by R K Close
I had enough information to know the hiker’s death was not a cut and dried case, even if the sheriff refused to elaborate or speculate on the deaths. Sometimes, the things we don’t say speaks volumes. If the deaths turned out to be accidental, I could have still pull some serious screen time reporting on it.
I followed the direction he was pointing, and spotted three men standing in a huddle. They were staring at us.
“Thank you, Sheriff. I’ll go speak to them.” I turned toward Daisy, my camera person and friend. “Let’s do this, Daisy. I want to set the shot up with the forest as the backdrop. Can you do that?” I asked.
“Can a duck quack?” Daisy said, lugging her large camera on her small shoulder. Daisy was an attractive woman with curly brown hair that was usually hidden under a baseball cap. Her best feature was her soulful eyes, also hidden behind large, round black-rimmed glasses.
I had all the details the sheriff was willing to share for now. I needed to bring in a human element to the story, so I headed straight for the brothers. It was hard to miss the purely masculine portrait the three men made. All were ruggedly handsome and seemed well built.
I walked toward them, making a mental note of their attire—jeans and flannel shirts under down coats. Typical Flagstaff clothing. I noticed they didn’t wear gloves or beanies, like most of the other people on the scene. It didn’t look like the cold bothered them much. They must be natives of Flagstaff.
As for me, I was struggling to keep my teeth from chattering. I was a transplant from blazing hot Phoenix, and I’d been freezing my bootie off since summer. Hard to believe Flagstaff was in the same state. I didn’t even own the proper winter clothing for living here, and it had been six months already.
I watched as two of the men walked to an older model truck and got in. The other man, a tall, well-built guy with short blond hair and gorgeous blue eyes, looked right at me, then yelled to the sheriff that he was leaving.
Panicked, I began jogging to catch him before he left. “Excuse, me? Captain McKenzie?” I called.
The man stopped when he heard his name, but didn’t turn around right away. I had begun to wonder if he’d truly heard me when he turned toward me. I almost stopped breathing when I saw his face up close. It was like I had one of those déjà vu moments that can’t be explained.
But what surprised me even more was the look the captain gave me when he turned that handsome, yet hostile face my way.
Captain McKenzie glared at me like he hated me. “I’m leaving, Miss. What do you want?” he practically growled.
His acidic response caught me by surprise, because men usually had a more favorable response toward me. It made doing my job easier. Usually.
I corrected my face and gave him the friendliest smile I could manage. “Captain McKenzie, I’m—”
“I know who you are, and I’m not interested in being interviewed,” he said, turning to leave.
I looked at Daisy in confusion. Daisy shrugged her shoulders, but motioned for me to keep trying.
I cleared my throat and trotted after him. “I know this must have been a terrible ordeal, finding the bodies, but—” I had just reached his side and impulsively placed a hand on his as he reached for the door of the truck.
A spark, much like an electrical shock, passed up my arm, and I jerked my hand back. I couldn’t be sure, but it certainly seemed like Liam McKenzie felt the same thing. Surprise crossed his face for a shadow of a second, leaving his expression unguarded.
He was beautiful in an entirely male sort of way, and I felt my body flush in response. In that second, I thought I saw his eyes flash from blue to amber. It was an odd thing, and I couldn’t explain it, not completely confident that I’d seen it. I was momentarily at a loss for words, which rarely happened to me.
A second later—no more than the beat of the heart—his face returned to the angry hard lines I’d seen before. If anything, he was possibly more unfriendly toward me, and I had no idea why.
“No interview,” Liam barked as he climbed into the truck, closed the door, and started it up.
I looked at the brothers staring through the back window with curious expressions. The darker haired brother winked at me as I watched them drive away.
I turned to Daisy with a bewildered look. “What the hell do you think that was about?” I asked.
I dealt with people who didn’t wish to be interviewed all the time, but this was different. It felt personal, and that bothered me more than it should have.
