Page 55 of Snow River

“I heard about a nudist colony that lasted until about October one year.”

She gave a soft snort, then laughed, a delighted sound that he found completely infectious.He joined in, and for a moment the two of them stood in the middle of that old hardware store and just laughed together.It felt good, after the fright and tension of the last half hour.

Then he frowned.“How did they know what the dress looked like, down to the details about the pockets?”

Her smile disappeared.“You think it was someone who’s been in here?”

“Maybe.As far as I know, there’s no photos out there of that dress.The story didn’t get any press coverage.”

“And some of the files were lost in the fire, including all the crime scene photos.”

His mind went back to their previous theory, that there was police corruption involved.“Unless they weren’t burned, but stolen.”

“Is that possible?”

“Sure, especially if it was someone involved in the case.The question is, why?”

She waved both her hands in the air.“Hold on, back up.We don’t have to make it so complicated, do we?Maybe it was someone who has actually been in here recently enough to remember the details of the dress.”

“You should make a list of everyone who’s been inside.”He prowled through the space, checking the latches on the windows and looking for any signs someone had snuck in.

“That’s easy.”Lila walked over to her goldfish tank and sprinkled some fish food on the water.“Goldilocks can vouch for the fact that Ani, Molly, and Charlie, and possibly Sam and Nick, are the only ones who have come inside.And you.”

He grunted as he kneeled to check on a book that had fallen to the floor from a set of metal shelving.It was a cookbook called “Cooking for Miners in Fangtooth Gulch,” and it seemed to be a collection of recipes put together by local cooks.

“Maybe we should find out who rented it before me,” she suggested as she crossed the room to join him.“I’ve never seen that book before, where did it come from?”

“It was on the floor here.”He showed her exactly where he’d found it.“It must have fallen off this shelf.”

“There weren’t any books on that shelf.”

Sure enough, it was filled with vintage cooking equipment—an old waffle iron, a griddle, an aluminum pot coated with white corrosion, a blue and white flecked coffee pot.He frowned down at the book as a chill swept through him.“Where did it come from, then?”

She took it from him and flipped the cover open.In faded handwriting, a note was scrawled on the inside cover.“Darling Nancy - Paul found this and we thought of you.Happy birthday.Gwen,”she read aloud.“Paul.Is that Paul Anthony Bowman?”

He shrugged as she handed him the book.

“You know something else I just remembered?”

“Hm?”He leafed through the cookbook, noting the lack of olive oil and prevalence of lard in the recipes.

“Buster said there were rumors about Gwen and Paul Bowman being lovers.”

The implications raced through Bear’s imagination.If Bowman had formed relationships here, if he wasn’t filled with rage and ready to lash out with a hunting rifle, maybe he wasn’t the actual gunman.No one had seen him do it.He’d surrendered to searchers at the train station, then confessed.

Had someone coerced him into taking the fall?

From personal experience, he knew how that could go down.

“I think we need to consider the possibility that Bowman was framed,” Lila said gently, obviously thinking along the same lines.

He nodded, and gestured at the cookbook.“Who’s Nancy?She’s another of Paulina’s friends, right?”

“Yes.According to Paulina, Nancy was ‘the warrior.’But she hasn’t been in touch with Nancy since she left after the murders.She might not even be alive.Paulina keeps saying she’s the only one left.”

“Her name didn’t come up in the police reports at all.She wasn’t a witness.I’ve never heard of her in all the time I’ve lived in Firelight Ridge.”

Lila let out a breath filled with frustration.“I wish there was more information about this town’s history.No library, no local newspaper, no church, no city hall.The only record is people’s memories.”She took the cookbook from him and brandished it in the air.“This is the closest thing we have to a historical document.A cookbook from 1935.Come to think of it, that’s actually pretty cool.Bowman found this book, knew it was special, and he and Gwen gave it to Nancy with a nice birthday message.Does that sound like a killer?”

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