What Lies Below, page 2
His hand tightening on the flashlight, Heath lunged forward. “Are you sure?”
Both dogs growled but stood their ground as he brushed past the woman and dropped to his knees beside Toby. He felt for a pulse, and then put his ear to the man’s mouth, which was slightly ajar. His gaze flicked to the rock next to Toby’s head and the blood soaking into the dirt.
“What happened to him?” Heath cranked his head around to take in the woman, standing stiffly behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t turn his back on her.
“Good question.” She folded her arms. “You tell me.”
“Me?” He thumped his chest. “I just got here and found you and the dogs howling over a dead body. I’m completely in the dark.”
“Same.” She yanked on the Rottweiler’s collar as the beast took a step toward Heath and the body. “His dog, Luna, came to my cabin about fifteen minutes ago with blood on her fur. Cell service being what it is out here, I decided to hike to Toby’s to find out what was going on.”
Understanding dawned on Heath, and he studied the woman standing before him, her spine erect, shoulders pulled back. Her dark hair swung from a high ponytail, random wisps framing the delicate features of her face. Shorter hair, riper body and attitude to spare, but he’d never mistake the Tree Girl for anyone else, even several years after he’d last seen her.
He wiped his hand across the chest of his flannel shirt and extended it to her. “You’re Willow Sands, aren’t you? Heath Bradford.”
She went up on her toes like a startled doe prepared for flight. Then she tilted forward, thrusting her own hand toward his. “Right. I know you. Bradford and Sons Development.”
If she spit the words at him, they couldn’t have sounded more venomous coming from her lips. He expected that. When he took her hand in his, her slender fingers delivered a death grip. He didn’t expect that.
When she released him, he flapped his hand. “Ouch. Quite a handshake you have there. Makes me think maybe you are strong enough to kill a man by smashing a rock against his head.”
Her eyes widened, and she stepped back. “You think I had something to do with Toby’s death? I told you. He was dead when I got here. Probably dead by the time Luna made it to my place.”
He nodded. He didn’t really think the Tree Girl was capable of murder. She probably avoided stepping on ants. “We need to get to someplace that has cell service and call the cops. Regardless of how Toby died, he is dead.”
Stuffing her hands inside the arms of her shirt, Willow asked, “Do you really think someone bashed him on the head? I sort of figured he hit his head on that rock in a fall. Toby had heart issues...and drinking issues. I know that.”
Heath lifted his shoulders. “Probably, but that’s for the cops to figure out. My vehicle is parked on the road behind Toby’s cabin. You know better than I, but we should probably be able to get service from the road. I’ll take you and the dogs.”
“Luna’s bloody, Apollo’s dirty.” Her lips twisted. “You sure you want them in your nice ride?”
“My truck is no stranger to filthy animals. My two Labs like frolicking in the river—mud and fur everywhere.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m sure you know the way. Will Luna leave Toby’s side?”
“She did before.” Willow tugged her dog’s collar and whistled. “C’mon, Luna. You can’t help Toby now.”
Luna snuffled around the body and planted herself next to Toby. Heath said, “I don’t think she’s leaving him this time.”
“Doesn’t look like it. I’ll lead the way back to the road.”
Willow stepped past him, and Apollo’s tail thwacked Heath’s leg as the dog curled his lip. Didn’t seem Willow’s dog liked him any more than Willow did.
Their two flashlights picked out the trail beneath their feet as they wended their way to the road that wound behind Toby’s property. Heath clenched his teeth as he followed Willow. Just his luck that Toby would die right before their meeting. What were the odds of that happening? Heart issues. Who knew? Maybe the thought of discussing business with someone from Bradford and Son had stressed the guy out.
Heath crimped the edges of the note in his pocket. Or maybe it was that other business.
He glanced at Willow’s swinging ponytail and huffed out a breath. Bradford and Son would have to shelve the notion of developing this side of Dead Falls Island. If his father thought Toby Keel would be a tough sell, wait until Heath told him about Willow Sands. Of course, that might depend on who just inherited Toby’s property. They could still develop with one parcel, but definitely not without the two adjoining pieces of land.
