He glanced at the old man again. His eyes looked tired and weary, his Coke-bottle glasses crooked. Save for the moon, it was dark and the ridge was over five hundred feet tall. Could he have heard something that high up?
With a night breeze, it was possible voices could have drifted toward him.
“What time was that?” Cord asked.
“’Bout an hour ago, I reckon.”
If there had been another person with her, this might not have been a suicide. Ellie would want to investigate. “Let memake a call,” Cord said as he pulled his phone and pressed Ellie’s number.
She answered on the third ring, her voice soft with sleep. “Cord? Are you all right?”
“Yeah, but I got a call about a possible suicide at Midnight Ridge. I’m here now, looking at a girl’s body.” He hesitated and glanced up at the top of the ridge as a stiff wind blew through. Crow feathers dotted the area around the body, one beneath her face. “It looks suspicious. Witness said he thought he heard someone on the ridge with the girl. I hate to bother you, but you might want to see for yourself.”
Her breathing quickened and he pictured her swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “I’m on my way.”
THREE
Ellie wound around the curvy mountain road toward Midnight Ridge, her shoulders knotted with dread at the fact that a body had been found tonight. If Cord thought the situation was suspicious, he must have a reason.
She had to take a look.
A new case was just what she needed to distract her from thinking about the conversation she should have with her parents. For weeks, she’d labored over revealing that she and Cord were personally involved.
Her father might be fine with Cord, but her mother would have something critical to say. As much as Vera was determined for her to marry, her idea of a man for Ellie would be a businessman dressed in a suit with a sizable portfolio to support her so she could stop working and have babies.
A businessman in a suit was so not her type. And children? Well, she wouldn’t say no to it somewhere down the line, but she wasn’t ready to tie the knot or settle down. Not yet anyway.
Maybe she and Cord would keep their relationship a secret from them a little while longer.
Decision made, she focused on maneuvering the switchbacks. She’d hiked to Midnight Ridge before but not atnight and not for a possible murder investigation. Some locals around the area who came to the ridge because of the folklore claimed that the higher you climbed in the mountains the closer you were to heaven. They had been dubbed the Believers. They insisted this was a sacred place and came here to pray and talk to their loved ones. They’d also created an area to leave flowers and gifts to honor them.
If someone else had been up there with the dead girl, they might be looking at an accident, assisted suicide or… murder.
She’d see what Cord found before calling the ME, Dr. Laney Whitefeather, but she would request an autopsy and protect the body until a recovery team arrived. She had the ERT’s number on speed dial.
The time of day and the fog were her enemies now. It would be easier to see and collect evidence once daylight arrived.
She spotted the turnoff for the lower area of the ridge and spun onto it, then drove the graveled narrow road until she reached the parking spot the tourists and locals used. Once you parked, you still had to climb to the peak of the ridge.
She’d wondered what the suicide victims had been thinking when they made that trek. Why that hike hadn’t deterred them. Why logic hadn’t broken into their tumultuous thoughts and convinced them to turn around. If they’d called one of their loved ones to say goodbye.
The gray mist nearly blurred the sharp peaks of the ridges, adding an eerie chill to the stormy night. She grabbed her flashlight and stepped from the vehicle, securing her ponytail as she crossed the lot, then followed the trail to the base of the ridge where she saw Cord by the creek.
An older man was slumped on a rock in his coat, hunched over a small fire he’d crafted in the rim of an old tire. She had a feeling the fire was due to the falling temperatures, but also toward off wild creatures who preyed at night. She assumed this was the witness. She’d talk to him later.
First she wanted to assess the scene.
Cord must have heard her footsteps as she approached and turned to face her.
“Sorry to wake you, El.”
“No problem.” She gestured to the old man. “Fill me in.”
Cord cleared his throat. “That man, Roman, called this in. Said he saw a girl jump from the ridge.” A deep frown pulled at the corners of his mouth as he pointed to the body. “Looks like she landed face-first.”
“Which makes it appear a suicide.”
“Don’t know yet. I haven’t gone out to look at her or check for a suicide note like they found on the other two girls this year. Didn’t want to disturb anything.”
