Page 6 of When You're Safe

“You not buying this, Winters?” Finnasked.

“No,” she said. “Not yet. I’m herelearning about this as you are, but everything I see here tells me this was anaccident. Murder by car is pretty elaborate. There are simpler ways to do it.”

Finn mused for a second as abreeze rushed up the side of the steep incline below, rustling through theleaves of the sporadic trees and bushes all around.

Then Finn noticed something. Hepeered beyond the fallen tree to a green sign.

“That’s a forest path up there,looks like it’s paved,” he said, rubbing the blond stubble on his chin.

Rob turned to where Finn waslooking. “Do you think that’s where Maggie was heading?”

Finn nodded. “It makes sense.” Hepointed further along the road. “Except for that trail, it doesn’t look likethere’s anywhere else to go but the road, and I can’t see someone runningalongside this cliff for any given period of time. It’s too narrow. Toodangerous. And I do think I saw the entrance to another trail on the oppositeside of the road at the foot of the hill.”

Finn moved away from the body,turned, and then approached the tree. It was huge, its broken trunk andcountless branches too massive to climb over, even when on its side. Finnimagined the victim trying to get past it, desperately scrambling for her life.

“Okay, so let’s say Maggie wasrunning,” Finn said, thinking out loud. “She joins this road and plans to moveup the hill, around the blind corner, and then quickly to the other forestpath. But she comes around the corner and sees this tree. It’s blocking her way…”

Something else caught Finn’s eye.He stepped closer to the fallen tree.

“What is it?” Rob asked.

Finn pointed to a branch on thetree. It was jutting out, but broken at the end. The top broken piece of thebranch was dangling by a small amount of bark. Leaning in, Finn pointed to itas it moved subtly in the breeze.

There was something on the tip ofthe broken piece.

“That looks like blood to me,”Finn theorized.

Amelia stepped over and took alook. “I think you’re right. Maggie must have scraped herself on it before shedied.”

“Yes,” Finn said, deep in thoughtfor a moment. He then went over to the body. “Do you have gloves, Rob?”

Rob pulled out a pair of blueforensic gloves from his pocket. Finn put them on and then lifted up the grayrunning top Maggie was wearing. Her body was battered and bruised, but sureenough, there was a large scrape along her side.

“Okay, so she scraped her side,”Amelia agreed. “But that doesn’t mean this was murder. She was jogging, sheprobably caught herself on it as she was passing.”

“Yes,” Finn said. “But look at thebranch, look at the direction of the break. And then here.” Finn pointed to asmall hole in Maggie’s gray top. “Maggie’s top got caught on the branch, shepulled and tugged at it, then it broke. Maybe she fell, but she ended up overon this side of the road.”

“Right,” Amelia said, lookingaround. “But all that tells us is that she moved over here, which we knewanyway from where she was hit.”

“But why would she… Listen…” Finnstood for a moment. “What do you hear?”

“Just the forensic van back downthe hill,” Amelia answered.

“Wait,” Rob added. “If we can hearthe van, then Maggie would have heard the car coming up the road from behind.”

“Exactly,” Finn said, moving backtoward the turn and pointing at it. “Maggie heard the car. She isn’t wearingbuds or headphones. She must have heard it. And yet, she ran past here, gotcaught on the branch, and instead of moving back toward the rock face to getout of the way of the car, she still moved on.”

“It sounds like…” Rob said.

“Someone on the run.” Ameliafinished the point.

“Or someone who was afraid,” Finnpondered. “Someone who thought they were in danger and who treated the sound ofa car on a lonely road as a threat.”

“This is speculative,” Amelia said.“It’s possible, but we’re jumping the gun here, don’t you both think?”

Finn didn’t say anything as hestood there in thought. He was replaying the drive up the hillside in his head.

“Is he broken?” Amelia asked.

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