As they emerged from the forest, Willow called back, “I see your truck. We can try our phones now.”
Heath plucked his phone from the front pocket of his shirt and checked the bars on his display. “Not yet. Do you have the number for the Dead Falls Sheriff’s Department, or should we call 911?”
“I’ve got their number.” She stamped her boots on the asphalt and held up her phone. “And I’ve got service. I’ll make the call.”
While Willow called the DFSD, Heath scratched a spot behind Apollo’s ear, trying to get on his good side. The dog looked too old to do much damage with an attack, but Heath had other reasons for currying favor with Apollo. If the beast liked him, maybe his owner would soften toward him. Maybe she wouldn’t capitulate enough to sell her land to Bradford and Son, but she might agree to dinner.
A guy could hope.
She ended the call and spun around. “They’re coming out. The sheriff himself is on the way. New guy, who’s supposed to be proactive.”
As she started to plunge back into the trees, Heath held up a hand. “Why don’t we wait in my truck? We can lead the sheriff to Toby’s body when he gets here. I’ve got some water, some wipes for your hands.”
Willow turned her palms up and gaped at the blood streaks staining them. “I—I didn’t realize...”
“I don’t know if you’ve recovered from the shock of finding Toby and then seeing me materialize in the darkness. I know I scared you by showing up.” He touched her arm. “Why don’t you have a seat in my truck before the sheriff arrives?”
Her shoulders sagged, and she sniffled. “I can’t believe he’s dead. I mean, he was kind of cantankerous, not too friendly, but every summer I knew he was on the other side of the forest from me.”
“Come on.” Heath jingled his key ring. “We’ve both had a shock.”
And a disappointment. He pivoted toward his truck parked up the road from the trailhead and heard her footsteps shuffling behind him. When he reached his vehicle, he put down the tailgate. “Will Apollo jump in?”
“It’s too high, and he’s too old.”
He opened the passenger door, leaving it wide as he circled around to the driver’s side. As Willow hopped into the seat, her dog collapsed on the ground beside the truck. Heath twisted around and reached into a cooler for two bottles of water. He handed both to Willow. “One for you and one for Apollo, if he’ll drink from the bottle.”
“Thanks.” She took one. “He can drink from mine. Don’t you want one?”
“I’m not thirsty. Looks like you two need it more than I do.”
She grabbed the second bottle and pressed it against her cheek. “Everything happened so fast. I think Toby’s death is hitting me now.”
“Yeah, honestly, you seemed more concerned with my presence there than you did with Toby.”
She whipped her head around. “I’d already checked Toby. I knew he was dead. What I didn’t know was what you were doing near his cabin while his body lay on the ground. You still haven’t answered that question.”
“Toby and I had a meeting scheduled for nine o’clock tonight.”
Taking a gulp of water from the bottle, Willow raised her eyebrows. “Odd time to take a meeting.”
“His choice.” Heath spread his hands. “I offered him a lunchtime meeting, dinner, cocktails at the Harbor Restaurant and Bar. He chose his cabin at nine o’clock.”
“And because Bradford and Sons wants his land, you jumped.” She snorted. “He was just toying with you. Toby was never going to sell that piece of real estate.”
“I proposed the meeting, and he agreed.” Heath shrugged. “I guess I won’t know if he was toying with me or not.”
Toby had another reason for meeting with Heath, but Tree Girl didn’t need to know about that.
With the bottle halfway to her mouth, she jerked her hand, and the liquid spilled down her front. “Now that he’s dead, his heirs can do whatever they want with the property.”
“Whoever they are.” He pointed at Apollo. “I think he wants some water.”
“Sorry, boy.” She cracked open the other bottle and tipped it for him to drink. He took the bottle opening between his teeth and took probably one sip for every two that dripped from his jowls.
Patting Apollo’s head, she said, “Am I next on your list? I know what Bradford and Sons wants.”
