The Hunt

“Can Sheriff Thomas and I ask you and your friends a few questions?”

“About the dead girl.”

“Yeah.”

Sean and Timmy McClain were brushing a horse, though they’d been listening with interest, evident from the fact that the smaller brother was brushing air.

“Guys, come over here,” Qui

They dropped the grooming tools in a bucket and rushed over, introducing themselves. Sean was the older brother, acting tough and important. Timmy, the smaller boy, couldn’t stop moving, his eyes wide with interest. Qui

“Ryan, why don’t you tell me what you boys were doing this morning, in your own words. Timmy, Sean, pipe up if you think of anything to add. There are no right or wrong answers. And no one remembers everything, so one of you might remember something another doesn’t. Understand?”

They all nodded as Qui

“Mom works weekends,” Timmy said with a bob of his head. “We come here a lot.”

“It’s probably fun to hang out at a ranch with horses and cool stuff to do,” Qui

Timmy nodded. “Oh, yeah, and we get to-” His brother hit him hard in the arm.

“Shut up,” Sean said. “They only want to know about the dead girl.”

Timmy looked sheepish.

“That’s okay,” Qui

The boys had left the ranch early and ridden across the pasture to the east. They took an overgrown trail intending to find an Indian burial site on the north ridge.

“You know you aren’t supposed to go that far,” Parker admonished. “That’s a treacherous path. You’re damn lucky one of the horses didn’t break a leg.”

“I’m sorry, Pa,” Ryan said, looking down.

“Go on,” Qui

“We don’t know. That’s why we were looking. Gray, you know, the caretaker at the Lodge down there,” he motioned vaguely south, “says it’s up on the north ridge, above Mossy Creek. Even he doesn’t know exactly where it is, just that it’s there and we’d know it if we saw it. We looked all last summer and couldn’t find it. And since it’s been raining all week, this was the first good day to look for it.”

Qui

Shaking his head, he pushed Miranda from his mind. It was harder now that she’d crept in, unbidden, but he had to focus on his job.

His job was to stop the Butcher.

Nick said, “You didn’t get to Mossy Creek.”

Ryan shook his head. “The horses started acting a little spooked, and then we heard a large animal. We steered them into a clearing and saw a brown bear sniffing at something. I fired my rifle to scare him away. Then we saw her.”

Ryan and Timmy had stayed in the area while Sean-the oldest of the three at twelve-took the old logging trail back to the main road and rode his horse three miles to the nearest phone.

“Did you touch the body?”

They all shook their heads vigorously. “I went close,” Ryan said. “A couple feet away. It didn’t seem real, you know? Until, well, until I saw it was that girl who’s missing. That’s when Sean went to get help. But I didn’t want to leave her there, you know? The bear could come back and, well, I just didn’t want to leave.” He looked down at his hands clasped tightly in front of him.

Qui

He stood and his joints popped from squatting so long, reminding him that he’d be forty this fall. “Thank you, Judge,” Qui

An impeccably dressed blonde with vivid green eyes stood next to Parker with a blank expression. Parker’s wife? Qui

“Mrs. Parker?” he asked, hand extended.

She took his hand, her grip surprisingly strong for someone who looked so fragile. Her fingers were icy cold, though the day had warmed considerably since he’d viewed the victim earlier this morning. “Delilah Parker.” Her voice was smooth and cool.

“Special Agent Peterson, ma’am.”

“I’ve made lemonade and banana bread in the kitchen, if you would care for some.”

Qui

She beamed at Nick. “Excuse me, I’ll ready a tray.” She hurried off.

Qui

“Some things you don’t do. Refusing food from Mrs. Parker is one of them.”

“Playing politics,” Qui

“Ten minutes will save me months of headache. Believe me. I declined the first time, too.” Nick rolled his eyes.

Qui

Mrs. Parker’s impromptu get-together was surprisingly elaborate. She served the lemonade in crystal and the banana bread with fresh whipped cream on white bone china. Qui

Nick was true to his word. Ten minutes later they were on their way, headed back to the stable to collect samples from the horses’ hooves before leaving.

“What’s with Parker’s wife?” Qui

Nick shrugged as he started the ignition and drove down the long, winding road leading from the Parkers’ ranch to the main highway. “She likes entertaining. I declined the first time I came out here years ago when a couple of their cattle had been stolen. After I was elected, Judge Parker explained that his wife takes hospitality seriously, and he’d appreciate it if I accepted in the future.”

“You should have told me Parker was a judge. I didn’t even remember he was an attorney.”

“Nonpracticing at the time. He was on the Board of Supervisors. Now, he’s a state Superior Court justice. Word is he’s up for consideration to the Appellate Court.”

“That’s a big jump.”

Nick shrugged. “He has friends in high places.”

“Wonderful,” Qui

Nick shot him a glance. “You’re not thinking that Richard Parker has anything to do with what’s been happening to these girls?”

Qui

The Butcher not only kept his victims bound in chains to the floor, but he blindfolded them. Miranda swore she would know him by smell, but a man’s scent would be next to impossible to get a conviction on. They needed hard evidence.

Qui

“She led us to the shack she’d been held in,” Nick continued. “She tracked down where the Croft sisters had been imprisoned. Miranda has led us to more evidence than anything you or I could have done on our own.”

Qui

Miranda was driven, steadfast, unwavering in her pursuit of a killer. But she was obsessed with the Butcher. The case ate at her until it consumed her existence. Qui

While she had dealt with being raped and tortured better than any victim he’d ever met, she hadn’t handled the survivor’s guilt. She blamed herself for Sharon’s murder, and her decision to join the FBI was more to avenge Sharon than to become an agent. And, ultimately, it was her need for vengeance that showed up in the psychological tests. Qui

He ran a hand over his face and closed his eyes. Because he’d loved her, and because his recommendation as much as her qualifications led to her acceptance into the Academy in the first place, he’d insisted that he be the one to tell her.

It hadn’t gone well.

He would never forget the look of betrayal in Miranda’s deep blue eyes when he told her she was out of the Academy. Was it really ten years ago? Damn, he missed her.

“Shit,” Nick muttered as he slammed on the brakes. Qui

There were at least thirty Jeeps, trucks, and cars parked along Route 84. Qui

Nick glanced at Qui

“You said no unauthorized perso

“Qui

“It has nothing to do with protection, and everything to do with jeopardizing this case.”

“Miranda knows these woods better than anyone, including me. I’d be surprised if she didn’t have every hill and crevice memorized. She has a frickin’ map on her bedroom wall! She sleeps and rises to six red pins staring at her, reminding her that she survived.” Nick took a deep breath. “Seven. Seven pins now.”