by Lynn Cahoon
Watching the now-trotting Archer, Tristin laughed. “I guess when you got to go . . .”
Sydney slapped his arm. “Don’t be mean. Give Cat your camera and come over here so we can get a picture of us by the overlook.”
Tristin took his camera off from the lanyard that kept it around his neck. “Do you mind? We have at least one couple picture from every hike we take. And Sydney’s right, this is a perfect spot.”
“Not a problem.” Cat glanced at the expensive camera and pointed to a button. “This one?”
“Yep, just point and shoot. The camera will focus in on our faces so it will set the correct angle and background for you.” He grinned as he made his way to stand by his wife. “It was pricy, but our photo quality for the blog has gone up at least by ten times.”
“He’s always about the picture.” Sydney put an arm around him and a hand on his chest.
Love, Cat thought. It was apparent that these two adventurers loved each other. She took several pictures, then looked at the camera to make sure she got a good photo. Frowning, she looked closer and when Tristin came back for the camera, she shoved it in his hand and rushed over to the overlook.
“What’s wrong. Did the pictures come out bad?” Tristin stopped and thumbed through the shots. “These are great.”
When Cat reached the edge of the lookout, she saw what she’d seen through the lens. A man’s leg stuck out from a huckleberry bush across the valley to the closest mountain. Seth joined her.
“What’s going on? What did you see?” He lowered his voice.
All Cat could do was point toward the bush. She knew when he’d seen the same thing when he took a quick intake of air.
“See if you have cell service and call your uncle. I think our hike is over for the day.” Seth turned and looked at the three guests who were gathered around the bench watching them. Archer came out of the outhouse and frowned.
“Are you all waiting for me?”
Chapter 3
Uncle Pete met them at the bottom of the trailhead. “You know, I should have realized it was retreat week and not scheduled Shirley to come out for some R&R.”
“Just because it’s retreat week doesn’t mean that someone is going to die.” Cat felt defensive. “We could have just ignored the man’s leg hanging out of a tree so you could spend time with your girlfriend.”
“That’s not polite.” He shook his head at her. “You need to be nice to Shirley. She might wind up being your new aunt.”
“Really? You two are that serious?” Cat was curious. She’d known that her uncle was dating the retired Alaskan deputy, but she hadn’t thought they would be making wedding plans yet.
“Gotcha. You should see the look on your face.” He motioned to one of his deputies. “Run up with Seth and have him show you what they found so we know where to start looking.”
The deputy nodded and her uncle leaned against his Charger. “You want to take the guests home? Seth should be back down in about ten to fifteen minutes.”
“We’ll wait. I think they’re a little shook up, so having some time to process might be a good thing. Do you really think that my retreat is the issue?” Cat tucked a wayward curl behind her ear.
He pulled her into a hug. “I was kidding. Although Shirley is going to be a little bummed when I have to work all the time. Do you mind putting her up at the house? She made a reservation with Shauna for the bed-and-breakfast part of the retreat, but she might be hanging out with your writers more than we expected.”
Shirley Mann was a retreat graduate. That’s how she and Uncle Pete met. “I’m fine with her staying at the house. I didn’t really plan for us to be a B-and-B, but Shirley’s almost family, right?”
He grinned. “I’m afraid I’ll have both of you sticking your nose into my investigation this time. But maybe you all can rein yourselves in a bit.”
“We’ll see.” Cat nodded to the SUV, where the four writers stood, looking shell-shocked. “I better go entertain our guests. I am sorry about the body.”
“As long as you didn’t kill him, there’s no reason to be sorry.” He waved her away. “Go do your job, I’ll do mine. I was planning on coming over for dinner tonight. Is Shauna cooking?”
“Soup and sandwich night. But you know you’re welcome.”
He shrugged. “We’ll see how this goes. I was hoping for Sunday fried chicken. I’ve been trying to hear how her trip to New York City to see her brother turned out.”
