Page 32 of Canyon Killer
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Bethany said. “That must have been hard, learning what happened to him all those years ago.”
“It was, and it wasn’t,” Craig said. “The family story was that he and Abby had run away, but I never believed he would vanish like that without saying anything. He and my dad were close.”
“Do you mind telling me something about him and Abby?” she asked. “I’ve been really curious.”
“I didn’t know Abby all that well. But Gerald was head-over-heels in love with her. She was a pretty thing, very sweet.”
“I read that he had been married before.”
“Where did you hear that?” His voice was sharp.
She drew back. “I visited the historical society, trying to find out more information about them. I wanted to know them as more than bones in a cave.”
He calmed a little. “Yes, Gerald was married before. His first wife, Katherine, never forgave him for divorcing her. But they’d known each other only a short time before eloping. Then he learned how unstable she was. She drank to excess almost every day, lied about everything and flew into jealous rages over imagined slights.” He shook his head. “Gerald thought they would both be happier divorced. He met and married Abby, but Katherine continued to plague him. We thought that was the reason he and Abby supposedly left town—to get away from Katherine.”
“Do you think she would have been angry enough to kill them and hide them in that cave?” Bethany asked.
Craig sighed. “I can’t help thinking she had something to do with it. Except Katherine had a disability, and it prevented her from walking very far. Gerald always said that was why she was so bitter. She blamed him for the accident that injured her leg, but Gerald said she was drunk and fell out of a car she was riding in with another man. The car tire crushed her leg,” he explained. “The other man—we had no idea who he was, though there were rumors about Katherine being seen around town with a man who wasn’t her husband—drove off and left Katherine lying by the side of the road. After that, she used a crutch even to walk across the room.
“I can’t see how she would ever have gotten up to that cave or overpowered Gerald and Abby, who were both young and fit,” he said, “but maybe she and the other man—whoever he was—were in it together.”
“Such a sad story,” Grace said.
“It is,” Craig said. “The sheriff’s department said they would investigate the murder, but I don’t see how they’re going to find out anything after all this time.”
A shout from a short distance away distracted them all. “Here comes the rest of the team,” Caleb said.
Bethany moved over to make room for Danny, who quickly assessed Craig’s condition. “You’ll need X-rays to confirm, but I don’t think the ankle is broken,” he said. “Probably just a bad sprain. I’m going to splint the ankle and give you something for the pain, then we’ll get you down off the mountain.”
While Danny tended to Craig, the others assembled the wheeled litter, then moved their patient into it. “Are you ready for your ride down the mountain?” Carter asked.
“More than ready,” he said, a little drowsily. His features had relaxed and some of the color had returned to his face as the pain medication did its work.
The litter had one large wheel in the center, which made it easier to navigate the narrow hiking trail but required volunteers at each corner to support it and guide it over rough spots. Volunteers took turns on litter duty, which was more tiring than Bethany would have expected, since it required supporting part of the patient’s weight as well as maneuvering over rough terrain without a clear view of the ground. But they had all practiced the job, and the trip down the mountain went smoothly. An ambulance was waiting when they arrived at the trail head, and paramedics transferred Craig into it and drove away.
“Another job well done,” Carter said as he and Dalton caught up with Bethany in the parking lot at search and rescue headquarters. “I’m starved.”
“Let’s get pizza,” Dalton said. “You want to come, Betty?”
She glared at him for using the nickname she despised. “No, thanks.” She clicked her key fob to unlock her Subaru.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Carter asked.
“None of your business,” she said, then got into the car and started it before they could quiz her further.
Yes, she had promised to stay away from Humboldt Canyon, but she wanted to see Ian’s face when she told him what she had learned from Craig Boston.
CHAPTER NINE
Ian met her at the door of his trailer, brow furrowed. “Bethany? Is everything okay? What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” She hurried up the steps. “And before you say anything—I have a good reason to be here. Let me in and I’ll tell you.”
She was prepared for him to argue, but instead he ushered her inside and locked the door behind them. “What’s going on?” he asked. Good. He didn’t appear angry, only concerned. Maybe a little worried on her behalf.
Bethany moved to the sofa and sat. “Search and rescue got a call late this afternoon about an overdue hiker,” she said.
“Did you find him?
