Page 70 of See How They Hide

They would send the Denver ERT in to go over the cabin in greater detail, but that wouldn’t happen until tomorrow, and they needed all the information they could get now, as they worked to find the killers before another body dropped.

She and Michael regrouped in the living room. Michael said, “The killer—or killers—searched the place, but not in a rage. The desk drawers in the den had been rummaged through and files appear to be missing. There could be hiding spots we haven’t found. ERT will do a more thorough search of the outbuildings tomorrow.” He looked around. “The guy lived frugally and Zack is going through his finances. Why would he risk himself—legally, physically—to help create fake identities? He must have gotten paid for it. Hackers can make good money.”

“Who paid for it?” Sloane asked. “Thalia? The escapees from Havenwood? Where would they get the money if they lived in a cult for years?”

“According to Riley, Thalia stole from Havenwood when she left with Robert, who controlled the money. She also said that people went to Chris for supplies and help, so I suspect he had access to the accounts.”

“Did they have enough money to buy multiple fake identities?” Sloane said. “How much money are we talking about? Chris Crossman paid for his house in cash, so did Andrew and Donovan. Jane and Riley had money to live in Ashland. That’s alotof money out there to help these people.”

“Zack is working on it,” Michael said. “Riley said they made their money selling handmade goods at craft fairs. Quilts, hand-carved figures, jellies and jams, things like that. If that’s the case, even in a cash business, there must be some business records. But so far Zack hasn’t found anything under the name ‘Havenwood’ and Riley doesn’t know any last names. Claims no one had a last name.”

“Zack’s only had the info for a few hours,” Sloane reminded him. She looked at Michael, really looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot. “You look beat. How long have you been going?”

“We were up at 3:30 this morning Oregon time to catch the plane, then the drive from Denver. It’s been a long day.” He looked at his watch. “It’s after eight. Have you eaten dinner?”

She shook her head.

“We’re done here. The sheriff will keep a deputy on the house until our ERT unit comes in tomorrow. I’ll text Kara and Jim and see if they want to join us. I don’t even know what’s open around here.”

As Michael pulled out his phone, his cell vibrated. “Aw, the boss.” He answered. “Harris here...Yep...Okay.” He ended the call. “Costa just landed. He’s going to the crime scene up in Fort Collins, then tomorrow he and Dean Montero will be flying down and should be here before noon.”

“Agents?” One of the deputies came down the steep driveway that went behind Jesse Morrison’s cabin. “We found something odd, thought you might want to take a look.”

“Odd how?” Michael said as he motioned for Sloane to follow them.

She sighed. She was hungry, but now her already late dinner would have to wait.

The deputy said, “It looks like someone has been living in a small cabin up here and got out in a hurry. According to the property maps, it’s on Jesse Morrison’s property. It’s old, run-down, but has a working stove that’s still smoldering.”

The hike up the narrow, unmaintained road was difficult, especially at night with their flashlights. Sloane saw tracks that looked like an ATV. She pointed them out to Michael.

She said, “It snowed last night, these ATV tracks were made after that. But several hours ago.”

“Deputy,” Michael said, “does anyone live up here?”

“No. There’s a road behind Mrs. Chastain’s house that’s closest to the highway. That leads to another house, but you can’t even see it from here. All this is part of Morrison’s property, which ends at the national forest about half a mile west as the crow flies.”

“Did anyone check the outbuildings earlier today?”

“Not to my knowledge. We inspected the barn and storage shed, but honestly, I didn’t even know this was up here until my officer found it.”

They had reached the tiny cabin. A narrow but sturdy porch wrapped around the building, which was built into a grove of trees.

Michael went inside while Sloane stood at the threshold and looked out. She couldn’t see much of anything in the dark, but she saw the lights surrounding Jesse Morrison’s house. If she could see the lights, she imagined someone here would be able to see people approaching.

Michael came out a minute later. “I told them to seal this structure and I’ll ask Denver ERT to collect evidence. Someone was staying in there. They cleaned up after themselves, but they were in a hurry. There’s some trash in the garbage can and clothing was made into the bed. Even I could see hair on the pillowcase. We’ll likely get prints and DNA. By the looks of it, he left in a hurry.”

“When?” Sloane asked. “After you and Kara arrived—or earlier, when Andrew and Riley were here?”

Michael hesitated, then said, “Once Kara and I found the body, no one could have left—there has been a South Fork deputy on the property ever since. He would have heard an ATV. If he walked, he might have slipped away. But we can’t search for a vehicle or tracks in the dark. We’ll have answers tomorrow.”

26

Fort Collins, Colorado

Matt read Michael’s long message about the one-room cabin they had found higher up the mountain from Jesse Morrison’s house, and the idea that someone—possibly someone with ill intent—had been living there until Riley and Andrew showed up. He responded with,Keep me in the loop, then pulled on latex gloves and approached the door of the small well-kept home that belonged to Andrew Gardner and Donovan Smith. Detective Richard Thompson greeted him.

“The coroner removed the body a few hours ago, and we had our crime scene investigators come in to photograph and collect evidence. But you wanted to see the place?”

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