Page 40 of Mile High Mystery

“Without a last name, we’re having trouble locating Janie,” the sheriff said. “You say she was at the campground the day Search and Rescue helped evacuate flooded campers?”

“Yes. She came up and hugged me and thanked me for helping out.”

“And later at Mo’s, she thanked you again?”

“Yes.” He frowned.

“You don’t remember a last name?” Deputy Owen asked.

“I’m sure she never said. You could ask Eldon Ramsey. He was there, too. And he saw her at the campground.”

The sheriff made a note. “What else do you know about her?”

“She said she was camping with friends, but that they left to go to Moab while she stayed in town a few more days.”

“What was your impression of her?”

“If you mean, did I think she was the type to steal my key and leave a slashed-up stuffed animal in my townhouse, I sure didn’t think that.”

“Special Agent Dryden tells us Janie was coming on pretty strong at Mo’s.”

He didn’t look at Shelby, and his cheeks felt hot. “She was flirting.”

“There was no one named Janie, and no one who matched that description among the campers we interviewed about your sister,” Walker said.

“But I thought you talked to everyone?” Zach asked.

“We were able to match the names of the people we did interview with every occupied site,” Walker said.

“Maybe she didn’t register,” Zach said. “It happens. People occupy a site but don’t pay. It’s all on the honor system.”

“Maybe. Or maybe she wasn’t camping there at all.” The sheriff glanced at his notes. “We did interview Todd Arniston. Do you remember seeing him at the campground that day?”

“No! He was there? He never said.”

“We have a statement from him. But he says he never saw your sister or anyone suspicious.”

“I went back out to the campground afterward,” Zach said. “It had reopened, but I didn’t see Todd there.”

“He’s moved into town. He’s staying at the Nugget Inn. But he was out when a deputy stopped by. The deputy left a card, asking Mr. Arniston to call us.”

“If the threat left at your townhouse does have any connection to the Chalk brothers, it might not be a bad idea for you to leave town for a few days,” Walker said.

“I can’t just leave,” he said. “I have a job, and Search and Rescue commitments. And my parents. I can’t abandon them.”

“I received confirmation this morning that the FBI has a protection detail with your parents,” Shelby said.

“Have they been threatened, too?” He needed to call them. He should have called last night, but he hadn’t wanted to upset them.

“No. And we haven’t told them anything about what happened to you,” she said. “They think we’re being extra cautious in the aftermath of Camille’s death.”

He nodded. That was alarming enough, but it was a story his parents would accept. Like him, they would find it difficult to believe they were in any real danger. Not after so much time had passed. Even in the run-up to the trial, when Shelby and her potential testimony had filled the news, Zach and his parents had never felt threatened. All of the focus was on Shelby. As horrible as her death had been, knowing she was gone had made them all believe the Chalk brothers would forget about them.

“I need to stay here,” he said. “I’ll be careful, but I can’t run away.”

Shelby pressed her lips together, and he wondered if she was biting her tongue, too, to keep from arguing with him. Her eyes telegraphed her disagreement with this decision, but she apparently knew him well enough now—or realized he was enough like Camille in this regard—that she didn’t waste her words.

Zach stood. “Can I go now?”

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