The First Death (Columbia River, #4)(20)

She swung the day pack off her shoulders and took out her bear spray. She never entered the woods without the pack. A small medical kit, her GPS, protein bars, dog treats, water, and a Leatherman tool were also in it. The bare necessities for her short hike.

Ahead Thor sat down and looked back, waiting for her to catch up. A large rock wobbled under Rowan’s foot, and she caught her balance with her weaker leg but nearly tumbled into the water.

“Shit.”

Her leg had been badly broken while she was kidnapped. Four surgeries later, it was pretty good, but never quite right. No matter how much she worked it, the leg didn’t have the full strength for certain movements.

Like catching her balance when her good leg was compromised.

It’d taken Rowan years to accept her subtle limp. She could mask it if she concentrated, but ten years ago had given up hiding it. There was no point. This was how she was. She’d learned to give no fucks about what other people thought.

If the worst thing in her life was that she limped a bit, she was grateful.

When people asked, she simply smiled and said, “A bad break when I was a kid.” And changed the subject. The surgical scars weren’t attractive, but she’d accepted those too.

They were who she was. A road map of her life.

Rowan pushed forward, choosing more cautiously where she placed her feet.

She froze as a sound reached her over the noise of the river.

Oh no.

It was Thor’s discovery chatter. He’d found something.

She shaded her eyes and squinted. One of the sun’s rays highlighted bare flesh on the river’s rocky bank. The body didn’t move.

“Thor! Come here.”

Her dog swiveled his ears, confused that he was being told to leave his discovery. Thor paused for a second but then obediently trotted back to Rowan, meeting her halfway. “Who’s the best boy?” She scratched his ears, her gaze locked on the body partially in the water.

It was a woman. And she’d been dead for some time.





10


From fifty feet away, Evan saw the frown on Rowan’s face.

He followed the deputy along the river toward the crime scene. He’d been warned before he left Bend that it would be a long hike. He’d put on hiking boots and appropriate clothing and then added more layers and some supplies to a small backpack. In the past, he’d learned anything could happen at a crime scene in the forest and tried to be prepared.

Evan knew that Rowan had discovered the body, but she wouldn’t have known he’d caught the case.

He had a good idea why she was frowning.

It wasn’t Evan’s turn for a new case, but there were too many similarities to two investigations already on his desk. His supervisor had heard “abandoned nude female body” and immediately assigned it to Evan.

Is it related?

So far only basic commonalities tied his other two women’s cases together. Age of victim. Strangulation. Nude. Body dumped. He had no evidence the crimes were related, but his gut told him they were. The other bodies had been left in quiet semiremote areas where someone would eventually find them.

He wondered if Rowan had been working a training exercise for Thor or just been out for a random hike.

Our paths are crossing a lot lately.

Usually he saw her a few times a year. Now it’d been three times within a week.

She sat on a large rock in the shade, several yards from the crime scene tape, facing away from the water. A breeze moved some fir branches and the sunshine touched her, lighting up her hair in its long, wavy ponytail.

Evan liked her. He’d always thought she was the total package. Intelligence, personality, looks. He’d been tempted to ask her out in the past, but the situation had never been right. Like now. A crime scene wasn’t the place to suggest a date.

Inside the large taped-off area, pale limbs were draped over the rocks on the riverbank. Her legs were in the water. A forensic tech slowly circled just inside the tape, photographing every square foot of the scene. She wore tall rubber boots, shooting some of her photos while standing in the water. Evan knew she’d move closer and closer to the body, documenting everything.

“Rowan, Thor.” Evan greeted both of them, and Thor’s black, bushy tail wagged against the ground as he sat, clearing a triangle in the fir needles and small rocks.

“Why are you on this case?” asked Rowan as a greeting. “Isn’t your plate rather full?”

I knew it. She wants me focused on the Ken Steward murder.

“No more full than usual,” he said. “I’m not ignoring Ken’s case,” he added gently. “I always balance a few.” He turned to glance at the body near the river. “I was assigned this one because it’s similar to two others I have.” He met her brown gaze.

Her face cleared. “I read about those murdered young women. They’re connected?” She frowned. “And this one could be too?”

“Maybe.”

“This woman might not have been found for weeks,” said Rowan. “Only serious hikers come up here.”

“Like you,” said Evan. “What brought you here?”

Rowan looked away. “I hike around here occasionally. I don’t usually come this far up the river, but Thor led me to this spot. He knew.”

“You don’t have to stick around,” Evan told her. “I’ll take a statement and you can go.” He pulled out a tiny notepad and pen. “Did you notice anyone else in the area while you were hiking?”