Beneath Copper Falls

by Colleen Coble

  CHAPTER 29

  The sun shone weakly through the thin clouds, and the wind tried to tear Boone’s knit cap from his head. He tugged his hat back over his ears and went to the mailbox to see what had been left for him yesterday. The door, thick with rust, squealed as he opened it. He pulled out a handful of junk mail and a small padded envelope.

  He hadn’t ordered anything. He frowned at the return address, somewhere in Washington, but it wasn’t his sister’s address. Her apartment had been cleared long ago. Tires crunched on gravel and snow, and he looked up. Dana’s blue Prius slowed in front of the cabin. She’d worked overtime yesterday so he hadn’t seen her since Thursday when they’d talked to the Corks. She must have the day off. Something he was hoping for.

  She got out and patted Spirit who was sniffing noses with Phantom. “Anything new in Allyson’s file?”

  “Nothing yet. I’m still going through the notes. A lot of them are handwritten, and she wasn’t the world’s best writer.” He unlocked the workout building and let them in. The lights hummed as he flipped them on. “You’re off all day, right?”

  She took off her coat and hung it on a hook. Her navy stretch pants and sleeveless tank showed off her slim figure. “Yes, why?”

  “Just wondering how long I’ve got you for.” His gaze lingered on her small feet tipped in red nail polish. She was so darned cute with her hair up and her face devoid of makeup. “You ready to get started?”

  “Sure.”

  They sparred for an hour, and he was breathing heavily and dripping with sweat by the time they finished. “You’re getting pretty good. I think you can hold your own if you’re attacked.”

  She grabbed a towel from her bag and dabbed her forehead. “I think so too. I feel confident.”

  “Have you heard anything more from Garret since he called?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. I hope it stays that way. Maybe he really is gone.”

  His gaze landed on the padded shipping bag he’d forgotten, and he picked it up. After he ripped open the top, a USB drive fell into his hands. “What the heck?”

  “What’s wrong?” Dana came to stand beside him.

  He spied a paper inside and pulled it out. “It’s from Detective Morgan. This is all the data off Renee’s phone. They have to keep her phone for the investigation, but he was hoping I could look at the data and see if anything rings a bell with me.”

  “That’s generous of him.”

  “He’s a good guy. He really wants to find the killer.” He tossed the envelope and junk mail in the trash. “You have time to look at this with me? I’ve got leftover pizza for lunch.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ve got to get Chris at the airport in an hour and a half, but I have time now.”

  He carried the drive to the desktop computer in the corner and plugged it into a port. The screen came up, and he scanned the list of files. “Looks like her pictures, files, and e-mails are all here.” He dragged the files to his desktop. “I want to see the pictures first. I’m hoping to see a picture of her fiancé.”

  Dana pulled up a chair beside him. “I’m not sure how much help I can be.”

  He didn’t say that her presence alone calmed him. She’d think he had lost his mind. “You might see something in the background I miss.”

  He took his time scrolling through the pictures, pausing long enough to absorb the entire scene. Renee having Mexican with two girlfriends, mugging it up poolside with Allyson, on an ATV in the desert with a giant saguaro in the background, hiking on Mount Ranier, and cooking at someone’s house.

  “I think these are older.” He called up the information on one. “They’re from two years ago. Let’s keep looking.”

  He scrolled past six months’ worth of pictures, then stopped at a birthday party. “This was her twenty-fifth birthday. I wish I’d been there. I think she met Tyler there though. Keep an eye out for anyone who seems to be looking at her too. Maybe he is with another group at this party.”

  His eyes were going bleary from looking so hard at the screen, and he blinked. His finger was on the button to go forward when Dana stopped him.

  “Can you enlarge this one?”

  “I think so.” He enlarged it and leaned forward. “What are we looking at?”

  “That guy half hidden behind the woman in the white dress. He looks a little familiar, but it’s too blurry to see his face since he’s half turned away.”

