. “I know. Something’s not right with Hannah.”
Jo stood up next to Elijah, both looking at Sean as if he’d been hit on the head with a rock. “Sean,” Elijah said, “you want to tell us—”
“No. I don’t.” He nodded to the stone, dirt and ice, the tarp still now that the wind had died down. “Bowie needs to get some equipment up here and clear out this mess before someone else gets hurt.”
Sean recognized Rose’s Jeep out on Cameron MountainRoad. She stopped in front of the church and ran across the road with her golden retriever, Ranger. When they got to the crypt, Elijah quickly explained the situation. She listened, pacing but not interrupting. “Ranger and I can take a look in the woods, if you like,” she said. “We can see what we can turn up.”
“It’s best you stay up here,” Jo said.
Rose nodded. Her hair, the same medium color as Elijah’s, was tangled, and she was pale and pensive. She’d gone to the Midwest in November after devastating tornadoes and hadn’t been in Black Falls when Kyle Rigby and Melanie Kendall had turned their sights on two teenagers. A.J. had been the one to call her and give her the news that their father’s death hadn’t been an accident after all.
A.J. had called Sean in California, too.
Rose rubbed the top of Ranger’s head. He sat at her side, patient. Rose didn’t look at her brothers or Jo as she spoke. “Hannah’s used to handling things on her own and being judged—”
“No one’s judging her, Rose,” Jo interjected.
Rose didn’t back down. “Being up at the cabin, seeing for herself where Devin and Nora and you and Elijah were almost killed, had to be emotional for her.”
Elijah opened the heavy door to the dark crypt and looked inside. “Rigby knew what he went up the mountain to do. Things worked out the only way they could. Him dead. Jo and those two kids alive.”
“And you, too, Elijah,” Rose said.
He glanced back from the threshold of the crypt and grinned at his sister. “Well, yeah. Goes without saying.”
That was Elijah, Sean thought. His soldier brother was a survivor, something their father had believed and in which he’d found comfort—until the final weeks of his life. He’d called Sean in early April. “I just don’t have a good feeling,”his father had said. “I think Elijah’s in Afghanistan, but who knows? Sean…I’d trade my life for Elijah’s. For yours or A.J.’s or Rose’s. I swear I would.”
Sean had tried to reassure him. “We know that, Pop. Don’t worry.”
“Elijah’s seen combat. He can’t talk about most of it, but he’s never been seriously wounded. What if his luck’s run out?”
“Not Elijah. He’s the luckiest man alive.”
“He’d be here in Black Falls if I hadn’t kicked him out—”
“Or in a prison cell, or the ground. Elijah wasn’t on a good path, Pop.”
“Jo would have straightened him out if I hadn’t interfered. If I’d just let nature—fate—take its course.”
Drew Cameron hadn’t been an introspective man, but his fear for his soldier son’s safety had been real and deep—and, as it turned out, warranted. Elijah had survived the firefight and his life-threatening injury. By October, he was back in Black Falls, the hometown he’d never wanted to leave. A month later, he’d
Sean lowered his flashlight beam to the end of the trail that led down through the woods, impenetrable now in the dark. “Bowie’s still on probation. It’s easier for him if it was just the wind that knocked over the pile and had Hannah thinking she heard someone whispering her name. Maybe it’s easier for us if it wasn’t.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jo asked sharply.
“The investigation’s stalled,” Sean said. “We’re all getting restless and impatient.”
“I’m not.” She waited, as if she expected Elijah to argue with her, then said, “I just want to know what happened here.”
Sean sighed. “I know. Something’s not right with Hannah.”
Jo stood up next to Elijah, both looking at Sean as if he’d been hit on the head with a rock. “Sean,” Elijah said, “you want to tell us—”
“No. I don’t.” He nodded to the stone, dirt and ice, the tarp still now that the wind had died down. “Bowie needs to get some equipment up here and clear out this mess before someone else gets hurt.”
Sean recognized Rose’s Jeep out on Cameron MountainRoad. She stopped in front of the church and ran across the road with her golden retriever, Ranger. When they got to the crypt, Elijah quickly explained the situation. She listened, pacing but not interrupting. “Ranger and I can take a look in the woods, if you like,” she said. “We can see what we can turn up.”
“It’s best you stay up here,” Jo said.
Rose nodded. Her hair, the same medium color as Elijah’s, was tangled, and she was pale and pensive. She’d gone to the Midwest in November after devastating tornadoes and hadn’t been in Black Falls when Kyle Rigby and Melanie Kendall had turned their sights on two teenagers. A.J. had been the one to call her and give her the news that their father’s death hadn’t been an accident after all.
A.J. had called Sean in California, too.
Rose rubbed the top of Ranger’s head. He sat at her side, patient. Rose didn’t look at her brothers or Jo as she spoke. “Hannah’s used to handling things on her own and being judged—”
“No one’s judging her, Rose,” Jo interjected.
Rose didn’t back down. “Being up at the cabin, seeing for herself where Devin and Nora and you and Elijah were almost killed, had to be emotional for her.”
Elijah opened the heavy door to the dark crypt and looked inside. “Rigby knew what he went up the mountain to do. Things worked out the only way they could. Him dead. Jo and those two kids alive.”
“And you, too, Elijah,” Rose said.
He glanced back from the threshold of the crypt and grinned at his sister. “Well, yeah. Goes without saying.”
That was Elijah, Sean thought. His soldier brother was a survivor, something their father had believed and in which he’d found comfort—until the final weeks of his life. He’d called Sean in early April. “I just don’t have a good feeling,”his father had said. “I think Elijah’s in Afghanistan, but who knows? Sean…I’d trade my life for Elijah’s. For yours or A.J.’s or Rose’s. I swear I would.”
Sean had tried to reassure him. “We know that, Pop. Don’t worry.”
“Elijah’s seen combat. He can’t talk about most of it, but he’s never been seriously wounded. What if his luck’s run out?”
“Not Elijah. He’s the luckiest man alive.”
“He’d be here in Black Falls if I hadn’t kicked him out—”
“Or in a prison cell, or the ground. Elijah wasn’t on a good path, Pop.”
“Jo would have straightened him out if I hadn’t interfered. If I’d just let nature—fate—take its course.”
Drew Cameron hadn’t been an introspective man, but his fear for his soldier son’s safety had been real and deep—and, as it turned out, warranted. Elijah had survived the firefight and his life-threatening injury. By October, he was back in Black Falls, the hometown he’d never wanted to leave. A month later, he’d
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