Cat Got Your Corpse

by Louise Lynn

  Hazel’s eyes widened. “Why do you say that?”

  Abby’s gaze darted to her cooler. “Because she threatened an endangered species, and I’m not going to let her get away with it.”

  Hazel nodded and tried to think of a friendly way to ask what she had in mind, but Deputy Simmons flagged them down.

  “Let’s have breakfast," her father said and began leading her toward the deputy.

  Esther fell in step beside them and cast Hazel a knowing glance. She’d heard it too, and was probably equally suspicious.

  "What's going on?" Hazel asked Deputy Simmons.

  He gave her a sheepish smile. "Oh, nothing important. I just thought you'd like to know breakfast was ready. Mr. Hart didn't think it would be polite to be brandishing bacon in front of a vegan, so it's all back at the campsite."

  Anthony Ray pulled on the leash at the mention of bacon, and Hazel’s stomach grumbled. She followed.

  She let Anthony Ray have one piece for his good behavior for when they’d spotted the mountain lion—mostly for not darting into the valley and trying to attack it.

  Hazel ate two.

  As she was finishing up, Esther nudged her in the shoulder. "Well? Are you going to tell him?"

  Hazel glanced at Deputy Simmons and shook her head. "Tell who what?"

  Deputy Simmons smiled. "Sheriff Cross already said you were doing your own investigation, but you don't have to tell me if you don't feel comfortable with it. Although, it would make our investigation a little bit easier," he said with that friendly smile that always seemed to grace his bland, evenly handsome features.

  Hazel sucked in a breath. "I don't have anything definitive, but Abby Reynolds is a little bit suspicious, if you ask me," she said and described what she’d heard the girl say. She left out the bit about the meat in the cooler at that point, since she imagined Deputy Simmons would frown at her sneaking into another campsite and going through Abby’s things.

  Hazel also ignored the look Esther gave her.

  Deputy Simmons nodded. “I’ll tell the sheriff, if you want. Unless you want to tell him?"

  Hazel shook her head. "Go ahead. You'll probably have an easier time using the phone from the ranger than I would.”

  Deputy Simmons laughed and got up to make his call. Anthony Ray took the man's absence as free reign to eat the rest of his breakfast, which was really only a bite of egg and half a piece of bacon.

  "I hope he didn't want that," Esther said and wrinkled her nose.

  Hazel shrugged. “Well, he can’t have it now. Anthony Ray spent enough time at the Sheriff's office that he should know not to leave any food unattended. I would hope."

  Her dad chuckled, and his eyebrows danced above his green eyes. "You still think Abby did it? Did you get a chance to look in that cooler of hers?"

  Esther spoke before Hazel got the chance. "It's filled with meat, dad. She claims she's a vegan. So, either she's lying about being a vegan or she brought a bunch of steaks to a mountain lion infested campground for a reason."

  A pit opened in Hazel’s stomach. "Yeah, actually, it's the only thing that makes sense. Why have a bunch of raw meat unless she's trying to draw something out?"

  Their father shook his head, and his beard bristled. “You think she was trying to lure a mountain lion to kill Cliff Crawford? But I’m sure a mountain lion didn't do it."

  Hazel nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I know. And I don't think one did it either. But, what if she was trying to lure one out and it didn't work, so she got frustrated and killed him herself. I know you said she's not strong enough, but she does a ridiculous amount of yoga, and in the heat of the moment, adrenaline kicks in. Maybe she was so angry she was able to do it. It's not unreasonable."

  Esther nodded feverishly.

  Their father sighed. "I can't make you change your minds, and if you find a murder weapon or you get a confession, I'll admit I'm wrong, but until then I don't think she did it. Plus, if you’re really looking for the killer, have a closer look at Ranger Albright.”

  Hazel raised a brow. “What about her?”

  His beard rustled. “I saw her this morning on the trail with a half full black garbage bag. I have no idea what she was up to, but she looked as if she didn’t want anyone to see her.” He then carried their breakfast dishes toward the washing station.

