She was standing in the middle of the trail, bear spray at the ready. Her posture screamed terror, and his first thought was that she’d encountered a grizzly.
His second thought was that they needed to make noise immediately, so whatever spooked her knew they were there too.
“Wait,” he called out, raising both hands slowly. “It’s okay.”
She lifted the bear spray in his direction, and Tyler got his first clear look at her. Dark hair, athletic build, late twenties or early thirties. Pretty, even with fear tightening across her expression. But what struck him most were her eyes, wild with panic but also sharp and assessing. She was terrified but not frozen.
“I’m not going to hurt you.” He took a careful step forward. Behind him, he heard his friends stop moving. “You want to lower the bear spray a little?”
The woman stared at the canister in her hand like she’d forgotten she was holding it. “You’re not a bear.”
“I’m not a bear,” Tyler agreed, keeping his voice calm and even. “We’renot bears.” He gestured back toward his hiking companions without taking his eyes off her. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I mean, yes. I mean—” She was struggling to get the words out. “I need your help. I found something. Bodies. There are bodies back there.”
Tyler looked her over. She seemed sincere, and she was definitely scared.
“Take a breath.”
“Seriously?” She narrowed her eyes at him, but the next line came out calmer. “I found dead bodies. Human bodies. Two of them.”
Two bodies. Unlikely. But she certainly believed it. Probably an animal. Maybe a deer carcass. Yet somehow, he knew that was wishful thinking. Even though he didn’t know her, his instincts told him she wouldn’t be acting like this if it wasn’t the real thing. “Are you out here alone?”
She took a step back and raised the canister.Brilliant, Tyler,he scolded himself.You sound like a creep.
He cleared his throat. “It’s not safe to hike alone in bear country.” His eyes flicked to the trees behind her, noting the flashes of orange cording. Smart. She’d known what to do even when scared. That said a lot about her and confirmed his fears. Maybe she really did find a body. “Why don’t you show me what you found?”
“What do you meanbodies?” his friend asked.
“Dead people.” Her voice shook. “Two of them. Covered with dirt and pine needles. Like...like something buried them. Like a bear buried them.”
The pieces clicked together in Tyler’s mind. Buried. Covered. “A cache?”
She nodded frantically. “Bears do that, right? They cover their kills?”
Now the danger made sense. Bodies in a bear cache meant an active grizzly nearby. One that would fiercely defend its food source.
Tyler’s eyes locked with hers. She was holding it together, but barely. “Can you show us?”
“You want me to take you back there?” Her grip tightened on the bear spray. “Why?”
Fair question. Tyler glanced back at his friends. Robert had his phone out, checking for service. He shook his head. No bars in the forest.
“Because if there really are bodies in a bear cache, we need to verify it and mark the location properly before we hike out to call for help,” Tyler said.
He believed her, but still wanted to see for himself, wanted to make sure it was truly human bodies before calling in Johnny Law. Dealing with the police was the last thing he wanted.
Maybe it wasn’t what she thought it was. He knew, probably better than anyone, that when emotions were heightened, grasping reality wasn’t always guaranteed.
The woman’s shoulders dropped.
“I already marked it.” She gestured toward the orange cord.
“Good thinking. That helps.” Tyler took another slow step forward. “Robert and I could go. You can stay behind with Sue.” He motioned to his friend’s wife.
Sue gave a nod and patted the pistol in a holster across her chest.
The woman shook her head. “No, no. I’m—I’ll show you.”
