Page 2 of Manhunt in the Narrows
“All right. Stand next to me, your arm touching mine. Don’t break the contact, understand?” It wasn’t much, but it would give the woman something to focus on over the next few minutes. Sayles tried to keep her own voice even and raised it over the nervous and shifting crowd. She’d volunteered for short-haul operations, dangled at the end of a rope from a helicopter during rescues and climbed these cliffs with minimal support. But she’d never faced a body on her own. There hadalways been another ranger to walk her through the protocols. “Ladies and gentlemen, law enforcement rangers are on their way. We will be closing the Narrows trailhead. I need you all to gather your parties and belongings and make your way to the shuttles where you will be taken to the visitor center and asked for statements.”
In her peripheral vision she saw another group had moved up the Riverside path, headed straight for her. Every muscle in her body was prepared to force them to turn around, until she spotted District Ranger Risner in the middle of the group, his gaze locked on her. Then the body. He’d brought the cavalry, and a rush of release coasted through her. It didn’t last long. Because along with two other rangers—law enforcement rangers from the look of it—a fourth person compressed the air from her lungs. He stood out, a misfit among the rangers. Taller, more muscular, even outfitted in jeans, boots and a T-shirt. She didn’t recognize him. Only men like him. Far too aware of their surroundings. Controlled. On alert for the slightest threat. And if he and any of his partners were in the park…
Sayles’s breath lodged in her throat.
“Listen up, folks.” Risner’s voice rose over the murmurs and complaints. “The shuttles are waiting to take you back to the visitors’ center. I apologize for the inconvenience, but please, we need you to leave this area as soon as possible.”
Yes, a dead body was certainly an inconvenience.
The man Risner had brought centered his attention on the body at her feet. Barely sparing her a glance. All about the job. Principled and disciplined. Unwavering. She guessed she should be thankful for that focus. Because experience taught her that having that kind of intensity on her would be a very bad thing.
Sayles sidestepped, moving both potential witnesses away from the remains for the law enforcement rangers to do theirjob. Hopefully she’d be forgotten once she handed them off. “I asked these two hikers to remain behind to give statements.”
“Agent Broyles of the FBI, this is Ranger Green.” Risner pointed a strong finger toward her. The district ranger’s thin, ratlike face contorted into something like a smile. A mask for those who didn’t have to deal with his underhanded comments and criticism on a daily basis. “She’s going to be the one you want.”
That all-too-trustworthy gaze tore from the body at their feet and landed on Sayles. “I hear you’re the one who can get me through the Narrows in one piece.”
She’d hiked in and out of the Narrows and everything in between every weekend since she’d been hired four years ago. Rain, shine, snow, flood. That last one was far more likely this time of year when the winter snow was melting at an alarming rate. She knew the trail better than anyone else in the park, but panic flared hot in her chest. What the hell was the FBI doing in her park? “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because we have a killer on the loose, Ranger Green.” Agent Broyles straightened to his full height, a full head above her. “And I need your help to find him.”
Chapter Two
Ranger Green didn’t like him one bit.
Elias Broyles faced a collection of national park rangers in Zion’s visitors’ center of all places, very aware of Green’s desire to make him all but invisible. She’d kept her gaze solely honed out the shuttle window the entire ride back. Going out of her way to avoid him, it seemed.
Hikers of all types, from toddlers to overpacked amateurs to leathery, sunbaked mountaineers, had been escorted away a little less than thirty minutes ago. It would take a few hours to ensure visitors cleared out of the nearly 150,000-acre national park, but this couldn’t wait.
Despite floor-to-ceiling windows punctured throughout the single-story structure, the scuffed brown cement and exposed support beams urged him to seek out more light. As if the natural woods and tones could close in on him at any time. The half walls showcasing things like Zion’s geological layers and something called Weeping Rock didn’t help with the open concept his body craved. A ceiling fan over the information desk failed to cool the space, but that was what he got for overdressing.
“Rangers, the FBI is in need of our expertise.” Risner hiked his thumbs into his belt and puffed out his chest like one of those birds Elias had seen on the Animal Channel. Except the man had the uncanny resemblance to a rat with beady dark eyes anda thin face. His skin wasn’t as deeply tanned as the rest of his rangers, but the man worked hard to give the impression he’d serve right alongside them in any situation. Truthfully, Elias wasn’t sure the man had walked these trails in months. Risner rocked up onto the toes of his boots. “As you know by now, a body was reported by a hiker about an hour ago. Ranger Green responded and called me for assistance. From the look of things it seems to be a case of foul play. Agent Broyles, tell us what you need.”
