Page 27 of Indigo Ridge (The Edens 1)

“If it was at night, she would have had to have a flashlight. We didn’t find one on the trail or by her body. We also didn’t find shoes.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Where are her shoes? If she walked it without them, her feet would have looked like ground meat. Her feet had some scratches but not seven miles’ worth. How did she get up there in the dark? By eleven it’s pitch black.”

“You said the medical examiner suspected it could have been Monday morning.”

“At the very latest. But again, that’s time of death.”

“Maybe she went up during the day. Stayed there for a while. I don’t know.”

Winn flipped to a new sheet on the notepad. “Would anyone have been around early Monday morning to see someone leave the ridge?”

“You think someone went up there with her.”

“Possibly.”

“And what? Killed her?” I shook my head and sighed. “It’s a suicide, Chief. Just like the other

girls who jumped off that ridge. I don’t know why they did it. My heart aches for their families. But it’s exactly the same as the other two times. I know because I was there for all three.”

She blinked.

“Didn’t know that, did you?” I muttered. “Dad found the first body. I found the second.”

“And now Lily Green.”

I nodded. “It’s awful. Truly awful. What we need are more resources in town for these girls, not to go looking for a killer when there isn’t one. Which you’d understand if you were from here. But you’re not.”

She opened her mouth, then closed it before speaking. Her nostrils flared.

“What?”

“Nothing.” She sat a little straighter. “Is there anything else you can tell me about the other girls?”

“It’ll all be in a report, I’m sure.”

“Yes, I’m sure. But I’m asking anyway.”

“The girl I found was two years ago. She was one of Eloise’s friends. It shook us all up. Eloise knew she was having a hard time but didn’t think it would go this far.” So now my sister carried that guilt. We all did. “The girl Dad found was five years ago. She’d been friends with Lyla.”

“I’m sorry. That had to be hard on your family.”

“It was.”

Winslow closed her notebook, then stood. “Thank you for your time.”

“That’s it?”

“For now. I’ll show myself out.” Without another word, she strode out of the living room.

The smart thing to do would be to let her go. Keep some distance. Let her walk out the door while I stayed right here on this couch. But I stood, the manners my mother had ingrained in us from an early age nagging. We escorted guests out and thanked them for stopping by.

I caught up to Winn just as she was about to reach for the handle. I stretched past her, crowding way too close, and opened the door. Another manner. Men held doors for women.

She glanced up at me, her breath catching. Once again, that sweet scent of hers filled my nose. Her mouth parted but otherwise she didn’t move.

An inch, maybe two, separated our bodies. That tiny gap crackled, the electricity between us just as strong as it had been at Willie’s. She was more beautiful than I’d realized sitting in that dark, musty bar.