  Esther patted Hazel’s shoulder. "She reminds him too much of mom. We can't expect him to think she's guilty unless we have absolute proof."

  Hazel nodded. She felt the same way, but, what if he was right?

  Plus, she hadn’t focused on the ranger at all, and that information was interesting.

  “Threats and steaks aren’t solid proof. It might be enough to get a warrant if I were an actual cop but I'm not, so–"

  Esther smiled. "So we do the next best thing."

  "What's that?" Hazel ruffled Anthony Ray’s fur as he settled in her lap.

  Esther shrugged. "I don't know. You're the one who’s done this ten times. What do you usually do at this point?"

  Hazel thought about it. It hadn’t been ten times, but she decided to keep from correcting her sister on that minor fact. “Well, I'll either look at other suspects or go over the evidence again. Sometimes revisit the crime scene. I’m sure the murder weapon is the key, but with it missing, I have nothing to go on.”

  “Forget the murder weapon for now. Which do you want to do?"

  Hazel glanced at the ugly diesel. She hadn't talked to Summer Crawford yet, but she didn't see how the young woman could've done it since she and James weren’t even at the campground. That meant she actually only had two viable suspects. Abby Reynolds, who seemed extremely guilty, and Ranger Albright.

  Abby had a stronger motive, but Albright seemed predisposed to blame it on a cougar without even examining the other evidence. Hazel needed more information.

  "I think I'll go have a look at the crime scene again, but I have a feeling you don't want to. However, you may be able to butter up Summer Crawford since she seems to hate me," Hazel said with a sweet smile.

  Esther gave her a flat look. "If it's all the same, I'd rather look at your crime scene photos, gore and all, than talk to that girl," she said.

  Hazel chuckled and pulled out her computer. She'd sent copies of the crime scene photos to Sheriff Cross the day before, and truthfully she hadn’t gone over them herself yet. The vividness of the scene was burned into her mind, so she didn't really want to either. But if Esther insisted.

  She opened the photo app and clicked on the right album. "Here you go. Remember not to delete any."

  "I think I'm going to regret this," Esther said and settled down at the picnic table.

  Hazel gave Esther's braid a light tug. "You can always go talk to Summer Crawford instead."

  Esther narrowed her eyes. "I would rather regret this than that," she said and slipped on her reading glasses.

  Well, if she was taking this seriously, then Hazel better as well.

  Anthony Ray was plenty rested from his breakfast and brief nap, and trotted along beside her.

  She figured one of the deputies would be standing guard at the crime scene, and hoped he let her in without an issue. Well, Colton told Deputy Simmons about her helping out, so he’d probably spread the word to all of his deputies as well.

  However, before she reached the campsite, she heard a twig snap in the woods. Anthony Ray's ears perked, and her eyes started in that direction. It was probably just a squirrel or some other small woodland creature.

  It wasn't the mountain lion from that morning—was it?

  Another careful step broke the still air, and Hazel held her breath.

  She knew from her father's lessons never to run from large game, lest they give chase, but the flight or fight response was difficult to think about logically in a moment like that.

  Another step, and then a splash.

  A bear?

  Some large creature crossing the stream?

  Before she could come to the right
conclusion, the splash was followed by a broken sob.

  Okay, not a wild animal.

  Anthony Ray tugged her toward the sound of the disturbance, and with a sigh, Hazel followed.

  She found James Duke at the side of the stream, his shoes and pants were soaked to the knee. He sat on a rock with his head in his hands. He didn't even seem to realize that he stumbled in the water.

  Hazel recognized the high-end camera around his neck. It wasn't as good as her Nikon, but it was still perfectly acceptable.

  "Didn't see the stream there?" she asked carefully.

  James Duke jumped and his head snapped in her direction. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. I—I needed to get away from Summer and found myself here," he said and swallowed heavily. His cheeks were puffy, and the two hounds were with him.

  They lapped at the water, then ran up to greet Anthony Ray.

  Hazel gave them each a quick pet on the head. "Honestly, I don’t know how you can spend any time with Summer Crawford, especially after how you used to be a vegan activist.”