Foul play? Did people still talk like that?
Elias caught sight of Ranger Green’s focus from the back row of wooden benches meant for visitors to sit and watch an introductory movie about the park. As far from him as she could get. Captivating, ethereal eyes—the color of rare jade and just as cold—centered on him beneath that iconic ranger hat. She hadn’t said a word since his request for assistance back at the death scene. That distance was still firmly between them now, though he couldn’t imagine what he’d done to earn her dislike in the hour since he’d stepped into the park. She’d kept a level head after confronting the body. Something he certainly hadn’t been able to do his first time in the field. But maybe this wasn’t her first time. Or maybe she just didn’t like his face. He couldn’t do anything about that. Besides, he wasn’t here to make friends. He’d come for redemption.
“Rangers, our victim has been identified thanks to the ID in his jacket pocket. As far as we can tell, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and not specifically targeted by his killer. His remains are now in the possession of your law enforcement unit and are being escorted to the Kane County medical examiner to determine how long ago and how he was killed, but we need more information. That’s where you come in. There was a witness at the scene, but we need to know if our victim wastraveling or hiking with anyone else in his party and what drew the attention of our killer.”
“You just said he wasn’t targeted.” Ranger Green notched her chin higher, almost daring him to contradict himself to a room full of her colleagues. He had a feeling this wasn’t the kind of woman who would back down. “Wouldn’t your time be better spent focusing on the person who killed him?”
“You’re right. I did say that, but that doesn’t mean the killer didn’t get something he needed from his victim. Supplies, cell phone, cash—killers need resources to survive here just as much as the rest of us.” And they would take advantage of anyone who got in their way. “I want to know why the killer chose this victim over the dozens of others on that trail. As for the person who killed your hiker, my partner and I have been hunting a suspect who has left two bodies in California and one in Nevada. The unsub seems to be sticking to the main freeways, targeting drivers who travel alone, then stealing their vehicles until he runs out of gas before moving on to his next victim. We don’t know where he is headed, only that the three victims’ cell phone GPS indicates they all stopped on the freeway for a brief time. Most likely to pick up the killer. A vehicle belonging to his last victim was reported parked here at the visitors’ center early this morning. My partner is searching the van now.”
Risner raised his hand as if they were in the middle of a complicated psych lesson. “Unsub?”
“Unidentified subject.” Ranger Green leveled that compelling gaze back on Elias, and his body tightened in all the wrong places. “It means they have no idea who they’re looking for. Just that he’s leaving a trail of bodies behind him. And now he’s somewhere in the park.”
It seemed Ranger Green had educated herself in homicide investigations. Interesting. That didn’t help keep the atmosphere in the visitors’ center from growing frenzied.Rangers looked to one another and kept to low whispers. “While we may not know the killer’s identity, Ranger Green managed to secure a witness at the base of the trail who reported seeing the killer shortly after the victim’s body was discovered. We’ve got a basic description of his appearance, but nothing more. It’s possible our unsub will try to secure another vehicle, but we have Springdale police and your law enforcement rangers at every entrance to keep him from escaping.”
“He went up the Narrows.” Confidence bled into Ranger Green’s assessment. That kind of intensity was hard to ignore, but he imagined it had caused her a lot of problems here in the park considering how many rangers had put physical distance between themselves and her position in the back row. Not a team player.
“We believe so, yes. A killer’s number one priority is survival. He will do whatever it takes to avoid capture and arrest and try to wait us out. Lucky for us, adrenaline tends to make suspects very, very stupid, and I intend to take advantage.” Elias folded his arms over his chest. “Problem is we aren’t trained for this terrain. I’m going to need a guide to get me up the Narrows safely while my partner takes point here to prevent the killer from leaving the park.”
Risner clapped his hands, facing the dozen or so rangers. “I’ve got the best rangers in the service willing to do whatever it takes to help. Apart from Ranger Green, I’m your best bet, Agent Broyles. Been protecting these trails for over a decade and assisted in a number of rescues. There isn’t a single mile of park I haven’t hiked.”
Ranger Green gathered a khaki-colored pack from near her feet and stood to leave. Slinging it over her shoulder, she didn’t bother glancing back as she extricated herself from the group. Making a quick exit for the front of the building when no one else bothered to move.
“I need someone who specifically knows the ins and outs of the Narrows.” His brain latched on to the woman who’d extracted herself in a rush. He was trained to assess human behavior, and Ranger Green was trying to take herself out of the equation. Elias forced his attention back to the park’s division ranger. “When was the last time you were on the trail?”