“Son.”
“What?”
“Son. It’s actually Bradford and Son, singular.” He raised his hand. “I’m it. One son.”
She studied his face, as if trying to catch him in a lie. “That’s right. You were a few years ahead of me in school—before you went to some posh boarding school—and I don’t remember that you had any siblings. Only child...like me.”
“I think for similar reasons.” He clenched the steering wheel. He didn’t know why, but he felt cut off from the world here in his truck with the Tree Girl, as if they were the only two in the forest.
She snorted. “Was your dad an unstable alcoholic, too?”
“My father...” He was saved from explaining anything about his father by the rotating red-and-blue lights that approached them from behind. “Sheriff’s here. What’s his name?”
“Sheriff Chandler.” She stepped out of the truck, nudging Apollo with her foot. “Don’t bite the sheriff.”
Heath followed her and introduced himself to Sheriff Chandler after Willow greeted the man. A patrol car pulled behind the sheriff’s SUV.
After a handshake, Chandler nodded. “Heath Bradford—I know the name. You’re a client of Astrid Mitchell’s, aren’t you? Interested in the Misty Hollow property.”
Heath gave the sheriff a tight smile as he felt Willow’s stare burning a hole in his cheek. The island hadn’t changed since the time he’d spent here—small-town gossip got around quickly. “That’s right. Astrid showed me the property the other day, and it has a lot of potential.”
“Potential for what?” Willow wedged a hand on her hip. “You do know that’s the site of a family massacre, don’t you?”
“I’ve been informed.” He pointed to the trailhead. “Toby’s cabin is this way, Sheriff. We had a meeting scheduled for nine o’clock tonight. I arrived a little late and found Willow screaming and the dogs barking.”
“I’ll lead the way.” Willow looked over her shoulder and said, “And I didn’t start screaming until I saw you lurking behind his cabin.”
Chandler asked, “Why’d you scream, Willow? Did Heath startle you, or did you suspect some foul play regarding Toby’s death?”
“Foul play? I don’t think so.” She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “Toby does have a head injury, but he’s lying beside a rock. Looks like he could’ve fallen and hit his head on it. He’s had heart issues for the past few years, and a drinking problem for longer than that.”
As Heath was bringing up the rear with the two patrol officers behind him, Chandler turned to look back at him. “Is that what you saw, too? Head injury, rock, blood?”
“Yeah, same. The only weird thing I noticed was his lack of footwear.”
“He was barefoot?” Chandler tripped over a root and righted himself by grabbing a branch. “Did you notice that, Willow?”
“I did, but I didn’t think it was unusual. It’s the beginning of summer. It’s not hot, but it’s definitely not cold. Toby’s accustomed to this weather. If he was barefoot in his cabin and then came outside to do something, he might not put shoes on. I’ve seen him walking around outside with no shoes before.”
“Okay. We’ll take a look. I called for an ambulance. Next of kin?”
Willow answered, “Toby was divorced a long time ago, no kids, but he does have a niece and nephew. They’re probably his closest relatives. Toby is Samish, but the niece and nephew don’t live here on the island. They left the rez after high school. His brother, their father, is dead, as far as I know.”
“Okay. Maybe he has something in his cabin that will allow us to contact them, or we can get the info from his phone. Do you know the names of the niece and nephew?”
“Ellie and...” Willow snapped her fingers. “Can’t remember the nephew’s name.”
“Garrett.” Heath kicked a rock out of his way with the toe of his hiking boot. “Garrett Keel.”
Chandler said, “Thanks. That’s helpful.”
Heath ignored the intense look from Willow’s green eyes as she turned to stare at him over the sheriff’s shoulder. If Sheriff Chandler didn’t care how he knew that nugget of information, he didn’t owe anything to Willow Sands.
Heath kept his eyes down and his mouth shut the last several yards of the trail. When they broke through to the clearing, Toby’s dog, Luna, barked at them from her position next to Toby’s body.
