“You have plenty of information about everything leading up to Richard’s death.” Mikhail gestured to the notebook. “The only thing I have left to tell you about is Richard’s fall.”
He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He could still hear the sound of Richard’s scream if he thought about it, still recall the sickening sensation that had filled his gut when he realized Richard had lost his footing.
It wasn’t your fault.Bryony’s words from the night she’d woken him in the midst of a nightmare echoed through his mind.
But it still felt like his fault—like something he should have prevented somehow.
He couldn’t admit such a thing to the Marshal, though. The last thing he needed was to find himself standing trial for murder. He hadn’t actually up and killed the man; he just hadn’t been fast enough to stop him from falling.
“Richard fell the next day while trying to cross a canyon on a makeshift bridge I’d made by felling three trees and rolling them together.” His throat felt thick, and a gritty sensation crept into his eyes, but he forced himself to meet the Marshal’s gaze. “I asked Richard to cross first because next to me, he had the most wilderness experience, and I wanted someone on the opposite side who could help the others if needed. But Richard dashed out onto the bridge before I had finished giving the others instructions. Then he stopped walking. I told him to keep moving. As usual, Richard ignored everything I said. He stayed exactly where he was, examining something on the opposite side of the canyon, and while he was distracted, he lost his footing.”
Mikhail blew out a breath, his lungs feeling as though they were full of broken glass. “I wasn’t close enough to help. I tried to reach him and grab his arm, but I failed.”
“When Mr. Caldwell stopped walking, did he do or say anything to indicate that part of the bridge might be unsafe?” The Marshal’s voice was clinical and matter-of-fact, which made sense, considering the man had decades of experience as a lawman. This was hardly the first death he’d investigated.
But Mikhail still found himself sucking a small breath into his jagged lungs. For a fraction of a second, he’d been certain the Marshal would question him about what Richard had seen on the opposite side of the canyon that caused him to stop.
It seemed the man was focusing on the safety of the bridge instead. “No, Richard didn’t say or do anything to indicate he felt the bridge itself was unsafe. No one else from the party had difficulty crossing the bridge either. They all made it over the place where Richard fell without any problems.”
“Thank you for your statement. It clears things up.” Marshal Hibbs stared down at his notebook for a moment, then scratched behind his ear with his pencil. “I just have one other question. Do you remember what you said to Mr. Caldwell when he stopped walking?”
Mikhail’s muscles tensed for a fraction of a second, until he realized that he could answer the question without revealing the discovery of the gold vein. “As I said before, I told Richard to keep his eyes forward and keep moving.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“Very well.” Marshal Hibbs closed his notebook and lumbered to his feet. “I’m happy to see you back home and safe. Even though one life was lost, I appreciate you bringing the others back safely. I think everyone’s aware that the expedition could have gone much, much worse after Mr. Ledman’s death.”
Mikhail stood. “Yes. There’s much to be thankful for.” Except after this conversation, he didn’t feel all that thankful for anything.
“Let me show you out, Marshal.” Jonas pushed himself away from where he’d been standing by the wall, then opened the study door.
A moment later, the men left the room together, conferring in the low, serious tones lawmen often used.
The second they were gone, Mikhail looked at Evelina. “Did I handle everything well?”
His sister’s brow furrowed. “Yes, though I didn’t like his line of questioning after he learned Caldwell pulled a gun on you.”
“Why didn’t you tell us the lout pulled a gun?” Sacha crossed his beefy, muscled arms.
“I would have beat him and left him for dead,” Yuri said with a yawn.
Mikhail shook his head. “Then you would’ve been charged with murder.”
Sacha coughed. “I’m not convinced our little brother is strong enough to beat another man.”
Yuri stood to his feet. “I’m a grown?—”
“I have a question.” Alexei’s clipped tone sliced through the growing argument. “I want to know why Richard stopped walking.”
Mikhail froze.
Alexei had all but made himself disappear during the interview, standing beside the window where no one bothered to pay attention to him.
“That’s the only part of your story that doesn’t make sense,” Alexei continued. “Richard Caldwell might have been annoying and obstinate, but he’s smart enough to know he should have kept walking.”
Leave it to his oldest brother to pick up on something that everyone else had missed. Mikhail scratched the back of his head. Still, they needed to talk about it—all of them, together. “He spotted a gold vein.”
