Murder at Granite Falls (6 page)

“Believe me, this wasn’t the first time something happened here during the past year. And it probably won’t be the last.”

She appeared to be oddly relieved at the news. “I thought the prowler on Monday night was stalking me, but maybe not.”

“Stalking you?”

“I know, it probably sounds silly. But my ex-husband, Billy, wasn’t all that happy about our divorce, even though he initiated it. I get threatening calls from him now and then.”

Logan frowned. “Worrying about something like that doesn’t sound silly at all.”

“But he couldn’t know where I am right now.” She flipped a hand dismissively. “I made sure of that when I left my brother’s ranch.”

“Still…”

“So, do you think that prowler was the one who damaged your raft?”

“Nope.” He ran a hand over the damaged surface. “We would’ve noticed yesterday when we tried to put it on the river. But it was fine.”

“What if he was just scoping things out, and came back last night?”

“Maybe.”

She pulled a cell phone from the pocket of her khaki slacks and offered it to him. “You should call the sheriff’s department.”

He sighed, thinking of the other suspicious events on the rafting company property and his cabin over the past twelve months. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not? You’ll need a police report to file an insurance claim, right?”

He laughed at that. “I took photos, but my insurance company has become a little testy when I call.”

“But that’s their
job.
Answering your calls. Taking care of your claims.”

“Within reason.”

“Well, if I were you—” Her eyes widened with sudden understanding. “This isn’t the first time you’ve had trouble.”

“No, ma’am.”

“But…why?” Her gaze swept the dense forest of pines crowding in on three sides of the clearing. “And why doesn’t the sheriff’s department help?”

He thought about all the ways they’d failed to properly investigate. The morning after someone shot out a window in his cabin. Or the day he’d found his tires slashed. Or the other, more subtle events that illustrated exactly what local opinion was regarding his character.

Given the offhand attitude and smirk on the face of the deputy who’d responded to his calls, any amount of trouble at Wolf River Rafting Company was what Logan deserved, and more.

“I’m sure they’re busy enough as it is,” he said finally. “And what are they going to do? A little vandalism won’t warrant some big investigation.”

“I think there’s more to all of this than just that.” She regarded him for a long moment. “Since I moved to town, two deputies and a teacher have hinted that I should be worried about living here. I ignored them, because I think you and your sister seem like nice people. But now Robbie and Danny’s mom acted like she didn’t want them to ever come out here, no matter what. So what’s going on?”

No wonder she hadn’t packed her bags and fled to town after her first day here. She didn’t know.

“Well?”

He felt the old, familiar weight of sadness and regrets crush his heart. “Probably because everyone in the county, barring a few jurors, still believes I murdered Sheryl Colwell.”

FOUR

“W
-who was Sheryl Colwell?” Carrie stared at Logan, still not believing what he’d just said.
Murder?

That he’d been tried in a court of law meant there had been evidence. Good evidence. And that the sheriff’s department and district attorney had been convinced of his guilt. From the oblique warnings she’d received, at least two deputies still believed he was a dangerous man. Had she been living this close to a cold-blooded killer? Chatting casually with a man capable of violence?

And he knew exactly how alone she was out here, on these long, cold Montana nights.

Logan’s expression turned stoic, as if he knew she was judging him and had already found him guilty. “Sheryl was a nice lady, far as I know. Thirty-two, with a husband and son.”

She drew in a sharp breath. “Is her son Noah Colwell?”

“That’s right.”

“I’ve had him in class a whole week and didn’t know anything about it. Poor boy—I have yet to hear him say a word in class. I just thought he was shy.” She felt her heart squeeze at the thought of all Noah had been through. “No wonder he’s so withdrawn.”

“His father has been intensely protective of the kid ever
since. His sister came to live with them, since he has to travel quite a bit. He’s sometimes gone for weeks at a time.”

