Dark Horse (Aspen Falls Novel)

by Melissa Pearl

  It was taking a long time for anyone to come to the door. Nate was about to give up and check out the rest of the property when the front door clicked and then opened a fraction.

  A tall man with weathered skin and sad brown eyes stared out at him.

  “Vern Schnyder?” Nate reached for his ID. “I’m Detective Hartford from the Aspen Falls PD.” He didn’t even have a chance to finish his sentence before the man took off back into the house. He was stupid enough not to close the door behind him, so Nate bolted through it, chasing the guy down the narrow corridor and right out the back door.

  “Hey! Stop!” Nate jumped down the back steps and pumped his arms, easily catching up to the lumbering man. He tackled him onto the wet grass and held him steady, blinking against the raindrops hitting his face.

  The big guy was wheezing like a chain smoker, his arms slackening as Nate drew them behind his back. He couldn’t feel any fight in the guy so chose to hold off cuffing him.

  “You know running makes you look guilty, right? You don’t even know what I’m here about.”

  “I didn’t abuse my own daughter. She didn’t run away because of me!” Vern wailed.

  “Okay.” Nate nodded and eased off a little.

  “I’d never touch her that way. She was my baby girl. I love her. I respect her. I’d never…” The man’s chest heaved. “I lost her. I lost her.” He sounded broken and for a moment Nate thought the droplets streaking down his face might have been tears.

  A sympathy Nate didn’t understand tore through him. There was something so damaged about the guy.

  “I believe you,” he finally said. “Now, I want to be able to let you go and talk to you face-to-face. Are you going to let me do that?”

  The man’s large head shuffled on the ground as he nodded and Nate got to his feet, still ready to pounce if he had to. The large man pulled himself up on shaking legs and turned to face him. Wiping the wet hair off his forehead, he blinked at Nate and murmured, “Why are you here? After all this time, why do the police want to question me now?”

  Taking a moment to study his reaction, Nate slowly eased into the truth. “We’ve found your daughter’s remains.”

  “Remains.” The man shuddered, his legs buckling. Nate reached forward to steady him, dreading what he had to say next.

  “They were discovered on your old farm in Aspen Falls. Dental records have confirmed it’s her. And we have a few questions that need answering.”

  “Mila,” he whispered, the man’s shoulders beginning to shake. Bending forward with a broken wail, he braced his hands on his knees.

  Nate gave him a minute then gently asked, “Would you be willing to help us?”

  Vern didn’t say anything. He just went still, sniffing occasionally before eventually swiping a finger under his nose. Nate was kind of surprised he wasn’t cursing the boyfriend and wailing accusations into the rain, but he simply stayed silent.

  “Come on, let’s get out of this rain.” Nate gently took Vern’s arm and led him back toward the house. The man followed without a word, veering around to the front of the house when Nate tried to lead him to the back door.

  “Hey.” Nate chased after him and skidded to a surprised stop when he watched Vern walk around to the back of Nate’s car. Opening the back door, he slipped inside and slammed it shut behind him.

  Nate’s eyebrows dipped together in confusion.

  Running over to the car, he opened the back door and shielded his face from the increasing rain. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m assuming you need to take me in.” The man’s voice was soft and hollow. “If that’s my girl, I want to see her.”

  “I don’t think you want to see her like this,” Nate murmured.

  The man blinked. “Take me in.”

  Nate frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the house. “Do you need any of your stuff?”

  The man shook his head. “There’s nothing of value in there.”

  Nate sighed, still confused by the man’s bizarre behavior. “If you prefer, I can follow your truck down.”

  “That thing’s not going to make it to Aspen Falls,” the man scoffed. “Just drive. Just…drive.” His voice broke on the final word, and Nate got into the car without argument.

  He’d never had someone run in fear and then willingly get into his car.

  As he started the ignition, his body was on full alert. He didn’t know what the hell was going on with Vern Schnyder, but he wanted to be prepared for whatever the guy might come up with next.