  “I’ll see if I can enhance it later with another program.” He started moving through the pictures again, but an hour later they were no closer to seeing Tyler Dixon, at least as far as he could tell. The last picture was of Renee’s engagement ring on her hand. It looked vaguely familiar though he didn’t consciously remember seeing it.

  Dana rose and reached for her coat. “It’s nearly five so I’d better go get Chris. Let me know if you see anything.” She moved closer to him and lifted her face for a kiss.

  It was beginning to feel so natural to hold her and imagine she was his. And maybe that dream would come true.

  United Airlines serviced the Houghton airport. Dana sat in the parking lot with the heater pumping out warmth until she saw Chris, roller bag in tow, stride from the terminal. She tooted the horn and waved as she pulled the car up beside him and popped the trunk.

  He slung his bag into the trunk, then climbed into the passenger seat. “Thanks for picking me up.” His cologne filled the Prius’s small space.

  She sent a smile his direction as she pulled into traffic. “It’s good to see you even if you make me jealous with your tan.”

  He grinned. “They don’t call it sunny California for nothing. Everything okay at home?”

  She hesitated, then decided now was as good as any other time to question him about the accident that killed her parents and brother. “I ran into the Corks on Thursday. They haven’t changed a bit, just gotten a little older.”

  Foot traffic from shoppers and college students was thick as she drove through town. She had to concentrate to avoid running down careless students. “Have you seen them?”

  He shifted in his seat and shook his head. “I haven’t seen them in ages. Not since I moved away. I’m here so rarely there’s not much time to socialize. How are they doing?”

  “Still spry. Listen, I’ve been thinking about the day my family drowned. I wanted to see the boat and just try to make sense of it for myself.”

  “What the heck? Why would you want to relive all that, Dana? It’s painful so leave it in the past.”

  “I know, but I can’t. Owen mentioned there was a rumor going around after the accident. People said my dad was despondent after losing his job and killed himself, Mom, and Aaron. Do you remember hearing a rumor like that?”

  He pulled off his sock hat, and his blond hair stuck up. “Yeah, I heard it. I thought there might even have been some truth in it.”

  She shook her head as she accelerated out of town on the windswept road. “It’s not true. Dad had a new job, and we were heading for a new place after our vacation. He wasn’t despondent at all. We had a great time when they got here. He took me fishing and pushed me in the swing. Mom laughed a lot. I remember.” Why was she so desperate to prove the theory wrong? She was just a kid and could have done nothing to alter things. And the laughing man she remembered could never have killed his entire family. “Besides, if it were true, why didn’t he make sure I was in the boat with him? They took you instead.”

  “Are you sure you’re remembering that week and not something when you were younger? You were only eight, Dana. Most people don’t remember all that much from their childhood. I don’t.”

  Was she wrong? A memory of her dad and mom on the ferry to Isle Royale National Park flashed into her mind. “I remember lots from that time, Chris. We went to Isle Royale and up to Copper Harbor. We ate lots of ice cream and went swimming in Superior. I remember it all.”

  He fell silent a moment, then turned his face toward her. “I didn’t want to say anything,
but I heard your parents fighting one night. The night before the accident. Your dad yelled something about he was good for nothing and all he had facing him was a low-paying job and humiliation. That your mom would be better off without him. So yeah, when that rumor started, I thought it might be possible.”

  “But why scuttle it with you in the boat too? Why not make sure I was in there?”

  “I don’t know. He made sure I had on a life jacket, but he said nothing to anyone else. After the accident I began to wonder about that.”

  She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her fingers ached. What did she do with all this? It turned everything she’d thought about her life upside down. But even if it was true, why did Allyson write that cryptic note about it?

  CHAPTER 30

  Rock Harbor’s early December weather was as far from Hawaii as it was possible to be. The ferocious wind blew snow across the road in front of Lauri’s car as she fought to keep the wheels on the road. She was still reeling from her conversation with Peter in Indy. Did she really even know him?

