The Hidden

“Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to pick you up? You’re a beautiful woman, you know.”


Coming from someone else, it would have been a compliment. From Diego right now, it was a professional observation, but it was still nice to hear, and she smiled. “Thanks. But I don’t think so. I actually know pick-up lines when I hear them, and that wasn’t one. He was probably just some drunk rambling on about who knows what. Although I ought to thank him, because he’s part of why Lieutenant Gray decided to let me go. They found a witness who saw me talking to him. Well, they saw me talking anyway. Their view must have been blocked, because they didn’t see him. Anyway, after I got away from him I went to hear a friend’s band, and he walked me to my car later.”

“I’m glad he made sure you were safe,” Diego said.

She would have liked it better if he’d sounded at least a little bit jealous.

It was her own fault that he wasn’t, of course. She had left him, and he had moved on.

Why hadn’t she?

“I wasn’t really worried at that point. The guy didn’t seem scary, just weird, and I didn’t know then that anyone had been killed.” She paused. “But actually,” she said, frowning, “when Eddie walked me to my car, I forgot about this earlier, but I felt as if I was being watched then, too. But not by the guy from earlier. By someone...different. Someone evil. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It was probably nothing, just my nerves being on edge because of the freaky thing with the photos. Then I got here and found out...” She stared him straight in the eyes. “Diego, how could those pictures have been on the camera?”

“How closely did you look at them?”

“Not very. I was too stunned. They were bloody, though. I remember that much.”

“And you never saw the murdered couple?”

“No. Only Ben saw them. And the police, of course.”

“I need to get my hands on that camera,” Diego said, “but for now, I’d like to meet everyone else here. Want to start at the stables?”

“Sure.”

It was noon; rides were scheduled for ten in the morning, and three and five in the afternoon. Every once in a while they planned a special night ride, but only for experienced riders.

Angus Fillmore was alone at the stables, sitting on a bale of hay and enjoying a sandwich. He liked Scarlet, and she was glad, because she loved the horses and liked spending time around them when she could.

“Angus, hey, I wanted you to meet my—a friend. Diego McCullough.”

“Well, howdy,” Angus said. He didn’t rise, but he did try to wipe the grease off his hand before he offered it to Diego.

“How are you doing?” Diego asked him.

Angus shook his head. “Bastards! Coming up here to kill people. I’m pissed off, is how I feel.” Then, as if realizing he should say something about the victims, he added, “Sorry, too, of course. Sorry as hell for that couple, whoever they were.”

“Anyone riding today?” Scarlet asked him.

Angus shook his head. “Nope. Ben made me cancel. Guess he wants to wait ’til they’ve got the crime-scene tape off the place. I hope to hell they catch the bastard quick.” He frowned, looking at Diego curiously. “Saw you arrive this morning with some official-looking people. You the law?”

“In a way,” Diego told him. “We’re FBI.”

“FBI?” Angus said, surprised. “They’re bringing in the big guns.”

“They didn’t bring us in. Not yet. We’re here to support a friend,” Diego said.

Angus looked at Scarlet, shaking his head. “Heard they took you in for questioning. Idiots.”

That was one of the things she liked about Angus, she thought. He had strong opinions and wasn’t at all opposed to voicing them.

“I’m pretty sure they figured that out,” Diego said.

“Well, glad you’re here. Maybe you’ll catch who did it. Animals, they only kill to survive. Human beings, they kill because they’re sick mothers. Anyway, good to meet you, and good to have you here. You ride?”