North Country(73)

Would she?

“So … what do you do all day, anyway?” There’s judgment in her tone.

I shift the clean bedding around. “Whatever I can to help. Fill water troughs, fix fences, clear brush, cut firewood. I guess we’ll start putting out hay soon for the bison.” A light dusting of snow fell on Halloween. It won’t be long before everything’s coated in a blanket of white. “We had the vet checkup last week. I helped with that.” Herding five hundred animals that don’t like being herded, using treats to bait them and gates and chutes to separate and sort. It was as daunting a task as my dad warned it would be, but thankfully no one got maimed. “Harvesting some of the stock is next.” Which means getting them loaded into trailers—something they like even less.

“Do you ever leave?”

“Leave? Like, this property? Yeah, to check in with my parole officer.” I’ve had three meetings with Glen so far. He’s made me piss in a cup every time, but otherwise, he’s not so bad. He was thrilled that I could show him an official pay stub.

“You should get out more.”

“Every time I’ve gone out, something bad happened. That one night, I almost ended up in a bar fight and then I got questioned about a missing girl. And that other time, I found a drowning woman in a lake. So, I think I’m good right where I am.” As promised, Emery looked into it and it turns out, sixty-seven-year-old Carol Roth did survive. She had some sort of cardiac event that caused her to lose consciousness while paddleboarding. We must have found her soon after it happened and, as the EMS suggested, the frigid water kept her from suffering permanent damage. She’s still recovering, based on the message Emery passed along through my mother.

Isla heads into the tack room and returns with riding gear.

“You’re going out now?” I steal a glance out the open barn door. “It’s still pretty dark.”

“I won’t go far. I just …” She throws the saddle blanket over Biscuit’s back. “I need to clear my head. ”

“Yeah, but …” I never liked the idea of Emery riding alone, even in broad daylight. There are holes for horses to step in, wolves and coyotes to spook them. “Give me a minute. I’ll come with you.”

I pause a beat to gauge her reaction to that. When she doesn’t argue, I collect my gear and head to the paddock to saddle Copper. “I’ll give you a good grooming after,” I promise as I affix the bridle.

Biscuit trots out of the barn with Isla on his back. She orders Duke to stay put.

“We’re not goin’ too far or too fast, understood? Copper is slow as fuck.” I haul myself into the saddle. What I really need is a horse of my own—one like Storm. “Let’s head up to that ridge over there.” I point toward Jon and Sarah’s log house on the hill.

She follows my direction. “Why? What’s up there?”

“Only the best view on this entire property. You’ve been living here how long, and you don’t know that yet?” It was one of Emery’s favorite spots. I figured she would have brought her daughter up there by now. “We should be able to make it just in time for sunrise.” The bite in the air is fierce, though, and all Isla’s got on is a sweatshirt. “Don’t you need a jacket?”

“No, Dad, I’m good,” she mocks, staring at me as Biscuit prances, impatient.

“All right, smart-ass.” I coax Copper into a canter, chuckling.

Isla sidles up next to me on her horse. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Holly,” she says quietly.

“Why? Because your mom’s my alibi?”

“No. I mean, that helps. But that’s not why.”

Now I’m curious. “How do you know?”

“I just do.” She shrugs. “Like I know I’m gonna beat you to that ridge.” Biscuit takes off, and Isla’s shriek of girlish laughter trails behind her as they race ahead, her hair flying.





Chapter 26





Emery




“Another dead end.” Terry drops into the chair in my office without an invitation or preamble.

I abandon the report I was reading. “Ethel Borowitz?” A lady called in yesterday to tell us a girl matching Holly’s description was working in a town an hour away.

“Good ol’ Ethel. I drove all the way out there to meet this waitress. Her name is Bella Rogers. She’s twenty-four years old and she’s lived in that town her entire life. In fact, she has served Ethel every Wednesday morning for the past three years.” The flat look he gives me makes me snort.

But there’s nothing amusing about it. “So, we’ve officially exhausted all leads.” We’re at a standstill in the investigation. There are no witnesses, no trails. We have no hits on Holly’s bank card. No secret text messages on her phone.

We have nothing.

Terry nods, growing somber. “Command is sending us up to the Kirkland Lake area for another case.”

“Yeah, I know. Doug gave me the heads-up.” My boss and I speak daily, much to my dismay. I knew the call was coming and soon, but it doesn’t make this any easier.

“Any new tips that come in, Schmidt or I will be on it in an instant,” Terry promises.