  James let out a huff of miserable laughter. "Is that what Abby told you? I used to be a vegan activist and now I'm a trophy hunter? Well…” He bit his bottom lip.

  Hazel raised a brow and settled near him. She kicked off her hiking sneakers and dangled her feet into the creek. The water was blessedly cool, with the crispness that only mountain streams seemed to possess. "Want to tell your side of the story? Abby Reynolds is pretty convinced that you’re a devil of some kind."

  James Duke met her eyes evenly, which was probably the first time he’d done it, Hazel realized. "Abby Reynolds is a little off her rocker, no offense. And it has nothing to do with the activist or vegan part either. I—she’s wrong. I’m not a devil, and I didn't join the side of one. The thing is," he ran his fingers through his hair, and they trembled as he did it. "Everything just went so wrong. You have to believe me, I came here with the best of intentions, but if Summer finds out she's gonna kill me."

  Hazel's eyes widened. "That's a pretty strong accusation. Why do you say that?"

  James scrubbed his face with his hands and let out a heavy sigh. "Because I'm a fraud. I didn't come on this trip to try hunting because of some bucket list thing. It was all a lie. I—I came here to expose Cliff and Summer Crawford for what they really are— poachers—and now this happens!”

  Her dad said Cliff Crawford worked with poachers in Tanzania, so it wasn’t much of a leap for him to be one.

  Hazel blinked. "Abby said you quit being an activist, so what are you now?"

  James Duke chewed on his bottom lip. "Look, I didn't quit activism, I'm part of a pretty well known group called the Endangered Army. We try to protect endangered animals before they go extinct. Abby used to be part of it too, but she got kicked out for being too extreme. I'm sure you've noticed after talking to her for a few minutes that her views are a little bit too much to be of any real use?"

  Hazel nodded slowly. "Yeah, she tends to throw a lot of big threats around."

  James nodded. “She usually backs those threats up. She does dangerous stunts to try to do the right thing, but they end up getting people hurt.”

  Hazel felt that pit in her stomach open again. "You think she tried a stunt with Cliff Crawford and got him killed?"

  James Duke shrugged. "I don't know, I—I only know that it's all my fault the man is dead.”

  Chapter 16

  “Did you kill Cliff Crawford?” Hazel breathed and scooted sideways.

  The dogs whined, and Anthony Ray batted at a butterfly.

  James Duke widened his eyes. “What? No! That’s not what I meant, but he wouldn’t have even been here if it weren’t for me.”

  That didn’t sound like what he’d told her earlier. “What do you mean? I thought he tagged along?”

  James wrung his hands. “I was lying! I had been emailing them both, and they agreed. When you asked, I thought that sounded too suspicious, so I lied about it. But the truth is, I wanted to get Cliff arrested. I thought if I found evidence of his crimes, he’d go to prison. Now…”

  Yeah, death was a tad more permanent than prison. “He’s dead. Okay, but you didn’t kill him?”

  James’ gaze dropped. “No, I—I could never kill anyone. Or anything! But I was at the campground when it happened.”

  “What?” Hazel cried and stood up. Doing so made her lose her balance, and she tottered, almost landing in the stream.

  James Duke grabbed her hand to steady her. His bloodshot eyes burned into hers. “I had to get away from the camp because I knew they wouldn’t do anything illegal in front of me, okay? I tried to go alone, but Summer insisted on going with me. She said it was something to do with legal matters and our contract. I was at the motel until about four a.m, then I got up and left. I had my car stashed near the motel, so I drove it back here, but I was too late.”

  Hazel stared at him, her mouth agape. “Too late? You found his body first?”

  James swallowed. “Yeah, at about five thirty a.m, I’d say. I snuck through the trees to see if I could catch any photos of him baiting traps. Instead he was dead.”

  Hazel’s heart pounded in her ears. “Do you have any photos? I mean, did you take any?”

