“We always step up.” Nemeth frowns at them. “Even when the lost are idiots, we still commit to finding them.”
Martin steps closer to the fire, peering hard at the three men. “You lied about the happy evening.”
As a unit, they nod.
“You lied about why Tim left.”
More nods.
“But he headed back toward the main trail. You’re sure of it?”
A slight hesitation. Miguel nods.
“Did he have his headlamp on? Windbreaker, pack full of gear?”
“Yes, sir.”
Martin swings his gaze to Scott. “You really wandered off in your sleep? You honestly don’t remember anything after that?”
“I truly don’t. I wish I did. You have no idea—”
“Shut up.” Martin raises a hand. “You understand what your lies cost the original search efforts? We thought we were looking for an experienced hiker in a sound frame of mind. Not a half-drunk and injured young man stumbling around in the dark. Every minute matters in a rescue operation and you cost us years.”
Neil, Scott, and Miguel don’t say a word.
“Did you know?” I ask Martin.
“About what?”
“About what really transpired that night?”
“Hell no. If I did, I would’ve taken that into account when planning my own search efforts. And maybe have had success.” He glowers at the former groomsmen again.
Good point. I can’t see Martin sabotaging his own expeditions just to cover up his knowledge of their lie.
“Who have you told?” I address the trio in general. Because someone must know. Hence the food tampering, Neil’s bashed skull. Not to mention the sense of being watched. That we’re here, but we are not alone.
Scott finally raises a hand. “I told Latisha. Everything. Before we got married. I felt I had to.”
“So you’re a better husband than friend,” Martin comments bitterly.
Scott returns the man’s stare. “I wasn’t that bad a friend. I’d never blamed Tim for Latisha. And once we all sobered up, I’m sure we would’ve sorted this out, too. Maybe not Josh and him, but . . .” Scott shakes his head. “But the rest of us . . . Tim wasn’t the only one who could be an asshole, not to mention, most of his ‘sins’ happened when we were young and stupid. He’d grown up since then. I liked to think we all had.”
Except Tim hadn’t made it out of the woods and they hadn’t told the truth and now, five years later, they were still living with the guilt.
“How did Latisha take the news?” I ask Scott, very curious about this woman who’d captivated three different friends.
“She understood. She forgave. Some people know how to do that.” Scott’s turn to glare at Martin.
“You two tell anyone?” I look at Miggy and Neil. Both shake their heads. Which leaves us with: “What about Josh?”
“Don’t know,” Miggy provides. “He’s pretty much gone his own way since.”
Clearly, Josh’s path involved a lot of drinking. Which is worth considering. Drunks talk.
“This changes nothing,” Martin states finally. “Either way, Tim vanished in these mountains. And now, for the first time, we’ve discovered signs of his passage. Nemeth says your dog picked up scent near the cave.” Martin regards Luciana.
“Daisy picked up a trail, but I can’t say of what, given we weren’t able to trace it back.”
“Tomorrow, then.” Martin’s tone is firm. “We’ll head back to the cliff. Give ourselves plenty of time to search.”
“Daisy are I are leaving in the morning.” Luciana’s voice is equally resolute. “This isn’t what I signed up for. I need to put myself and my dog’s safety first.”
“Now, wait a second—”
Luciana doesn’t let Martin finish. “He needs real medical assistance.” She points at Neil, then changes her focus to Nemeth. “When I get down, I’ll notify the sheriff. There’s plenty of places to land a chopper in this canyon. They can medevac him out.”
Nemeth nods.
Martin gets flustered. “Just wait. No need to make any decisions right now. It’s been a long day; we could all use some rest.”
Nemeth is looking at me. “Are you going with her?”
“No.”
“No one should be hiking alone, especially on backcountry trails.” He turns to Bob. “You?”
“I’ll stay.” His gaze slides to Martin as if for confirmation. What is the deal with them? Five-thousand-dollar donation to the Bigfoot Society, my ass.