Bet shined her flashlight into the person’s eyes. She’d started to say, “Sheriff Bet Rivers,” when she recognized Rob Collier.
“Please keep your hands where I can see them, Mr. Collier.”
“That’s the second time in two days you’ve said that to me, Elizabeth,” Rob said. “I might start to take offense.”
“Can you please tell me what you’re doing out here?” Bet rested a hand on her holstered gun.
“Take the flashlight out of my eyes, and I might take more interest in answering.”
Bet dropped the light down to the level of his chest.
Rob lowered his hands but kept them visible. Between the high peaks, the dense trees, and the lateness of the day, the remaining light was fading fast. Bet didn’t relish being out here alone with Rob Collier, but she didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. She wanted answers from him, and she could hardly handcuff him and throw him into the back of her vehicle without cause.
“My apologies, Mr. Collier. Can I ask what brings you out here this time of night?” she asked again.
“It’s not against the law to walk in my own woods.”
“You left your woods when you crossed the creek.”
“You got me there, Elizabeth. But it’s also not against the law to walk on national forest land.”
“No, but it is against the law to lie to an officer.” Which wasn’t true in every circumstance, but it was if the lie obstructed justice.
“You’d catch more bees with honey.”
He was right. She didn’t want to admit that something about the man put her on edge. He hadn’t done anything wrong she could prove and she had questioned him twice in less than two days, the first time in his own garage. She took a step back into a more relaxed position.
“Lovely to see you again, Mr. Collier. Mind telling me what brings you out here?”
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
Bet didn’t reply.
“I wanted to do a little scouting around on my property. The trail over there comes out not far from the house. Thought I’d see where the trail ended.”
“That’s a long walk.”
“Not on a horse.” Bet looked back in the direction Rob had come. “I left Figure over there,” Rob continued. “No way for him to cross.”
It sounded reasonable to Bet, but someone had killed a young woman, most likely less than a week ago, and Rob Collier had arrived back in town at the same time.
“Why’d you bring your horse with you from Arlington?”
“Where I go, he goes.”
Bet could appreciate that. She wished Schweitzer were here with her now.
“You still looking for the kid?” Rob asked.
“Find anything besides this trail?”
“I did.”
Bet waited.
“Found something you might want to look at in person. I was going to call you after I rode back to the house.”
“What did you find?”
“It’s near a cave entrance, on the back side of the mountain the old mine is in. Figure can ride us both back.”
“Wouldn’t it be closer to go from your house?” Bet asked, “I can drive us both around.”
“That won’t get my horse home.”
“Shit,” Bet muttered under her breath.
“What is it you think I’m going to—” Rob stopped midsentence. Something flashed across his face, an emotion landing so briefly Bet couldn’t read it in the dim light.
“That girl didn’t die in an accident, did she?”
Bet said nothing.
“Why didn’t you tell me that? That’s what we’re talking about here, isn’t it? Homicide? You wouldn’t be spooked like this on account of an accidental death, even with another person missing.”
Bet kept her peace, trying to judge Rob’s reaction to his own deduction.
“Where did you find her body?”
Bet decided to lay a few cards on the table. If he was guilty of something and he thought she trusted him, he might give himself away. If he was innocent, he might have important information.
“Just her. In the lake.”
“In the lake?”
“Is that a surprise?” Had he expected her to be found somewhere else? Had he dumped her in the mine only to have her surface unexpectedly?
“No. But if you found her in the lake, why isn’t it all over town? I didn’t hear any talk in the tavern.”
Bet wondered if he’d gone to the tavern for just that reason, to suss out if the body had been found.
“And the boy?”
Bet shook her head.
“Missing.” Rob thought a moment. “Killer or victim?”
When Bet didn’t respond, Rob speculated. “Must think he’s a killer, or you’d have a search-and-rescue team out looking for him.”
“We don’t know exactly what his involvement is yet,” Bet said. “And we have no idea where to search, so a team would be pointless.”
The radio in the SUV sputtered to life, making both of them jump.
“Just do me a favor, Mr. Collier.” Bet moved over to open the passenger’s side door. “Stay right there where I can see you.”
Rob nodded, the humor finally gone from his demeanor.
“Find anything interesting in the Ranger?” Alma asked.
“What Ranger?” Rob asked.
“Who’s that?” Alma had the ears of a bat.
“Rob Collier,” Bet said.
“What the hell is he doing there?”
“He was out on a little trail ride. I’ll fill you in later. Better call Dale to meet me here. I know Clayton had to go back down to Cle Elum.”
“There’s a little problem with that,” Alma said, her voice heavy. “That’s part of why I’m calling.” She went on to explain that Dale had responded to a fight at a campground fifty miles out of town.
“Doesn’t sound like serious injuries, but there were drugs, bikers, and minors involved. Dale is there sorting out the mess. There’s also a car the bikers claim isn’t theirs abandoned nearby, so we have to track down the owner. It could relate to your case.”
Even if Jane Doe had arrived at the trailhead with Seeley Lander in the Ranger, she might have met him first at the campground, so it could still be her car.
“All right,” Bet said, leaning against the passenger’s seat. She could feel a headache starting behind her eyes.
“Leave the truck until tomorrow,” Alma said. “Come on back to town.”
“I need to search the area. If Seeley is nearby, he could be hurt. If not, I don’t want him driving away.”
For a moment, no one said anything.
“Leave the Ranger for now,” Rob said. “Ride with me on Figure. I’ll show you what I found.”
Bet considered her options. She knew Seeley Lander owned the truck, but she didn’t know for a fact he’d been the one driving it. If he came out and drove away, they could eventually track Seeley down. But if someone else had borrowed it, the only chance to catch whoever it was might be if that person came back for it now. It could have been abandoned already, however, in which case waiting for the driver to return would be nothing but a waste of time.
She calculated how long it would take her to drive back around the mountains to Collier, meet Rob at his house, then travel back to this mine entrance he mentioned on a three-wheeler or a dirt bike. She estimated at least an hour just to drive around the mountain.
“How long will this ride take?”
“Twenty minutes.”
He almost had her convinced. She didn’t trust the man, so maybe she should keep him where she could see him.
“Besides,” Rob said. “This trail goes onto my private property. If you want to follow those footsteps, you need my permission.”
“Only if I come close to your house; open land is fair game.”
“But you don’t know how close to the house I’m taking you. Trust me.”
“Sounds so simple when you say it that way.”
“It is.”
If it’s so simple, why do I have the feeling going into the woods with you is a bad idea?
Bet decided following the tracks and seeing whatever Rob wanted to show her took precedence. If Seeley was at the other end of this trail, the fact that he didn’t return to the Ranger felt more like he was hurt or lost than guilty. If he’d been the perpetrator, Bet thought, he would have already gotten the hell out of Dodge.
“All right, Mr. Collier,” she said, pulling on a backpack she kept stocked with emergency supplies in the SUV. “We’ll do it your way.”