Before He Envies

“Not even ten minutes. Add another five to that to get us to Logan’s View.”

“Then lead the way,” Mackenzie said.

Timbrook took the lead and headed for the airport exit. Mackenzie followed behind, texting Ellington to let him know that she had arrived and met with local PD. When she had called to tell him about the call from McGrath, he had already known; he said McGrath had called him right after he’d gotten off the phone with her. Ellington had seemed excited for the opportunity, claiming it seemed just like the sort of thing she’d need to get focus.

The hell of it was that he was right. And she wished he could be there with her. Not only was it the longest she had been away from Kevin since he’d been born, but she and Ellington had not spent any more than ten hours apart ever since her maternity leave had started one month before Kevin had arrived.

She missed him. It made her feel far too young and immature, but it was the truth. But she managed to push it to the side for now. She’d make sure to Facetime him and Kevin whenever she was able to check into a hotel. But based on the terrible lack of information in the police reports, she suspected she was in for a rather long afternoon.

***

“I’ll go ahead and get this out of the way,” Timbrook said. “I’m sort of a fan of yours. I know that sounds stupid. But when that whole Scarecrow Killer thing went down in Nebraska a couple year years ago, that was impressive. Do you mind me asking…is that how you ended up with the FBI?”

“More or less.”

“It was refreshing to see you—a young woman—take charge of a force that was primarily men. Made me feel good.”

Mackenzie wasn’t sure how to handle that sort of compliment, so she skipped it entirely and went straight to business.

“I’ve studied the reports on both of the victims and there’s very little there,” she said. “I know the second victim was only discovered yesterday, but why the hold-up on any details for the first victim?”

“Because for the first half a day or so, everyone assumed it was just a tragic accident. Or maybe a suicide. I was even thinking along those lines myself. The body was found at the bottom of Exum Ridge. Mostly likely had been there for several days.”

“How far apart at Logan’s View and Exum Ridge?”

“It’s about two and a half miles. There are a few central trails that run between the two.”

“And the murders are believed to be about four days apart, right?”

“As far as we can tell. That’s based on that the coroners are saying. You have to keep in mind…both bodies were discovered by hikers. We have no way of knowing for sure how long the bodies had been there. Speaking to family and putting together the schedules of the victims, we can only come up with a pretty good idea, but nothing absolute.”

“Can you walk me through what you know of the first victim?”

“Sure. A woman named Mandy Yorke, twenty-three years of age. Her body was discovered at the base of Exum Ridge. She was a good distance away from any of the normal advertised climbing spots, indicating that she was something of a pro. It happens a lot…climbers that get quite good don’t stick to the traditional climbs. They’ll go off the beaten path to find something more challenging. That’s why it was assumed her death was an accident. But when we started looking over the evidence from the crime scene, we saw that her climbing rope had been cut.”

“Intentionally?”

“Sure looked like it. It was a clean cut. We compared it to some old broken ropes at the park. The difference in appearance. A rope that had been frayed and Yorke’s clean-cut one were very different.”

“Any idea where the rope was cut?”

“At the top. It’s as if the killer was waiting there, waiting for Yorke to reach the top and then cut it.”

“Any sabotaged equipment from the second victim?” Mackenzie asked.