Page 41 of Final Escape
Phil’s eyebrows drew together. “No. He was here with Maura and me. Why?”
The sheriff angled a quick glance at Logan—checking for guilt or fear, no doubt.
Logan gave him a steady look in return. “I was doing what I could, hoping to save this guy.”
“Right. Vance—I want you to get up to the office. Each one of those tourists needs to be questioned thoroughly, before they have any more time to talk with each other.”
“Absolutely, boss.” Vance loosened the top button of his rumpled uniform shirt. “I’ll get right on it.”
“And I want them separated—especially from Penny.”
Vance ambled away in the direction of the rafting office. “Sure enough.”
“Penny?” Logan straightened. “She’s been nothing but helpful. She’s the one who made the 911 call, and—”
“And she’s your sister, cowboy,” Tyler shot back, flipping open his cell phone and hitting a single digit. He spoke rapidly into the phone, then snapped it shut and shoved it into his breast pocket.
Rick’s cold gaze darted between Logan and Carrie, who was still leaning over her folded arms. “Was that the BCI on the phone?”
The sheriff nodded. “They’ve got a crime unit wrapping up a murder scene just over the county line. They’ll have a couple men here within an hour, and the rest of the team and a mobile lab will be here within two. We’ll process the scene while we wait, then let them have at it.”
Logan sighed under his breath. The arrival of the Montana Bureau of Criminal Investigation meant the investigation would be handled right...unlessthe local department managed to destroy the evidence first through sheer incompetence, if not intent. They’d probably already decided he was involved and were just waiting to find proof.
The sheriff turned back to the body and slowly pulled back the blanket, revealing a tangled, blood-soaked shirt. A silver rodeo belt buckle. Faded, muddied jeans.
He lumbered back to his feet, pulled a digital camera from the bag at his side and began snapping off dozens of shots from every angle. “I’ve never seen this guy before. Did you find any ID? Was his wallet stolen?”
“It wasn’t in any of his pockets.” Phil peeled off his vinyl gloves and folded them into each other in one swift motion.
“Well, the BCI’s got the lab, ballistics and manpower to cover more ground than we can. From the looks of him, he must have been running through the brush, so maybe his billfold is somewhere in the woods.” Tyler pinned Logan with a searching look. “So what do you want to tell us about all of this, Bradley?”
“Maybe the shooter stole it,” Logan said slowly. “That would make sense.”
“Would it, now. Did you know the victim?”
“I think I saw him briefly for the first time Wednesday night, though it was too dark and things happened too fast for a positive ID.”
Tyler gave a derisive snort. “Then how would you recognize him now?”
“I’m almost sure.” Logan hesitated, regretting the need to involve Carrie, but there was no way out of it. He sent her an apologetic glance. “Carrie says she can positively identify the body, though. She lives out here, and rents the second-floor apartment of the rafting office.”
“Carrie?”
“Carrie Randall.”
The sheriff shifted his gaze to her. “Why didn’t you speak up in the first place? So who is this?”
Carrie lifted her head, the expression in her eyes still shell-shocked, her voice faint. “B-Billy Danvers. My ex-husband.”
Rick drew in a sharp breath. “She already told both Vance and me that this guy was a bad one, clear back when she first moved to Granite Falls. She was afraid of him following her here. She’d even filed a restraining order against him.”
Tyler’s eyes narrowed on her. “You don’t say.”
“Vance said he responded to a call in town Wednesday night, though it was dark and Danvers melted into the shadows when he arrived,” Rick added. “Vance didn’t get a look at his face. Ms. Randall, Logan and Danvers were involved in some sort of verbal altercation.”
“Now isn’t that interesting,” the sheriff drawled. “So there’s some troubled history, then.”
Carrie’s eyes widened at the implication. “I had no reason to do him harm, Sheriff.”