  26

  Friday, May 25th

  1:35pm

  Annabelle clipped up the front section of Sally’s hair and combed out the back. Sally had arrived at her sister’s salon about twenty minutes earlier to take advantage of the free cut her sister always offered. They’d booked it in the week before and Sally hadn’t felt like going, but she knew Annabelle would ask why and then she’d have to come out with the whole story. It was easier just to go along, and Sally hoped it might relax her. She usually loved getting her hair cut.

  Grabbing her scissors off the counter, Annabelle started to trim Sally’s wet strands, taking off just half an inch as instructed.

  Sally gazed at the mirror, studying the shape of her face and trying to avoid making eye contact with her reflection. She didn’t want to see inside of herself, because she knew all she’d find was utter turmoil.

  Oscar loved her. At least that’s what he’d said, and she was struggling not to believe it. The look on his face had been so earnest and sweet.

  “You seem quiet today,” Annabelle said. “Everything okay?”

  A hair dryer started up just behind them, and Sally waited for Chantel to finish styling her client’s hair before softly answering her sister. She was grateful for the wait. She needed time to think of a good reason, but in the end she whispered the truth. “Oscar told me he loves me.”

  “What?” Annabelle’s large eyes rounded, her smile radiant in the mirror.

  Before Sally could tell her to calm down, Chantel came rushing over. “Don’t start without me.”

  Hurrying her client to the counter, Chantel sped through the payment and led the lady out the door before running back to sit in the spare seat beside Sally. “Start from the beginning. What happened?”

  Swallowing hard, Sally eased her eyes open, but kept them on her fidgeting fingers. “Oscar took me out for dinner last night…and told me that he loves me.”

  “Holy heck!” Chantel giggled. “That is so sweet.” Her perfectly manicured hands curled around Sally’s arm. “I’m so excited for you.”

  Sally managed a weak smile, but she couldn’t speak.

  “I guess the question is why aren’t you more excited?” Annabelle raised her eyebrows before focusing back on Sally’s hair.

  For a moment, all that could be heard was the clean snip of scissors cutting hair and Chantel’s barely veiled excitement as she kind of whined in her throat, desperate for more romantic news.

  “You’re killing me here,” Chantel quickly snapped. “Would you hurry up and tell us why a gorgeous English guy confessing his love for you is a bad thing!”

  “It’s not a bad thing. It’s just…” Sally sighed. “I saw Nate last night.”

  Chantel gasped and Annabelle went taut behind her.

  Sally caught her sister’s tight expression in the mirror and quickly glanced away. “He followed us to the restaurant…to…talk to me.”

  “About what?” Chantel squeezed her arm.

  “He wanted to know if I was happy. He seemed kind of sad and upset that I’d moved on so fast.”

  Annabelle scoffed. “What was he expecting you to do, wait around until he got his act together? Please.”

  Sally didn’t respond, her heavy heart weighing more than it usually did.

  Chantel gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know you still love him, and you probably always will a little bit. But he’s never there, Sal. That’s why you broke up with him. And un
less he showed up last night to say sorry and tell you he’s going to try, then you need to move on.”

  “Did he say that?” Annabelle’s eyes rounded.

  Sally shook her head. The lump in her throat hurt.

  Deep down she knew Nate would never do that. Because he didn’t get it. He didn’t really understand why she’d left him.

  Working too hard wasn’t exactly a sin. He no doubt felt completely abandoned by Sally…and now she was moving on to someone else.

  Annabelle sighed and rubbed her shoulder. “Look, Oscar is here and he loves you. Those are two really good things. Why not just enjoy the now?”

  Sally nibbled her thumbnail, something she hadn’t done in a long time. “Because I’m not sure.”

  Annabelle smacked her hand and mumbled, “Don’t bite your nails.” Coming around to Sally’s left side, she let out one of the clips and began trimming that section of hair. “Oscar has been treating you like a queen, and I get that seeing Nate last night has thrown you, but come on, sis. It’s Oscar. He’s adorable.”

