Stone Cold Heart (Tracers #13)(4)

“Hi,” she said. “I got a call from Detective Hess with Springville PD.”

He stopped and looked her over, frowning. “Who are you?”

“Dr. Sara Lockhart from the Delphi Center Crime Lab.” She reached into the car and grabbed her wallet, flipping it open to show him her official ID, because her little black wrap dress wasn’t helping her credibility. “Are you by chance Tom?”

“Tom left,” he said, resting his hands on his hips.

“Okay. And where is Detective Hess?”

“At HQ.” He looked her over again, glaring hard at her shoes. “Stay here.”

With that, he trudged up the hill toward a small brown building.

Sara looked at the sky as the last flicker of sun disappeared behind the cliffs. The canyons around her shifted from warm yellows to cool grays. The cool was an illusion, though, and the day’s heat radiated up through the thin soles of Sara’s patent-leather heels.

She surveyed the scene, taking note of the emergency workers. A man dressed in hiking gear and a red T-shirt handed the dreadlocks woman a bottle of water. He eyed Sara across the parking lot, looking not exactly hostile but skeptical.

Sara walked to the trailhead, where a map behind plexiglass told her she was at the top of Rattlesnake Gorge. Beside the map was a litany of prohibitions: overnight camping, campfires, alcoholic beverages. The list went on.

A coil of blue climbing rope sat on the ground nearby, and she stepped over for a closer look. Heeding the numerous warning signs, she stayed a safe distance from the cliff’s edge.

Boots crunched on gravel behind her—the man in the red shirt.

“Who set up this rappel?” she asked.

“I did.” He offered her a handshake. “Bryce Gaines. I’m with ACSAR.”

“ACSAR?”

“Allen County Search and Rescue. I heard you say you’re from the Delphi Center. So you’re here about the body, I’m guessing?”

Interesting word choice. Sara nodded at the couple across the parking lot.

“Are those the hikers who found it?”

“Climbers, actually. But yeah.” He combed his shaggy brown hair from his eyes. “They were down there in Rattlesnake. Boyfriend was in the lead. He was halfway up the wall when she spotted the body. She tried to climb out, but then she got panicked and froze up on a ledge. Boyfriend called for help.” Bryce nodded at the rappelling station. “We went down after her, got her in a harness, and hoisted her out of there.”

“You and . . . ?”

“Guy from my team. By the time we got her up, the police were here, the rangers, everyone wanting a statement. Word travels fast.” He shook his head. “We had a hiker go missing a while back. Guess they’re thinking it might be her.”

“And did you see the remains when you were down in the gorge?” She didn’t want to use the word body at this point. It would only fuel rumors.

“I didn’t stop to explore. Just got her tied in and out of there. I was worried she might have another panic attack, and that’s a long drop.”

Sara looked at the woman again. “Is she injured?”

“Nah, just freaked out. Evans—that ranger you met—he won’t let them leave yet. Think he plans to slap them with a fine for illegal climbing.”

Bryce’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. “Sorry, I have to take this.”

“Sure.”

He stepped away, and Sara looked at the climbers. The man had a Mayan sun god tattooed on his arm. No longer looking so distraught, he and his girlfriend were busy with their cell phones. Posting about their adventures? Ordering a pizza? Who knew. She’d let Hess worry about that. Right now, she had work to do.

She retrieved the duffel she kept in the back of her Explorer and ducked into the bathroom near the trailhead. After changing into her blue Delphi Center coveralls and hiking boots, she returned to her SUV and made some selections from her evidence kit: gloves, tweezers, several glass specimen jars. She didn’t have a headlamp, so her mini-Maglite would have to suffice. She loaded everything into a black zipper pack and clipped it around her waist, then grabbed her digital camera and looped the strap around her neck.

Sara walked to the cliff’s edge and crouched to examine the rappel setup, ignoring the drop-off just inches away. The anchor consisted of two bolts, which would distribute the load, both drilled directly into the rock face.

Bryce ended his phone call and walked over.

“These are expansion bolts?” she asked.

“That’s right.”

“Mind if I borrow your harness?”

“Depends,” he said. “You know what you’re doing?”

“Yes.”

“You realize there’s a trail that goes down there, right? Moderate grade.”

“I saw the map. Two-point-six miles.” She nodded at the rope. “This is faster.”

He picked up the harness and handed it to her. “You want a helmet?”

“Any chance you have one with a headlamp?”

“Absolutely.”

He trekked off to a green hatchback, and Sara shifted her attention to the hardware, checking for fissures in the metal.

“It’s bombproof,” Bryce said, returning with the helmet. “Nothing’s going anywhere.”