Page 68 of High Frequency

Just as the toe of a boot appears overhead.

Twenty

Dan

I lasted about ten minutes after Wolff drove off.

Then I contacted JD and got him to come over to keep an eye on the progress at the house. I didn’t wait for him to get there but set out right away.

My first stop was the ranch to grab a two-way radio and pick up Will. There I ran into Sully, who went to grab me the radio while I saddled my horse. He didn’t seem surprised I was heading up the mountain.

I catch up with Wolff at the trailhead after letting Will stretch his legs up the dirt path.

“Why am I not surprised?”

Ignoring his comment, I nudge Will to fall in step behind Wolff’s horse as we veer off the trail. Halfway to the gorge, where vegetation is a little denser, we pass what I assume is Sloane’s ATV. Not long after, I hear voices.

In the clearing, we find Bo talking to a woman. The redhead has a harnessed dog sitting at her feet, so I assume this is the dog team Sloane has been working with. We dismount and secure the horses before we join the small group.

Wolff greets the woman with a chin lift, I guess they met already yesterday.

“Dan Blakely,” I introduce myself.

“Jillian Lederman.”

She has a nice smile and a firm handshake.

“And this is Emo.” She indicates her dog.

The animal wags his tail at the mention of his name.

“Can I touch him?”

“It’s a her,” she corrects me. “But yeah, go right ahead.”

I let her sniff my hand and scratch her head. That results in the dog rolling on her back with her legs up in the air, begging for a belly rub.

“Emo! Show a little modesty,” Jillian admonishes with a shake of her head.

As I’m crouched, doing the dog’s bidding, Bo urges the woman to tell us about the message from Sloane.

“What message?” I inquire, alerted by the mention of Sloane’s name.

“There’s another section like this—a rocky ridge—about half a mile up along the gorge,” Jillian responds. “Sloane wanted someone to check to see if there was closer access from the walking trail to that ridge. It’s where Emo found the remains, right underneath. Here, I’ll show you.”

She walks over to where a map is spread out on an old tree stump, and points at a short, narrower branch off the gorge.

“That’s where we located the remains, and the ridge I’m talking about is approximately here.”

She indicates a small strip on the south side of that branch.

“You can see the lighter rock on the satellite image,” Bo fills in.

Wolff walks over and glances at the map. “I’ll go check it out.”

“I’m coming with you,” I announce.

“If you find a more direct access point there, let me know. It may make more sense to move the pulley system right there. Especially if the ledge is closer to the trail,” Bo points out. “For now, we’ll stick here and wait for the sheriff’s guys to show up.”

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