“Taylor is shot. It might have been a silver bullet. We, uh, couldn’t get the bleeding to stop.”
“Oh, sweetie!” Corbin drew me back into another, gentler hug. “Is he going to be okay?”
“We don’t know yet,” Otto huffed as a large body blocked the sun coming in the door, throwing a shadow into the room.
“Dexter? Are you okay?”
“Stan, hey! What are you doing back?”
Stan sent me a small smile. “Small mountain community. We hear sirens, we come to see if we can help.” He tilted his head toward the small group milling around on the lawn.
“Oh, right. Yeah, we’re fine but after you left, Taylor showed up with a park ranger and he’d been shot.” Stan’s brow furrowed and I sighed. “Sorry. My friend isshot, not the ranger. Then the guy disappeared, so we aren’t exactly sure what happened or even when.”
“We might be able to help figure out the when,” Stan mused. “When we were walking on the trail, before Otto, erm,joined us, I heard a gunshot. It was probably caught on my security system, so we’ll have the time and maybe even be able to triangulate the direction.”
“Really? Do you think we should tell the deputy?”
“Definitely,” Stan agreed. “Have you already given statements?”
“Kind of. We didn’t really have much to tell him, so he got a little irritated and told us to wait in here.
“Jerry can be a little abrupt at times.” Stan’s smile turned sympathetic. “Why don’t you rest for a minute and maybe drink some water while I go talk to him?”
In the kitchen, I could hear Otto grumbling under his breath while Stan and I talked and as soon as I sat down, hethrust a jelly jar of ice water at me. I accepted it and took a long swallow.
“Thanks. That hits the spot.” I looked around and realized someone was missing. “Where did Corbin go?”
“Hm?” Otto looked around and shrugged. “Bathroom? There aren’t that many options in a place this small and he didn’t go out the door, did he?”
I shook my head. “Stan was blocking the door so he couldn’t have.”
“Then he’s got to be here somewhere.”
“I’m just going to check real quick,” I said, setting my water on the coffee table, counting on an outdated copy of a hunting catalog to protect the wood from water rings. I wasn’t even halfway across the room when Corbin popped out of the hallway, a frown creasing his forehead.
“Um, I was thinking that maybe I should follow the ambulance so Taylor has his car,” he said quickly. “I can give a statement later, if they even need one from me.”
“Oh, alright.” I blinked in surprise at the change in Corbin’s demeanor. “Are you okay?”
Before Corbin answered, Stan’s shadow fell into the room again.
“Jerry said he’s got everything he needs for now..” Stan’s voice trailed off when he saw Corbin. “Ben? What are you doing here?”
Corbin sighed heavily. “Lee. Long time no see.” He hesitated for a brief moment and then barreled toward the door, slipping through the space Stan created by leaning back as he approached and calling over his shoulder. “I’ll let you know what the hospital says!”
Otto
Dex and I stared after Corbin in silence until Stan cleared his throat.
“As I was saying, I gave Jerry -he’s the deputy outside- a rundown on what happened and he said that combined with what you two had already told him, he would write up the report and get back in touch if he needs more info.”
“Um, okay,” Dex said slowly. “So, how do you know Corbin?”
Stan swallowed, his Adams apple bobbing visibly. “You know how I respected your privacy when you showed up?”
Dex blushed, the pink climbing up his neck to his face much faster than usual.
“Yeah, sorry.” Dex offered an embarrassed smile. “You know, if you need anything, we..I’m here,” he said, putting the emphasis on correcting the we to I.