  The coming sunset limned the barren trees in yellow and red and highlighted the buildings in town with vibrant color. It was hard to summon a smile to wave at Anu who was locking up her shop for the night. Lauri could just hear the hullabaloo when she announced she was breaking her engagement. It would be more proof that she was immature and impetuous. And maybe she was. She’d gotten engaged after only five days. Who did that? Only a stupid kid with her head in the clouds who didn’t stop to realize she didn’t know the man who was asking.

  The crux of the matter was that she still loved Peter. At least she thought that’s what this pain in her chest signified. She’d had such rosy dreams of the future, a future that seemed almost too good to be true. And clearly it was.

  Or was she overreacting? She’d sprung her ideas on him after a long flight, and maybe he’d just been tired. They had time to figure all this out. She shouldn’t have pushed him like that.

  Stopping at a light, she rubbed her forehead. Maybe Bree could shed some light on this, though Lauri hated to admit that her fairytale romance was already in trouble. She glanced to her right and froze. A black SUV accelerated through the green light with its driver clearly visible.

  Peter Lovett.

  He didn’t see her as he turned off Jack Pine Lane onto Quincy Street. Lauri closed her dangling mouth. What was he doing in Rock Harbor? Her pulse roared in her ears, and she tried to think through what he was doing here. She’d told him where she lived, so maybe he’d come to see her. But why wouldn’t he call to meet her or at least ask for her address? Could he be here to scope out buying a house? Maybe he wanted to surprise her with a home.

  That was it. Her heart rate settled, and she smiled. That would be just like Peter. When the light changed, she turned onto Quincy as well and watched for that black SUV. There it was, parked in front of what used to be the Copper Junction Hotel. Someone had bought it and turned it into a three-story mansion with mullioned windows and a new front door. She hadn’t heard who had bought it, someone from out of town maybe? Maybe the owner was a friend of Peter’s.

  She slowed her car and nearly pulled in behind the SUV. What would he do if she showed up and knocked on the door? She shook her head. The last thing she wanted to do was cause another argument. She wasn’t ready to say the relationship was over.

  She turned around at the end of the road by the church and drove back past. Lights were on inside now too, but she didn’t see anyone through the windows. She drove back to the light and turned left onto Houghton and followed the curve onto Negaunee Street. Bree and Kade’s lighthouse home was just ahead on the right, and the lights twinkled out over Superior.

  Home. More and more she was coming to realize how blessed she was to have her brother and Bree. She hadn’t been the easiest teenager, and Kade had always loved her. Bree too.

  They would understand her dilemma now. They always did. She pulled into the drive and parked behind Bree’s green Jeep. That thing should have been retired long ago, but Bree loved it so Kade had kept it in top working condition. Lauri’s boots crunched through the snow, and she felt a surge of joy as she pushed open the front door and heard the children laughing as they played tag with Samson.

  She’d always taken this place for granted. How wrong she’d been. She shed her coat and hung it up in the closet in the foyer, then stepped into the living room. Zorro leapt up with a happy bark and raced to put his cold nose against her hand. “Good boy, did you miss me?”

  Kade’s face lit in a smile when he saw her. “I didn’t expect you until tomorrow.” He rose and moved toward her.

  She stepped into his hug and burrowed against his broad chest. “I missed you, big brother.”

  He dropped a kiss on her hair, then took her by the shoulders and pulled her away enough to look into her face. “Whoa, what’s wrong?”

  “Does something have to be wrong for me to miss you?” She knelt and hugged the twins who had rushed over to greet her. Hannah had Bree’s pointed chin and hairline and was crazy about dogs. Hunter was stocky like his handsome father and loved helping his daddy with orphaned wildlife. They both had Kade’s soft, dark hair.

  Davy hung back a bit, but she pulled him into an embrace too. He didn’t protest but threw his arms around her waist.

  Bree got up also, and her gaze studied Lauri’s face. “I’ll make some coffee. There’s vegetable soup cooking, and I’m sure it’s ready if you’re hungry.”

  “Starving.” Lauri followed her into the kitchen and left Kade with the kids. Zorro stayed on her heels.