“Was the dog here before?” Chandler approached the mutt, his hand held out.
“I told the dispatcher that’s how I found Toby,” Willow said. “Luna came to my place. She followed me back, and Heath and I left her here. She wasn’t budging.”
“Do you think she’ll come to you now?” Chandler had reached Luna, and she sniffed his hand. “I’d like to have a look at the body, take some pictures.”
“Luna.” Willow made kissing sounds with her lips.
Heath swallowed. He’d follow that sound anywhere, and Luna agreed with him. The dog peeled herself away from her owner’s body and trotted toward Willow.
She grabbed the dog’s collar. “You stay with me, girl.”
Chandler took charge of the scene, ordering Heath and Willow to stand back with the dogs and telling his deputies to enter Toby’s cabin. “Make note of any disturbances in there and see if you can locate a cell phone. Doesn’t seem to be one with the body.”
Heath straddled a picnic table bench and slid his fingers beneath Luna’s collar. “I’ll hang on to her. You already have your hands full with Apollo.”
Willow released Luna’s collar as soon as her fingers met his and rubbed them on the thigh of her jeans as if he had cooties. “Are you really interested in buying the Misty Hollow property?”
“It’s a prime piece of real estate. I’d tear down the house and outer buildings, just like anyone would, I assume.”
“Prime piece of real estate for what purpose? I thought Bradford was done developing that side of the island and had set its sights on this side.”
“Misty Hollow isn’t part of our plan. I’d be buying it for personal reasons.” When he came back to Dead Falls Island this time, he discovered he’d missed it. Now, after seeing Willow Sands again, he missed it even more.
He’d had a thing for Willow in high school, but she hadn’t socialized with his group of friends. She hadn’t socialized at all. She’d lived with her father and spent most of her time in the woods, collecting specimens, cataloging, photographing. The other kids shunned her for what they deemed her weirdness, but she’d always intrigued him.
Sheriff Chandler stood up and called out for his two deputies, still inside Toby’s cabin. “Stop what you’re doing and secure this area. I think we’ve got a murder scene here.”
Chapter Three
A chill snaked up Willow’s spine, and she jerked away from Heath, who was sitting way too close to her. “M-murder?”
“I have to call in some resources, and I need you two to leave the scene. Drop by the station tomorrow, so I or someone else can take your formal statements.”
Heath pushed to his feet, his fingers still curled around Luna’s collar. “What makes you think there was foul play, Sheriff?”
“Rather not discuss that right now. Can one of you take Toby’s dog?”
Willow licked her dry lips. “I think she’ll come home with me.”
“Thanks.” Chandler dismissed them, turning to his wide-eyed deputies and giving them instructions.
“I’ll give you a ride back to your place.” Heath leveled a finger at the trail where one of the deputies was heading with his phone.
Her mind still whirling from Sheriff Chandler’s news, Willow rose unsteadily to her feet. “I can walk back through the woods to my cabin.”
He raised his eyebrows, and one disappeared beneath a lock of dark hair that curled over his forehead. “Toby may have been murdered—probably moments before you discovered him. I don’t think it’s a great idea for you to be plunging into the forest in the dark with two spooked dogs as your only protection.”
Willow’s gaze traveled to the tree line on the other side of Toby’s property that led to her cabin. The path she took couldn’t even really be called a trail. She hated to admit it, but Heath had a point. Toby’s killer could still be wandering around.
Was Heath anxious to get her away from the scene of the crime? Did he want to grill her about what she saw? Why had he been coming from behind Toby’s cabin instead of the end of the trail?
She scooped in a deep breath. Heath Bradford might be a scummy, money-grubbing developer, but she had a hard time envisioning him as a killer—and it wasn’t just because he was so damned attractive.
She’d witnessed Heath’s sensitive side more than once when they were young and he still lived on the island. She’d even seen him off on his own crying once—although she’d never told anyone, especially not him. She’d thought his grief had to do with his mother disappearing, just like hers did. Maybe that was what he meant by their similarities.