“What did you do to him? I’ve never seen the McKenzie brothers run so fast. Damn, but that Seth is a handsome devil,” Daisy said.
“Was he the dark-haired one?” I asked.
“Yep. That’s him. He’s hard to pin down. I’ve tried, and so have half the women in Flagstaff,” Daisy said dreamily. “We had drinks one night. Made out like crazy, but he never called. Best night of my life.”
Daisy didn’t look offended, but I was indignant on her behalf. “I know that type. Not interested. What’s Captain McKenzie’s story?” I asked, curious about the rude, but undeniably sexy fire captain. Not that I’d give him the time of day, but I couldn’t help wondering what he was like when he wasn’t snarling like a pit-bull. Did he have a girlfriend? I didn’t really care, just curious.
“Where have you been?” Daisy said, lugging the camera back to the news van. She was a petite woman, so the camera may have weighed as much as she did. I had never touched the equipment because Daisy wouldn’t allow it. She claimed it was delicate and should only be handled by a professional.
“The McKenzie brothers are the most sought-after bachelors in Flagstaff, and maybe even Sedona, for that matter. I mean, did you see them? They’re excellent specimens of male sexuality at its finest. And there are three of them—in the same family!” Daisy placed the equipment in the back of the van, closed the doors, then leaned against them dramatically.
I admitted they were attractive, but I was only drawn to Liam for some reason...a fact that bugged me, since he’d brushed me off so rudely.
“I’m not done with Liam McKenzie. If he doesn’t answer my questions, I’ll go through his brothers. If they won’t help me, I’ll talk to the fire chief. I helped him with a fundraiser for his granddaughter’s school last month,” I said, climbing into the van.
“Careful, he didn’t seem to like you very much. I’d hate to see how he reacts if he’s backed into a corner,” Daisy said, starting the van.
I looked out the window as two stretchers with black body bags were carried from the forest and loaded into the coroner’s van. They hadn’t released the names, because the next of kin had not been notified, but the sheriff did confirm that both victims were twenty-six-years-old, one male, one female. Way too young to die, I’d thought sadly.
The deaths were classified as suspicious, pending further investigation. I wanted to tell their story. No matter what it was, they deserved that much.
As we drove out on the narrow dirt road, the only entrance to the small trailhead parking lot, we passed another van on the way to the scene. Daisy had to pull onto the narrow shoulder of the road to let them pass.
“Well, what do you know? Did we just get the drop on Brenda Jeffrey?” Daisy said slyly.
As if in slow motion, the other vehicle passed us. It was another KUTV news van. Inside were Brenda and her cameraman, Bernie. If looks could kill, I’d have been six feet under.
Brenda glared daggers at us when the vans passed. I decided to wave and pretend I didn’t notice how pissed off she was that we’d beaten them to the scene. Daisy and I shared a high-five when the other van was out of sight.
I pulled out my laptop to start my story and send off the preliminary report to my boss, Ken Turner, before Brenda could sink her claws in and claim it for herself. That woman was the bane of my existence, ever since I took the job at KUTV as a street reporter six months earlier.
More than a few times, Brenda seemed to arrive on the scene and steal the story right ou
t from under me. I worked long hard hours, often sleeping with the police scanner next to my bed, just to catch the next story that could launch my career.
The problem was, nothing much ever happened in Flagstaff, but if I managed to shine enough with my humdrum news reports, I might be noticed and hopefully picked up by a national news channel in a large city. That was the game plan, anyway. I had become an expert at making the mundane happenings around town seem exceptional, or at least interesting when I reported on them.
On the drive back, I managed to get my copy off to the editing director, and then placed a call to my connection at the coroner’s office.
“Hey, Eric, Jessica Parker here.” I had him on speaker phone in the news van. Daisy rolled her eyes and slid her finger across her throat.
“Hey, Jessica. I was just thinking about you,” Eric said.
