Page 58 of Only One More Lie

“I take it you’ve all already done your own investigation?” Gibson stared at them, his expression making it clear he already knew the answer.

“We did what we could,” Duke said. “We think either someone grabbed Caleb, managed to subdue him, and then took off with him in a UTV toward the White Mountains. Or Caleb grabbed someone and took off. There’s no telling where he might be right now.”

“And you have no idea why someone might have done this?”

“I have a couple of theories,” Andi said. “Either Caleb was involved in Pepper’s murder, or Caleb was involved in Calvin and Mary’s murders. Because of that, he wanted to run now that we’re here investigating.”

“There is a third possibility,” Duke said. “Something could be going on here at the camp separate from last year’s murders, and Caleb is caught up in that.”

They gave Gibson the note they’d found and then ran through the details of what had been happening.

Gibson shook his head as they finished. “I’m going to need to talk to Ms. Burrows again.”

“Juniper is in her office on the other side of the lodge,” Andi said. “I can take you to her.”

“That would be great.”

“If it’s okay, while you two do that, I’d like to wander the property,” Duke told them. “I want to take another look at things.”

There wasn’t anything specific. But he wanted to get a better feel for this place and see if there was anything he’d missed earlier.

“Of course,” Andi said. “Don’t forget that the Carswells are coming later.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” He watched as Andi and Gibson walked toward the dining area where everyone had gathered.

As soon as Andi and Gibson disappeared from sight, Duke headed out to survey the property.

He stopped by the pen where the reindeer were kept. They were acting uneasy, pacing with skittering gazes.

They must sense something was wrong, he realized.

He paused to watch them. The creatures were majestic. They really were. If only they could speak. Maybe they had seen something.

This was also the area where they’d discovered Pepper’s body. Crime scene tape still formed a square in the area where she’d been found, partly tied to the fence and partly to metal stakes in the ground.

Her death was still a mystery to him.

The method of her death didn’t match that of the December Dismemberer. That seemed to point to the idea that two different killers were at play here—not a comforting thought.

The hard part in situations like this was that snow and ice could obscure so many clues. When Duke had worked this one case with the Army CID, his team had to wait until the landscape began to thaw out in the spring before they could uncoverevidence without damaging it. Sure, they could use heat lamps. But that wasn’t ideal for preserving fibers and other possible evidence.

He squinted as he looked down at the snow. What was that?

He leaned closer and realized it was some kind of glitter. The particles were contained to a small, two-foot-by-two-foot area. He was certain the specks hadn’t been there yesterday.

Almost like . . . fairy dust.

He scoffed at himself. Fairy dust? To make the reindeer fly?

Yeah, right.

If that was what the substance was, then it had to be a gimmick given to a child who’d then come over to the reindeer pen.

This didn’t have anything to do with Pepper’s death.

He frowned.

But what if it did? He needed to keep this finding in the back of his mind . . .

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