On Deadly Ground by Michael Norman Page B

didn’t mean it to sound so harsh.”
    â€œIt’s okay, really, it is. What’s the local gossip saying about me?”
    She stiffened at the question and momentarily looked away. “This is a small town, J.D. People like to talk. The story going around is that you were forced out of the Denver police department because of two fatal shootings. Rumor has it that after the second one, you went home and caught your wife in bed with another guy and almost killed him.”
    â€œExcept for a couple of details, the local gossip is pretty much on target.”
    They promised to get together after things calmed down.
    ***
    Books drove to the office and began organizing the murder book. He divided a three-ring binder into sections. In Denver, he’d learned the value of recording every thought, note, and report pertinent to the investigation in the book, no exceptions. It helped him stay focused and organized.
    As much as he hated to admit it, his penchant for organization was a learned trait driven into him by his father. Bernie was obsessed about organization. It didn’t matter whether it was clothes in his closet, which were always neatly arranged, or tools in the garage. Everything for Bernie had its place. Books learned from an early age that if he borrowed a screwdriver from Bernie’s workbench, he’d better put it back. It didn’t take long for Bernie to notice any misplaced tool. Unpleasant consequences always followed.
    From the start several things about this case had Books concerned. He could feel the town hunkering down, waiting for the out-of-town press to leave and for the heat from the ongoing investigation to blow over. He needed to do something that encouraged people with information to step forward and cooperate.
    And then there was the homicide itself. He wondered why anybody would risk moving the body miles from the kill site. Hanging a dead man and pinning a note to his shirt was symbolic, designed to frighten and perhaps paralyze not only the Escalante Environmental Wilderness Alliance but other environmental groups as well. As the news of Greenbriar’s murder swept across other Western states, it might have a chilling effect on the environmental movement. Maybe that’s what the killer intended. On the other hand, the killing might provoke an angry, violent response from environmental activists.
    And there was more. How did the killer know where to find Greenbriar? Had he been followed? Had somebody with inside knowledge tipped the killer by providing Greenbriar’s hiking itinerary? Books decided to contact Darby and find out who, besides herself, would have known where and when the victim went hiking.
    The killer also had to know that the police would have little difficulty locating the spot where the fatal shot was fired. So why leave traceable physical evidence at the murder scene? The murder had an amateurish feel about it that didn’t make sense.
    It was time to stir the community pot, and Books had an idea what might do it. He also wanted the names of EEWA and CFW members. Citing privacy concerns, Darby Greenbriar had already refused, and Books expected Neil Eddins would do the same. He placed a call to Sheriff Sutter. After a couple of minutes on hold, the sheriff picked up.
    â€œMorning J.D., what’s up?”
    â€œI need your help on a couple of things, Charley.”
    â€œShoot.”
    â€œI’d like you to schedule a press conference this afternoon. I’ll prepare a written statement, but I’d like you to be there with me.”
    â€œSuits me. They’ve been hanging around my office like vultures circling a dead carcass. Maybe this will get them off my back for a while.”
    â€œMaybe, but I wouldn’t count on it. I’ve got a couple of them camped in front of my office, too.”
    â€œWhat are we going to tell them?”
    â€œI’m working on that, but let’s agree on what we’re not going to