“That’s
awful.
”

Logan stared off at some distant point on the horizon, his voice flat and emotionless. “It was all part of the prosecution’s summation—how an innocent young child lost his mother due to one heinous act of violence, and has an even more disrupted family life because of his dad’s absences as a long-haul trucker. The attorney made it clear just how traumatized the boy was—to the point that he had barely spoken after his mom’s death. And maybe that was all true. But someone else killed her.”

She searched his face, trying to find the truth in his words. Wondering what she should believe. “If you were acquitted, why would those deputies still think you’re guilty?”

“Frankly, I don’t know why they ever thought so in the first place.”

The logical, practical side of her urged her to grab her keys and flee to the safety of Granite Falls. A growing feeling in her heart told her that this man couldn’t possibly be guilty of such a terrible crime. “But it’s over now, right?”

“Not at all.” He wearily shook his head. “I think the sheriff figured it was an easy, high-profile case, and expected it to wrap up with a nice, tidy conviction just before reelection time. Instead, my lawyer proved reasonable doubt and made him and his department appear inept. Which was true.”

“And the locals…”

“Some still figure this was just one more case where a crooked lawyer managed to set a killer free. Small-town gossip just doesn’t die.”

“I know. I grew up near a small town like this one, and memories run deep. As in, ‘Jane Doe? Oh, yeah—she’s the one whose mother had the affair with that doctor over in Evansville back in 1982.’” Carrie faltered to a stop as heat started creeping
up the back of her neck.
Way to go…now you’re babbling.
“Uh, well…some things just brand you for life in a small town.”

As if he didn’t already know that from recent, bitter experience—a fact that he’d made perfectly clear.
Even more embarrassed, she clamped her mouth shut.

He met her gaze squarely, as if he’d just read her thoughts, a muscle ticking along the side of his jaw. “If you want to tear up your lease contract, I’ll refund the deposit. But if you have any questions that could help set your mind at ease, fire away.”

“How well did you know Sheryl?”

“We ran into each other on Main Street now and then, and she came out for a couple of float trips. Once with her boy, then she came again alone. That’s it. End of story. We were just casual acquaintances. And on both raft trips there was a full load of passengers—tourists from all over the country, so neither trip included the intimate interlude that the prosecutor implied.”

“You were the guide?”

“Just by chance, both times. Tina hadn’t finished her training and safety certification yet.”

“So…what was Sheryl like?”

“As I said, she was a nice lady. Quiet. I don’t think she asked a single question during either trip. In fact, she seemed a little scared of the water. And when we beached the raft at our midway point for a riverside lunch, the other passengers took a hike up to Badger Peak rather than take time to eat. She was the only one who stayed behind, and she read a book the whole time. Said she didn’t like heights.”

“I suppose the other passengers were questioned, and said you two had…plenty of time alone together.”

“Right. The prosecutor tried to prove it was the start of an ongoing affair, if that’s what you’re getting at it.” Logan snorted. “So given the supposed affair, she later committed suicide? Or
I killed her in a jealous rage because she wouldn’t leave her husband? None of that makes sense.”

“And if there was no proof—”

“Oh, there was ‘proof’ all right. An imprint of a Chaco sandal near where she fell off the cliff. In my size…as if most outdoors enthusiasts around here don’t wear that kind of sandal.”

“That’s it?”

“A scout troop saw me in the area earlier, while they were out working on a hiking badge.” He heaved a sigh. “I was out hiking myself. And since I was up in the mountains alone most of the day, I had no alibi for the hours in question. A witness claimed Sheryl said she’d been seeing me on the sly. There was more, but none of it was true.”

Carrie had watched enough old
Law & Order
reruns to know that some serial killers possessed enough charm to gain their victims’ confidence. But if Logan was lying about this, he was incredibly good at it. Even with her gaze riveted on his face she hadn’t seen so much as a flicker of guilt or deceit.

“I guess…I just don’t know what to say,” she said finally.

“All I know is that I’m innocent, and that I’m not going to stop searching until I find the guy who did kill her.” A corner of his mouth lifted wryly. “Though there’s a saying about how there are no guilty prisoners on death row, so I guess you’ll have to decide for yourself just what you want to believe.”

