At the reminder of Finn being in the hospital, she felt a pang of worry.The doctors were confident he would recover without any complications, but what if that changed?What if he never made a full recovery?In some ways, he was her whole world: her partner both at work and at home.If he was at all compromised…
With an effort, she shoved these thoughts aside.She couldn't allow herself to dwell on such possibilities.Not when it was out of her control, anyway.
She took a deep breath.As much as she wanted to continue this conversation with her dad, she couldn't leave a newbie like Tommy to investigate a body on his own.He needed help.
"Sheriff?"Tommy asked."Still there?"
"I'll be there in twenty," she said finally.
She ended the call and looked at her father's back."This isn't over."
"No," Gabriel said quietly."But maybe it should be."
She wanted to stay, to push harder, to finally uncover the truth that had haunted their family for a decade.But duty called.It always did.
As she headed for the door, Gabriel spoke again."Sheila."She turned.He was still staring out the window."Be careful who you trust.Even in your own department."
The words sent a chill down her spine as she left her childhood home, heading toward a new mystery while the old one deepened behind her.
CHAPTER TWO
The Mountain Peak Resort parking lot was a maze of emergency vehicles, their red and blue lights reflecting off the freshly fallen snow.Sheila pulled in beside a patrol car, her mind still spinning from the conversation with her father.She needed to focus on this case, but his warning about trusting people in her own department kept echoing in her head.
Had he been thinking about someone in particular?
Officer Tommy Forster stood waiting for her, looking impossibly young in his crisp uniform.He'd joined the department six months ago, fresh from the academy, all earnest enthusiasm and textbook procedures.His dark hair had that carefully disheveled look that made him seem more like an actor playing a cop than an actual officer.
There was something vaguely familiar about him, but Sheila couldn't figure out what it was.Did she know him from outside work, perhaps?
"Sheriff Stone," he said, straightening his posture."Thanks for coming out.I know you've got a lot on your plate with Deputy Mercer in the hospital and all."
Sheila nodded, pushing away thoughts of Finn's recovery.He'd be released next week, but until then, she had to manage without her partner."Tell me what we've got, Forster."
"Right."Tommy pulled out his phone, fumbling slightly with cold fingers."Bradley Greenwald, local businessman.Rachel Caffrey, one of the ski instructors, found him about an hour ago.He's..."He hesitated, frowning at his notes.
"He's what?"
"Maybe you should just see for yourself.I've never seen anything like it… but I guess that's not saying much, is it?"
They took the maintenance snowmobile up the mountain, Tommy driving while Sheila directed him.She noticed he handled the machine with natural skill, navigating the snowy terrain confidently despite his inexperience with crime scenes.
"How's Deputy Mercer doing?"Tommy asked over his shoulder."I stopped by earlier, but he was sleeping."
"Better," Sheila said."Doctor says he'll be back on duty in a couple weeks."She didn't mention how empty the house felt without Finn there, or how much she missed Finn's reliable presence beside her on the job.
The crime scene came into view, illuminated by portable floodlights that cast harsh shadows across the snow.CSI techs moved carefully around a figure that, at first glance, appeared to be a skier caught mid-turn.But as they drew closer, Sheila saw the unnatural stillness, the frost patterns across exposed skin.
"Everything's been photographed and documented," Tommy said, his professional demeanor slipping slightly to reveal genuine awe."But we waited for you before moving anything.I remembered what you said in briefing last month about preserving the scene exactly as the killer left it."
Sheila glanced at him, surprised he'd retained that detail.Most rookies were too nervous their first few months to absorb much beyond basic procedures.
Sheila circled the body slowly.Greenwald was dressed in high-end ski gear, his form perfect—knees bent, body angled into the slope, poles positioned with precise attention to detail.If it weren't for the blue tinge to his skin and the ice crystals in his hair, he might have been a mannequin in a sporting goods store.
"You mentioned there being a killer," she said, watching Tommy."Why?"
He straightened, clearly pleased to be tested."The positioning is too precise to be accidental.Someone took time arranging him like this.And look at the snow around the body—it's been smoothed out, like someone deliberately erased their tracks."
"Good observations.What else?"