  James looked at the camera around his neck and nodded once. “From a distance. I heard something in the woods and got scared. I thought an animal did it, so I ran. What Summer says is true. I’m a coward, but I tried to do the right thing. I really tried and now…”

  “You heard the possible murderer at the campsite? Did you see anyone?”

  James’s eyes filled with tears. “I did. Not at the campsite, but I saw Abby with a cooler, and I think I saw the ranger on a trail. I was hiding, so neither of them saw me.”

  “Were they near the crime scene?”

  James pinched his eyes shut. “Near enough, I guess.”

  “Near enough to have been the killer?” Hazel asked.

  James shrugged. “I don’t know! Possibly!”

  Hazel patted his back as he started crying again. “I think you need to tell one of the deputies this and hand over your evidence, but can I make a copy first?”

  James’s head snapped up and snot dripped from his nose. “If I tell the deputies, what about Summer? She’s heavily armed and dangerous, in case you didn’t notice. I wasn’t kidding when I said she’d kill me.”

  “I don’t think Summer Crawford would kill you. She seems to like her game furrier.”

  The dogs whined again, and James Duke’s bottom lips wobbled.

  Anthony Ray yawned and plopped near the stream to bat at any overly brave fish.

  Hazel sighed. “I promise not to tell her.”

  That got James to perk up. “Fine, but I don’t want her to know about me until I’m out of the state. Possibly the country.”

  She raised a brow but agreed.

  Anything to get a look at those pictures.

  To her surprise, James handed over his camera’s memory card and said he’d be by to get it later after she made a copy for herself and the deputies.

  As Hazel tucked the SD memory card into her pocket, Anthony Ray’s attention snapped from the butterfly to something rustling at the bushes near the edge of the stream.

  Hazel smelled it before she saw it. “Um, I think you should take the dogs someplace else or someone is going to get sprayed.”

  James Duke wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Sprayed with what?”

  “Skunk,” she said and yanked Anthony Ray out of the clearing before he could start a fight.

  James Duke and the hounds made a hasty exit as well.

  The yellow and black tape was draped from tree to tree at the crime scene, but no deputy was standing guard.

  Odd.

  Perhaps they’d gone to lunch?

  At least she didn’t have to ask permission this way.

  She ducked under the tape and let Anthony Ray lead the way. His aptitude for finding clues was almost better than her own. Plus, he saw thin
gs at cat-level that she missed at her human one.

  Besides the missing tents, everything was the same as she remembered. The blood had darkened to a rusty brown, and she hoped a mountain lion didn’t smell it and decide to check it out. That wouldn’t be good for her.

  With a sigh, she decided to go through a few things she’d missed yesterday, starting with the bear box. When she got there the day before, the campsite was set up nice and tidy—besides the dead body and the cooler.

  However the thought of Abby wandering around between four and five a.m. on the morning of the murder was too suspicious to discount. Especially considering what was inside her cooler.

  Carefully, Hazel opened the bear box. She expected it to be empty, but instead she stared at Abby’s blue and white cooler.

  Anthony Ray jumped into the box, which was large enough to hold several coolers, and sniffed the lid.

  How on earth did it get here?

  Unless—of course! It was the same kind of cooler, but not the exact one.

  That’s the only thing that made sense.

  Until she looked inside and found out, at least.

  Hazel pulled it out and threw open the lid.

  It was filled with the incriminating evidence of half melted ice and non-dairy coffee creamer—a brand she’d never tried, but looked like it might be worth it.

  So, not the evidence she was expecting.

  “You wanted the creamer, did you?” she asked her cat, who licked his chops in answer.

  Then his ears went flat to his head, and Hazel started.

  A branch cracked somewhere in the woods around her.

  The deputy?

  Well, just in case, she shoved the lid on the cooler and put it back in the bear box, shutting that too.

  Anthony Ray’s tail fizzed.

  Okay, not the deputy. Anthony Ray knew all of them, and he was friendly to them.

  So this was someone unfriendly.

  Or, even worse, something.

  Chapter 17

  Please don’t be a bear.

  Please don’t be a mountain lion.

  Hazel repeated that mantra as she scurried for a safe place to hide.