  Sally wrinkled her nose. “It just feels so fast. We’ve only been dating for a little while and he’s already saying he loves me and inviting me to spend the weekend with him at the lake house.”

  “No way!” Chantel squealed. “I love that place. With just the two of you, it will be so romantic!”

  “Yeah, Dad offered it to him and he really wants to go.” Sally internally cringed. Dad had never once offered the lake house to Nate. It was reserved for family members and a select few only. She’d insisted Nate join them for a few family getaways, but they’d never had the lake house to themselves.

  Her father obviously adored the idea of her and Oscar together. It should’ve made Sally happy, but it just felt like another weight bearing down on her.

  “I think you should do it,” Annabelle said.

  Sally looked doubtfully into the mirror, suddenly wishing she hadn’t said anything.

  Her sister caught her expression and laughed. “Come on, it’s a good idea. It’ll give you an overnighter with Oscar to really see how you feel. You don’t have to sleep with him or anything, just spend some uninterrupted time hanging out. If he drives you nuts by the time you come home, you can tell him that it’s moving too fast.”

  “Or you can figure out that maybe Oscar is everything you’ve been waiting for.” Chantel swooned. “Either way, it’s not going to hurt.”

  Sally made a face. “It’ll hurt him if we go away for a weekend and then I turn around and dump him.”

  “Who said anything about dumping?” Annabelle lightly slapped her shoulder. “I said slow things down. He seems like a reasonable guy. You can just say you need to cool off a little. He’ll understand.”

  “I don’t know, you guys.” Sally’s nose wrinkled.

  “A weekend away at the lake house sounds delicious,” Chantel said, jumping up from her seat and sweeping the floor in preparation for her next client. “You should do it just to get out of Aspen Falls for the night. You’re not working, and you can’t deny that being by the lake will be far more peaceful and enriching then curled up in your room lamenting the way things didn’t work out with Nate.”

  Chantel was right. The lake house always restored her soul. The smell of the trees, the sun glistening off the water…

  Her heart had already thrilled to the idea, even if it was just the lake house that made her feel that way and not the man who would be accompanying her.

  Biting the edge of her lip, she mulled it over while Annabelle finished cutting her hair. Chantel’s next client arrived, which gave Sally a little room to think.

  Annabelle finished the cut, then blow-dried her hair. She always felt so beautiful when her sister was done.

  “Thank you.” She fingered the ends of her golden locks while Annabelle bent over her shoulder and caught her eye in the mirror. “The lake house is a good idea. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah,” Sally eventually whispered. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Annabelle’s smile was sunshine. Sally rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone before she changed her mind.

  Oscar answered after the first ring. “Good afternoon, lovely lady.”

  Sally smiled. His voice was so sweet. “Hi, I, um… well, I was thinking about the lake house idea you mentioned last night.”

  “And?” His voice rose with obvious excitement.

  “It’s a really nice idea. We could drive up tomorrow and…spend the night.” She swallowed and then quickly added, “There’s plenty of rooms, so you can have a whole king bed to yourself.”

  She caught Annabelle’s expression in the mirror and cringed.

  Sally closed her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t be offended, but she didn’t want the pressure of sex. If one thing led to another, then that was fine, but she could do without the huge expectation.

  “I can’t think of a better way to spend my weekend.” Oscar was smiling, Sally could tell by the lilt of his voice.

  With a relieved breath, she opened her eyes. “Great. So, do you want to pick me up tomorrow morning, then?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll see you then, my love.”

  “Bye.” She hung up and deflated in the chair.

  “Wow, you’re like the queen of romance.” Annabelle’s sarcastic quip made Sally raise her middle finger. Her sister laughed and kissed her cheek. “Just go be happy. Forget about Nate and enjoy Oscar.”

  Sally frowned at her sister’s reflection. “Why have you always been so anti-Nate?”

