I watched her approach them. Their body language changed to one of relief. I was sure they would be happy to give statements so they could get out of the rain.
Another movement caught my eye.
Ryder stopped near the ambulance, hands tucked in coat pockets, knit beanie on his head. He stared down at Heim, his face lined with something sharp and dark. Concern. Maybe anger.
I tried to remember how well they’d known each other. Not extremely well, I thought.
He looked up, but not at me. Instead, his eyes scanned the cliffs and the hint of road weaving along it as if he were putting together a puzzle of his own.
I took another gulp of coffee, then set my cup in the sand, twisting it to dig in a little. I ducked under the fencing and paused before moving farther. “We got shots of all this?”
“In triplicate,” Page said.
I crossed the short distance to where Heim lay on his back, one arm thrown up over his head, the other by his side. He wore a flannel shirt, thermal under it, Carhartts, and waders.
In the harsh glare of the lights, I could make out no blood. His face was peaceful and relaxed into something that was almost relief. Not what I expected from a corpse.
“Head trauma?” I asked as I knelt.
Sage nodded and crouched on the other side of the body. “A couple hours old, I think.”
“Think? I thought Rossis were better pinning down these kinds of things.”
She flashed me a grin with a little fang. “We are. But I don’t think it was the head wound that killed him.”
“No?”
“I think he drowned.”
I took a moment to study her face. She was not lying.
“Yeah?”
“We’ll run labs, of course.”
“Good. Any other wounds?”
“A few nicks on his hands—hooks, wood slivers, that kind of thing.”
“His only large injury is the head wound?”
“Yes. And water in his lungs. The scrapes on his hands are common for a fisherman.”
“Have you heard anything about theGulltoppr?”
“It was adrift, all in one piece, unmanned, just north of here.”
“Distress signal?”
She shook her head, moonlight hair swinging.
“Who found it?”
“Coast guard. They brought it in. Not sure where it is right now—in the bay, I’d guess. I heard Jean tell them to close it off and to not allow anyone to touch it until we determine the cause of death.”
“All right. Do you have a flashlight on you?”
“Hold on.” She stood. Without saying anything or making any kind of signal that I could see, she caught the flashlight Senta tossed to her.
