Page 52 of Canyon Killer
Ian unlocked the Jeep, and they got in. “It’s a big step from resenting a former spouse to murdering him and his new wife in a remote canyon,” he said. “We know Katherine couldn’t have committed the crime herself. And we don’t know if she really had a friend who would have helped.”
“The logical part of my mind knows you’re right.” She grinned at him. “And yes, I do have a logical part of my mind.”
“I never said you didn’t.”
“Thank you for that, but I know I tend to rely more on impulse and instinct. I can’t shake the feeling that Katherine is involved in the murder somehow.”
“It happened such a long time ago,” Ian said. “Without DNA or some other conclusive evidence, you’ll probably never know what happened for certain.”
“Maybe not, but I think it’s important for us to try to find out.”
He angled his body toward her. “Why is it important?” he asked. “I really want to know.”
She glanced at him, then looked back at her hands, clenched in her lap. “This is going to sound silly…”
“Tell me and let me decide that,” he said.
She drew in a deep breath. “The way Gerald and Abby died was so horrible—all alone in that cave. And no one even looked for them for fifty years. Then we found them. That connects us with them, in a weird way. I think if we could find out who killed them, even if that person is long dead and can’t be punished for the crime, it would be a way of finally laying them to rest. Of giving them the peace they deserve.”
“That’s very sweet of you, to want to do that for them,” he said.
“And maybe silly. But there’s another reason to look for their killer. Maybe an even more important one.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“You said it before—the vandalism and the attacks on you might not be because someone is opposed to the via ferrata project,” she said. “Maybe you’ve been targeted because you uncovered the killer’s secret.”
“I was only speculating. So you really think their killer is still alive and here in Eagle Mountain?”
“Why not? They would be older now—in their seventies or even eighties. But they could still be worried you’ll find out their secret and they’ll go to prison. It’s reason enough to threaten you.”
“As far as I know, the sheriff’s department doesn’t have a single suspect in Gerald and Abby’s murder,” Ian said. “I can’t see the murderer has anything to worry about.”
“Except that all these years, no one has even known there was a murder. The killer was perfectly safe. Now people are starting to ask questions. At least…you and I are asking questions. That’s making the killer nervous. If they can shut us up, maybe they can make this all go away.” She frowned. “I’m not saying that makes a lot of sense, but someone who would kill two innocent people and leave them in a cave for fifty years has to be a little unbalanced.”
He went very still. “If what you’re saying is true, you could be in real danger,” he said.
“So could you. Soareyou. Someone already tried to shoot you, and you could have been killed, falling off that catwalk.”
“Someone shotatme. And at your brother, the cop. And only broke a window. That doesn’t seem like a very serious attempt at murder to me. And the catwalk was more likely to injure one of the construction workers than me. Whoever sawed through those supports couldn’t have known I would climb up there. I didn’t even know I would until I did it.”
“The only thing that’s happened to me is someone sent a lame note.” She didn’t mention the feeling yesterday that she was being followed. That had probably just been her imagination.
He didn’t answer, only looked at her with a pained expression.
“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“I can’t decide if I need to tell you to stay away from me for your own safety or if it would be better for me to keep you close. At least then you’d have someone trying to protect you.”
“I have an entire overprotective family, remember?”
“No offense, but I’m not sure how much defense they would be against a killer.”
“Is there something else about you I need to know? A black belt in karate or training as a Navy SEAL that you neglected to mention?”
He pulled her close. “Haven’t you figured out that I’m incredibly stubborn? I don’t give up when it comes to scaling mountains, and I won’t give up going after anyone who tries to hurt you.”
Bethany had read about how love made people weak in the knees, but she had never experienced it before. If Ian hadn’t been holding her upright, she might have slid right out of her seat. “I never feel safer than when I’m with you,” she said, the words just above a whisper.
