Cradle.
To the very spot where Trey had been killed.
Her blood surged with vindication. It didn’t prove a thing. Any more than finding the helmet did.
It didn’t prove that Rooster was right. That,
it wasn’t no accident out there …
But he was damn well right on one thing.
Trey hadn’t been alone yesterday morning. Someone had definitely been here.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Who the hell would want to kill Trey?” Wade screwed up his eyes, staring at the helmet Dani dropped on his desk.
“I don’t know who’d want to kill him. But I told you he was wearing a helmet and he was. You see any significant dents on it anywhere? Don’t you think if he received a head injury severe enough to kill him, there’d be some evidence on it somewhere?”
Wade’s response was laced with impatience and rising frustration. “I’m not sure
what
I’m supposed to think.” He took off his glasses and looked it over. “And you’re saying this proves what …?”
“It proves he wasn’t wearing it when he sustained his head injury. And the next question would be, Wade, how do you explain it coming off?”
“Don’t teach me my job, Danielle. And I don’t know how the hell it came off. Maybe he hit his head aside a rock. Maybe he took it off himself for some reason. To breathe. To take a leak for all I know. But this is all starting to cross the line. You’re coming to me with this helmet, claiming it was Trey’s, and that someone made their way down the rocks and then did what, lay in wait for him, to
kill
him …? Not even knowing for certain if he’d even be there.”
“I know how it sounds. But Trey did a seven A.M. run a couple of times a week, so it wasn’t a long shot that he’d be there. And I was looking around on the ridge above where I think it all might have happened and I found something else.”
“You did …?” Wade’s look of impatience was now amped up into the range of exasperation. “Surprise me, Danielle.”
“I found a path. In the brush above the river. Leading back to the road. From exactly the spot where Trey had to have been killed.”
“You mean where you think he had his accident, Dani. And if I need to remind you, there are paths all over the heights above that river. You and I have been through dozens of them. I don’t see what one more proves.”
“This one leads directly from the road to the spot just above the Baby’s Rattle.”
“The Baby’s Rattle …?”
“It’s a rapid on the upper Cradle where I think Trey was killed. Look, I know how it sounds, Wade. But I also found fresh tire marks near the road where that particular path came out.”
“Dani.”
“Which means someone else was there, and—”
“
Dani!
” She stopped. Wade sat back down. “We’re dealing with a lot here. And this is starting to strain my nerves. Someone kills Trey in the river and then sabotages your pal Ron’s balloon to keep it covered up?”
“He’s not my pal, Wade. He wasn’t even a friend. But that’s not even the point. The point is … I don’t know what it is …” She sat down, trying to lay out her argument with everything swimming around crazily in her head. “The point is we all know Trey could have done that run with his eyes closed. So how does he just upend, lose his helmet, crack his head. And then couple that with what Rooster saw …?”
“What he claimed to see …”
“What he
saw,
Wade. He knew exactly what Trey was wearing. And with Trey’s helmet not being on him … and those fresh tire marks on this path. I just think it’s something worth looking into. If you’re not so interested, maybe someone at the
Aspen Times
might be. Or Sheriff Warrick.”
Wade stared back at her, and this time with a lot more than merely frustration. “You must be kidding, young lady.”
“I’m not kidding, Wade.”
“You know what you’re saying?”
“I’m just saying someone else might find this all adds up to something. Enough to look into. Did you check
To the very spot where Trey had been killed.
Her blood surged with vindication. It didn’t prove a thing. Any more than finding the helmet did.
It didn’t prove that Rooster was right. That,
it wasn’t no accident out there …
But he was damn well right on one thing.
Trey hadn’t been alone yesterday morning. Someone had definitely been here.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Who the hell would want to kill Trey?” Wade screwed up his eyes, staring at the helmet Dani dropped on his desk.
“I don’t know who’d want to kill him. But I told you he was wearing a helmet and he was. You see any significant dents on it anywhere? Don’t you think if he received a head injury severe enough to kill him, there’d be some evidence on it somewhere?”
Wade’s response was laced with impatience and rising frustration. “I’m not sure
what
I’m supposed to think.” He took off his glasses and looked it over. “And you’re saying this proves what …?”
“It proves he wasn’t wearing it when he sustained his head injury. And the next question would be, Wade, how do you explain it coming off?”
“Don’t teach me my job, Danielle. And I don’t know how the hell it came off. Maybe he hit his head aside a rock. Maybe he took it off himself for some reason. To breathe. To take a leak for all I know. But this is all starting to cross the line. You’re coming to me with this helmet, claiming it was Trey’s, and that someone made their way down the rocks and then did what, lay in wait for him, to
kill
him …? Not even knowing for certain if he’d even be there.”
“I know how it sounds. But Trey did a seven A.M. run a couple of times a week, so it wasn’t a long shot that he’d be there. And I was looking around on the ridge above where I think it all might have happened and I found something else.”
“You did …?” Wade’s look of impatience was now amped up into the range of exasperation. “Surprise me, Danielle.”
“I found a path. In the brush above the river. Leading back to the road. From exactly the spot where Trey had to have been killed.”
“You mean where you think he had his accident, Dani. And if I need to remind you, there are paths all over the heights above that river. You and I have been through dozens of them. I don’t see what one more proves.”
“This one leads directly from the road to the spot just above the Baby’s Rattle.”
“The Baby’s Rattle …?”
“It’s a rapid on the upper Cradle where I think Trey was killed. Look, I know how it sounds, Wade. But I also found fresh tire marks near the road where that particular path came out.”
“Dani.”
“Which means someone else was there, and—”
“
Dani!
” She stopped. Wade sat back down. “We’re dealing with a lot here. And this is starting to strain my nerves. Someone kills Trey in the river and then sabotages your pal Ron’s balloon to keep it covered up?”
“He’s not my pal, Wade. He wasn’t even a friend. But that’s not even the point. The point is … I don’t know what it is …” She sat down, trying to lay out her argument with everything swimming around crazily in her head. “The point is we all know Trey could have done that run with his eyes closed. So how does he just upend, lose his helmet, crack his head. And then couple that with what Rooster saw …?”
“What he claimed to see …”
“What he
saw,
Wade. He knew exactly what Trey was wearing. And with Trey’s helmet not being on him … and those fresh tire marks on this path. I just think it’s something worth looking into. If you’re not so interested, maybe someone at the
Aspen Times
might be. Or Sheriff Warrick.”
Wade stared back at her, and this time with a lot more than merely frustration. “You must be kidding, young lady.”
“I’m not kidding, Wade.”
“You know what you’re saying?”
“I’m just saying someone else might find this all adds up to something. Enough to look into. Did you check
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