A varied group milled around the conference room. Groups weren’t my favorite thing. There was a reason I’d chosen to live most of my life in the wilderness. But I didn’t have a choice.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside. My boss, Rob, moved in my direction and clapped me on the shoulder. “How are you holding up?”
The urge to scowl was so strong. I hated the idea of anyone in my business, but I knew Rob was asking because he cared, not because he was being a nosy asshole.
“Good. Thanks for letting me work half-time for a bit.”
The corner of Rob’s mouth kicked up. “You’re saving me from having to pay you a ridiculous amount of overtime.” The amusement left his expression. “You need any help, just let me know.”
I gave him a rough nod. “Appreciate it.”
The sheriff called Rob’s name, and he turned to answer. I took that opportunity to slink into a back corner, hopefully hidden by the majority of the crowd. Most people gave me a wide berth. They didn’t try to talk to me because they knew I didn’t do polite chitchat.
That didn’t apply to my siblings, though. Nash elbowed his way through the crowd, a bakery bag in hand. He squeezed in next to me, looking annoyed. “Why’d you have to find the most cramped spot in the entire room?”
I gave him a bland look. “You didn’t have to stand here.”
“Of course, I did. Who else is going to mock Lawson’s authoritative voice with me?” Nash pawed through his bag and pulled out a donut.
I snagged the bag from him.
“Hey!” he protested.
I grabbed a glazed donut from the bag and handed it back. “Should’ve stood elsewhere.”
“It’s a damn good thing I brought extras,” he grumbled.
My lips twitched.
“Holy hell. Was that a smile?” Nash gaped at me.
My mouth went flat again. “Shut up.”
“Aspen must be a miracle worker, man.”
“Nash…” I warned.
He munched on his donut. “We need to get her into political office. She could broker world peace in no time flat.”
I had no doubt.
“All right, everyone,” Lawson said as he strode to the front of the room. “Let’s get started.”
Nash and I shared a look. Lawson’s voice always went an octave deeper when he had to speak in an official capacity.
“I appreciate you all coming,” he continued.
Muttered acceptances of the welcome rumbled.
“I want to go through what we’ve got so far. Vic is Marci Peters, twenty-three years old, from Montana. I spoke with her parents last night. She was doing a solo backpacking trip around the Pacific Northwest.”
“Stupid,” one of the officers muttered. I thought his last name was Hall.
Lawson sent him a quelling look.
I got the officer’s point, though. Hiking alone wasn’t the smartest move. Anything could happen out there, from a sprained ankle to an animal attack to something twisted like this.
“Marci arrived two days ago. She got a room at the motel at the edge of town and planned to do some day hikes around the area.”
“Anyone at the motel see her talking to anyone?” Clint asked, his notepad out.
Lawson nodded. “Spoke with the manager. Sally said Marci was the friendly type, the kind that never met a stranger.”
Just like Aspen. Warm. Welcoming. And that had likely gotten Marci killed.
“Officers will be interviewing the guests today. Trying to see if anyone paid her especially close attention.”
Sheriff Jenkins nodded. “We get confirmation yet if the knife wounds on the vic match the animal kills?”
Lawson shook his head. “Not yet. Luisa is doing the autopsy today, so we should have that information by tonight.”
“If they match, then this was most likely random,” Nash added.
Lawson glanced in our direction. “Likely. Anything about her could’ve caught the unsub’s eye. The way she looked, something she did, the simple fact that she was alone.”
And if we didn’t know why she’d been chosen, it made searching for the perp much harder. As discussions continued, no one said the one thing we all knew: We needed another human victim to find a pattern.
“Okay, I think that’s it. Let’s all keep in close contact throughout the day,” Lawson said. “I’ll send out a memo as soon as I get the report from Luisa.”
But we all knew what it would say. The chances of those knife wounds not being a match were slim to none.
Everyone began filing out of the room, but Lawson motioned to me. “How’s Aspen holding up?”
“As good as can be expected.” My lips twitched. “Helped that you ticketed every reporter on Huckleberry Lane.”
Nash grinned at our brother. “Abusing police resources for Roan’s babe? I like it.”
Lawson shrugged, but there was a hint of humor in his eyes. “There’s no parking on that road. It’s too narrow. It could prevent emergency vehicles from passing safely. I’m just enforcing the law.”
“Well, they’re gone now, and they haven’t come back,” I informed him.
“Good. They’re still crawling around town, though. I’ve got an officer stationed outside The Brew, but you might want to pick her up around back. Don’t let them get a photo if you can avoid it.”
I jerked my head in a nod. “I’m heading there now so we can go pick up Cady.”
Nash shook his head. “It’s like someone kidnapped our brother and replaced him with a pod person. He’s all domesticated and shit.”
Lawson smacked Nash upside the head. “Like you aren’t?”
They began to bicker back and forth, and I took that as my cue to leave. I slipped out of the conference room, made my way through the bullpen, and headed outside. It was cold, but the sky was clear, the sun glittering on the lake across the street.
I rounded the building to head for the parking lot, but my steps faltered as I took in two figures waiting just off police department property. I hadn’t seen Steven and Tyson since their episode revealing Aspen’s new identity and location came out. I hadn’t wanted to. I didn’t trust myself.
Now, I knew that had been the right move. Fury surged inside me as I stalked toward them.
Tyson paled a fraction, but Steven? He looked like he got a charge out of my anger. An ugly grin spread across his face. “Well, hello, officer.”
“Hope you’re watching your step,” I growled.
“We don’t need to watch shit,” Steven shot back. “We’ve got freedom of the press.”
“That freedom doesn’t carry to your personal lives. I hope neither of you has made any mistakes. I got a brother who can find anything, and since you decided to ignore the warnings of law enforcement, I’m going to let him unearth everything he can find about you.”
I’d text Holt the second I got into my truck and have him sic Anchor’s tech team on these two.
Redness crept up Steven’s throat. “You can’t threaten us. We’re press.”
I snorted. “You’re wannabe reporters who don’t have real jobs. And that wasn’t a threat. It was just a friendly heads-up as to what’s about to happen.”
Steven surged forward, but Tyson caught his shirt and hauled him back. “Shit, man, don’t hit him.”
Damn, I wished he would’ve gotten in a shot. Because then I could’ve thrown his ass in lockup.