Page 49 of Shephard

“You too, big Bear.”

I held the phone to my head after ending the call. A flash of light coming from outside the windshield caught my attention. After staring out the window and seeing nothing, I opened my driver’s door, standing on the ledge and looking down the overpass. The sunlight could have been reflecting off anything including a bottle cap, but my gut told me otherwise.

After thumping back into the seat, something else caught my eyes. I glared into the backseat and groaned. A wallet. Let me guess. After crawling halfway over the console, I grabbed it. Two seconds later, another hiss formed. There was no doubt even with the grainy picture that the lost tourist from the night before had left his wallet in my backseat.

Damn it.

That would mean I’d need to do the right thing and return it to the hotel at a minimum. At least I could leave it at the front desk and leave. But that would require a trip to the resort. Great. What if I ran into the real grump of the small town?

Then you’ll be excited, your panties damper than they are now.

I rolled my eyes. Maybe true, but I wasn’t going to tolerate my inner voice teasing me.

After tossing it onto the passenger seat, I reached into the side compartment, searching for my small binoculars. They often came in handy when searching for lost hikers. My skin was crawling, although it was entirely possible that was because of being forced to remember the months I’d endured constant abuse.

I shrugged the anger aside as I climbed out, moving to the guardrail. I peered down first with my naked eyes, seeing nothing but bright green foliage. Off in the distance were the scars from the previous season’s fire, but there was no sign of human life. It wasn’t an area used for camping or hiking, the rocky terrain providing too many unsuspecting dangers.

With the binoculars in hand, I did a sweep of the area for as far as I could see. It was impossible to detect anything out of the ordinary. Within seconds, I was frustrated. But a single flash coming from my right periphery caught my attention again. I concentrated on the area, blinking twice to refresh my eyes before peering into the lens.

I was also forced to adjust the magnification. Maybe I was trying to invent evidence. Whatever I thought I’d seen hadn’t been malevolent.

My phone rang as it always seemed to do when I didn’t want a damn call. However, since I was on call all hours of the day and night, I was required to check. It was Greg’s number, which usually meant the situation wasn’t a good one.

“Yes, boss?” I asked, trying to look out at the dense foliage at the same time.

“The sheriff arrived and he’s on a limited schedule. You need to get back here.”

“What about making the rounds?”

“No can do. Not right now.”

There was an urgency to his voice. “Let me guess. The sheriff isn’t alone?”

“No, he’s not. And you can’t go off halfcocked. I need you to promise me you’ll stay calm.” Greg was almost whispering. Jesus.

I’d had run-ins with the FBI more than once in my career. I wasn’t a team player when it came to them sliding in and taking over a case. I knew the reasons why it was required, but I’d never cared. They took all the credit.

Sadly, in this case, my instinct told me I was in over my head. The entire department was. We were park rangers, not crime fighters. That didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed.

“Scout’s honor,” I told him.

“I know for certain you were never a scout. Just get your ass here and keep your mouth shut.”

“Why, yes, sir.”

My boss was grumpier than usual. I shoved the phone into my jeans pocket before taking one last look through the binoculars. What the hell? Was that a person standing on the small ridge? If so, how in God’s name had he or she gotten there? The person was too far away to be able to tell.

But I was certain there was someone standing on the ridge with a weapon in his hand.

I pulled the black frames away, rubbing my eyes before looking again.

The figure had vanished.

CHAPTER 14

Shephard

A mistake.