Both dogs growled but stood their ground as he brushed past the woman and dropped to his knees beside Toby. He felt for a pulse, and then put his ear to the man’s mouth, which was slightly ajar. His gaze flicked to the rock next to Toby’s head and the blood soaking into the dirt.
“What happened to him?” Heath cranked his head around to take in the woman, standing stiffly behind him. Maybe he shouldn’t turn his back on her.
“Good question.” She folded her arms. “You tell me.”
“Me?” He thumped his chest. “I just got here and found you and the dogs howling over a dead body. I’m completely in the dark.”
“Same.” She yanked on the Rottweiler’s collar as the beast took a step toward Heath and the body. “His dog, Luna, came to my cabin about fifteen minutes ago with blood on her fur. Cell service being what it is out here, I decided to hike to Toby’s to find out what was going on.”
Understanding dawned on Heath, and he studied the woman standing before him, her spine erect, shoulders pulled back. Her dark hair swung from a high ponytail, random wisps framing the delicate features of her face. Shorter hair, riper body and attitude to spare, but he’d never mistake the Tree Girl for anyone else, even several years after he’d last seen her.
He wiped his hand across the chest of his flannel shirt and extended it to her. “You’re Willow Sands, aren’t you? Heath Bradford.”
She went up on her toes like a startled doe prepared for flight. Then she tilted forward, thrusting her own hand toward his. “Right. I know you. Bradford and Sons Development.”
If she spit the words at him, they couldn’t have sounded more venomous coming from her lips. He expected that. When he took her hand in his, her slender fingers delivered a death grip. He didn’t expect that.
When she released him, he flapped his hand. “Ouch. Quite a handshake you have there. Makes me think maybe you are strong enough to kill a man by smashing a rock against his head.”
Her eyes widened, and she stepped back. “You think I had something to do with Toby’s death? I told you. He was dead when I got here. Probably dead by the time Luna made it to my place.”
He nodded. He didn’t really think the Tree Girl was capable of murder. She probably avoided stepping on ants. “We need to get to someplace that has cell service and call the cops. Regardless of how Toby died, he is dead.”
Stuffing her hands inside the arms of her shirt, Willow asked, “Do you really think someone bashed him on the head? I sort of figured he hit his head on that rock in a fall. Toby had heart issues...and drinking issues. I know that.”
Heath lifted his shoulders. “Probably, but that’s for the cops to figure out. My vehicle is parked on the road behind Toby’s cabin. You know better than I, but we should probably be able to get service from the road. I’ll take you and the dogs.”
“Luna’s bloody, Apollo’s dirty.” Her lips twisted. “You sure you want them in your nice ride?”
“My truck is no stranger to filthy animals. My two Labs like frolicking in the river—mud and fur everywhere.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “I’m sure you know the way. Will Luna leave Toby’s side?”
“She did before.” Willow tugged her dog’s collar and whistled. “C’mon, Luna. You can’t help Toby now.”
Luna snuffled around the body and planted herself next to Toby. Heath said, “I don’t think she’s leaving him this time.”
“Doesn’t look like it. I’ll lead the way back to the road.”
Willow stepped past him, and Apollo’s tail thwacked Heath’s leg as the dog curled his lip. Didn’t seem Willow’s dog liked him any more than Willow did.
Their two flashlights picked out the trail beneath their feet as they wended their way to the road that wound behind Toby’s property. Heath clenched his teeth as he followed Willow. Just his luck that Toby would die right before their meeting. What were the odds of that happening? Heart issues. Who knew? Maybe the thought of discussing business with someone from Bradford and Son had stressed the guy out.
Heath crimped the edges of the note in his pocket. Or maybe it was that other business.
He glanced at Willow’s swinging ponytail and huffed out a breath. Bradford and Son would have to shelve the notion of developing this side of Dead Falls Island. If his father thought Toby Keel would be a tough sell, wait until Heath told him about Willow Sands. Of course, that might depend on who just inherited Toby’s property. They could still develop with one parcel, but definitely not without the two adjoining pieces of land.