Daisy and I rolled our eyes. Eric had been asking me out the entire six months I’d been in Flagstaff. He didn’t take no for an answer, but his determination hadn’t changed my mind, either.
“Oh, that’s nice. Hey, Eric, I’m calling about the two campers they’ll be bringing your way today. You’ve probably been given a heads-up, right?” I asked.
“Um, you know I can’t share that information with you, Jessica.”
“I’m not asking for much. I just want to hear the cause of death before anyone else. Can you do that favor for me?” I begged.
“Well...as long as you don’t ask me for any more detail before they’re released. You can’t quote me. It won’t be official,” Eric warned.
“Deal. I just need to know first, and I won’t use your name,” I assured him.
“Okay, how about lunch today?” Eric offered.
Daisy threw me a warning look and shook her head. I hesitated, chewing on my lower lip. I had no desire to have lunch with Eric because I knew he liked me and...well, I didn’t like him. He was attractive enough, but there was zero chemistry on my side. Besides, I was too busy to date, anyway.
“Jessica, you still there? Jess?”
“Yes, yes. I’m still here. Sorry, I got distracted,” Daisy snorted out a laugh. I gave her a dirty look. “Sure, I’ll meet you for lunch. Where?”
Daisy slapped her own forehead. I motioned for her to watch the road.
“How about the Toasted Squirrel Cafe? At noon?”
I slumped in my seat. “Sure. See you then.” The things I endured for my career.
“See you then,” Eric said, a little too enthusiastically.
I ended the call. Daisy just shook her head. “Sucker.”
“It’s just lunch. It won’t kill me. It’s only an hour, right?” I said, possibly trying to convince myself more than Daisy.
“It’s your hole to step into, not mine, but I’d step into it for you,” Daisy added.
We had just arrived back to the KUTV news building. I stopped walking and stared at Daisy. “Wait. Do you have a thing for Eric?” I asked.
Daisy realized I had stopped walking, so she stopped. “Of course not. But he is kind of hot, even if he’s not your type. I’d go for it, but he’s got a thing for you, so...” Daisy shrugged her shoulders like she didn’t really care one way or another, but I felt terrible that I hadn’t noticed or figured this out on my own.
“Maybe he would, if he knew you were interested,” I said casually.
“Don’t go turning Cupid on me. He’s not interested, and I don’t care,” Daisy stated.
“Okay.” I walked past Daisy after we entered the building and headed toward my cubicle. Only the anchors had actual offices. One day, I planned to have a real office.
“Wait, are you saying you’ll drop it? Leave it alone?” Daisy jogged to catch up with me.
“Sure. If that’s what you want,” I said matter-of-factly.
Daisy looked unsure. I gave her a brilliant smile before slipping into my chair and opening my laptop. Daisy shrugged and went to the tech room, most likely to begin reviewing the footage for a couple of stories we were working on. I scribbled Daisy’s and Eric’s names on a post-it note and slipped it in my pocket.
I opened Google and typed Liam McKenzie into the browser. “Let’s see what we can find on you, Captain Stick-up-your-butt.” I smiled to myself, thinking how much I suspected he would hate that nickname.
One thing was for sure, Liam McKenzie had gotten under my skin somehow. I’d found it difficult to think of anything else.
4
Liam
We arrived at the fire station to relieve the crew who had covered for us. I managed to avoid one newspaper journalist and two other news channel reporters, all vying for the best scoop on the deceased campers.
I made it crystal clear that none of the McKenzies would be giving statements. The paramedics, Dave and Tyler, wanted details, so Seth filled them in with our modified version of events. It was the buzz around the station for a couple hours before it quickly became old news. Nothing like running emergency calls on a regular basis to desensitize someone to traumatic events.
I was glad the fuss had died down, but I couldn’t help but feel concerned about the way the campers died. Was there a new monster among us? Was it still here? I needed to know how the hikers died. I had a bad feeling, like a dark cloud was hovering over my town.
