Page 24 of Mile High Mystery

She tightened her grip on the phone. “I’m getting closer to discovering what sent Camille to Eagle Mountain in the first place,” she said. “She believed her brother was in danger, and if we found out why, that could point us to new charges against the Chalk brothers.”

“We know they’ve committed plenty of crimes,” Lester said. “Finding enough proof to put them behind bars has been a problem.”

“I’m looking for that proof, sir. I have the laptop recovered from Camille’s rental van. I’m hoping it will have something useful on it.”

“You can analyze a laptop here in Houston,” Lester said.

“Yes, sir. But I want to dig deeper into the brother. He may know something he’s not saying.”

“Do you think Camille contacted him before she was killed?”

Shelby considered this. “I don’t think so. He was truly shocked when I told him about her time in witness security. But Camille had some reason for believing he was in danger. I want to find out why.” Sheneededto find out what had led Camille to flee the safety of her new life in Maryland. Whatever it had been, she hadn’t felt comfortable confiding it to Shelby, and that hurt, though she would never admit it to Agent Lester. She had worked to keep her friendship with Camille a secret, fearful of being accused of being too personally involved with the witness and transferred off the case.

“Have you found any evidence that the brother really is in danger?”

“No, sir,” she admitted. She had tried to keep an eye on Zach and had questioned him and those around him and had uncovered no threat. Which cast a lot of doubt on Camille’s motivation to come to Eagle Mountain. Maybe she had just missed her family. “But I’m hoping something on the laptop will clear things up.”

“I would have expected her killer to take or destroy the laptop,” Lester said.

“Maybe they didn’t have time. There were a lot of people at the campground. We have a witness who saw someone suspicious near Camille’s van shortly before she died, but the floodwaters were threatening to cut off the camp. He may have decided he needed to leave before he was trapped.”

“I read the report,” Lester said. “Not a lot of detail to go on.” The sound of shuffling papers signaled that Lester had either turned his attention to something else or was growing restless. “I’ll give you three more days,” he said.

“Thank you, sir.” With luck, she would find enough to persuade him to let her stay a week. Her instincts told her the key to this mystery was in Eagle Mountain.

“What’s the brother like?” he asked. “The file makes him out to be a drifter. Interesting, considering Camille’s degree of focus.” Lester had worked the case from the first. He had been one of the agents on the scene immediately after the judge’s murder. He had been the first to interview Camille after the Houston Police had contacted the FBI.

“He was grieving his sister’s death,” she said. “I think he was restless and reluctant to get close to anyone. That seems to have changed here in Eagle Mountain. He has a good job with a mine and is part of the local Search and Rescue team. That takes a lot of commitment.”

“Good for him. But is he going to help us bring down the Chalk brothers? Don’t lose sight of the mission, Agent Dryden.”

“I won’t, sir.”

“Good. Do what you have to, but wrap things up as soon as you can,” he said. “You have plenty of work to do here.”

“Yes, sir.” She ended the call and sat back on the bed in the plain hotel room that was her headquarters in Eagle Mountain. She had promised Agent Lester that she wouldn’t lose sight of her reason for being here. He thought that was to gather as much dirt as she could on the Chalk brothers and their possible connection to Camille’s murder.

But Shelby had another mission in mind. She couldn’t shake the idea that she had let Camille down. Looking back on her last few conversations with Camille, she could see that her friend had given her hints about what was going on. “I can’t stop thinking about Zach,” she had said. “I worry about him.” Another time, she had asked Shelby what the Chalk brothers would do if a new witness to the judge’s murder turned up—say, someone who had been passing by on the street. Would that person be in danger, given that the Chalks had already been acquitted of the murder?

“I think the Chalk brothers wouldn’t want to leave anyone out there who could potentially harm them,” Shelby had answered. “They might worry prosecutors would come up with new charges. Or the judge’s family might file a civil suit. Do you know of another witness? Did you see someone on the street that night?” Shelby searched her friend’s face for some sign that Camille was telling the truth or holding back.

“No. I was just playing around with possibilities,” Camille said. “I didn’t know if the case could go back to trial if a new witness came forward.”

“Not if they’ve been acquitted,” Shelby said. “No double jeopardy.”

After that, Camille had switched the conversation to talk of a new television series they had both been watching. Only after Camille had vanished did Shelby replay that conversation and berate herself for not digging deeper. Were Camille’s renewed worries for her brother and her mention of a potential new witness that night related at all? Was that what got her killed, or was the murder only payback for testifying against the Chalks in the first place?

Objectively, Shelby knew there were plenty of dead ends in investigative work, and many crimes went unsolved for years. But she was determined to do everything she could to discover the reason for Camille’s fears about her brother’s safety. She hadn’t paid enough attention before, and let Camille slip away to face death alone. She didn’t want to make that mistake again.

ONTUESDAYAFTERNOON, Zach was called into the human resources office at work. The HR director, Kathleen, was an efficient woman in her mid-forties with a British accent and long, highly polished nails, her brown hair pulled back in a tight chignon. “Zach, how are you doing?” she asked when he settled into the chair across from her desk.

“I’m okay. What did you need to see me about?”

“I was surprised to see you only took three days bereavement leave,” she said. “I wanted to make sure you knew you’re entitled to longer time off if you feel the need.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m okay,” he repeated. “I’d just as soon be at work. Staying busy helps.”

Kathleen nodded, though she continued to stare at him as if prepared to dodge out of the way if he suddenly exploded. “If there’s anything we can do to help, with navigating the arrangements for your sister’s services, or if you need to travel to be with family...”