The Hidden

“Well, it’s good that we all know about your family connection now,” Brett said to Scarlet. “I hate to scare you, but if it has something to do with the killer’s motivation, better safe than sorry, you know?”


Scarlet shook her head. “I was just about to tell you, actually, once you mentioned the victims’ connection. I don’t mind telling you, I hope it’s just a coincidence that the killer murdered them here on what’s sort of the family property. Just how were they connected anyway?”

“Larry Parker traced himself back to Lindana Kendall, another one of Zachary’s daughters,” Brett said.

“We don’t know if it means anything or not,” Matt said, “so there’s no need to worry yet. There’s no way to know whether the killer knew that Larry had a family connection to the ranch, or even that he and Candace would be coming here from Denver. He might have chosen them totally at random. Wrong place, wrong time.”

“Seriously,” Scarlet said, “if someone was looking to kill a descendant of Nathan Kendall, it would be easy enough to find one. The newspaper made a big deal of it when Ben and Trisha bought the place.”

“The most likely explanation is either that the Parkers pissed off someone in town, or that the killer chose them for some reason of his own,” Brett said. “Either way, he got them up into the woods somehow, then killed them.”

“We have to follow up on anything that looks like a lead, though,” Meg said. “Most of the time we go through dozens of possibilities before getting to the truth.”

“But we’re not big believers in coincidence,” Matt said quietly, “so this connection is something we definitely need to investigate.”

“Okay,” Scarlet said, barely breathing. “What now?”

“I was thinking food,” Meg said. “We haven’t eaten all day. We should head into town and find a place that looks good.”

“Lunch?” Scarlet said. “Really?”

Diego smiled at that. “Relax, Scarlet. There’s always a hidden agenda. People talk. Business owners, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, other customers.”

“I’ll grab my bag,” she said.

“We’re not screwing up your work schedule or anything, are we?” Meg asked.

Scarlet shook her head. “The museum’s only open Thursday through Sunday. The rest of the time I catalog and research. My time is pretty much my own.”

She sounded good, Diego thought. Definitely stronger than she had when they’d arrived.

“So where do you suggest we go?” Meg asked.

“There are so many great restaurants in town, it’s hard to choose,” Scarlet said. “Estes Park is kind of the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, so it offers pretty much anything you can think of when it comes to restaurants and shopping. What do you feel like eating?”

“Food,” Matt answered for all of them. “I’ll go down and get our things while you guys decide who’s staying where, and then we’ll get going. We should spread out.”

“I’m taking the extra room here at the museum,” Diego said.

“We’ll head into the main house,” Matt said, looking at Meg.

She nodded.

“I guess that leaves me in the main house, too,” Brett said. “Though I’d like it better if you had some backup out here, Diego. And Adam can join us in the house when he gets here. There are plenty of rooms, right?”

“There are seven guest rooms, so you should be fine. There’s also space in the bunkhouse, but I don’t think you’ll need it,” Scarlet said.

“Brett, let’s go help Matt with the bags,” Meg said, rising.

A moment later Diego was alone with Scarlet, who was staring thoughtfully at the statue of Nathan Kendall. Then, as if she’d suddenly made a decision, she turned to Diego. “You can just sleep with me,” she said. “That way Brett can take the extra room and we’ll have backup here in the museum.”

“Scarlet...” he murmured uncomfortably.

“What? We were married for two years,” she said. “It’s not as if...”

“As if I’m not going to want you?” he asked quietly.