Harper stirred. “Your wife wasn’t with you earlier today, though. I asked about her.”
“We’re not joined at the hip like the two of you,” Sam shot back. “We do our own thing. This entire trip was her deal. She wanted to participate. I’ve never been a big fan of camping. That’s her thing. She said she wanted to look around. I didn’t realize that was against the law.”
“But she’s been gone all day,” Harper persisted, searching her memory. “I didn’t see her at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.”
“Are you suddenly the meal police?” Sam’s tone was harsh. “I’m not her keeper. Neither are you, missy. Maybe you should mind your own business.”
Jared slowly drifted in front of Harper, so Sam had no choice but to look at him. “Ms. Harlow doesn’t deserve your attitude. She’s asking reasonable questions. I think it would behoove you to answer them.”
“Oh, of course you think that.” Sam rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what to tell you. Leslie said she was going to entertain herself all day. I’m not sure where she went, what she looked at, or who she interacted with. I don’t know what to tell you.”
Jared worked his jaw and focused on Harper. He had no idea what to say.
“Why don’t we just wait for a determination from the medical examiner?” Leo suggested, inserting himself into the conversation as the tension built. “We can’t do anything until we know how she died. Let’s wait for that.”
8
Eight
Jared suggested Shawn and Zander take Harper back to the campsite at a certain point, but she refused to leave without him. Ultimately, Jared waved off the other couple, worked another two hours, and then agreed it was time for bed.
“We could’ve stayed,” Harper offered as they walked back to the campground, fingers linked. “I know you want to see this through.”
He released her hand and slid his arm behind her back, kissing her forehead as she snuggled close at his side. “I have a feeling the medical examiner’s office is going to take a long time. They might not make a determination for days at the rate they work. I mean ... this isn’t my case.”
Harper tilted her chin so she could study his strong profile. “That doesn’t mean you don’t feel as if you should be doing something. I get it. I’m right there with you.”
“I know.” He rested his cheek against her forehead, enjoying a moment of solitude, and then asked the question he wanted to ask but couldn’t when they were surrounded by people. “I don’t suppose her ghost is hanging out, huh?”
Harper shook her head and sighed. “I mean ... that’s not to say she’s not out there. I didn’t see her, though. Of course, it’s possible she didn’t die where we found her, right?”
Jared smirked despite his weariness. “You’re such a smart cookie.” He poked her side and offered up a weak grin. “I guess you have been paying attention at my crime scenes, huh? Tell me why you think that.”
Harper wasn’t in the mood to play games, but she recognized that Jared was still working out his thoughts on what happened and wanted to compare how closely their opinions aligned.
“She had a lot of blood on her clothing,” Harper noted, giving in. “There wasn’t any on the ground that I could see. I mean ... it’s possible that it was absorbed but usually there’s discoloration when that happens. She was on the grass, not the dirt.”
“I noticed that, too,” he agreed. “I don’t think she was killed there.”
“What about her time of death?” Harper was genuinely curious. “Is it possible that she was killed as early as last night?”
Jared tilted his head, considering. “I’m not an expert. I mean ... that wouldn’t be my first inclination. Stranger things have happened, though. It was cold last night. Not below thirty-two degrees or anything, but it was cold enough that maybe her body would’ve been protected.”
“Do you believe Sam?” The more Harper thought about the man, the more she disliked him. “I mean ... his story doesn’t make sense, right?”
Jared hesitated and then shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s hard to fathom a man having that reaction to the death of his wife.”
“He didn’t seem to care.”
“No, he didn’t. The thing is, not everybody processes grief in the same manner. It could be that he was in shock.”
“He didn’t seem all that shocked. He almost seemed relieved.”
Jared jerked up his chin. “What makes you say that?”
“He didn’t cry. He didn’t reach out to touch her hand, or stroke her hair. I know that’s not ironclad evidence, but most people I’ve seen who are grieving want some tactile contact with the victim. It’s a catharsis of sorts, like saying goodbye.”
“We would’ve stopped him from touching the body. At least I would’ve stopped him. That could contaminate evidence, although I’m fairly convinced they don’t have very good technical teams out here to process whatever is found.”
“He didn’t even try, though.”
“Were you watching for that?”
She nodded. “All I kept thinking is ‘what if.’ What if it was you, and I stumbled upon a group looking at you the way we were looking at Leslie? I would not have stood there like an idiot and not reacted. I would’ve thrown myself on you, cried until they had to sedate me, anything other than what he did.”
Jared’s expression softened as he moved his hand over her back. “They would’ve had to lock me up to keep me from touching you,” he agreed, internally shuddering at the thought. The mere idea of losing her caused his innards to freeze and his heart to grow cold. “Not everybody loves the same way, though. I got the feeling from the way you described your first meeting with them that the marriage wasn’t all that happy.”
“I know.” Harper