Cat frowned. “She’s been pretty quiet about it now that you mention it. I’ve been busy since she got back and hadn’t noticed that she hasn’t been talking about her visit. Not at all.”
“That’s not like our girl. Especially a visit with a long-lost brother. Maybe you should feel her out.”
Cat watched as Archer pulled Jocelyn into an embrace. “I better get over there. I’ll check in with Shauna as soon as we get back to the house.”
But when they did get back to the house, Shauna wasn’t there. A pot simmered on the stove with their soup and a note said there were sandwiches in the fridge, but Shauna had checked out on the board.
“Our guests took off to The Diner for lunch. And Brodie isn’t here; I checked his room.” Seth wandered into the kitchen and went right to the fridge to grab a soda. He pulled out the tray of sandwiches as well. “Roast beef and turkey. Awesome. Where’s Shauna? Should we wait?”
Cat shook her head. “Let’s eat. The board says she’s working at the library this afternoon. I can’t believe she’s taken to writing so quickly. She loves the process. I’m going to head upstairs and do some work before they get back. I know today isn’t an official retreat day, but I like hearing about what they’re going to work on this week.”
“And see if they are traumatized from finding a dead body. Too bad this wasn’t one of the groups of mystery writers. They would have loved the day’s activities.” Seth shook his head. “I can’t believe I spent so much time on the field book and we only got to half of the hike.”
“You can’t foresee a death. I hope Uncle Pete finds it was just an accident. Shirley’s coming in tomorrow, and they won’t have any time together if he has a murder investigation to solve.” Cat dished two bowls of soup. “She’ll be staying here. I’m going to have Shauna put her on the second floor since we’re only using three rooms this week.”
“How are you dealing with her visit?” Seth set the sandwiches in the middle of the table and put the sodas he’d gotten from the fridge near the soup bowls.
“Shirley? I’ll be fine. Look, I know I had a mini pity party last time her name came up, but Uncle Pete was talking about dumping everything and moving to the farthest place away from home.” She took a spoon and sipped the soup. Just what she needed after the shock of the morning.
“He might still move; you need to prepare yourself for that. Pete’s close to retirement himself. And although your folks went south to Florida, I think Alaska would fit your uncle’s personality a bit more. I can’t see him in a pair of Bermuda shorts sitting around some pool.” Seth dug into the soup. “This is the best soup that Shauna makes. Which is saying a lot. Maybe she needs to write a soup cookbook?”
“Shauna wants to write all the cookbooks. I think we created a cookbook-writing monster.” Cat laughed as she took a turkey sandwich off the platter and moved it to her small plate. “I’m happy she has something to keep her busy. Has she said anything about her trip to see her brother?”
Seth shook his head. “Lots about the city, but Jake is still a mystery. I hope she didn’t feel pressured to let him help with her inheritance.”
Shauna had received a large sum of money from the death of her fiancé a few months ago. From what she’d told Cat, Shauna’s plan was to leave it for a year until she decided what to do with the funds. Cat knew that her friend was still dealing with the emotions of Kevin’s death. She didn’t need to be pushed to do something rash with the gifts he left her. “I know, I’m worried too. Uncle Pete says he hasn’t bee
n able to get her to tell him anything about the trip either.”
“We might have to have an intervention after the retreat on Sunday. If that brother of hers is causing trouble, we need to be a united front to make sure she knows that no is a complete sentence.” He stood and refilled his bowl with soup. “I don’t think I’ve heard anything about a missing person lately, have you?”
Cat felt shocked at the quick change of subject, but she should have known that Seth was still thinking about the body they’d found on the hike. “No, but that doesn’t mean anything. A lot of people live alone in those woods. I’m sure Uncle Pete’s going to be able to find out who it is quickly and get this solved. Or he will if he wants to see Shirley this week. Speaking of Shirley, can you pick her up tomorrow at the airport?”
“Already on my to-do list.” He grinned when Cat appeared surprised. “You’re not the only one your uncle talks to, you know.”
