Dark Horse (Aspen Falls Novel)

by Melissa Pearl

  Taking a sip, he swallowed down the slightly bitter brew before asking, “Darlene Schnyder seemed absolutely convinced that her daughter would never run away like that. Why were you content to believe Vern over her?”

  Glenn’s head shook as he answered. “Because she wasn’t there when it happened. She didn’t have to face the battle Vern did.”

  “Why didn’t he call to warn her?”

  “You don’t pass on news like that over the phone,” Glenn said gruffly. “He needed to sit her down and explain calmly so she’d understand.”

  “Which she obviously didn’t.”

  “She was prone to flying off the handle. A very emotional woman. Vern was the quiet, calm one. He had the better relationship with his daughter. He adored his baby girl and she adored him. You’d see them together and know how close they were.”

  Nate was loath to suggest it, but felt he had to unpack the rumors Higgs had mentioned. “So…you were sure their relationship was innocent?”

  “Excuse me?” Coffee spilled out of Glenn’s mug as he thumped it down on the side table next to him. “If you’re suggesting that Vern was some sick child rapist, you can get the hell out of my house!”

  Nate quickly raised his hand. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to offend. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this. I know there were some rumors circulating, and I’m trying to figure out the true story.”

  “He didn’t do that to his kid. I don’t care what anyone else believed. It wasn’t true.”

  “So, why’d he take off?”

  “You try looking people in the face when they think you raped your child. You try looking the woman you love in the face when she’s thinking those things about you. I didn’t blame him for running. Not one bit. He’d just lost everything.” Glenn’s steely gaze hardened even more as his eyes narrowed. “Why? Why are you dredging this up now?”

  Nate clenched his jaw and set his coffee down. Resting his elbows on his knees, he said, “The skeleton of a teenage girl was found beneath the floorboards of the workshop behind the Schnyders’ old home. She was murdered.”

  The blood drained from Glenn’s face. “Well, it can’t be Mila. She ran away with that man. How many other families have owned that house?”

  “I’ve looked through all the possibilities, and one of my officers is chasing down a few leads, but Mila’s the closest bet. As soon as we secure her dental records, our forensic pathologist will see if they match. My guess is that it’s her, so now I’m looking for the person who killed her. I figure Mr. Schnyder might be able to tell me a little more about this man she ran away with. Do you know where he is?”

  Glenn didn’t speak for a moment. He turned away from Nate and licked his lips before finally rasping, “That’ll kill Vern for sure. Knowing his baby girl has died.”

  “I don’t want to burden him any more than I have to, but I want to close this case. Any victim deserves justice, sir, even if the crime happened years ago.”

  Glenn rubbed his head, blinking rapidly as he fought what looked to be a wave of sadness. “Poor Vern. It was such a mess. Darlene blamed him entirely. Accused him of all that nastiness when he was already mourning the loss of his baby girl. He was sure Mila would come back once she’d gotten over her first love, but Darlene just wouldn’t forgive him.” Glenn’s eyes glassed over. “He couldn’t stay after that. That woman’s anger was toxic, and he just couldn’t bear it.”

  Nate licked his lower lip and winced. “I hate to say it, but his sudden disappearance makes him look guilty. Surely as a former cop, you can see the way it looks.”

  “He was my friend!” Glenn pointed a quivering finger at Nate. “I believe in him. I understood.” He sank back into his seat, his head shaking slowly back and forth. “He left without even saying goodbye. I don’t know where he is, but Darlene cursed his name right up until the day she died. Their girl never came home. Darlene stayed in Aspen Falls waiting for her, even after the bank took the house. She stayed in a trailer nearby, walking past the house each day. Mila was never there. She never came back.”

  Probably because she was buried underneath the workshop. Nate kept the thought to himself.

  “So, you have no idea where Vern went?”

  Glenn shook his head. “I can’t help you.”

  Nate stared at the man, looking for a lie, but he couldn’t see one. From what he could tell, Glenn Marshall believed one hundred percent that Vern was an innocent, broken man. And his leaving town had hurt Glenn too.

