CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

WEDNESDAY, 9:43 A.M.
CIRCLE S RANCH

Harper was alone with Deputy Naomi Thrasher, who was on protective duty in place of Heath for today. The deputy would take her to see Dr. Jacob to get the stitches out this morning. Looking through pictures that had been retrieved from the memory card, Harper studied photographs of Emily smiling next to the Airstream at Granite Ridge Campground.

Her sister texted last night that she had arrived home safely.

After so many months with Emily, it felt strange that she wasn’t there now. She almost felt the same about Heath’s absence. He’d needed to check on something at his ranch and didn’t want her with him there.

As for Deputy Thrasher taking Heath’s place for a few hours last night and then again this morning, sure, Heath probably needed a break from babysitting duty. A break from her. He also wanted to be actively involved in finding the person behind the shooting. Or the person behind the bombing.

Or both.

She understood that need completely and shouldn’t have been hurt by his relief at escaping the Circle S and Harper, because she had felt the same way. They both needed space to recover from the awkwardness of being unable to continue to act on their emotions.

She’d hurt him when she brushed him off after the kiss. Shoot. She’d hurt herself. But it was for the best. They both knew that.

Then Liam’s sudden appearance on the scene shifted Heath’s focus—it was subtle, but she’d noticed. For all Harper had known, Liam was a regular at the Emerald M, but Heath set her straight. He hadn’t seen or heard from Liam in going on five years—since their father’s funeral. And while he was there now, a restlessness emanated from them both. An edginess that she hadn’t seen in Heath, even with all that was going on.

Deputy Thrasher approached the table and peered over her shoulder at the pictures. “I’m told you’re an exceptional crime scene photographer.”

Harper heard the approval in the deputy’s words and it made her heart swell with satisfaction that at least while she’d been on the job, she’d done it well. Then she realized the deputy could very well know the rest of the story.

Though Harper had been dealing with psychological issues, the murder she’d captured on camera was forcing her to move past those issues out of sheer necessity.

So what if she had cowered beneath her bed as a kid when her dad was murdered? The familiar pang made her cringe, but she pushed passed it. Harper longed to be the person to find the truth—on her camera or otherwise.

I can do this. I can be that person.

She glanced up at the young deputy. “I’m not sure what else you might have heard, but thank you.”

“Nice RV. I’m sorry it was destroyed.” Deputy Thrasher studied the photograph. “We searched for evidence at the campsite but didn’t find anything. There has to be something. I might be new, but I’ve come to believe there’s always evidence at a scene. It’s a matter of finding it.”

Harper liked her. “I couldn’t agree more. But even knowing that, the evidence isn’t always found.”

“Mr. Stein, the guy who runs the Granite Ridge Campground for the forest service, told us that no one would be allowed to camp there for a while, even after we released it. He said it would take him a few days to get over what happened to you.”

“He seemed nice enough. I only met him a couple of times, but he helped Emily get into the trailer when the door got jammed.” Harper clicked through more images of the campground. Hmm.

“He did?” Deputy Thrasher asked.

The tone in her voice drew Harper’s attention up. “What’s the look on your face? What are you thinking?”

“Your door was jammed so you couldn’t get out that night.” Deputy Thrasher wrote something on her pad. “We questioned him, I’m sure of it. He was the witness who saw you drive away. He thought he saw you, but now we believe that the perp had worn a wig.”

“You don’t think . . . You’re not saying . . . No. He seemed so nice.”

“Sorry, but that shooter in that picture could be anyone beyond, say, fifty, behind that hat. You know that.”

Unfortunately, she did. She pressed her hand against her stomach. “I can’t believe it could be him.”

Thrasher got on her cell. “I’m going to ask for someone to check into his background. Find out what we know about him. Someone needs to question him again.”

“Please make sure they don’t go alone.” Harper shut her computer and stood. Could Mr. Stein be their guy? She’d had it with being stuck there like a prisoner. She hadn’t stayed behind to do nothing. “Would you mind taking me to the sheriff’s office after I get these stitches out? I could hang out with Meghan and look through pictures.”

“You got it. Just looking through the pictures has given us another possible lead.”

After taking Harper to see Dr. Jacob to get her stitches removed, Deputy Thrasher parked her department vehicle in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office.

Harper got a text at the same time as the deputy got one.

WHERE ARE YOU?

“Is yours from Heath?” Harper asked.

“Yes. I should have let him know.”

“Tell him to meet us here,” Harper said.

Inside the sheriff’s department, Taggart approached them as they came down the hallway. He eyed them with purpose.

Before he could speak, Deputy Thrasher said, “We need to check into Mr. Stein, who oversees Granite Ridge. He helped them unstick their door a day or two before the incident. I don’t know, I thought we—”

“Go ahead and run a background on him. Do what you can from here. Stay with Harper. We got an anonymous but strong tip about another possible suspect a few hours ago. We’ve been investigating, but we don’t have probable cause to search or arrest. I sent a couple of deputies over to bring him in voluntarily for questioning. Or see about a consent to search. We’re looking for evidence to corroborate the tip. Let’s see how this plays out. It could be nothing at all. But in case this is our guy, you stay here with Harper. This is the safest place for her.”