“That’s true.” Since they were talking so easily about so many things, Cat decided to dive in. “Tell me about your meeting Wednesday night. Will it be people from your group, or just everyone who was in the army who lives nearby?”
“We’re having a platoon reunion, so it will be people I was stationed with when I went over to Germany. A lot of the guys stayed in and got their retirement, so I’ll get crap for jumping after the first post.” He kept his head down as he ate his soup.
“I never understood why you left after four years. When we talked in high school, you were planning on making a career out of the service. Twenty years and done. You wanted to have it tattooed on your wrist.” Cat smiled at the memory.
He pushed the empty bowl away. “Seriously? You don’t know?”
Surprised, she shook her head. “Sorry, no clue.”
He stood and put the bowl and his plate in the sink. Then he grabbed a second sandwich and wrapped it in a napkin. Cat thought he was going to leave without telling her, but he paused at the door to the basement. “I left the service because that life was our dream, Cat. Yours and mine. When you married Michael, I quit.”
“Seth . . .”
“I’m going to stow the hiking stuff for the winter. I think the time’s past to plan anything now until spring comes along.” And with that he was gone.
Cat stirred what was left of her soup, but her appetite was gone. Had Seth gone into the service to start a new life for them? Had that been the plan all along? Cat remembered she’d been planning on teaching, hopefully at the college level. That’s why she’d applied for her master’s degree at Covington, along with the Oregon school where Seth had been stationed. Michael had convinced her to take the Covington offer, saying that it mattered where she got her degree, especially if she wanted to work at a good college. Michael, who had been her advisor, then her friend, her lover, and finally, her husband. Had Seth had plans of a life together, even before she’d fallen in love with him?
She heard the kitchen door open and turned to try to explain, but it wasn’t Seth who came through the door. It was Uncle Pete.
“What are you doing sitting here alone? The only one I usually find in the kitchen by herself is Shauna, but that’s because I think she actually sleeps here. I’m starting to think you’re treating our girl like poor little Cinderella who slept near the ashes in the fireplace.”
“We don’t have a fireplace in the kitchen.” Cat peered at her uncle. “Hey, remember back when Seth and I were in high school?”
“Of course, I do. Your mom would call and ask me to go find the two of you because you’d missed curfew again. I usually found you at the ice-cream shop, sitting in the car, talking about the future.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. “Why the trip down memory lane?”
“When Seth started talking about going into the army, about his future. Was it because of me? Because he thought he had to take care of me?” Cat felt the tears behind her eyes and she blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry over something that happened years ago. It was just time to find out the truth.
Uncle Pete sat next to her and patted her hand. “Seth wouldn’t want me to tell you this, but I know that’s why he went into the army instead of going to school. That boy wanted the two of you married and having babies as soon as possible. But he wanted to have a job so if you stayed in school, he’d be able to support the two of you. I thought you knew this.”
“Maybe I did, or at least, I suspected.” Cat glanced at her now-cold soup. “I kind of messed everything up then, didn’t I?”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.” Uncle Pete patted her hand again. “And maybe both of you needed some time away from each other to figure out what you really wanted out of life. You were both so young. Things are good now, though, right?”
She smiled and stood with her bowl. “Yes, yes, they are. Can I get you some soup? There’s an extra sandwich there too.”
“Soup would be nice. It got a little chilly out on the mountain before we got the body out and over to the morgue.” He took his hat off and set it on the table. Then he ran his hand through his thinning hair. “That’s why I’m here. I need to talk to Seth.”
“Why do you need to talk to me?” Seth came out of the basement door. “I didn’t kill the guy.”
“Well, we’ve got a bit of a dilemma. The body, we ran his fingerprints through the databases and we got a match.”
Cat set a filled soup bowl in front of her uncle. “That’s a good thing, right?”
He nodded. “Thanks. Yes, it is, except our results tell us that the man died over ten years ago. He was in your platoon, Seth. Name of Chance McAllister.”