Before talking to Logan on Saturday, Carrie would’ve automatically believed the sheriff’s department over a claim of innocence by a man she barely knew.

Yet she’d already seen Logan’s gentleness with the local kids and his teasing banter with Penny. His wry, self-deprecating humor and quiet sense of honor. She’d been drawn to him for those very reasons, and that feeling had grown with every passing day.

Those
surely
couldn’t be traits of a killer.

All day Sunday she’d been able to think of nothing else. Wavering from one hour to the next as to whether or not she’d be wise to just leave. Praying for guidance.

And then, in the evening, she’d happened to look down from her apartment window to find Logan sitting on the open tailgate of the company pickup with his head bowed, one arm draped around the dog sitting at his side. Penny was there, too, her hand on his shoulder and her own head bowed.

Carrie had no delusions about the fact that even the worst of sinners might pray for forgiveness. And should. Yet the closeness of that scene, and the obvious love Penny had for her brother, touched Carrie’s heart in a way all of the logical thinking in the world had not.

If Logan had been shunned by this town for something he hadn’t done, how could she do the same?

She jerked her attention back to her classroom, hit the off button on the TV remote, and popped the DVD out of the player. It was her favorite—a depiction of the American cowboy as portrayed in paintings and sculpture by Remington.

“So,” she said with a smile, “how did Remington’s subjects differ from the ranches and cowboys we see today?”

Seven pairs of eyes stared blankly at her, quiet and obedient, while in one corner of the room, Noah Colwell silently stared down at the top of his desk, his thin shoulders hunched. In the other back corner, the Nelson twins looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

“Austin?”

That earned a guilty glance from the twin who seemed quieter, and snickers from his brother—who was her most likely candidate as creator of the violent drawings left on her desk on Monday, and again today.

“Dylan?”

His snickers died as Dylan silently lifted his chin in subtle defiance.

“Does anyone here live on a ranch?” She scanned the room. Two girls raised tentative hands. There were at least four others, out of the twelve students in her class, but no one else volunteered a hand. “Well, I’ll bet
all
of you have seen ranchers and cowhands come into town. Are their hats just the same now as they were back in the days of the Wild West? How about their chaps, and their saddles?”

The students seemed to collectively slide down in their chairs and avoid meeting her eyes. Not unexpected, she realized with an inward smile. Middle school was such a tender time for being easily mortified by unwanted attention or, worse, saying something that might make classmates scoff.

“Well, our next project will be creating either a watercolor or acrylic painting in the style of Remington, but with the cowboys wearing modern-day apparel and using present-day equipment. So think hard on it overnight, and we’ll see you here tomorrow.” All twelve students scrambled to their feet and bolted for freedom.

One, a beautiful Latina with shimmering hair that swung down her back to her waist, hesitated when she reached the door. “I won’t be in class the rest of the week,” she said with a shy duck of her head. “Can I do a makeup assignment for anything I miss?”

“No problem, Isabella. We can talk about it when you get back.”

The girl flashed a smile and joined the melee of students in the hallway.

Marie Colbert made her way through the crowd to join Carrie. “Is it only Monday? I, for one, need to find a place to put my feet up for a while.”

“More experiments?”

“Every day.” She blew at the bangs drooping over one eye. “I
need to keep the scalawags occupied or there’ll be an uprising. How about you?”

Carrie glanced over her shoulder toward her own classroom. “Do you have a minute?”

Marie shrugged and followed her inside. “What’s up?”

“Hold on.” Carrie walked the perimeter of the room, scanning the counters, bookshelves and desktops, her heart lifting with relief.
All clear.

But at her desk, she sighed and reached for an unfamiliar sheet of paper that had apparently been left facedown on one corner while her back was turned. “Another. I’d hoped there wouldn’t be.”

“Another what?” Marie joined her, craning her neck to see the paper Carrie held in her hands.

“I got distracted by Isabella’s question and I didn’t see who left this, but this makes three of these pictures so far. Two of them today. I have yet to figure out who the artist is.”