  “Did you look for Mila? It says in your report that you were going to keep an eye out.”

  “I did.” Glenn bobbed his head. “But I think we all knew, deep down, that she was long gone.”

  Nate swallowed, the sadness in the old man’s voice affecting him too. “Well, I, um, appreciate your time today.”

  “I’m always happy to help the AFPD.” Glenn struggled out of his chair to walk Nate to the door.

  The news of the skeleton had clearly unsettled the older man. Nate could tell by the way his eyebrows dipped together, the look of sorrow etched onto his features.

  “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news,” Nate told him. “The remains might not be Mila Schnyder.”

  Glenn looked up with a sad smile. “But if they are, you need to find the truth. I don’t know who could’ve possibly killed that beautiful girl, but she deserves justice.”

  “I won’t stop working until I give it to her.”

  Glenn nodded and shook Nate’s hand again before opening the door and watching him leave.

  Nate waved one last time before hopping into his car. Driving back to Aspen Falls suddenly felt like a heavy burden. All that awaited him at the station were more questions…and what felt like an impossible search for a man who’d obviously wanted to leave Aspen Falls behind him.

  But Nate had to find him, because his gut was screaming loud and clear that the bones on Chad’s table belonged to Mila Schnyder and that girl’s father knew something that could help the case.

  18

  Tuesday, May 22nd

  10:25am

  The emergency room had that chaotic buzz to it.

  Doctors were shouting orders that nurses rushed to implement. Panicked people were pacing the waiting room while two children wailed and a distraught mother cried as they sat behind curtains, coping with the aftermath of a car accident.

  So far there had been no fatalities, but the man who’d just been rushed into the OR was touch and go. Sally couldn’t say anything to the family yet, so she remained with the man’s son, who was in agony as he waited for his leg to be X-rayed. He had a nasty compound fracture that the doctor had already inspected and dressed. The kid screamed bloody murder while that was being done. The sight of bone sticking out through skin can freak anyone out.

  She’d told him not to look down, but he couldn’t help himself. Poor kid.

  “I know it hurts, buddy. The pain relief will kick in soon. Once the X-rays are done, we’re going to get you into surgery and the doctor will straighten your leg up for you.”

  “I’m scared.” He hiccupped and shuddered beside her, tears and snot running down to his chin.

  She snatched a tissue and mopped him up. “I know. It’s really scary. But the doctors here are so good and before you know it, you’ll be running around with your friends again. Plus, you get time off school. That’s kind of cool, right?”

  The boy’s lips twitched slightly but didn’t form a smile.

  “Doc wants to know if he’s had a recent tetanus.” Lena stopped at the end of the bed with her pen and clipboard.

  “Yes, I checked with the mother. He had one about six months ago when he needed stitches for a gash in his arm. Abbey’s double-checking the records for me.”

  “Cool. I’ll pass that on. Orderly should be here in about two minutes.” Lena winked at the patient before turning to deal with the next in line.

  The boy whimpered. “What’s an orderly?”

  “It’s the very nic
e person who is going to wheel you down to X-ray.”

  “I want my dad.”

  “I know, but he’s busy right now, getting all fixed up. We’ve called your mom and she should be here any minute. In the meantime you’ve got me, and Spencer will be arriving any second to take you to X-ray.”

  The boy’s chin bunched, his lips trembling.

  “You know what I love about Spencer?” Sally ran her hand down the boy’s arm, tucking her fingers within his shaking digits. He took the comfort, squeezing hard while she tried to calm him. “Spencer’s got this really funny laugh. It’s like high and kind of squeaky. So if you have any good jokes up your sleeve, you have to try them out on him. It’s so worth it.” The boy looked at her like she was crazy, but she kept going. “You know any good jokes?”

  “I’ve got a knock-knock one,” he said quietly.

  “Okay, well when you guys get to the elevator, I want you to use it.”

