Page 27 of Twin Jeopardy

“How did you get involved with search and rescue?” he asked.

“I like helping others and making a difference.” She flashed a smile. “And it gets me out of my own head. I could easily turn into a hermit if I didn’t force myself to get out and be part of the community. This is a good way to do that. And I’m learning new skills, getting into shape—I love it. Even when the rescues are hard or dangerous. It’s all important, and how often do any of us get to do something that’s really important?”

“I guess you’re right.” He had joined search and rescue because he remembered how hard they had worked to help find Valerie. Even though they hadn’t succeeded, the memory of those dedicated volunteers had stuck with him. And though he had never mentioned this when he applied to be a volunteer, he had hoped that time spent in remote locations in the mountains might lead to him uncovering a clue about what had happened to Valerie. He had imagined that would mean finding her body, or at least something that had belonged to her. That hadn’t happened, but until the mystery of her disappearance was solved, he would never let go of the hope of finding a solution.

“The new girl seems really nice,” Grace said.

“Bethany? Yeah, she’s nice.”

“She’s shy, like me, but I can tell she’s trying to come out of her shell.”

“I guess so.” Maybe he was reading too much into her attention to him. Some people were just friendly.

“Hey, what is that all over your truck?”

Grace’s steps faltered, then stopped. Vince stopped also, and stared at his truck. The moon had risen, and even in that silvery light, he could tell something was wrong with the paint job on the truck. It was too splotchy. He broke into a run and stopped when his boots crunched on broken glass. Every window in the truck was shattered. The windshield was still holding together, though a spiderweb of cracks spread out from a spot centered over the driver’s side.

“Is that red paint?” Grace spoke from beside him.

Vince crunched toward the truck until he could touch the dark stain across the hood. His finger came away red and sticky. He stared, realizing something was scrawled amid the broken lines of the windshield glass—messy words in the same red paint.

YOU THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, DIDN’T YOU?

“What’s that at the bottom?” Caleb had joined Vince and Grace. “It looks like a check mark.”

“It’s not a check mark,” Vince said. He stared at the two slashes of paint meeting at the bottom. “It’s aV.”VforValerie.

Chapter Nine

Tammy headed back down the hill toward her car. She searched groups of people she passed, hoping to spot Vince. She would say hello, and they could make small talk about the accident. Maybe they could firm up dinner plans.

A crowd had gathered on the side of the road up ahead. Curious, Tammy pushed through the clot of people and was startled to see Vince standing in front of his truck. Several people were shining flashlights on the vehicle, revealing a broken window and splashes of red paint. Tammy stared at the message on the windshield: YOU THOUGHT I WAS DEAD, DIDN’T YOU? V.

Deputy Shane Ellis, along with Colorado State Patrol Officer Ryder Stewart, moved in alongside Vince and began talking to him. Tammy snapped off a few photographs of the scene, then joined them. “Hello, Vince,” she said during a lull in the conversation.

“Hey, Tammy.” He resumed staring at his truck. “I can’t believe this happened.”

Tammy turned to Shane. “Who did this?” she asked.

“We haven’t found anyone who saw anything,” Shane said.

“Everyone was focused on the accident, and it was dark,” Ryder said. “The road was closed, and there weren’t a lot of people along this stretch where the volunteers parked their cars. We’ve got a shoe impression where a person stepped in the paint. It may have been the perpetrator, or maybe someone who was trying to get a closer look.” He studied Tammy’s tennis shoes. “The print is about your size.”

“No paint on me or my shoes.” She extended her leg so he could examine the sole of first one shoe, then the other. “So you think a woman did this?”

“It’s a possibility,” Ryder said. “But onlyonepossibility.”

“Someone could have parked on the other side of the closure and hiked up the road like I did,” she said. “If they waited until everyone was up at the accident site, maybe when the helicopter arrived and was making a lot of noise and attracting everyone’s attention. Then they smashed the windows, wrote the message and tossed the paint, and left before anyone saw them.”

“That could be how it happened,” Ryder said. “Do you know something about it?”

“I got to the accident site a few minutes before the helicopter arrived,” she said. “While I was walking up the road, a woman ran past me. I didn’t get a good look, but I’m pretty sure it was a woman—slender and not too tall, dressed in dark clothing. I noticed her because she was running—and away from the accident, not toward it like everyone else.”

Vince was focused on her now. “What color hair did she have? Did you get a look at her face?”

“No. I was focused on getting to the accident scene. And she was moving pretty fast.”

“Did you see where she went?” Shane asked.

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