  Annabelle spun Sally’s chair around and bent down to look her in the eyes. “I wasn’t at first. I thought he was tall and gorgeous. A little closed-off and he never really smiled around us, but I was willing to try because you liked him so much.” Annabelle’s eyes dipped to Sally’s lap, then she looked up with a sad smile. “But then you started to cry. He was never around, and I’ve spent too many hours watching you be miserable and listening to you miss him.”

  “You guys never even gave him a chance,” Sally whispered.

  “He didn’t give us much of one either.” Annabelle looked a little offended before pasting on a confident smile and touching Sally’s cheek. “Besides, you’re our Sally. We have to protect you.”

  “From what? An amazing man?”

  “He’s not a god, sis,” Annabelle scolded. “He’s closed-off and addicted to work. I still don’t understand why you stayed with him for so long.”

  Sally’s voice dropped to a breathy murmur. “You didn’t know him like I did. I saw who he could be, and it stole my heart.”

  With a little huff, Annabelle grabbed the broom and started sweeping up the floor. “Look, he may have stolen your heart, but he doesn’t know how to look after it. Oscar does. I know you may not want to hear that, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to. You can’t force Nate to be something he’s not. You need to let go of that pipe dream and move on with a reality that could be amazing.”

  Sally lifted her feet so Annabelle could sweep under her chair. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she stared at the floor until her vision blurred and her heart started to crack down the center.

  27

  Friday, May 25th

  3:35pm

  The drive back to Aspen Falls was uneventful. Vern didn’t say a word. Nate stopped at a gas station halfway back and bought two bottles of water and a muffin for each of them. Vern took his without a word and left them on the seat beside him.

  Nate nibbled at his food but wasn’t hungry, so he ended up sipping on the water and stealing glances in the rearview mirror.

  Vern remained expressionless the entire ride back to Aspen Falls and it was damn near painful.

  Anxious to get on with it, Nate parked at the station and quickly led Vern to the interview room.

  “Can I get you a water, or a soda? Coffee?”

  The man shook his head, threading his fingers together and looking like his life was over.

  “We’ll do an interview f
irst, and then I’ll take you to see the remains…if you still want to.”

  The man gave a stiff nod, but wouldn’t look at Nate.

  “Let me set up the recording equipment.”

  Vern flinched, his expression grave.

  Nate left the room, which locked automatically behind him, and hustled through the station to let Kellan know what was happening.

  “He came back with you?” Kellan frowned and got out of his chair.

  “He wants to see the remains.”

  Kellan nodded. “Fair enough.”

  Leaning on the doorframe, Nate sighed. “He’s pretty cut up about it. I mean, he showed a little emotion when I first told him, but he hasn’t said a word since. I thought I’d do the interview first. His emotions might rise to the surface when he sees the bones.”

  “He’s finally getting closure,” Kellan clipped, his expression tight as he no doubt thought about his own missing daughter. They’d never found her. “Everyone processes differently. Hopefully he’ll want to help us find the killer. Do you want me to come watch?”

  “Uh, yeah, actually, if you’re free. Saves me hassling Cam.”

  “I’ll be down in just a minute.” Kellan’s nod was a quiet dismissal and Nate quickly headed back to the interview room.

  He went behind the glass first to check that the computer was correctly set up to record the interview and that the camera was positioned at the right angle.

  “You all set?” Kellan slipped into the room and set up post behind the glass, studying the sad-looking man. “Geez, poor guy,” he murmured.

  “Yep.” Nate brushed past him and walked around to the door, buzzing himself in.

  He gave Vern a tight smile as he shrugged out of his slightly damp jacket. “So, Mr. Schnyder, thank you for your cooperation today.” Hanging his jacket over the back of his chair, he smoothed down his tie and took a seat. “I know it’s been a long time since you lost your daughter, but I’d like you to think back and tell me what you can about the night she ran away.”

  Vern’s head bobbed like a jackhammer. Licking the edge of his mouth, he swallowed and let out an aching sigh. “What do you want to know?”