As they emerged from the forest, Willow called back, “I see your truck. We can try our phones now.”
Heath plucked his phone from the front pocket of his shirt and checked the bars on his display. “Not yet. Do you have the number for the Dead Falls Sheriff’s Department, or should we call 911?”
“I’ve got their number.” She stamped her boots on the asphalt and held up her phone. “And I’ve got service. I’ll make the call.”
While Willow called the DFSD, Heath scratched a spot behind Apollo’s ear, trying to get on his good side. The dog looked too old to do much damage with an attack, but Heath had other reasons for currying favor with Apollo. If the beast liked him, maybe his owner would soften toward him. Maybe she wouldn’t capitulate enough to sell her land to Bradford and Son, but she might agree to dinner.
A guy could hope.
She ended the call and spun around. “They’re coming out. The sheriff himself is on the way. New guy, who’s supposed to be proactive.”
As she started to plunge back into the trees, Heath held up a hand. “Why don’t we wait in my truck? We can lead the sheriff to Toby’s body when he gets here. I’ve got some water, some wipes for your hands.”
Willow turned her palms up and gaped at the blood streaks staining them. “I—I didn’t realize...”
“I don’t know if you’ve recovered from the shock of finding Toby and then seeing me materialize in the darkness. I know I scared you by showing up.” He touched her arm. “Why don’t you have a seat in my truck before the sheriff arrives?”
Her shoulders sagged, and she sniffled. “I can’t believe he’s dead. I mean, he was kind of cantankerous, not too friendly, but every summer I knew he was on the other side of the forest from me.”
“Come on.” Heath jingled his key ring. “We’ve both had a shock.”
And a disappointment. He pivoted toward his truck parked up the road from the trailhead and heard her footsteps shuffling behind him. When he reached his vehicle, he put down the tailgate. “Will Apollo jump in?”
“It’s too high, and he’s too old.”
He opened the passenger door, leaving it wide as he circled around to the driver’s side. As Willow hopped into the seat, her dog collapsed on the ground beside the truck. Heath twisted around and reached into a cooler for two bottles of water. He handed both to Willow. “One for you and one for Apollo, if he’ll drink from the bottle.”
“Thanks.” She took one. “He can drink from mine. Don’t you want one?”
“I’m not thirsty. Looks like you two need it more than I do.”
She grabbed the second bottle and pressed it against her cheek. “Everything happened so fast. I think Toby’s death is hitting me now.”
“Yeah, honestly, you seemed more concerned with my presence there than you did with Toby.”
She whipped her head around. “I’d already checked Toby. I knew he was dead. What I didn’t know was what you were doing near his cabin while his body lay on the ground. You still haven’t answered that question.”
“Toby and I had a meeting scheduled for nine o’clock tonight.”
Taking a gulp of water from the bottle, Willow raised her eyebrows. “Odd time to take a meeting.”
“His choice.” Heath spread his hands. “I offered him a lunchtime meeting, dinner, cocktails at the Harbor Restaurant and Bar. He chose his cabin at nine o’clock.”
“And because Bradford and Sons wants his land, you jumped.” She snorted. “He was just toying with you. Toby was never going to sell that piece of real estate.”
“I proposed the meeting, and he agreed.” Heath shrugged. “I guess I won’t know if he was toying with me or not.”
Toby had another reason for meeting with Heath, but Tree Girl didn’t need to know about that.
With the bottle halfway to her mouth, she jerked her hand, and the liquid spilled down her front. “Now that he’s dead, his heirs can do whatever they want with the property.”
“Whoever they are.” He pointed at Apollo. “I think he wants some water.”
“Sorry, boy.” She cracked open the other bottle and tipped it for him to drink. He took the bottle opening between his teeth and took probably one sip for every two that dripped from his jowls.
Patting Apollo’s head, she said, “Am I next on your list? I know what Bradford and Sons wants.”
“Son.”