  Her brother always knew when to lag behind and let Bree counsel her. Smart man. Lauri went to the coffeepot. “I’ll make the coffee.” She opened the canister and put beans in the grinder. “Hey, that remodel of the old hotel downtown looks pretty good. Who owns it?”

  Bree stirred the soup, then began to ladle it into bowls. “Chris Newell, Dana’s brother. He’d been gone from the county for about ten years, then moved back and bought it two years ago. He’s done a great job. Dana lives there with him for now.”

  Lauri tried to remember what Chris looked like. “I’m not sure I’ve ever met him.”

  “Probably not. You don’t really run in the same circles. You would have been like thirteen when he left the area. Nice guy. I’m sure you’ll run into him at some point.” She carried bowls of soup to the table. “You going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  Lauri made a face. “Just wondering if I’ve made a mistake about Peter. Everything moved so fast. I’ll look like a fool if I give him his ring back though.”

  Bree set down the bowls and turned to face her. “It’s not foolish to be careful of a lifetime commitment. You don’t really know Peter yet, not really. If you have even a hint of trepidation, it’s smart to put on the brakes. This is your whole future, Lauri. You’re only twenty-three. If he’s the one, going slower won’t hurt anything.”

  Just the advice Lauri needed. Bree always saw things with a clear gaze. “I love you, you know. You’ve always been there for me, Bree, and I haven’t always appreciated it.”

  Bree’s green eyes filled with moisture, and she hugged Lauri. “We’re always here for you, Lauri, always.”

  And Lauri intended to count that blessing more often.

  After church on Sunday, Boone opened a photo-editing program and pulled up the half-hidden figure they’d seen earlier. He played with the settings a few minutes until the man’s face came into focus a bit more.

  Frowning, he studied the enhanced photo. The guy looked a bit like Chris. His gut clenched, but Boone couldn’t ignore the similarity either. Was it possible? Chris traveled a lot. He went back to the picture of the ring and looked at it again. Where had he seen it? His jaw tight, he studied it until it clicked. It looked a lot like Lauri’s ring.

  He flipped over to Lauri’s social media page and scrolled through her pictures until he found one of the ring. Surely it was the same ring. He couldn’t be sure unless
he looked at it more closely, but he was 99 percent sure. But what about Faith Rogerson’s ring? He found her social media profile as well, and it had open settings so he was able to look at the pictures. There it was. The ring looked the same.

  He struggled to catch his breath. Reaching for the phone, he called Detective Morgan’s office and asked an employee to scan and e-mail the police drawing they’d made of Tyler. A few minutes later the attachment came through. It also looked a lot like Chris.

  Boone wasn’t sure what to make of it all. He would have to talk to Dana about it privately as soon as he could. Boone called up the college Chris worked for and looked at the recruiters listed.

  Boone’s gut clenched as he thought about telling Dana his suspicions. Maybe this could be resolved by talking to Chris. They’d been friends for a while. Boone couldn’t wrap his head around his own suspicions. He glanced at the clock: only one thirty. If he could catch Chris before Dana got home from work, maybe he’d get some answers.

  Chris picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Boone, good to hear from you.”

  “Hey, buddy, you alone?”

  “Yeah, just downtown at the café for lunch. Dana had to work today. What’s up?” His voice held a touch of wariness.

  This wasn’t going to be easy. Boone stood and paced the floor. “Did you ever meet my sister, Renee?”

  “Nope. She never visited when I was in town. You doing okay, Boone? You sound stressed.”

  Something in his tone made Boone doubt he cared about his stress or anything else. “So you never attended a party in Washington or Arizona and met her there?”

  “Not to my knowledge. What’s this all about?”

  Boone looked at the picture on his computer screen, then flipped to the police composite. It had to be Chris or his doppelgänger. But how could Lauri’s ring be the same? Nothing made sense. “I got a copy of the files on Renee’s phone. There’s a picture of you at a party she attended.” The silence on Chris’s end of the conversation grew so long Boone wasn’t sure Chris was going to answer. “Chris?”