  Spencer arrived just as she was finishing her sentence. Letting go of the boy’s hand, she walked around to Spencer and gave him the specifics. Just before he took the brake off the bed wheels, she leaned up and whispered in his ear. “Laugh at his knock-knock joke. And make it a really decent Spencer giggle, got it?”

  The tall, gangly man gave her a sideways glare before giving in with a grin and a nod.

  “Thank you,” she mouthed before turning back to the child. “You take care of yourself, and I’ll come visit you tomorrow, okay?”

  “Okay.” The boy still looked terrified and Sally worried how he’d cope, but as the bed started moving away from her, she heard him softly say, “Knock-knock.”

  Sally smiled and turned back to find out what she needed to do next.

  Abbey ordered her down to the last curtain where she got busy dressing the minor wounds of the main culprit. From what she’d gathered, the man was speeding and ran a red light, plowing into two vehicles. Because he was in a big pickup truck, he’d come away relatively unscathed, unlike the two other families.

  Sally couldn’t help a touch of anger toward his reckless driving, but she kept her mouth shut and still treated him with tender care. There was always a backstory, and even if his was selfish, he still deserved proper treatment.

  A rustle of the curtain made her glance over her shoulder.

  She spotted Blaine and her chest instantly constricted.

  It’d been nearly two weeks since she’d seen Nate driving by in his car. Since then life had been a busy rush of work, family, friends…and Oscar. He’d embedded himself into her life—picking her up after work, joining her for walks with Rusty and appearing at family dinners. He brought her flowers, took her to fancy restaurants, and basically treated her like a queen. It was hard not to enjoy it. She’d never been so pampered in her life.

  But seeing Blaine made thoughts of Nate come crashing forward, and she realized that she wasn’t anywhere close to getting over her ex-boyfriend.

  “Hello, Officer Hartford.” She cleared her throat and turned back to the patient. “I’m nearly done.”

  “I can wait.” Blaine spoke softly like he always did, his deep voice calm and undemanding.

  The man in the bed seemed twitchy, his agitation only growing when he spotted the police officer.

  “I need you to relax,” Sally said quietly.

  The man grunted and turned his head. She could understand his struggle. The man had ruined lives today, and the road to recovery would be long and painful. The consequences of his recklessness were really going to hurt.

  “All done.” Sally stepped back, pulling off her gloves and throwing them out as Blaine stepped into the room.

  “Simon Danforth, I’m Officer Hartford. I’d like to ask you a few questions about the incident this afternoon.”

  Sally slid the curtain closed to give them some privacy. The man would no doubt be under arrest, but he couldn’t be taken out of the hospital before the doctor had signed him off.

  Washing her hands, Sally dried them thoroughly before grabbing a quick glass of water.

  “Take ten, Sal.” Abbey pointed to the door.

  She obeyed immediately, knowing that Abbey would have things on a tight rotation. She needed to give her nurses quick bathroom breaks and snacks in order to keep them fresh for the long day ahead.

  Sally’s sneakers squeaked on the shiny floor as she headed for the bathroom. She relieved herself quickly and stepped into the break room to scarf down half a muffin before going back to work.

  Brushing the crumbs off her face, she headed back down the corridor and bumped into Blaine.

  “Hey.” He smiled down at her.

  She was forced to stop, even though her quaking innards were telling her to run before she felt too much. “How’s it going?”

  “Good.” He bobbed his head. “I haven’t seen you in a while. How are you doing?”

  “Yeah, okay.” She forced a bright smile. “I’m doing really well. Life’s busy with work and family. You know how it is.” She brushed her hand through the air. “How’s your dad?”

  “He’s keeping well, although living with Nate is driving him a bit insane. The guy can be a slob.”

  “Oh, yeah, he can.” Sally raised her eyebrows. Nate was always so distracted with work that picking up after himself was never high on his priority list. Sally hadn’t minded so much. She wasn’t a neat freak, and he made up for his messiness in other ways. Heat rose up her neck and she quickly blinked to clear her mind.