Chapter 4
Seth dropped his spoon and stared at Pete. “That’s impossible. Chance died in Germany. He was part of an undercover mission and he didn’t make it. They brought back his body. It must be another Chance McAllister.”
“There’s no doubt of who this guy was. I knew him as Chance, but I don’t think he ever gave me his last name. He was living on one of the old mining claims up near Deer Creek. The guy’s lived there for maybe ten years now. He did most of his shopping either online or at the store, as soon as it opened. I’m heading over to the post office now because he had a box there. I’m not expecting to find anything, but you never know. At least we’ll know what name he was living under.”
“Seriously, there is no way this guy is my Chance.” Seth looked over at Cat. “It doesn’t make sense. You remember him from high school, right? He played football.”
“Kind of. He’s the guy who dated Sherry Flood. I thought they got married.” Cat moved closer to Seth. His hand shook on the table and he quickly tucked it underneath when he saw it.
“They were planning to. But Chance, well, he was killed. In Germany.” Seth leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “We always joked it was bad luck that put us in the same platoon since we were from the same little town in Colorado, but he was a stand-up guy.”
“I’m pulling his military records and verifying what occurred. I’m assuming that he must have faked his death back then. But fingerprints don’t lie. He’s definitely dead now and in the county morgue. I’m sorry for your loss. Again.” Uncle Pete watched the emotions run over Seth’s face.
“What about Sherry? Have you told her?” Seth glanced at his phone. “I might have her number here. We ran into each other a few times after I got back.”
“Sherry Flood moved to California a few years after Chance’s death. She’s back in town now, married now with three little girls. Since Chance’s parents are both gone, I made next of kin notification to her. She seemed a little shocked to hear he was still alive.” He took his bowl to the sink and ran water into it. When he finished, he went back to the table to get his hat. “I need to head back to the station. I just didn’t want you finding out through the grapevine about this. I know you and Chance were tight as kids.”
Cat spent a few minutes cleaning up the kitchen and watching Seth, who hadn’t said anything since Uncle Pete left. Finally, she grabb
ed the box of cookies from the counter. “Do you want one?”
He smiled as he looked at the open box. “Emotional eating is your thing, not mine.”
Cat picked out a cookie. “What can I say. Food makes everything better. So . . . are you okay?”
He shrugged. “It’s weird. I’ve already grieved for him once. I went to his memorial in Germany on the base and talked to his mom when I came home on leave. I’d said my goodbyes years ago. But now to find out he was really still alive? I have to admit, that has thrown me for a loop.”
“Maybe one of your buddies can shed some light on what really happened. You’re all getting together Wednesday night, that can’t be a coincidence.”
Seth paled as he stared at Cat. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that the universe is sending you exactly the right people into your life to help you make sense of this. Maybe he went AWOL and staged his death. Whatever it was, you’re not going to know anything until you ask around.” Cat narrowed her eyes at him. “Wait, what did you think I meant?”
“Exactly that.” He stood and kissed her, soft and slow. “I’m going up to my room for awhile. Let me know if you need something.”
“Are you sure you want to be alone?” Cat tried to stand, but he put his hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to stay seated.
“I’ve got some things to think about. Look, I’m okay. It’s just weird, that’s all. And you know I don’t like weird. It’s been a bad day all around.” He paused at the door. “If you want to delete the hiking trip from your list of offerings, I’d understand.”
“Are you kidding? I mean, yeah, if we find a dead body every time we go hiking with guests, then I may rethink my decision, but for now, we’re keeping it on the list of options.” She broke her cookie in half. “You have to admit, it brings a bit of excitement to the week.”
“Again, I’d rather have boring.” He winked at her and left the kitchen.
By the time Shauna returned to the house, so had the writers. Cat paused at the kitchen door. “Look, I’ve got to tell you something, but it’s going to have to wait. Are we doing dinner?”
