everything right and still he’d almost been killed.
Hannah yanked open a closet door and pulled out energy bars, a water bottle, a flashlight, waterproof matches, trash bags that could be used as an emergency shelter—she grabbed everything she could think of to take on a winter hike and shoved it into the pack.
“What’re you doing?”
Hannah was so startled, she dropped the pack on the floor. But it was Devin, not Jo Harper or a Cameron. Not Sean . She picked up the pack. “I’m getting ready for a hike.”
Her brother frowned at her. Always thin, he’d lost weight in the weeks since his ordeal on Cameron Mountain, but he was up and showered and dressed, not lying in bed staring at the ceiling. His eyes, as pale a blue as hers, showed the strain of the past weeks as he took in her pack, her obviously agitated state. “Where are you going?”
She shut the closet door. “Cameron Mountain.”
Devin didn’t respond.
She lifted her winter jacket from a hook by the back door. It wasn’t suited for a prolonged hike in late December, but she’d compensate with proper layers that would protect her from the elements. Drew Cameron hadn’t succumbed to hypothermia because he wasn’t prepared for the conditions on the mountain, even in the worse-than-expected April snowstorm. He’d succumbed because Melanie Kendall and Kyle Rigby had killed him. They’d made sure he slipped into hypothermia. As his body temperature continued to drop, he would have become increasingly disoriented and confused, stumbling around, until he finally lay down in the freshly fallen spring snow and didn’t get up again.
Hannah shrugged on her jacket as her brother frowned at her. “You’re going to Drew’s cabin.” His tone was without emotion, but his face had lost color. “Aren’t you?”
“If I can find it. I think I can.”
Devin’s breathing was shallow. “I haven’t been back up there.”
Hannah touched his rail-thin upper arm. “When you’re ready, we’ll all go. You, Toby, me.”
“Who’s going with you?”
She grabbed a pair of ski poles and snowshoes she’d picked up at a yard sale. “No one.”
“What, are you crazy? You can’t go alone.”
“The Camerons would have my head for hiking alone,I know—especially Elijah. I’ll be fine. I’ll take the falls trail. It’s longer than the trail up the back of the mountain, but it’s easier, and I’ll be able to use my cell phone more of the way. Trust me, I won’t be lingering up there.”
“Hannah,” Devin said, an edge of worry creeping into his voice, “what if whoever hired those two to kill Nora and me follows you up there?”
“The police have already searched Drew’s cabin and the surrounding area. It was a crime scene, Dev. Whatever bad guys are still on the loose aren’t going to care if I go up and take a look.”
“I can go with you,” her brother said simply.
“Are you supposed to work this morning?”
“Just for a few hours. I can call A.J.—”
She shook her head. “Go on to work, Dev. Don’t worry about me. I need to get moving or I’ll run out of daylight before I can get back here.” She opened the back door, barely noticed the rush of cold air. “The Robinsons invited me to dinner tonight. I’ll be back in plenty of time to get ready.”
Everett Robinson was a Vermont district court judge and her friend and mentor, and Hannah suspected he’d push her at dinner to describe her plans for studying for the bar. Thanksgiving and Christmas were behind them. New Year’s was almost over. He’d want her to get serious.
Devin still looked uneasy but didn’t try to stop her. She headed out back and followed the icy stone walk through a white-painted wooden gate to the driveway.
Elijah Cameron’s truck was parked very close to her beat-up car, but before she could get annoyed at his nerve for not parking in the street, she realized Sean must have borrowed the truck from his older brother.
And since Sean owned the
Hannah yanked open a closet door and pulled out energy bars, a water bottle, a flashlight, waterproof matches, trash bags that could be used as an emergency shelter—she grabbed everything she could think of to take on a winter hike and shoved it into the pack.
“What’re you doing?”
Hannah was so startled, she dropped the pack on the floor. But it was Devin, not Jo Harper or a Cameron. Not Sean . She picked up the pack. “I’m getting ready for a hike.”
Her brother frowned at her. Always thin, he’d lost weight in the weeks since his ordeal on Cameron Mountain, but he was up and showered and dressed, not lying in bed staring at the ceiling. His eyes, as pale a blue as hers, showed the strain of the past weeks as he took in her pack, her obviously agitated state. “Where are you going?”
She shut the closet door. “Cameron Mountain.”
Devin didn’t respond.
She lifted her winter jacket from a hook by the back door. It wasn’t suited for a prolonged hike in late December, but she’d compensate with proper layers that would protect her from the elements. Drew Cameron hadn’t succumbed to hypothermia because he wasn’t prepared for the conditions on the mountain, even in the worse-than-expected April snowstorm. He’d succumbed because Melanie Kendall and Kyle Rigby had killed him. They’d made sure he slipped into hypothermia. As his body temperature continued to drop, he would have become increasingly disoriented and confused, stumbling around, until he finally lay down in the freshly fallen spring snow and didn’t get up again.
Hannah shrugged on her jacket as her brother frowned at her. “You’re going to Drew’s cabin.” His tone was without emotion, but his face had lost color. “Aren’t you?”
“If I can find it. I think I can.”
Devin’s breathing was shallow. “I haven’t been back up there.”
Hannah touched his rail-thin upper arm. “When you’re ready, we’ll all go. You, Toby, me.”
“Who’s going with you?”
She grabbed a pair of ski poles and snowshoes she’d picked up at a yard sale. “No one.”
“What, are you crazy? You can’t go alone.”
“The Camerons would have my head for hiking alone,I know—especially Elijah. I’ll be fine. I’ll take the falls trail. It’s longer than the trail up the back of the mountain, but it’s easier, and I’ll be able to use my cell phone more of the way. Trust me, I won’t be lingering up there.”
“Hannah,” Devin said, an edge of worry creeping into his voice, “what if whoever hired those two to kill Nora and me follows you up there?”
“The police have already searched Drew’s cabin and the surrounding area. It was a crime scene, Dev. Whatever bad guys are still on the loose aren’t going to care if I go up and take a look.”
“I can go with you,” her brother said simply.
“Are you supposed to work this morning?”
“Just for a few hours. I can call A.J.—”
She shook her head. “Go on to work, Dev. Don’t worry about me. I need to get moving or I’ll run out of daylight before I can get back here.” She opened the back door, barely noticed the rush of cold air. “The Robinsons invited me to dinner tonight. I’ll be back in plenty of time to get ready.”
Everett Robinson was a Vermont district court judge and her friend and mentor, and Hannah suspected he’d push her at dinner to describe her plans for studying for the bar. Thanksgiving and Christmas were behind them. New Year’s was almost over. He’d want her to get serious.
Devin still looked uneasy but didn’t try to stop her. She headed out back and followed the icy stone walk through a white-painted wooden gate to the driveway.
Elijah Cameron’s truck was parked very close to her beat-up car, but before she could get annoyed at his nerve for not parking in the street, she realized Sean must have borrowed the truck from his older brother.
And since Sean owned the
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