“What?”
“Son. It’s actually Bradford and Son, singular.” He raised his hand. “I’m it. One son.”
She studied his face, as if trying to catch him in a lie. “That’s right. You were a few years ahead of me in school—before you went to some posh boarding school—and I don’t remember that you had any siblings. Only child...like me.”
“I think for similar reasons.” He clenched the steering wheel. He didn’t know why, but he felt cut off from the world here in his truck with the Tree Girl, as if they were the only two in the forest.
She snorted. “Was your dad an unstable alcoholic, too?”
“My father...” He was saved from explaining anything about his father by the rotating red-and-blue lights that approached them from behind. “Sheriff’s here. What’s his name?”
“Sheriff Chandler.” She stepped out of the truck, nudging Apollo with her foot. “Don’t bite the sheriff.”
Heath followed her and introduced himself to Sheriff Chandler after Willow greeted the man. A patrol car pulled behind the sheriff’s SUV.
After a handshake, Chandler nodded. “Heath Bradford—I know the name. You’re a client of Astrid Mitchell’s, aren’t you? Interested in the Misty Hollow property.”
Heath gave the sheriff a tight smile as he felt Willow’s stare burning a hole in his cheek. The island hadn’t changed since the time he’d spent here—small-town gossip got around quickly. “That’s right. Astrid showed me the property the other day, and it has a lot of potential.”
“Potential for what?” Willow wedged a hand on her hip. “You do know that’s the site of a family massacre, don’t you?”
“I’ve been informed.” He pointed to the trailhead. “Toby’s cabin is this way, Sheriff. We had a meeting scheduled for nine o’clock tonight. I arrived a little late and found Willow screaming and the dogs barking.”
“I’ll lead the way.” Willow looked over her shoulder and said, “And I didn’t start screaming until I saw you lurking behind his cabin.”
Chandler asked, “Why’d you scream, Willow? Did Heath startle you, or did you suspect some foul play regarding Toby’s death?”
“Foul play? I don’t think so.” She tossed her ponytail over her shoulder. “Toby does have a head injury, but he’s lying beside a rock. Looks like he could’ve fallen and hit his head on it. He’s had heart issues for the past few years, and a drinking problem for longer than that.”
As Heath was bringing up the rear with the two patrol officers behind him, Chandler turned to look back at him. “Is that what you saw, too? Head injury, rock, blood?”
“Yeah, same. The only weird thing I noticed was his lack of footwear.”
“He was barefoot?” Chandler tripped over a root and righted himself by grabbing a branch. “Did you notice that, Willow?”
“I did, but I didn’t think it was unusual. It’s the beginning of summer. It’s not hot, but it’s definitely not cold. Toby’s accustomed to this weather. If he was barefoot in his cabin and then came outside to do something, he might not put shoes on. I’ve seen him walking around outside with no shoes before.”
“Okay. We’ll take a look. I called for an ambulance. Next of kin?”
Willow answered, “Toby was divorced a long time ago, no kids, but he does have a niece and nephew. They’re probably his closest relatives. Toby is Samish, but the niece and nephew don’t live here on the island. They left the rez after high school. His brother, their father, is dead, as far as I know.”
“Okay. Maybe he has something in his cabin that will allow us to contact them, or we can get the info from his phone. Do you know the names of the niece and nephew?”
“Ellie and...” Willow snapped her fingers. “Can’t remember the nephew’s name.”
“Garrett.” Heath kicked a rock out of his way with the toe of his hiking boot. “Garrett Keel.”
Chandler said, “Thanks. That’s helpful.”
Heath ignored the intense look from Willow’s green eyes as she turned to stare at him over the sheriff’s shoulder. If Sheriff Chandler didn’t care how he knew that nugget of information, he didn’t owe anything to Willow Sands.
Heath kept his eyes down and his mouth shut the last several yards of the trail. When they broke through to the clearing, Toby’s dog, Luna, barked at them from her position next to Toby’s body.
