Page 27 of Canyon Killer
“But we haven’t been together,” she said.
“You came to the canyon Sunday afternoon,” he said. His heart pounded. Had the person who’d fired at him and Aaron still been there when Bethany had arrived? Watching them?
“Bethany, has anyone threatened you directly?” Jake asked.
“No.”
“It might be nothing,” he said. “But considering someone has already shot at Ian once, it would be a good idea to play it safe.”
“Someone shot at you?” Carter shouldered through the crowd that had gathered to stand beside Bethany. “When? Who?”
“Sunday afternoon,” Ian said.
“And you were there?” Carter’s face was red, his voice raised. “Bethany, you need to stay away from the canyon and from Ian.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” she countered, then she turned on Jake. “You need to find out who’s making these threats. Have you looked at Walt Spies?”
“Why Walt Spies?” he asked.
“He owns land next to Humboldt Canyon,” she said. “Maybe he wanted to buy it and Ian beat him to the punch. And he’s leading the protests against the via ferrata.”
“Leaving vague notes like this doesn’t seem like Walt’s style,” Jake said. “But we’ll keep an eye on him. In the meantime, let us know if you notice anyone following you or anything at all happens to unsettle you.” He held up the note. “Can I keep this?”
“I don’t want it,” Ian said.
“So many people have handled it at this point that we won’t be able to recover fingerprints or DNA, but maybe the handwriting will tell us something,” Jake said. “If nothing else, it could be evidence when we do find who’s threatening you.”
The crowd began to disperse. “We need to go,” Carter said.
“You two wait at the car,” Bethany said. “I want to talk to Ian.”
“Bethany.” Her brother looked stern.
She glared at him, and after a moment, he backed off. “Don’t be too long.”
When they were alone, Bethany moved closer to Ian. He started to apologize for putting her in this predicament, but she put a finger to his lips. “I’m not going to stay away from Humboldt Canyon, but I’ll only come in the daytime.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be seen together,” he said. “That’s what made you a target in the first place.”
“I don’t care what some jerk thinks of me,” she said. “But as long as we’re in public, they can’t do anything to me.” She put her arm around his waist and laid her head on his shoulder.
His arm went around her automatically and pulled her close. He wasn’t convinced she would be safe with him, but how much more would he worry if he couldn’t see her? “All right,” he said. “As long as we’re in public, we can still see each other. I can come to the office.”
“Or to my house.”
He suppressed a groan. “Your brothers already don’t like me. And when I went to your parents’ house looking for you tonight, they didn’t seem too happy to see me, either.”
“Once they know you better, they’ll learn to love you.”
Ian wasn’t so sure about that, but for her, he was willing to give it a try.
“Come by the office tomorrow afternoon,” she said. “I want your help with something.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to try to find out more about Abby and Gerald Boston. Maybe the historical society has old newspapers we can look through. If they were newlyweds, there should have been a wedding announcement.”
“That probably won’t tell us anything about who might have murdered them,” he said.
