Page 71 of My Sister is Going to Kill Me

“Let’s all calm down,” Lucinda said. “These accusations help no one.”

“That’s right. We don’t know what happened here.” Big Pete sounded more confident now, though his words were still laced with stress. “And no one is taking any more risks today. It’s only a mile back to the rafts, but it’s getting late and we don’t have enough headlamps for everyone. So. We will all walk down. I’ll call in the death to the Park Service. Then, if and only if they approve it, two people can hike back up here with Thor and enough camping gear to spend the night. The rest of us will stay down on the beach by Deer Creek Falls.”

“Is he coming with us?” Fiona said, pointing at Guy.

“Everyone is coming with us,” Big Pete said firmly.

“Sure you don’t want me to look for Marc?” Thor asked.

“If he went for help and we didn’t run into him already, he likely went back up to the rim,” Big Pete said.

“I could catch him,” Thor said. “I know the backcountry better than he does.”

Thor didn’t seem shocked or destabilized like the rest of them. His voice held the same buzzy energy as when he’d suggested the shortcut through the slot. As if this were just the kind of adventure he hungered for.

“No.” Big Pete frowned at his eagerness. “From now on, we follow protocol. Everyone stays together. As they should have on your hike.”

“I think this situation calls for a divergence in protocol,” Thor shot back.

“You don’t get paid to think,” Big Pete said. “You get paid to take guests safely down the river.”

Thor flashed him an angry look and spat on the ground. But he didn’t say another word.

“How soon can they get a medical examiner and a detective down from the rim?” Liv asked.

“Depends,” Big Pete said. “The Park Service has an investigation unit, but they only have a handful of special agents across the entire country. My guess is when I radio it in tonight, they’ll broadcast out for help from Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, maybe Arizona State Police. FBI, even, if there’s a possibility of foul play.”

“But if it was heatstroke—” Devon said.

“I’m not sure she died of heatstroke,” Fiona interrupted. “Her skin is pale, not flushed. She might have gotten overheated earlier, but I think something else killed her.”

Big Pete stared at her for a moment. “Then they’ll almost certainly involve the feds.”

“Feds?” Guy cleared his throat. “This is a terrible moment. But let’s not leap to conclusions.”

“Are you suggesting she’s still alive?” Fiona asked. “Would you like to check my work?”

“No. This isn’t about you. It isn’t even about us. It’s about Babette, what she would want. I think we should all take a beat and consider that.” Guy bowed his head, which might have seemed respectful if Charlie hadn’t taken this opportunity to snap out of his stunned grief.

“How do you have even one ounce of a clue what my dead sister would want?”

“You’re in shock.” Guy’s voice radiated compassion. “It’s getting dark, and we’re in the middle of nowhere. We have to focus on our safety now. Our goddess is dead. Broadcasting it isn’t going to help her.”

“Guy is right.” Stefan seemed to be the only one who had accepted her father’s surprise appearance. “We are down here. The world is up there. No one needs to know.”

“No.” Devon’s voice was firm. “Absolutely not. This is my sister. I’m not playing Weekend at Bernie’s: Grand Canyon Edition.”

“Devon, think about it,” Stefan said. His voice was as gentle as Devon’s had been brash. “We are all, every one of us, invested in CareFree becoming a success. If information gets out that Babette has died, before we know what happened, before the product is launched—”

“It would be a disaster,” Guy said.

“It already is a disaster,” PK said.

“You can’t be serious,” Liv said.

No one responded.

“This would mean breaking several laws, let alone some basic standards of—”