The Naturalist (The Naturalist #1)(19)

My ear twitches at the sound of a twig snapping. I wheel around to empty forest.

I hold my breath and freeze, waiting for it to move again.

I know I’m facing in the right direction. I just can’t see what made the noise.

All my attention is focused on a small area where two trees stand a few feet apart.

Something is there.

I decide the best course of action is a careful retreat. Pepper spray ready at my waist, I take a step backward, never looking away. I take another.

Something stabs into my ankle. I jerk reflexively and fall.

My back slams into the ground, and the wind is knocked from my lungs. My head slaps into a rock, and the corner of my vision begins to fade like an old television.

I fight passing out.

Twigs break as something rushes through the forest.

Rushing toward me . . .

I try to raise the pepper spray, but my hand comes up empty.

The exertion uses too much blood, and the dark fingers of unconsciousness grab me.

One of my last sensations is the smell of blood.

There’s the warm trickle from the back of my head, but the blood I’m feeling isn’t my own.

I’ve fallen into Juniper’s snow angel.

A shadow falls over me as I pass out.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


SNIPER

When I come to, I’m leaning against a tree trunk. The back of my shorts and hoodie are soaked in blood. At first I think it’s my own; then I realize I fell into the pool of Juniper’s.

The last image of the shadow falling over me comes back. I jerk in fright and try to get to my feet, but my knees are too weak.

Something rushes through the brush. I bring my hands up like a scared child.

“Take it easy,” says a man’s voice to my left.

Detective Glenn steps up and leans over me. He’s got one hand on his phone. The other is holding a bloody cloth. He touches it to the back of my head. I try not to twitch.

“The good news is most of this isn’t your blood. The bad news is that you’ve desecrated a murder scene.”

“I’m sorry.” I look at the stains on my fingers. Juniper’s blood is all over me.

“It rained last night and made the pool bigger.” He holds up a finger in front of my eyes. “Blurry?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s more good news. We’re not going to have to chopper you out of here.”

“I’m okay. Give me second.”

The back of my head stings. But that should go away. There’s no funny smell, and I don’t feel dizzy, which means I probably don’t have a concussion. Probably.

“You hit the rock over there perfectly. Right on the sweet spot.”

“I was . . . startled.”

“No kidding.” Glenn checks for a dry spot, then sits down. “What the hell are you doing up here?”

“I thought it would be a great place to fall on my ass.” I glance over at the pool of Juniper’s blood, then shake my head. “Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah. Not a graceful moment. You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you up here?”

“Mrs. Parsons, Juniper’s mom, she asked me to take care of her car.”

Glenn cocks his head. “Up here? I don’t think there’s much parking. You sure you’re okay?”

“Back at the garage. What’s his name? Bryson. He’s changing my tires. I thought I’d go for a walk.”

“And ended up here?” Glenn asks skeptically.

“I saw the ribbons. I was curious. What are you doing here?”

“I don’t have to have a reason. But if you have to know, tying up loose ends.”

I think back to the sense I had of not being alone. “You were watching me.”

“Yep. Ever since you got here.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

Glenn looks to the side as he tries to remember something. “What do they call it? The observer paradox?” He shrugs. “I figured it would be more interesting if I saw what you did if you thought you were alone.”

“But I knew I wasn’t alone.”

“Maybe. But I bet you thought it was a bear or cougar stalking you.”

He’s right. “It might as well have been. You were quiet. Military, right? What did you do in the service?”

“Spotter.”

A spotter is a soldier who accompanies a sniper and helps them identify targets. “Of course. I guess if you’d been a sniper, I’d be dead already.”

“I think you did a pretty good job of taking yourself off the battlefield.”

I reach back and feel the tree trunk. Slowly, I stand up, using it to brace me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I think so.” I wipe away the leaves stuck to my clothes. “How did Juniper end up all the way down the hill after losing so much blood up here?”

Glenn stands up and raises an eyebrow. “What makes you think we found her down there?”

“It’s closer to the road. I’d assume she met the bear deep in the woods and tried running toward the road.”

He shakes his head. “No. She died right here. Exactly where you fell.”

“She ran up here?”