  “We miss you,” Blaine murmured.

  She flinched and looked up at him, unsure what to say. Her nose tingled. Her eyes began to burn.

  She didn’t want to miss them too. She was trying to move on…away.

  “Nate’s miserable without you,” Blaine kept going, making everything worse.

  She closed her eyes and dipped her head. She didn’t want to hear that! She was trying to move on!

  Blaine couldn’t hear her internal screaming so he kept torturing her. “I know why you broke up. I get it. And maybe deep down, Nate does too, but he’s too pig-headed to admit it. He’s hurting so he goes into defense mode, pushing everyone away.”

  “I can’t fix him, Blaine.”

  “I’m not asking you to.” His smile was kind when she opened her eyes and looked at him. “I guess I just wanted you to know that he’s a grumpy bastard without you. You always knew how to bring out the best in him. Take it as a compliment, not pressure. I just thought you should…you know…know.”

  “Thanks,” she croaked and started walking away before he could say any more. “Say hi to Rosie for me.”

  “Will do,” he called after her.

  She could feel his eyes following her all the way until she turned the corner.

  Leaning against the wall, she clenched her jaw and blinked at her stinging eyes.

  “Don’t cry,” she ordered herself. “It’s not your problem.”

  Her heart said otherwise, knotting inside her chest as she pictured Nate miserably sitting at his desk, overworked and stressed. His hair would be standing on end, his blue eyes blurry. He’d be wearing that cute scowl that made his eyebrows dip together.

  A small smile flitted over her lips as she pictured him…and all the ways she used to make him feel better. She’d always been able to unwind him, bring him out from under his clouds.

  She just wished she’d been able to figure out a way to keep him with her, away from the demons that drove and pestered him.

  But he kept going back, because she hadn’t been enough.

  And she probably never would be.

  19

  Tuesday, May 22nd

  11:45am

  You owe me lunch. I’ll meet you at Lulu’s in 15.

  Nate snickered at the message on his screen and shook his head. Jarrett had obviously gotten wind that the skeleton had been officially identified. Chad had called in the report on Friday. The dental records were a match for Mila Schnyder.

  Nate didn’t know how the hell Jarrett had foun
d out, but he knew he owed the guy lunch and a little information.

  With a reluctant sigh, he stood from his chair and grabbed his jacket. “I’m heading out to lunch. Be back in an hour or so.”

  Cam, her mouth full of muffin, gave him a thumbs-up.

  Slipping his phone into his pocket, he made his way to the parking lot and decided it was a nice enough day to walk. The sun was shining bright and the sky was his favorite kind of blue—deep and endless.

  He slipped on his shades and started the twenty minute walk to Lulu’s, running over what he was going to say to Jarrett when he got there. The reporter would pepper him for all he had, and Nate needed to be careful what he disclosed about the case. He’d managed to blow his friend off for the last couple of weeks, but Jarrett’s patience would only go so far. If Nate didn’t give him something, Jarrett would break the deal and who knows what he’d print.

  Nate didn’t want to reinforce the nasty rumors about Vern Schnyder. They were too sensational not to print, and the poor man didn’t need his name run through the mud over a decade later, especially when he wasn’t around to defend himself.

  After tracking down a few of Mila’s friends at the time, Nate was convinced Vern never touched his daughter inappropriately. Mila’s friends all assumed she’d run away with that guy she’d met over spring break. None of them knew much about him except the fact that he was this hot, older guy that Mila had fallen madly in love with. She was worried about losing him, so they met up in secret. He never hung out with them because Mila was too afraid of being seen in public with him. She knew her parents would never approve of her dating a man in his twenties, which was why she’d talked about running away with him. The sneaking around thing had gotten too hard.

  “Did she seem like the kind of person to follow through with that claim?” Nate had asked Mila’s closest friend from that year, while she distractedly watched her baby totter around the living room. The boy was obviously just learning to walk.