My town. When had it become my town? We’d lived in Flagstaff, Arizona for almost eight years. Somewhere during that time, it became home. Even though the good people of Flagstaff knew nothing of how different we were, they’d accepted us as their own.
I was in the office filling out reports for several minor calls we’d run that morning when Seth stuck his head in the door. “Guess who’s calling again?”
I leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “How many is that? It has to be a record.”
Seth smirked, “Nine, but who’s counting?”
I rubbed my hands across my face as if that might erase the tenacious blonde reporter from my mind and my growing list of possible problems.
“What do you want me to say?” Seth asked, looking amused.
I had begun to think Jessica Parker was not the sort of woman to be easily ignored. If she hadn’t been such a thorn in my side, and so much wasn’t at stake, I could have appreciated her tenacious spirit.
“I don’t think she’s going to go away, even if we ignore her,” I said.
“Then maybe you meet her in the middle. You control the interview. It might get her off our backs, and it’ll eventually blow over,” Seth offered.
“You may be right, but I’m worried she’ll keep digging.”
“Or she might get her interview and happily move on to annoy someone new,” Seth offered, and we both smiled.
“Okay, I’ll take her call and set up an interview, but only me. I don’t want her finding some small discrepancy in our individual accounts,” I said, reaching for the phone on the desk.
“Or you just want to keep her all for yourself,” Seth teased, leaving the office before I could respond.
I squeezed my eyes shut. When I opened them, I pushed the flashing light on the phone and answered, “Captain McKenzie.”
There was a long pause, and I wondered if she’d hung up after waiting so long.
“Oh, Captain McKenzie. I didn’t expect you to answer,” Jessica said.
Her voice evoked the same physical reaction it had when she’d spoken earlier that morning. A strange feeling passed through me that I had no words for, and it instantly made me cross. I needed to bring my A-game with this woman.
“You called me, right?” There was a pause. “What can I do for you, Ms. Parker?” I asked, trying to make my tone neutral and detached.
“Yes, but since you refused to take any of my previous calls, it caught me off guard. Thank you, by the way.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For taking my call. You’d really make my day if you’d let me interview you about the hikers,” Jessica said.
“Fine.”
Another pause. �
�Really?”
“No camera.” I didn’t want my face broadcast across the news channels. We’d done well to disappear from our past life. One interview could ruin everything my brothers and I had sacrificed in order to protect ourselves.
“Okay. I’ll agree to those terms. When can we meet?” she asked.
“Meet me at the Burning Moon at eight tomorrow evening,” I said.
Another pause. “All right. I’ll meet you there. Thank you, Captain,” she said.
I hung up the phone and began visualizing Jessica Parker sitting on a bar stool. I instantly regretted asking her to meet me there. This would be so much easier if I wasn’t attracted to her—drawn to her, even.
Cole came into the office. “I heard you’re meeting that reporter.”
As usual, Cole was excited, which only made me second guess my decision some more. “Yes. We’re meeting at the Burning Moon tomorrow.”
“Sounds like a date,” Cole said, grinning like he knew a secret.
“It’s not like that. You, Seth, and I were going anyway. But don’t get any ideas. I only agreed to an interview with me and no cameras. You and Seth are still under strict orders to avoid her,” I added.
“I see what you’re doing there,” Cole said, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
The tones sounded throughout the station, signaling an emergency call coming in. We listened as a dispatcher’s voice came over the intercom system. “Engine seven, medic seven, respond to west Phoenix Avenue and South Miles Pike. Unconscious person. Respond code 3, on F2.”
Cole and I were already heading for the engine bay where the fire engine and medic trucks waited. Seth was already behind the wheel of the fire engine, and the large metal doors were rising as Cole and I stepped into our boots and pulled on our fire turnouts before climbing into the cab.
I pulled on the headset and adjusted the microphone. The head-sets protected our hearing and allowed us to communicate with dispatch, as well as one another, above the loud noise of the sirens and the engine itself.