“Was the dog here before?” Chandler approached the mutt, his hand held out.
“I told the dispatcher that’s how I found Toby,” Willow said. “Luna came to my place. She followed me back, and Heath and I left her here. She wasn’t budging.”
“Do you think she’ll come to you now?” Chandler had reached Luna, and she sniffed his hand. “I’d like to have a look at the body, take some pictures.”
“Luna.” Willow made kissing sounds with her lips.
Heath swallowed. He’d follow that sound anywhere, and Luna agreed with him. The dog peeled herself away from her owner’s body and trotted toward Willow.
She grabbed the dog’s collar. “You stay with me, girl.”
Chandler took charge of the scene, ordering Heath and Willow to stand back with the dogs and telling his deputies to enter Toby’s cabin. “Make note of any disturbances in there and see if you can locate a cell phone. Doesn’t seem to be one with the body.”
Heath straddled a picnic table bench and slid his fingers beneath Luna’s collar. “I’ll hang on to her. You already have your hands full with Apollo.”
Willow released Luna’s collar as soon as her fingers met his and rubbed them on the thigh of her jeans as if he had cooties. “Are you really interested in buying the Misty Hollow property?”
“It’s a prime piece of real estate. I’d tear down the house and outer buildings, just like anyone would, I assume.”
“Prime piece of real estate for what purpose? I thought Bradford was done developing that side of the island and had set its sights on this side.”
“Misty Hollow isn’t part of our plan. I’d be buying it for personal reasons.” When he came back to Dead Falls Island this time, he discovered he’d missed it. Now, after seeing Willow Sands again, he missed it even more.
He’d had a thing for Willow in high school, but she hadn’t socialized with his group of friends. She hadn’t socialized at all. She’d lived with her father and spent most of her time in the woods, collecting specimens, cataloging, photographing. The other kids shunned her for what they deemed her weirdness, but she’d always intrigued him.
Sheriff Chandler stood up and called out for his two deputies, still inside Toby’s cabin. “Stop what you’re doing and secure this area. I think we’ve got a murder scene here.”
Chapter Three
A chill snaked up Willow’s spine, and she jerked away from Heath, who was sitting way too close to her. “M-murder?”
“I have to call in some resources, and I need you two to leave the scene. Drop by the station tomorrow, so I or someone else can take your formal statements.”
Heath pushed to his feet, his fingers still curled around Luna’s collar. “What makes you think there was foul play, Sheriff?”
“Rather not discuss that right now. Can one of you take Toby’s dog?”
Willow licked her dry lips. “I think she’ll come home with me.”
“Thanks.” Chandler dismissed them, turning to his wide-eyed deputies and giving them instructions.
“I’ll give you a ride back to your place.” Heath leveled a finger at the trail where one of the deputies was heading with his phone.
Her mind still whirling from Sheriff Chandler’s news, Willow rose unsteadily to her feet. “I can walk back through the woods to my cabin.”
He raised his eyebrows, and one disappeared beneath a lock of dark hair that curled over his forehead. “Toby may have been murdered—probably moments before you discovered him. I don’t think it’s a great idea for you to be plunging into the forest in the dark with two spooked dogs as your only protection.”
Willow’s gaze traveled to the tree line on the other side of Toby’s property that led to her cabin. The path she took couldn’t even really be called a trail. She hated to admit it, but Heath had a point. Toby’s killer could still be wandering around.
Was Heath anxious to get her away from the scene of the crime? Did he want to grill her about what she saw? Why had he been coming from behind Toby’s cabin instead of the end of the trail?
She scooped in a deep breath. Heath Bradford might be a scummy, money-grubbing developer, but she had a hard time envisioning him as a killer—and it wasn’t just because he was so damned attractive.
She’d witnessed Heath’s sensitive side more than once when they were young and he still lived on the island. She’d even seen him off on his own crying once—although she’d never told anyone, especially not him. She’d thought his grief had to do with his mother disappearing, just like hers did. Maybe that was what he meant by their similarities.
